October 1918

[October 1], 1918 (Tuesday)

• The Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus, ending the Battle of Megiddo. The battle was a complete loss for the Ottoman Empire, with only 6,000 out of the 35,000 troops deployed escaping. In comparison, total British casualties were 782 killed, 4,179 wounded and 382 missing out of 57,000 men in the corps.
• Battle of the Canal du Nord - The British First and Third Armies, including the Canadian Corps, captured the entire Canal du Nord in north France along with 36,500 German prisoners and 380 guns. The Allies lost 30,000 casualties but were now in attacking distance of the German-held French city of Cambrai. In all, 12 Victoria Crosses were awarded for bravery and action during the battle.
• Fifth Battle of Ypres - Allied forces captured the left bank of the Lys River.
• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - Allied forces conquered Berat, Albania.
• The Red Army captured the city of Syzran, Russia and forced the People's Army of Komuch to retreat to Samara.
• A landslide caused a train to derail in Getå, Östergötland, Sweden, killing 41 passengers and injuring another 41 people in what was the worst railroad accident in Swedish history.
• The Royal Air Force established air squadron No. 152.
• The Communist Party of Lithuania was established.
• Born: James R. Browning, American judge, justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1961 to 1988; in Great Falls, Montana

  [October 2], 1918 (Wednesday)

• Fifth Battle of Ypres - German reinforcements forced the Allies to halt their advance further into Belgium. The British lost and the Belgians had and, but had advanced a total and captured prisoners, and
• Battle of St Quentin Canal - British and Australian forces launched attacks to break the Hindenburg Line at Beaurevoir, France, and succeeded in creating a 17 km breach.
• Meuse–Argonne offensive - American forces forced a gap in the German line in Argonne Forest in France and advanced into enemy territory.
• Lost Battalion - Nine companies of the 77th Infantry Division, composed of 554 men under command of Major Charles W. Whittlesey, were cut off from the main attacking force in Argonne Forest.
• Battle of Durazzo - The Italian Navy, supported by British and American vessels, attacked the port of Durazzo, Albania held by Austria-Hungary. The attack damaged several Austro-Hungarian navy ships and destroyed three key coastal defences, along with the Royal Palace of Durrës.
• The 3rd Light Horse Brigade of the Australian Mounted Division charged Ottoman forces 17 miles north of Damascus and captured 2,000 Ottoman troops.
• Pursuit to Haritan - The Yildirim Army Group abandoned Rayak, Lebanon to join defense forces in Aleppo.
• The experimental Kettering Bug aircraft, designed by the U.S. Army Signals Corps to carry unmanned aerial torpedoes, failed on its first test flight and crashed. Later test flights proved successful.
• The Selwyn Theatre, designed by architect George Keister and built by the Selwyn brothers Edgar and Archie, opened on 42nd Street of Manhattan in New York City.
• Born: Charles J. Loring Jr., American air force pilot, commander of the 36th Fighter-Bomber Squadron during the Korean War, recipient of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Flying Cross, and 12 Air Medals; in Portland, Maine
• Died:
• * John Barnett, 38, Australian rugby player, second-row for the Newtown Jets from 1910 to 1915, gold medalist at the 1908 Summer Olympics, member of the Australia national rugby league team from 1907 to 1910
• * Granville Stuart, 84, American pioneer, prominent settler of the Montana Territory, earning the nickname "Mr. Montana"

  [October 3], 1918 (Thursday)

• Kaiser Wilhelm appointed Prince Maximilian of Baden Chancellor of Germany.
• King Ferdinand abdicated in the wake of the Bulgarian military collapse, with his son, Boris succeeding him.
• Prince Faisal, leader of the Arab rebellion, led his forces into Damascus.
• Lost Battalion - German forces attacked the "lost" portion of the American 77th Infantry Division dug into a hill in Argonne Forest that they had taken the previous day. The communications line had been cut making it impossible to call for reinforcements or emergency supplies, and an attempt to break out left heavy casualties. Despite heavy fire, the Americans held onto the hill.
• Pursuit to Haritan - The Desert Mounted Corps left Haifa, Palestine to pursue the remaining Yildirim Army Group into Syria.
• British ocean liner collided with another vessel and sank, killing at least 170 people.
• German destroyers and were both lost at the same time in the North Sea, when S34 struck a mine and sank and S33 was torpedoed by Royal Navy submarine while rescuing survivors from the other ship. At least 70 sailors were lost.
• Royal Navy submarine was sunk in the Heligoland Bight by two German destroyers with the loss of all 38 crew.
• Belgian pilot Willy Coppens survived an attempt on his life when German troops loaded the basket of an observation balloon, his favorite target, with explosives and used artillery fire on Allied units to lure him into the trap. The Germans detonated the explosives when Coppens arrived in his Hanriot plane to attack the balloon, but he flew through the explosion and emerged uninjured.
• The Soviet Red Army established the 11th Army.
• British writer Siegfried Sassoon visited his mentor journalist Robbie Ross for the last time. Sassoon later wrote that Ross, in saying goodbye, gave him a "presentiment of final farewell".

