Home Fronts
Britain: Churchill reviews munitions work for Commons; losses since March 21 more than made good; 750,000 women working, doing 90% shell production; 100,000 men released to forces since May 1917. Lord Rothermere resigns from Air Ministry (Sir W Weir succeeds on April 27). Exports prohibited to Russia.
USA: Potato eating urged instead of bread.
Australia: Hughes and Cook made War Conference representatives.
Western Front
Flanders: Kemmel Hill captured in 5 hours by 7 German divisions (French defeat), British call it Second Battle. AngloÂAustralian night attack by 2 brigades (night April 24-25) recaptures Villers-Bretonneux with 600 PoWs.
Middle East
Armenia: Turks occupy Kars (first time since 1878), find over 212 field and fortress guns.
Persia: Small British column (aided by 4 RAF aircraft) defeats pro-German Sinjabis northeast of Kasr-i-Shirin.
Sea War
North Sea: World’s first dedicated anti-sub hunter-killer submarines (British R1 and R2) launched at Chatham (class of 12 launched by October 5, 1918).
Eastern AtlanticÂ: U-boat sinks sloop HMS Cowslip off Cape Spartel (near Gibraltar).
Adriatic: Royal Navy Air Service aircraft bomb Durazzo.
Britain: First Lord Geddes memo on ‘The Future of the Russian Fleets.’
St George’s Channel: Royal Navy sloop Jessamine depth charges and sinks U-104.
Air War
Britain: Sir W Weir succeeds Rothermere as Secretary of State for Air.
North Sea: 7 German Zeebrugge seaplanes shoot down 1 of 2 Felixstowe flying boats (down another on June 6).
Flanders: 96 German planes fire 60,000 MG rounds and drop 700 bombs on 3 villages in low-level preparation for assault on Kemmel Hill; RAF lose 4 planes to only 1 German.
