1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919
1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929
1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939
1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
- The British Cabinet, hearing false rumours of Bolshevik atrocities at Irkutsk, Russia, sent a telegram to US President Wilson asking that he reconsider the proposal to land an Allied force in the Far East to safeguard the 600,000 tons of supplies and other interests at Vladivostok. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Allies decided to supply the Ukraine and Romania through Persia and Siberia in the event of a renewed German offensive in the east. It was further decided that, for this purpose, the Trans-Siberian railway must be brought under Allied control. This would naturally involve the commitment of ground troops to the region. ww2dbase [AC]
- Edmund Herring met Mary Ranken Lyle in Maryborough, Victoria, Australia. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- A British Emissary, R. H. Lockhart, was ordered to Russia to open relations with the Bolsheviks. ww2dbase [AC]
United States
- Joseph Stilwell boarded USMS New York at New York, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Erwin Rommel was given a staff position at the headquarters of the German LXIV Armeekorp. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Kasuga ran aground on a sand bank in the Bangka Strait in the Dutch East Indies. She would remain stuck in that position for five months. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Francis Tuker was promoted to the rank of captain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Netherlands
- Paul Wenneker was officially released from captivity by the Netherlands, but he would actually remain interned until Dec 1918. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell disembarked USMS New York at Le Havre, France and was assigned to the AEF General Headquarters in Chaumont, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The German battlecruiser Goeben and cruiser Breslau (both under the Turkish flag) and screened by four torpedo boats, under the command of Admiral von Rebeur Paschwitz sortied out of the Bosphorus (Istanbul Strait) into the Mediterranean Sea with the intent on bombarding the British naval base of Mudros bay on the island of Lemnos, Greece. Within half an hour of leaving the Dardanelles the Goeben struck a mine. The damage was not that serious but did force the accompanying torpedo boats to turn back. ww2dbase [AC]
- General Tabouis, commander of the French military mission at Kiev, Ukraine, ordered the Czech Corps (under General Lafont to take up battle stations at Vinnitsa, Ukraine with the Polish Corps on its right and the Romanian army on its left) to counter a possible German thrust across the Vinnitsa-Mogilev line. The Czechs however refused to carry out the order which effectively destroyed any hope of Allied unity in the Ukraine. ww2dbase [AC]
- Off Trukey, after firing on the Cape Kephalo lookout at Imbros Island and sinking the Royal Navy monitors Lord Raglan and M28 in Kusi Bay, German Admiral von Rebeur Paschwitz positioned his ships to bombard Mudros Bay. At 0830 hours however, the Breslau struck a mine, and almost at the same time a British aircraft, from Imbris, hit her with a bomb. The battlecruiser Goeben turned to try and take the stricken cruiser in tow, but also exploded a mine and began to list to port. The helpless Breslau drifted over four more mines which also detonated and blew off her stern. Within minutes the Cruiser sank with the loss of two thirds of her 370-man crew. Admiral Paschwitz abandoned his mission and, under constant air attack, made haste back towards the Dardanelles which he reached (after running over another mine) but then ran aground at Nagara Point. It would take a week before the battlecruiser could be pulled free during which time she would suffer more heavy damage from air attack. ww2dbase [AC]
- While conducting a night exercise, Chuichi Nagumo's destroyer Kisaragi collided with sailing vessel Miyajima Maru; Nagumo was sentenced to two days in the brig. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Russia
- Ukrainian delegates traveled to Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now in Belarus) to take part in the peace talks. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Cossacks formed a Military Revolutionary Committee and deposed Russian General Alexei Kaledin. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Bolsheviks set up their own government at Kharkov and invaded the Ukraine. They ran into some resistance from the 1st Polish Corps, but this was quickly overcome and the Poles were forced to withdraw westward into German-held territory, where they surrendered. ww2dbase [AC]
United Kingdom
- The first aeroplane to be shot down by a night fighter was a German Gotha brought down by British Captain G. H. Hackwell and Lieutenant C. C. Banks during a raid on London, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [AC]
- George Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Russian Orthodox Church was formally separated from the state. Religious belief was still permitted by the regime provided it did not threaten public order or trespass into politics. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Council of People's Commissars (the Soviet governing body) formally declared the formation of the Red Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
- William Halsey was promoted to the rank of commander. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- 2nd Lieutenant Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German Albatros aircraft from his Breguet 14 biplane, while undergoing operational training, marking the first confirmed victory for the US Air Service. ww2dbase [AC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell departed from the AEF General Headquarters in Chaumont, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Bolsheviks captured Kiev which brought the entire Ukraine effectively under their control. ww2dbase [AC]
Japan
