Western Front
Battle of the Somme: British in see-saw action near Butte de Warlencourt; attack on Le Transloy. French capture most of Saillisel and attack St Pierre Vaust Wood (advance continues on November 6). Anzacs capture, then lose Bayonet Trench.
Battle of Verdun: French 9th Division reoccupies whole of Vaux.
Eastern Front
Romania: Austro-German success south-west of Predeal and south-east of Roter Turm Passes.
Southern Front
Italy: In the Travignolo Valley, Italian troops use bayonets to fend off five Austro-Hungarian attacks on their lines.
Naval and Overseas Operations
North Sea: High Seas Fleet destroyers with battlecruiser
Moltke and 3rd Battle Squadron rescue submarines
U-30 and
U-20 gone aground in fog off Borsbjerg, Denmark, but Royal Navy submarine
J.1 (Laurence) torpedoes battleships
Grosser Kurfürst and
Kronprinz forcing them back to harbor. The
U-20 was the submarine that had torpedoed the
Lusitania in May of the prior year, and had originally run around; the Germans worried about the propaganda value to the Allies of having captured or destroyed this submarine, and so originally attempted to tow it off the mud bank with the
U-30. Then the
U-30 itself got stuck, and the rescue effort cascaded from there. Eventually, the
U-30 was freed, but the Germans had to abandon the
U-20.
Political, etc.
Poland: Germany and Austria-Hungary proclaim ‘Independent State of Poland’, Polish recruiting for German Army announced (November 16) gains only 370 volunteers from November 22.
Polish Legion officers in Warsaw after the declaration of the Kingdom of Poland:
http://imgur.com/7KbAJ3s* © IWM (Q 70803)
Germany: German military report on the Somme, published in newspapers, declares that the Allied offensive is a failure.
United States: In Everett, Washington, “citizen deputies” and local law enforcement, working for the business of the town open fire on a peaceful demonstration by members of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), resulting in 7 deaths, 47 injuries.