The following events occurred in April 1918:
April 1, 1918 (Monday)
The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged to form the Royal Air Force, the first autonomous air force in the world. The first Royal Air Force groups were established including No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12, No. 13, No. 14, No. 15, No. 16, No. 19, and No. 22. The Royal Air Force established air squadrons No. 150, No. 187, No. 205, No. 221, No. 222, and No. 227. The Royal Air Force Police was established, with 500 officers and 20,000 non-commissioned officers in the force by the end of World War I. March Days – Soviet-Armenian forces bombarded Baku, Azerbaijan during a crackdown against a Musavat revolt in the city. By evening, a delegation from Musavat met and agreed to sign an ultimatum to order all those involved in the revolt to stand down if shelling ceased. During the British retreat from Jordan, the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment was attacked by locals from a nearby village. The ensuing firefight resulted in 18 casualties. Federal militia exchanged fire with armed protesters against conscription in Quebec City on Easter Monday, resulting in five deaths and hundreds of injuries. Total damages from the weekend of rioting were estimated at $300,000.Auger, Martin F. "On the Brink of Civil War: The Canadian Government and the Suppression of the 1918 Quebec Easter Riots" Canadian Historical Review 89/4 (2008), pp. 15-17 Royal Navy destroyer was cut in two by trawler in the North Sea during a routine convoy patrol. All crew were rescued although a crewman died from his injuries. Scottish shipbuilder Henry Robb formed his own shipbuilding company in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. Sapporo Agricultural College in Sapporo, Japan took the university-level agricultural program from Tohoku University, and was renamed Hokkaido University to reflect its new academic status as one of the nine Imperial Universities of Japan. The city of Capreol, Ontario was established and remained an independent community until 2002 when it was amalgamated with Sudbury. The Mama Parsi Girls Secondary School was established in Karachi, British India (now Pakistan). Born: Utako Okamoto, Japanese medical researcher, discovered tranexamic acid which is now used to treat postpartum bleeding; in Tokyo, Empire of Japan (present-day Japan) (d. 2016) Robert Thieme, American religious leader, leading pastor of Berachah Church; in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States (d. 2009) Died: Paul von Rennenkampf, 63, Russian army officer, commander of cavalry forces during the Boxer Rebellion and Russo-Japanese War, commander of the Russian First Army during World War I (executed) (b. 1854) Isaac Rosenberg, 27, British poet, known for his poetry collection Poems from the Trenches; killed in action (b. 1890)
April 2, 1918 (Tuesday) March Days – Fighting in Baku, Azerbaijan subsided as thousands of Muslims fled to the city of Elisabethpol. An estimated 12,000 civilians in Baku, mostly Muslim, were massacred over four days, while the Armenian forces reported 2,500 casualties. The British completed their withdrawal across the Jordan River following their failure to capture Amman, Jordan. Battle of Rautu – The White Guards cut off the rail line to Petrograd, preventing needed Russian ammo and equipment from reaching the Red Guards dug in south of Rautu, Finland. Victoria College in Stellenbosch, South Africa became Stellenbosch University. Värmlands Fotbollförbund was formed as part of the Swedish Football Association and now manages 138 member clubs in Värmland, Sweden. The borough of Califon, New Jersey was established using of the former townships of Lebanon and Tewksbury.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 154. Accessed December 11, 2012. Died: T. Allston Brown, 82, American journalist, known for theatrical criticism including History of the American Stage (b. 1836)
April 3, 1918 (Wednesday) French military officer Ferdinand Foch was appointed commander-in-chief of the Allied forces.Jehuda Lothar Wallach, Uneasy Coalition: The Entente Experience in World War I (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1993), p. 114 Finnish Civil War – The Baltic Sea Division, a force of 10,000 German soldiers assigned to fight in the Finland campaign, landed at Hanko and moved towards Helsinki and Lahti.Arimo 1991, Kruhse, Pauli. "The Finnish Collection of Decrees 65/1918 pp.44-46.". History of Finland: A selection of events and documents. Retrieved 7 February 2010 In anticipation of the landing, the Imperial Russian Navy scuttled submarines AG-11, AG-12, and AG-16, along with Royal Navy submarines , , , , , , and . Battle of Tampere – An army of 16,000 White Guards launched a final offensive against a force of 1,400 Red Guards at Tampere, Finland after two weeks of bloody fighting, reaching the Tammerkoski River that divided the town in half. The People's Party of Romania was established by army officer and politician Alexandru Averescu. Born: Sixten Ehrling, Swedish conductor, music director for the Royal Swedish Opera and principal conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; in Malmö, Sweden (d. 2005) Oles Honchar, Ukrainian writer, promoter of re-establishing the Ukrainian language and culture in the Soviet Union, author of The Cathedral; as Oleksandr Terentiiovych Bilychenko, in Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Ukrainian People's Republic (present-day Ukraine) (d. 1995)
April 4, 1918 (Thursday)