- Masafumi Arima returned to Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British Director of Naval Construction began planning the conversion of battleship Almirante Cochrane, still under construction, into a carrier. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was attached to the British 58th Division in the La Fère Sector in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The deposed Don Cossack leader, Russian General Alexi M. Kaledin, shot himself. ww2dbase [AC]
- Robert Greim claimed a kill in aerial combat over France but it was not confirmed. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
China
- Rear Admiral Kametaro Muta was named the chief of staff of Admiral Teijiro Kuroi (Ryojun Military Port, northeastern China). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was promoted to the rank of major and became the commanding officer of No. 112 Squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Junichi Sasai was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British Rear Admiral T. W. Kemp, commanding the Murmansk Squadron, fearing a German attack northwards towards the vital Allied supply ports of Archangel and Murmansk (both held by the Bolsheviks) signaled the Admiralty to send 6,000 troops to northern Russia to form a defensive garrison. It was two weeks before he received a negative reply-there were no troops available and Kemp was expressly forbidden to engage in military action to protect the ports. ww2dbase [AC]
- Friedrich Christiansen shot down a British H12B flying boat off Felixstowe, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was assigned to an army intelligence course at Langres, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The nation of Lithuania was established. ww2dbase [TH]
- Lockhart, the British unofficial emissary to the Bolsheviks, held his first meeting with Trotsky. His encouraging report back to London, England, United Kingdom indicated that the latter appeared to hold great bitterness towards the Germans. ww2dbase [AC]
- Robert Greim achieved his 8th kill over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Central Powers, unable to break the deadlock in the peace talks at Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now in Belarus), ordered their forces to move forward and occupy the territories that they were demanding under the peace terms. The German offensive took the Bolsheviks completely by surprise and an Anglo-French offer of military aid was readily accepted in Petrograd, Russia, even by a reluctant Lenin who realised that the renewed conflict with Germany was a major setback to the Bolshevik revolution. ww2dbase [AC]
- Russian General Mikhail Alekseev's exhausted Volunteer Army, its situation untenable and sadly in need of recruits and supplies, was forced to evacuate Rostov, Russia and retreated into the steppes south of the Don. ww2dbase [AC]
Germany
- Arthur Scherbius patented the idea of a cipher machine; it was to be introduced to the commercial market as the Enigma machine in 1923. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Although the Red Army was declared by the Council of People's Commissars (the Soviet governing body) one month prior, this date was considered the birth of the Red Army. ww2dbase [CPC]
Russia
- Following the suicide of Ataman Alexey Kaledin and the departure of Lavr Kornilov's "Volunteer Army", a "Red" Cossack leader, V. S. Golubov, broke into the Parliament building at Novocherkassk, Russia forcibly dissolving the Krug (the parliament of the Don Cossacks) and then shot the new Ataman, Anatoly Nazarov, and several leading politicians. The reaction to the killing of the elected head of the Cossack State was instantaneous - General Popov, leader of the Don forces, deserted, with indecent haste, with 1,500 men (leaving behind an almost equal number to men to face the oncoming Reds). ww2dbase [AC]
- Rear Admiral John D. McDonald was named the commanding officer of New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Pyotr Masherov was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Douglas MacArthur assisted in capturing a number of German prisoners during a trench raid. For this action, French Major General Georges de Bazelaire later awarded MacArthur with the Croix de guerre, the first such award given to a member of the American Expeditionary Force. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Taiwan
- Settsu departed Mako, Hoko Prefecture, Taiwan to patrol the Chinese coast. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was attached to the AEF General Headquarters in Chaumont, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British Royal Navy purchased the under construction hull of battleship Almirante Cochrane; she was ordered to be converted to become an aircraft carrier. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Murmansk Soviet informed Petrograd, Russia that the Allied missions continued to be well inclined towards supporting the Bolsheviks and were willing to provide military aid and food supplies. ww2dbase [AC]
- President Wilson drafted a message stating that he had no objection to an Allied request for a Japanese intervention in Siberia. But under pressure from his special adviser Colonel E. House, he was actually persuaded to compile a second note in which he stated that the US Government felt that such a Japanese intervention might be playing into the hands of the enemies of the Russian revolution (for which the US Government held the greatest sympathy). ww2dbase [AC]
- Friedrich Ruge was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Masafumi Arima departed for an overseas tour. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Trotsky told the Murmansk Soviet to fully co-operate with the Allies. ww2dbase [AC]
Japan
- Settsu arrived at Sasebo, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Russia signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk, Russia (now in Belarus). Its fourteen articles reduced the territorial possessions of Russia to those of Muscovy before the time of Peter the Great. Poland, the Baltic Provinces and the Ukraine were all surrendered as well as a third of Russia's population. ww2dbase [AC]
