Western Front
British capture two minor posts near Beaumont Hamel.
Eastern Front
Dobruja: Dobruja entirely cleared of Russians and Romanians.
Baltic Provinces: Battle of the Aa (until February 3): Surprise Russian Twelfth Army (Radko) offensive with 2 Latvian brigades (3 other regiments refuse to attack, 94 soldiers executed), without prelim shelling, between Lake Babit and Tirul Marsh, west of Riga. It gains 4 miles plus 8,000 PoWs and 36 guns by January 11 despite German counter attacks from January 11-13.
Romania: Braila (Rumania) taken by German forces. (also listed for yesterday); 1,400 soldiers and six machine guns are also captured.
Central Powers advance at various points on Romanian front, especially between the rivers Rimnic and Buzeu.
Southern Front
Salonika: Sarrail and Milne attend Rome Conference, (see Political developments, below), but Italians decline to reinforce them although former impresses Lloyd George. General Sir H Wilson temporarily in command of Salonika Army (January 3-10). British 65th Brigade raid on Akinjali village only takes 4 PoWs.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: Battle of Kut-el-Amara begins.
Naval and Overseas Operations
Biscay: French steamer
Alphonse Conseil escapes twice only to be caught after 15-hour chase (until January 6) during SM U-48’s patrol claiming 11 ships worth 27,000t.
Black Sea: 4 Russian pre-Dreadnought battleships, 1 cruiser and 3 destroyers sink 39 Turk sailing coasters off Anatolia (until January 9).
East Africa: British occupy Kibambawe in Rufiji valley.
Political, etc.
Germany: (Special 1919): The German Workers' Party, the forerunner to the Nazi Party, was founded by Anton Drexler.
Italy: Inter-Allied Conference assembles in Rome to discuss co-operation, and the questions of Macedonia, Greece, the command of the Salonika expedition and to convene a shipping conference. (Discussions continued on the 6th and 7th.) Fifth Meeting of Allied military and political leaders. Cadorna asks for 8 divisions and 300 heavy guns (later 10 divisions and 400 guns) to capture Laibach and Trieste and so eliminate Austria. Anglo-French only willing to lend guns till April (Western Front offensive), first month when Italian large-scale operations possible. Conference also acts to improve communications to Salonika via Southern Italy.
Belgium: Lieutenant-General Félix Wielemans, Belgian Army Chief of Staff, died due to pneumonia contracted in the trenches:
http://imgur.com/LVYytO4
Netherlands: After negotiations, the Netherlands agrees to export 220 pounds of fresh pork to Germany for 176 pounds sent to England.