Operation Michael – German forces attacked Avre, France, to maintain the momentum of the Spring Offensive but were met with considerable resistance from British and Australian units. Meanwhile, they captured Le Hamel, Somme, France in an attempt to reach the strategic road and rail hub at Villers-Bretonneux. However, a surprise attack by the 36th Australian Battalion forced the Germans back. Battle of Tampere – The White Guards crossed the Tammerkoski River dividing Tampere, Finland and reached the western half of the town by the end of the day. Battle of Rautu – A force of 2,000 Finnish White Guards launched a second offensive against the Finnish Red Guards, who were running low of ammo and supplies. German and Ottoman forces began counterattacks against the British from Jordan. Royal Navy destroyer sank after colliding with another ship in the English Channel, killing all 63 crew. German-born coal miner Robert Prager was lynched by a mob in Collinsville, Illinois during the height of anti-German sentiment in the United States. In May, a grand jury tried 12 men indicted in the lynching but found them innocent. The first two-seater aircraft, a Royal Air Force Sopwith Strutter, was launched from a platform mounted on a 12-inch (305-mm) gun turret of the battlecruiser .Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, , pp. 14-15 The first edition of the Hebrew-language daily newspaper Haaretz was published, sponsored by the British military government in Palestine. The German ostmark currency was put into circulation.Jakimovs, N. & V. Marcilger. The Postal and Monetary History of Latvia 1918–1945 1991, pp. 14-15 Born: Joyce Ballantyne, American graphic artist, best known as the creator of the Coppertone girl; in Norfolk, Nebraska, United States (d. 2006) Ian Cross, British air force officer, member of the escape from Stalag Luft III during World War II; in Cosham, England (d. 1944, executed) George Jellicoe, British naval officer and politician, First Lord of the Admiralty from 1963 to 1964, Leader of the House of Lords from 1970 to 1973, son of John Jellicoe; in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2007) Died: Hermann Cohen, 75, German philosopher, one of the founders of the University of Marburg school that promoted Neo-Kantianism (b. 1842)
April 5, 1918 (Friday)
Operation Michael – British forces halted the German advance at Ancre, France, ending the first stage of the Spring Offensive. The offensive had cost the Allies some including British casualties. As well, the German captured 75,000 prisoners and some 1,300 artillery pieces. German casualties were also massive, with 250,000 casualties. Despite advancing more than 65 km (40 mi) and capturing 3,100 km2 (1,200 sq mi) of French territory, the offensive achieved few of the strategic objectives of the operation. Battle of Rautu – The Red Guards broke through the White Guard line and attempted to escape to Petrograd. However, the column was caught in a machine gun cross-fire in a valley near Kuolemanlaakso, Finland at the Russian-Finnish border, where 400 men were slaughtered along with dozens of civilians from the nearby village. Another 800 to 900 Red Guards were taken prisoner. The Whites Guards lost 270 casualties in the final two days of the battle. The Kuolemanlaakso valley was nicknamed the "Valley of Death" following the massacre. Battle of Tampere – The Red Guards barricaded in the town center of Tampere, Finland surrendered to the White Guards. Sālote Tupou became the first queen monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga, succeeding George Tupou upon his death, and remaining on the throne until her own death in 1965 in what was the longest reign for the South Pacific kingdom. Royal Air Force pilot Lieutenant C. H. Noble-Campbell of No. 38 Squadron was wounded in the head by machine-gun fire while attacking German Zeppelin L 62 but was able to return safely to base. It was the only occasion on which an attacking airman was wounded in combat with an airship. The American Bristol airplane was first flown.Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 114 Died: Andrew Van Vranken Raymond, 63, American religious leader and academic, president of Union College from 1894 to 1907 (b. 1854) Paul Vidal de La Blache, 73, French geographer, considered the founder of modern French geography and geopolitics (b. 1845)
April 6, 1918 (Saturday) Battle of Tampere – The last Red Guards surrendered at Tampere, Finland. Casualties varied for either side, with casualties for the White Guards ranging from 600 to 1,000 lost. Some accounts listed more than 1,200 Red Guards killed in action and another thousand executed following the battle. Another 11,000 prisoners were taken to a concentration camp. Finnish Civil War – Following a major defeat at Tampere, the Red Guard command ordered their soldiers, families and other civilian supporters to retreat to the eastern half of Finland and to form a new front at the Kymijoki River. By mid-April, 25,000 people loyal to the Red Guards along passed through the town of Hämeenlinna, Finland. Incumbent Archibald Peake, Premier of South Australia, defeated Leader of the Opposition Andrew Kirkpatrick in state elections.What's in a name?: Trove 15 Sep 1917 Born: Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian state leader, 48th President of Bolivia; in Cobija, Bolivia (d. 1982) Peter Ebert, German opera director, best known for his works for the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Scottish Opera; in Frankfurt, German Empire (present-day Germany) (b. 2012) Died: John Q. A. Brackett, 75, American politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1842) Orby, 13-14, Irish race horse, winner of the 1907 Epsom Derby and Irish Derby (b. 1904)
April 7, 1918 (Sunday) Battle of the Lys – German forces launched the second stage of their Spring Offensive against the Allies on the Western Front, beginning massive artillery shelling on Lys, France. Finnish Civil War – Germany landed a detachment force of 3,000 troops at Loviisa, Finland to aid the White Guards.