- Kurt Fricke was awarded Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British Admiral Kemp, with the full approval of the Murmansk Soviet (and it could be argued with that of Trotsky himself) put 130 Royal Marines ashore, the first Allied troops to set foot on Russian soil. Amidst considerable ceremony the Marines marched through the town to their barracks. Kemps flagship HMS Glory fired a salute to the Red Banner; the salute being cordially returned by a gunnery detail aboard the Russian battleship Chesma. ww2dbase [AC]
- The cruiser HMS Cochrane arrived at Murmansk, Russia to reinforce Admiral Kemp's Squadron. ww2dbase [AC]
- Kurt Fricke was made aide-de-camp to the commander of the torpedo boats. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Douglas MacArthur led a company of the US 168th Infantry Regiment during raids on German trenches in the Salient du Feys, France. For this action, MacArthur was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Japan
- Tenryu was launched at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan. Commander Kanzo Kakuta was named the Chief Equipping Officer. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
- James Doolittle was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant in the US Army Reserve. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Russia
- The Soviet government relocated from Petrograd to Moscow in Russia. Many of the government offices were housed in the Moscow Kremlin. Vladmir Lenin and Joseph Stalin also maintained personal quarters in the complex. ww2dbase [Main Article | Facility | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell departed the AEF General Headquarters in Chaumont, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Douglas MacArthur led US Secretary of War Newton Baker on a tour near the front lines. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The French cruiser Amiral Aube arrived at Murmansk, Russia to join Admiral Kemp's Squadron. ww2dbase [AC]
- Admiral William S. Sims, commander of the US Naval forces in European waters, asked Washington to provide a warship to join the British and French naval force assembling at Murmansk, Russia. After consultation with the State Department, Admiral Benson, the Chief of Naval Operations, signaled back that no American ship could be spared to operate in north Russian water. Sims however continued to press for a reversal of the decision and after a few days Benson relented and ordered the cruiser USS Olympia to proceed to Murmansk. ww2dbase [AC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was attached to the French 17th Corps in the Verdun Sector in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Germans opened their last great offensive on the western front, the Ludendorff offensive. ww2dbase [AC]
- The British War Cabinet continued to press for American support to the idea of asking the Japanese to intervene in Siberia (to protect the war stores at Vladivostok, Russia). Colonel House, the US President's special adviser admitted that while he was impressed by the British argument he was not at all impressed by the attitude of the Japanese themselves. President Wilson refused to even discuss the subject of intervention. ww2dbase [AC]
- Robert Greim achieved his 9th kill over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The French began negotiations with the Japanese to provide ships to evacuate the Czech Legion from Vladivostok, Russia. The Japanese replied that no ships could be made immediately available, and similar requests to the British and American Governments met with a similar response. For the time being the Czechs would have to employed only in support of Ataman Semenov, the Siberian Cossack leader, or of a Japanese intervention force. ww2dbase [AC]
- George Patton, commanding officer of the American Tank School in France, received his first 10 light tanks by train; he personally backed 7 of them from the train. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Captain J. L. Trollope of No. 43 Squadron RFC in a Sopwith Camel aircraft shot down six enemy aircraft in a single day. ww2dbase [AC]
- The USS Olympia arrived at Murmansk, Russia. Her captain placed the ship under Admiral Kemp's orders. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Bolsheviks seized the telegraph office in Vladivostok, Russia; the staff immediately went on strike resulting in a complete breakdown of communication with the outside world. ww2dbase [AC]
- Edward Uhl was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- US Navy Ensign John F. McNamara, operating from RNAS Portland, Dorset, England, United Kingdom, became the first US naval aviator to make an attack on an enemy submarine. ww2dbase [AC]
Russia
- Admiral Austin Knight, Commander-in-Chief of the US Asiatic Fleet (flying his flag in the USS Brooklyn) reported that a strong contingent of Red Guards, with at least three German officers among then, had arrived in Vladivostok, Russia. Two days later he reported that the Bolsheviks had begun to remove allied war supplies at the rate of forty railway truckloads per day. ww2dbase [AC]
- Thomas Masaryk's Czech Legion commenced its move from Kiev to Vladivostok in accordance with an agreement made with Moscow earlier in the year that the 30,000-man Czech force (many of whose senior officers were Russians) should be transferred to the Western Front. ww2dbase [AC]
- Karl von Le Suire was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- George Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was promoted to the rank of temporary captain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British Royal Air Force was created out of the uniting of the Army’s Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy Air Service. It was be the world's first independent air service. ww2dbase [AC]
- Kurt Fricke was awarded Friedrich August Cross 1st Class of Oldenburg. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Three armed men wearing Russian uniforms entered the Japanese shipping office in Vladivostok, Russia and demanded money. When the staff refused the raiders opened fire wounding three clerks, one of them fatally. ww2dbase [AC]