  [October 4], 1918 (Friday)

• Now Chancellor of Germany, Prince Maximilian of Baden formed a new and more liberal government and sued for peace.
• Lost Battalion - With no way to escape and German soldiers shooting the army unit's messengers, the lost units of the 77th Infantry Division resorted to using carrier pigeons to get word back to headquarters. One carrier pigeon nicknamed Cher Ami managed to get to base despite being severely wounded from a shell burst. It carried the message to call off a "friendly fire" barrage that also gave the unit's position: "We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heavens sake stop it."
• Explosions at a shell-manufacturing plant in Sayreville, New Jersey killed more than 100 people and destroyed enough ammunition to supply the Western Front for six months.
• Japanese ocean liner Hirano Maru was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south of Ireland by German submarine with the loss of 292 of the 320 people on board.
• German submarine was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea with the loss of one of her 34 crew.
• Born:
• * Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research supporting the frontier molecular orbital theory in chemical reactions; in Nara, Japan
• * Adrian Kantrowitz, American surgeon, member of the surgical team to perform the first pediatric heart transplant, inventor of the intra-aortic balloon pump; New York City
• Died: Nikolai Skrydlov, Russian naval officer, recipient of the Order of St. George for action during the Russo-Turkish War; executed

  [October 5], 1918 (Saturday)

• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - Serbians and French forces liberated Vranje, Serbia from the control of the Central Powers.
• Battle of St Quentin Canal - Australian forces captured Montbrehain, France, and began clearing the Hindenburg Line of German defenses.
• Lost Battalion - German forces continued to attack the hill held by the "lost" American units of the 77th Infantry Division while the 28th Infantry Division and 82nd Infantry Division were dispatched to rescue the surrounded units. The Americans would lose 766 men over the four days of fighting.
• Pursuit to Haritan - British units left Damascus to pursue the retreating Ottoman forces.
• French flying ace Roland Garros died from wounds received after being shot down over Vouziers, Ardennes, France by German ace Hermann Habich from Jagdstaffel 49.
• German submarines,,, and were scuttled when they could not be moved along with the other retreating Imperial German Navy vessels from the Zeebrugge and Ostend ports in West Flanders, Belgium.
• The art exhibition hall Kunsthalle Bern opened in Bern, Switzerland.
• Died:
• * Robbie Ross, 49, Canadian-British journalist, literary executor and lover to Oscar Wilde
• * Eddie Grant, 35, American baseball player, third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants ball clubs, member of the "Lost Battalion"; killed in action

  [October 6], 1918 (Sunday)

• Australia's first electric train service was established between Newmarket and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
• Pursuit to Haritan - The Yildirim Army Group withdraw from Lebanon to Syria, with units from the Ottoman Seventh Army defending the rear. Meanwhile, the British were able to occupy Rayak without resistance.
• Battle of St Quentin Canal - The British 25th Division captured Beaurevoir, France.
• Lost Battalion - American fighter pilot Erwin R. Bleckley of the 50th Aero Squadron was shot down and killed while attempting to resupply the 77th Division surrounded by German forces in Argonne Forest, France. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
• The Royal Air Force established air squadron No. 269.
• Royal Navy cruiser collided with in the Atlantic Ocean north east of Ireland before it was driven ashore and wrecked with the loss of 431 lives.
• Silent film star Theda Bara starred in the film adaptation of Salomé, which roused controversy for its mix of biblical and sexual themes and resulted in some American church groups picketing the film.
• Born:
• * Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean state leader, second Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore; in Malacca, Malaysia
• * George Moore, American track athlete, silver medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympics; in St. Louis
• * Henry M. Morris, American engineer religious leader, proponent of creationism, co-founder of the Creation Research Society and Institute for Creation Research; in Dallas
• Died: Erwin R. Bleckley, 23, United States Army fighter pilot, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient; killed in action