Diary September 2, 1918

Canadian troops march forward
Canadian troops march forward to attack the Hindenburg Line. .
World War One Diary for Monday, September 2, 1918:

Western Front

Artois: CANADIANS STORM DROCOURT-QUEANT ‘SWITCH LINE’ (Wotan sector of Hindenburg Line) in 4 hours from 0500 hours: 1st and 4th Divisions (7 Victoria Crosses won) break through and reach open country except on extreme left, 57 tanks in support. Advance defeats 11 German divisions and claims 10,000 PoWs. LUDENDORFF ISSUES ORDER FOR SECOND PHASED RETIREMENT to 4 armies shortly after 1400 hours – in south to main 10-mile deep Hindenburg position, in north behind and along Canal du Nord (average fall back of 13 miles). BEF has advanced average of 14 miles on 26-mile front since August 21, taken 46,241 PoWs for c.89,000 casualties, defeated 66 German divisions (c.115,600 casualties in total). Foch, Petain and Pershing meat.

Eastern Front

USSR: Red Terror declared (Petrograd Cheka announce 512 executed). Red Revolution­ary Military Council formed with Trotsky Chairmen. Sovnarkom accuse Anglo-French representatives of plotting.
North Russia: Italian battalion lands at Murmansk.
East Siberia: Czechs from Lake Baikal join Semenov at Manchuria Station. US Major-General Graves lands at Vladivostok.
North Caucasus: ­Bicherakov occupies Petrovsk. Muslim Checen overthrow Shura Soviet on September 3.

Sea War

North Sea: Kurt Beilzen ‘the man who killed Lord Kitchener’ killed when his U-102 is sunk by mines off Northern Barrage.

Secret War

Britain: Weymss indicates to Beatty that new German naval cipher broken.

Air War

Germany: 5 Handley Page bombers inflict damage of 400,000 Reichsmark on Saarbrucken’s Burbach works (night September 2-3).
Western Front: JG3 destroys 26 Allied aircraft without loss, but up to 90 RAF single-seaters strafe ahead of Canadian Corps. British lose 36 aircraft (including 4 Sopwith Camel fighters of US No 148 Squadron) and 13 balloons, claim 8 German. Germans claim 50 Allied aircraft for loss of 6.

Oval@3x 2

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