- A Japanese intervention force of 500 naval infantry disembarked at Vladivostok, Russia on the order of Admiral Kato; the Captain of HMS Suffolk also landed fifty Royal Marines to guard the British consulate. The Soviet government responded by halting all eastward movement on the Trans-Siberian railway and for a while it looked as if the Czech Legion would not be able to reach the port at all. ww2dbase [AC]
- Westcott was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- With mounting distrust of the Bolshevik authorities, delegates from the Czech Legion Units decided that no further arms should be handed over to the Reds. They also made plans to seize fuel and rolling stock along the railway if their movement to Vladivostok,Russia was further impeded. ww2dbase [AC]
- Submarine S-31 was laid down in San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was promoted to the rank of temporary major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- Joseph Rochefort enlisted in the United States Navy. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Canadian Captain Roy Brown of No. 209 Squadron RFC probably shot down and killed the famous Red Baron, German ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen. ww2dbase [AC]
- Lieutenant Paul Baer shot down his fifth enemy aircraft while in US service to become the first ace of the American Expeditionary Force. ww2dbase [AC]
- Gordon Hirabayashi was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Friedrich Christiansen shot down a British H12B flying boat. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- A Medium Mark A Whippet tank was destroyed by a German A7V tank in the world's second tank battle, and the first tank-to-tank battle, in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Friedrich Christiansen shot down a British H12B flying boat. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Germany
- Robert Greim was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Hyuga was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | Tabular Record of Movement | CPC]
- Joseph Stilwell was attached to the AEF General Headquarters in Chaumont, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Supreme War Council proposed that those Czech Legion units that have not yet made their way to Vladivostok, Russia should instead turn northwards to link up with the Allied forces from Archangel to establish a new eastern front line. The proposal was put to the Bolshevik authorities in Moscow by the French Military Mission and after some discussion Trotsky gave his consent. ww2dbase [AC]
India
- John Birch was born in Landour, northern India. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Joseph Rochefort was activated by the United States Navy with the rating of Electrician 3rd Class at San Pedro, California, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The first 8,000 men of the Czech Legion arrived in Vladivostok, Russia. But there was still no sign of shipping to take them out. The Legion had by this time grown to around 70,000 men including many new recruits picked up from prisoner of war camps en route. Although the decision had been taken weeks before, nobody in Vladivostok or in the Legion (which was strung out along the railway from the Kiev to Vladivostok) had been made aware of the Allies plan to link up with the forces at Archangel. The Japanese refused to co-operate and with no other real control or information about the Legion's future, many in the Legion were growing acutely suspicious of both the Bolsheviks and the Allies motives. ww2dbase [AC]
Russia
- Trouble flared on the Trans-Siberian railway at Chelyabinsk, Russia when a train carrying Hungarian prisoners of war who were being repatriated under the terms of the Brest-Litovsk treaty drew up alongside several trains filled with troops of the 3rd and 6th Czech regiment. The Czechs had been kept there for several days waiting for authority to continue, and their tempers were badly frayed and the sight of these Austrians on their way home did nothing to improve matters. Insults were hurled between the trains, and a Czech soldier was injured by a piece of iron thrown by a Hungarian. Impassioned the Czech soldiers boarded the Hungarian train preventing it from leaving, seized and lynched the culprit. A detachment of Red Guards now arrived on the scene and took away a number of Czechs to a nearby town to be held as witnesses pending an inquiry. When two days later a Czech officer went to secure their release he was arrested and imprisoned. The Czechs were furious; forming two battalions they marched on the town and forced the Soviets to hand over the imprisoned men and also seizing a quantity of weapons from the town arsenal. ww2dbase [AC]
- George Welch was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Prince Naruhiko married Princess Toshiko, ninth daughter of Emperor Meiji. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Delegates from the seventy-odd troop trains spread out along the Trans-Siberian railway gathered at Chelyabinsk, Russia for a General Congress. The Czechs now learned, via the French Military Mission in Moscow, of the Allied intention to re-route the Legion units still west of Omsk to Archangel. The Congress decided that such a division of the Legion's strength was unacceptable and rejected the idea in the face of strong protests from the French representatives present. Meanwhile, Russian leader Leon Trotsky ordered all Bolshevik organizations along the Trans-Siberian railway to disarm the Czech legion. ww2dbase [AC]
- USS New Mexico was commissioned into service under the command of Captain Ashley Herman Robertson. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United Kingdom
- The British War Cabinet decided to despatch a 560-man force to Arkhangelsk in northern Russia, whose task it would be to train Russian forces in the area and to reorganize the Czech Corps making its way northwards from the Ukraine. In addition it was proposed to reinforce the Marines at Murmansk, Russia with a force of 600 infantry, machine-gunners and engineers under the command of Major General Sir Charles Maynard. ww2dbase [AC]
