Revd Nicholas Pye

21 Mar 1918, on 50-mile front between Sensee & Oise rivers, 1st phase of German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins. Positions held by British 5th Army, under Gen Hubert Gough, penetrated especially nr St. Quentin. #OTD 38,500 British casualties (21,000 were PoWs). #WW1

Night of 21 Mar 1917, while on way from Philadelphia to Rotterdam, unarmed American oil tanker SS Healdton torpedoed by German U-Boat some 25 miles north of Terschelling. Of 41 crew, 22 survived rescued by Dutch torpedo-boat & trawler, after exposure to freezing weather. #WW1

@militaryhistori @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @theskibeagle @MalcolmCGodfrey @alanhinkes @michaelkeegan14 U r welcome, Peter. I look forward to reading your take on 1918 in West. Sounds exciting, challenging, & potentially controversial! Perhaps Haig, Currie, Monash et al will get credit they've not always received for turning British & Imperial forces into such an effective tool.

Kinf of you to ask, my dear Nick. It's coming along for a publication date of next year. Aiming to turn traditional views of 1918 in the West on their head, so careful writing required. However, another book (regimental history) to be finished first, plus ongoing current affairs articles, book chapters & forewords. Onwards!

20 Mar 1929, Ferdinand Foch, died, aged 77. 26 Mar 1918, made Supreme Commander of Allied Armies five days after powerful German Spring Offensive. Accepted German surrender in Nov 1918. Viewed Versailles Treaty as treason, ‘this is not peace. It is an armistice for 20 years’ #WW1

@militaryhistori @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @theskibeagle @MalcolmCGodfrey @alanhinkes @michaelkeegan14 How's the writing going? Do you have a publication date in view? My wife was a senior commissioning editor (for HarperCollins) and is author of 7 books and more than a 1,000 articles so I know the challenges of birthing a script! Her repeated phrase is: Good writing is rewriting!

@RevdPye @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @theskibeagle @MalcolmCGodfrey @alanhinkes @michaelkeegan14 Totally!

@militaryhistori @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @theskibeagle @MalcolmCGodfrey @alanhinkes @michaelkeegan14 No doubt he is going to feature significantly in your forthcoming book on 1918!

@RevdPye @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @theskibeagle @MalcolmCGodfrey @alanhinkes @michaelkeegan14 The Allied hero of WW1 and Haig's boss!

20 Mar 1917, while under fire, Lt Frank McNamara (1894-1961) rescued fellow Australian pilot Capt David Rutherford (1890-1975) who had crashed in Gaza. First & only Australian airman to receive Victoria Cross during #WW1. Became Air Vice Marshall in Royal Australian Air Force.

20 March 1917, after disembarking 1,000 wounded at Avonmouth & on way to Southampton, Hospital Ship Asturias, a converted Royal Mail Ship, torpedoed by UC-66. Some 40 people died. On 14 April 1917, Allies launched vengeance raid on Freiburg, destroying city centre & 11 dead. #WW1

19 Mar 1813, David Livingstone, missionary, doctor, and explorer known for extensive travels in Africa and efforts to combat slave trade, born. Driven by deep Christian faith, his mission blended discovery with a desire to spread the Gospel, oppose slavery, and bring medical aid.

19 Mar 1930, Arthur Balfour, British Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, died. 1st Lord of Admiralty from 1915 to 1916 & Foreign Secretary from 1916 to 1919. Wrote Balfour Declaration recognising the right to Jewish state in Palestine. Endured big defeat in Jan 1906 election. #WW1

19 Mar 1849, Alfred von Tirpitz, grand admiral & politician (d. 1930), born. 1897-1914 chief architect of German Navy and a dominant personality of Kaiser William II’s reign. Advocate of unrestricted submarine warfare. 1916, retired. 1924-1928, served as Reichstag deputy. #WW1

19 Mar 1920, by a vote of 49-35, United States Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles for second time (first time was on 19 Nov 1919). A consequence of the opposition led by Henry Lodge, the Republican Majority Leader (photo). As result, US never joined League of Nations. #WW1

19 March 1918, Austrian ocean liner SS Linz, built in 1909, struck mine at 00.25 hours & sank in 20 mins, 4 miles northwest of Cape of Rodonit, Adriatic Sea. 697 passengers & crew, including 283 Italian PoWs, killed. Was travelling from Fiume, Croatia, to Durazzo, Albania. #WW1

@MalcolmCGodfrey @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @alanhinkes @theskibeagle @LucyLondon7 I hope the follow up was positive and all is well, Malcolm.

@RevdPye @GilesMacDonogh @pirateirwin @MargyMayell @EdnaKB2 @alanhinkes @theskibeagle @LucyLondon7 Small world I was at QVH just yesterday for a follow up on minor plastic surgery I had there. The good work of McIndoe lives on , the buildings retain the history.

18 Mar 1889, Sir William Kelsey-Fry, doctor & dental surgeon, born. #WW1 medical officer with Welsh Fusiliers, then worked with Harold Gilles @ Queen Mary's Sidcup pioneering development of facio-maxillary surgery. #WW2 worked @ Queen Victoria E Grinstead with Archibald McIndoe.

18 Mar 1893, Lt Wilfred Owen, #WW1 poet, born in Shropshire. Oct 1915, enlisted Artists' Rifles. June 1916, got commission with Manchester Regt. 4 Nov 1918, a week before armistice, died, aged 25, in attempt to cross Sambre-Oise Canal. Few of his poems published in his lifetime.

18 Mar 1915, Allied fleet in Dardanelles hit by disaster when three ships struck mines & sank, including French battleship Bouvet which went down in 2 mins with loss of over 630 of her crew. This failure led to abandonment of naval strategy & Gallipoli land campaign. #WW1

18 Mar 1918, Revd Edward Barker, Royal Artillery Chaplain, died, aged 30. Buried Achiet-Le-Grand Communal Cemetery Extension. Born California, only child. Educated @BedfordSchool, @QueensCam & @RidleyHall (photo). Ordained 1911. Curate @StJohnNottHill. #WW1 @ArmyChaplainMus

18 Mar 1869 Neville Chamberlain, UK Prime Minister 1937-1940, born. Educated @RugbySchool1567 & @UniBirmingham. Mayor @BhamCityCouncil. Only became MP in 1918. Renowned for appeasement policy, at time popular but now controversial. Comes low in ratings of UK PMs. Died Nov 1940.

17 Mar 1916, Duke of Westminster's armoured car unit of Western Frontier Force drove 120 miles into Libya from Sollum to Bir Hakeim & rescued 97 surviving & starving crew of HMS Tara & HMT Moorina, sunk by U-35 in Nov 1915. Were prisoners of the Senussi. Duke awarded DSO. #WW1