Western Front
Kaiserschlacht: Operation Blücher-Yorck. Known to the Allies as
Battle of the Aisne 1918 or
Third Battle of the Aisne: Germans reach Marne river from Chateau Thierry to Dormans and advance on Compiegne. French retire from River Ailette, drive Germans east of Sempigny, and recover Thillois (west of Reims).
Battlefield debut of French Renault FT-17 light tank: 30 (3 lost) in Retz Forest helps stem German advance as do 4 more divisions.
French light FT-17 with Hotchkiss machine-gun passes Allied soldiers in the summer 1918:
https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-17-1.jpg?ssl=1
A British soldier taking cover as German artillery shells burst near him at Achicourt, France: © IWM (Q 11038):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...136371165892608
During May 250,000 US troops sail for France, record of 9 divisors land.
British bomb Karlsruhe, (78 casualties) and stop factory production for 1 hour.
Air-to-air combat over river Aisne costs 12 German and 17 French aircraft. Lieutenant Duncan Campbell (94th Aero Squadron) becomes first American air arm ace with his 5th victory. Total Allied May losses 362 aircraft and 24 balloons. German non-combat loss 175 aircraft and 201 in action.
A crashed RAF Sopwith F.1 Camel aircraft in France:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...863415860748289
French refugee woman with her dog at Dormans fleeing the German offensive: © IWM (Q 6689):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...772759028989953
American cavalryman at Rennes, France: © IWM (80360):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...802995447881728
The statue of St. Luke decapitated by the German bombing of the Madeleine church in Paris:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...833205346062336
Southern Front
Greek and French troops capture Bulgarian positions at Skra, taking over 2000 prisoners. Bulgarian prisoners of war:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...104953706635264
Naval and Overseas Operations
British destroyer HMS
Fairy sunk in collision with SM
UC-75, which also sinks. The
Fairy:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...166578698387457
President Lincoln, U.S. transport, torpedoed by
U-90; 26 dead.
During May Allied and neutral shipping lost to U-boats: 112 ships (59 British with 407 lives lost) worth 294,019t (192,432 British including ship mined). U-boat figure 139 ships worth 296,558t including most successful 1918 month in Mediterranean, 56 ships worth 122,7175t of which 12 (9,923t) to Austrians. Record of 14 U-boats sunk (3 in Mediterranean).
Mozambique: Fighting near Imagu Hills (160 miles north-east of Blantyre).
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: British bomb Turkish camps near Amman (Hejaz railway).
Political, etc
France: Paris munition plants: ‘
Morale of the workers is excellent’.
United Kingdom: War Savings certificates reach 2 million. In May Labour Ministry creates Appointments Department for officers. May’s 197,274t new merchant shipping a record.
Turkey: Great fire at Constantinople for 27 hours, causes 520,000 Turkish Pounds damage. Maximum prices abolished, trade made free.
Belgium: Gérard Cooreman succeeds Charles, Baron de Broqueville as Prime Minister.
United States: War Secretary can conscript conscientious objectors for unpaid farm work.
Frederick Trump, German-American businessman born in Kallstadt, Kingdom of Bavaria, has passed away in Queens, New York:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...878502524772357
Netherlands: Dutch Government refuses to tolerate British examination of convoyed ships.