- Leon Trotsky repeated his order that the Czech Legion in Russia was to be disarmed and added that any Czech soldier found armed on the Trans-Siberian Railway was to be shot on the spot, and that any trains containing even one armed man were to be arrested and interned. To the Czechs this was nothing short of a declaration of war and that the only course open to them was to fight their way through to Vladivostok in eastern Russia. Before nightfall that day the Czechs had captured Marinsk and Marinova and disarmed two trainloads of Red Guards. ww2dbase [AC]
- In Siberia, Russia, the Czech legion captured Chelyabinsk and Novonikolayevsk. ww2dbase [AC]
- In Siberia, Russia, the Czech Legion captured Penza. ww2dbase [AC]
- The British Cabinet seceded that a large scale Allied intervention in Russia was now an inevitable necessity and that all possible pressure should be brought to bear on US President Wilson to persuade him to agree to it. ww2dbase [AC]
- Prince Hiroyasu's second child, Princess Yasuko, married Marquis Nagatake Asano. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Richard O'Connor was Mentioned in Despatches. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was awarded the Distinguished Service Order award. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- In Siberia, Russia, the Czech Legion captured Petropavlovsk and Tomsk. ww2dbase [AC]
- Yoshijiro Umezu was promoted to the rank of major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Kichisaburo Nomura stepped down as the naval attaché to the United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Muriel Byck was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was attached the the G-2 Section of US 2nd Corps in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Dixie Kiefer graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | DS]
- In Siberia, Russia, the Czech Legion captured Omsk. ww2dbase [AC]
- While in France, George Brett was promoted to the temporary rank of major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Edward Brooks was promoted to the rank of captain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Carrier Eagle was launched at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- The Germans began a new drive that threatened Paris, France; the position was critical, with the enemy's advance units only thirty-seven miles from the French capital. ww2dbase [AC]
- The British and French Governments asked the United States to send three battalions of infantry to North Russia. Although the US Government reluctantly agreed it would be three months before any American troops actually arrived. ww2dbase [AC]
Taiwan
- Vice Admiral Kazuyoshi Yamaji was named the commanding officer of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- The keel of submarine S-35 was laid down at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation yard in San Francisco, California, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Joseph Stilwell was temporarily unassigned from the G-2 Section of the US 2nd Corps in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British Major General Maynard and his command embarked on the ship City of Marseilles at Newcastle, England, United Kingdom for Russia. ww2dbase [AC]
- Robert Greim achieved his 15th kill over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Carrier Eagle was towed to Armstrong-Whitworth's High Walker yard on the Tyne River in England, United Kingdom for fitting out. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Maggiore Francesco Baracca, the leading Italian fighter ace of the war with 34 kills, was killed by Austrian ground fire over the Piave river in northeastern Italy. ww2dbase [AC]
- Joseph Stilwell was made the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, US 4th Corps in Toul Sector of France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British Major General Maynard and his command arrived at Murmansk, Russia after a 5-day journey from Britain. ww2dbase [AC]
- At Vladivostok, Russia, the Czech Legion, still convinced that they were to play their part in opening a new front against the Germans, decided to strike westwards again, after first deposing of the Vladivostok Soviet and bringing the town under Allied control. ww2dbase [AC]
- Douglas MacArthur was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general, making him the youngest general in the American Expeditionary Force. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Lenin and Trotsky were outraged by the arrival of British force at Murmansk, Russia under Major General Maynard, especially when it was learnt that one of the Allies intentions was to link up with the Czech Legion. Trotsky ordered Alexei M. Yuryev, the head of the Murmansk Soviet, to immediately break off relations with the Allies, but Yuryev declined to obey on the grounds that Murmansk was totally dependant on the Allies for food and essential supplies. Lenin reacted by ordering 3,000 Bolshevik troops northwards from Petrograd by train to bring the Murmansk area under full Bolshevik military control. Maynard, meanwhile, had set off with his Brigade Major, his adjutant, an intelligence officer and a platoon of British Infantry on a tour of inspection. The two groups met at Kandalaksha. The commander of the Red train was drunk and very belligerent, but while the Russian was still trying to make up his mind what to do, Maynard deployed his troops to give the impression that the Bolsheviks were surrounded by a much larger force than Maynard actually had. The bluff worked and after a lot of hard talking the Bolshevik commander was persuaded to abandon his mission and turn around. Maynard found two more Bolshevik trains at Kem and these too were persuaded to hand over their weapons and turn back. ww2dbase [AC]
- William Leahy was promoted to the rank of captain. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British War Cabinet recommended that an additional 5,000 troops be sent to northern Russia to reinforce General Poole's command; this force was to advance from Archangel southwards to the rail junction at Vologda to link up with Czech corps to form a rallying point for the Russian attempting to stop the Germans. The Supreme War Council gave its approval to the plan. Britain agreed to send 1,200 troops, the French government consented to provide a battalion of Colonial Infantry and the US government agreed to send troops to guard military stores (although a suggestion that the US should provide an Infantry Brigade was refused). ww2dbase [AC]
