World War One Diary for Friday, July 19, 1918:

Sea War

North Sea – The Tondern Raid: 7 Sopwith Camels (each 2 x 50lb or 65lb bombs) fly 80 miles from carrier Furious, escorted by 6th Light Cruiser Squadron, destroy double Zeppelin shed at Tondern near Sylt (Schleswig).

Destroyer HMS Garry (ramming) and ML23 convoy escorts sink coastal submarine UB-110 off Yorkshire coast.

Mediterranean: U-boat sinks French liner Australien (20 lost).

West Atlantic: Cruiser USS San Diego (6 lost) sunk by mine off Fire Island (New York). The culprit U-156 herself mined off Bergen on September 25.

Air War

North Sea – Tondern Raid: German airships L54 and L60 bombed and burned in Tondern sheds by 6 Camels (4 lost) from British carrier Furious; 3 pilots fail to locate carrier, land in Denmark, another drowned at sea (future Air Marshal RAF Dickson one of the two pilots who returned).

Western Front

Flanders: British 9th Division recaptures Meteren (300 PoWs).

Champagne and Marne­: Franco-American troops with 195 tanks (50 hit) take 3,000 PoWs and 150 guns, advance 2 miles towards Soissons-Chateau­-Thierry road, but German 20th Division regains this artery; south of Marne Allies recapture Montoisin. British 51st and 62nd Divisions replace Italians. US 2nd Division relieved after 5,000 casualties.

Politics

Honduras: Government declares war on Germany.

France: Franco-Swiss Economic Agreement.

Britain: New British Assistance Foreign Secretary Lord Cecil’s statement af Allied trade policy.

Italy: Rumanians’ Action Committee formed to organize Rumanian PoWs of Austro-Hungarian Army into legions.

Home Fronts

India: Rowlett Sedition Committee report.

Britain: War Cabinet refuses Churchill’s plea to halt ‘combing out’ which has halved tank production, Milner wants men naw not machines later. National Service Ministry finally convince Army of civil doctor priority need.

USA: Baseball ‘non-essential’ under ‘Work or Fight’ law.