- US President Wilson approached the Japanese Government with a plan to rescue the Czech Legion (confining military operations to eastern Siberia only with no more than 12,000 Japanese troops to be employed). ww2dbase [AC]
- Friedrich Christiansen strafed British submarine HMS C25 in the Thames estuary in southern England, United Kingdom, killing its captain and five crewmen. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Masafumi Arima returned to Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was appointed the commanding officer of No. 151 Squadron RAF. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Franklin Roosevelt departed Washington Naval Shipyard in Washington DC, United States aboard USS Dyer. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British Government, mainly to pressure the Americans into making up their minds, announced that the 25th (Garrison) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment would be transferred from Hong Kong to Vladivostok, Russia. The battalion would disembark in Russia on the same day that the first contingent of Japanese also arrived (followed forty eight hours later by 1,150 men of a French Colonial Infantry Battalion). ww2dbase [AC]
- The Japanese dreadnaught Kawachi was lost with 700 men in Tokuyama Bay, Japan, following an explosion of defective cordite in the ship's magazine. ww2dbase [AC]
Austria
- Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was born in Salzburg, Austria. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Walther von Brauchitsch was promoted to the rank of Major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Waterhen was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Omar Bradley was promoted to the temporary rank of major. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Henry Arnold's son William Bruce Arnold was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- The armoured cruiser USS San Diego (formerly the USS California) was lost after hitting a mine 10 miles off Fire Island, New York, United States. ww2dbase [AC]
United Kingdom
- Franklin Roosevelt arrived at Plymouth, England, United Kingdom aboard USS Dyer. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Danae was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Japan
- Settsu was assigned to Battleship Division 1 of the First Fleet. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Iwane Matsui was promoted to the rank of colonel. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- General Heitaro Utsunomiya was named the commanding officer of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea, relieving Satoshi Matsukawa. ww2dbase [CPC]
France
- Douglas MacArthur was given command on the brigade level in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Douglas MacArthur received his third Silver Star medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Captain G. E. Chaplin of the Imperial Russian Navy landed with a small task force of (white) Russians at Archangel, Russia. The demoralised Bolsheviks put up only a limited resistance in the area of the docks and railway station, and by the end of the day the "Whites" had taken the town with only a few casualties. ww2dbase [AC]
- The Royal Navy landed a small force of Marines on Modyngski Island, commanding the approach to Archangel, Russia. ww2dbase [AC]
- George Brett was attached to the Director of Military Aeronautics of the US Army in Washington DC, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The first elements of the Japanese 12th Infantry Division went ashore at Vladivostok, Russia. ww2dbase [AC]
Russia
- In the early hours, eighteen officers and 503 other ranks of the 25th (Garrison) battalion of the British Middlesex Regiment, each man carrying 120 rounds of ammunition and in full marching order left Vladivostok station in Russia and proceeded up the line towards Nikolsk, which was reached about dawn. After a halt the battalion commanding officer, Colonel John Ward, decided to make his forward base at Spassk. ww2dbase [AC]
France
- Robert Greim was named the commanding officer of Jagdgruppe 9 and achieved his 16th kill over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Future Dambuster leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, was born at Simia, India. ww2dbase [AC]
United States
- Joseph Rochefort applied for the transfer to the United States Naval Reserve Flying Corps; this request would soon be denied. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Chiaki Matsuda was assigned to battleship Haruna. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Dragon was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The 27th United States Infantry was transferred from the Philippines to Vladivoskok, Russia. They were followed by the 31st US Infantry a week later. ww2dbase [AC]
Japan
- Settsu was assigned to Battleship Division 2 of the First Fleet. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- British battlecruiser Hood was launched. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Submarine R-1 was launched, sponsored by Mrs. George W. Dashiell. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- Ann Baumgartner was born in Augusta, Georgia, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Ukraine
- Crown Prince Carol married Joanna Marie Valentina Lambrino at the Cathedral Church of Odessa, Ukraine. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Russia
- The VCheKa (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Speculation, Sabotage and Misconduct in Office) issued the order to arrest members of all political parties except for the Bolsheviks, businessmen, land owners, and priests, setting the precedence for similar mass-arrests of "enemies of the people" of the Stalin-era. ww2dbase [CPC]
Japan
- Rear Admiral Danichi Nanri was made the commanding officer of Maizuru Naval Arsenal in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

- Argus was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- Franklin Roosevelt arrived in New York, New York, United States via passenger ship Leviathan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- The United States Navy denied Joseph Rochefort's request to transfer to the Naval Reserve Flying Corps. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Harold George was transferred to 139th Aero Squadron in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The German government issued a diplomatic protest against the American use of shotguns against German soldiers in the trenches, noting that they caused "unnecessary suffering". ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Wayne Miller was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]


United States
- George Brett stepped down as the Director of Military Aeronautics of the US Army in Washington DC, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- US Navy Lieutenant David S. Ingalls, on exchange with No. 213 Squadron RAF, shared the destruction of a German Rumpler in his Sopwith Camel aircraft, becoming the only US Navy fighter Ace of World War I. ww2dbase [AC]
- Douglas MacArthur participated in a raid on German lines that began after nightfall and lasted through the next morning. For this action, he was later awarded his sixth Silver Star medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- George Patton was injured in the leg during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

- At the Battle of Canal du Nord in France, Lord Gort led his men to advance under heavy fire despite being wounded. He would later win the Victoria Cross. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Robert Greim achieved his 25th kill over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Australian horsemen of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade entered Damascus in the Ottoman Empire, capturing 12,000 prisoners and scores of guns and machine guns. ww2dbase [AC]
- Claude Eatherly was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Edward Brooks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions at Montfaucon, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Major Ralph Sasse of the 301st Battalion of the American Expeditionary Forces made the first recorded use of a radio equipped tank when he called up assistance to help repel an attack at the village of Brancourt, France. ww2dbase [AC]
- Douglas MacArthur was injured by a German chemical weapon. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Germany
- Robert Greim was awarded the Pour le Mérite medal. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- George Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of colonel. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The British Army entered Lille, France, ending four years of German occupation. ww2dbase [AC]
- Erwin Rommel was promoted to the rank of Hauptmann. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The nation of Czechoslovakia was established. ww2dbase [TH]
- Kichisaburo Nomura was made the commanding officer of armored cruiser Yakumo. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Germany
- Robert Greim was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph, which added the honorific Ritter and the style von to his name, ie. Robert Ritter von Greim. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Edmund Herring was promoted to the rank of acting major and took command of B Battery, 99th Field Artillery Brigade of the British Army. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Harold George scored his first victory near Bantheville, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Germany
- Karl von Le Suire was awarded the Wound Badge in Black. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Settsu hosted Emperor Taisho during a naval review off Yokohama, Japan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
France
- Harold George shared two victories with squadron mates over France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Germany
- The German Navy was ordered to sea to seek out the British fleets for a final desperate battle. The sailors at the ports of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven in Germany refused and mutinied. ww2dbase [AC]
- Ottoman ministers signed the Armistice of Mudros on board the Royal Navy warship, HMS Agamemnon, ending the Turkish war against the Allies. Fighting was to stop the following day. The Ottoman capital, Constantinople, was occupied two weeks later. ww2dbase [AC]
Japan
- Masafumi Arima was assigned to destroyer Uzuki. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Major General Toyoshi Ono was named the chief of staff of the Japanese Chosen Army in occupied Korea. ww2dbase [CPC]
United States
- Bob Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- After nightfall, the US 42nd Division launched an offensive on Sedan, France. During the confusion of battle, Douglas MacArthur was mistaken for a German general and was captured by men of the US 1st Division. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Settsu completed her duty as the host to Emperor Taisho. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Chiaki Matsuda was assigned to cruiser Azuma as a supplementary guidance officer. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Communist revolutionary Karl Liebknecht, a forty-seven-year-old lawyer and one time member of the German Reichstag, and Rosa Luxemburg, an intellectual theorist raised the Red Flag over the Imperial Palace in Berlin, Germany and proclaimed the establishment of the Spartakusbund (Spartakus Gruppe) to oppose Ebert's new Socialist government. ww2dbase [AC]
- Prince Maximilian handed the German Chancellorship to the moderate social democrat leader, Freidrich Ebert, desperately hoping the appointment might prevent a Bolshevik style revolution. Ebert too demands the Kaiser's abdication. ww2dbase [AC]
- Douglas MacArthur was appointed the commander of the US 42nd Division at the rank of temporary major general. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Andrew McNaughton was promoted to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Kaiser Wilhelm II, the man blamed for WW1, went into exile in neutral Netherlands. ww2dbase [AC]
- Captain Kosaburo Uchida was named the commanding officer of Settsu. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The armistice between the Allies and Germany went into effect at 1100 hours, ending WW1. ww2dbase [TH, CPC]
- Friedrich Christiansen scored his 13th solo kill, bringing his total to 21 (which included shared victories). ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Canadian troops entered the town of Mons, Belgium, scene of the first British battle of the war. It was to be the last major action of the war. ww2dbase [AC]
- Henry Arnold arrived on the front lines in France as the war was coming to an end. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The nation of Poland was established. ww2dbase [TH]
Hungary
- The Hungarian Republic was established. ww2dbase [TH]

- USS Arizona departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The nation of Latvia was established. ww2dbase [TH]
- Douglas MacArthur was transferred to the US 84th Infantry Brigade. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- Submarine R-5 was launched at Quincy, Massachusetts, United States, sponsored by Miss Margaretta King. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The nation of Yugoslavia was established. ww2dbase [TH]

- German Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who had been conducting a successful campaign in east Africa since 1914, surrendered at the Zambezi River in southern Africa. ww2dbase [AC]
- Lord Gort was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry exhibited at the Battle of Canal du Nord in France on 27 Sep 1918. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Arizona arrived at Portland, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Tamon Yamaguchi was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Chuichi Nagumo studied an advanced course at the Japanese naval war college. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union was signed, establishing Iceland as a fully sovereign state in a personal union with Denmark for 25 years. ww2dbase [CPC]
- Vice Admiral Tatsuo Matsumura succeeded Admiral Teijiro Kuroi as the commanding officer of the Ryojun Military Port (previously known as Port Arthur; now Lushunkou, Liaoning Province, China), Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Masafumi Arima was promoted to the rank of sublieutenant. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Vice Admiral Hiromi Tadokoro was named the commanding officer of Chinkai Guard District in southern Korea. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Rear Admiral Yoshitada Mikami was named the Chief of Staff of the Mako naval port at Pescadores islands, Taiwan. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Joseph Rochefort reported to the headquarters of the United States Naval Auxiliary Reserve at the ferry terminal in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Quintin Brand was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross award. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Richard O'Connor was Mentioned in Despatches. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- US President Woodrow Wilson departed the United States for the post-WW1 peace talks at Versailles, France, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office. ww2dbase [CPC]
Netherlands
- Paul Wenneker was released from Dutch internment even though he had officially been released in Jan 1918. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Arizona departed Portland, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Arizona, among other ships, escorted the ship carrying US President Woodrow Wilson to Brest, France. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS Arizona departed Brest, France after embarking 238 American servicemen. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- The Coupon Election: A general election was called by Lloyd George, leader of the British Liberal-Conservative coalition government. Coalition candidates received a letter of endorsement from Lloyd George and the conservative leader Bonar Law. Their opponents, chiefly Liberals who opposed Lloyd George and supported Asquith and Labour candidates contemptuously called this "the coupon". The coalition, mostly Conservatives, won overwhelmingly. ww2dbase [AC]
- USS R-1 was commissioned into service, Commander Conant Taylor in command. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Kenkichi Ueda was made a staff officer attached to the Siberian Expeditionary Army. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Russia
- The first Soviet military intelligence organization, Military Department or VO, was formed as part of VCheKa (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Speculation, Sabotage and Misconduct in Office). ww2dbase [CPC]
- Stuart was commissioned into service. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Erwin Rommel was transferred back to the 124th Infantry Regiment of the Wüttemberg Army. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Josef Stroop arrived in Detmold, Germany to recuperate from combat wounds. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- USS Arizona arrived at New York City, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
United States
- USS Arizona participated in a fleet review in New York Harbor, New York, United States for US Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- USS New Mexico participated in the naval review in New York, New York, United States. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]


- Edward Brooks' daughter Elizabeth was born. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
- Submarine S-31 was launched, sponsored by Mrs. George A. Walker. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]

- American transport West Caruth was launched at 0800 hours, sponsored by Betty Howard, daughter of the company vice president of Southwestern Shipbuilding, William Howard. ww2dbase [Main Article | CPC]
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
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George Patton, 31 May 1944