14th October 1918 On this day: British advance towards Lys.   On the 14th of October 1918, the 29th Division including the 1st Dublins & 2nd Leinsters, 40th division & 36th, began an advance towards Lys. They achieved considerable success on the first day. There was little resistance and it is said that the Germans were standing with their kit, ready to march away as prisoners. However their resistance increased in the afternoon. Attack Made   At 2am 9th Royal Irish Fusiliers moved to area K.15.a, our position in the line being taken over by the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. At 0535 under a very heavy artillery barrage the whole Army attacked, the 107th and 109th Brigades being in the front line, the 108th in support. At 0900 we followed up the advance and took up position in L.20.c. War Diaries  Next phase of Advance Naval Action   A naval engagement took place in which the German submarine SM U-139 attacked the Portuguese civilian steamer São Miguel and the Portuguese Navy naval trawler NRP Augusto de Castilho in the Atlantic Ocean. On the island of Madeira, the Portuguese patrol boat NRP Augusto de Castilho was under the command of the First Lieutenant Carvalho de Araújo. He received the mission of escorting the Portuguese civilian steamer São Miguel, which was property of the Empresa Insulana de Navegação. It was sailing from the port of Funchal in Madeira to the port of Ponta Delgada on the Azores archipelago, with 206 passengers and several tons of cargo on board. The NRP Augusto de Castilho was originally the fishing trawler Elite and was built in 1909. It had been requisitioned by the Portuguese government and transferred to the service of the Portuguese Navy which adapted it to serve as an escort ship following Portugal's entering into the war in 1916. The ship was equipped with two small Hotchkiss cannons, one of 65 mm on the bow and another of 47mm on the stern. After leaving Funchal at sunset on 13 October, São Miguel came under fire at 0615 on the 14th October from the German submarine U-139. This was one of the better equipped submarines of the German Navy, armed with two powerful 150 mm cannons and six torpedo launch tubes. It was under the command of the famous Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière. In order to protect the São Miguel and after using all the smoke boxes available for creating a smoke curtain while repeatedly firing the stern cannon, de Araújo gave orders for the NRP Augusto de Castilho to turn to port. Turning through half a circle it advanced towards the German U-139, taking gunfire from the submarine, thus giving São Miguel time to escape at full speed. After two hours of fierce but one-sided fighting the Portuguese ship surrendered by lowering the national flag and raising a white flag. There were several fatal casualties on deck, its artillery was damaged and ammunition expended. it had also lost its telegraph and the ship's engine. However, the German submarine continued firing, hitting the patrol ship with a direct shot which killed de Araújo and injured Midshipman Armando Ferraz for a second time. After receiving orders by the Midshipman to abandon ship, the Portuguese survivors were able to embark in two life boats. The ship was then boarded and sunk by the Germans, with explosive charges, carrying with it the body of de Araújo and of all the Portuguese sailors who had perished during the battle. One of the life boats arrived at Santa Maria Island after 48 hours with 29 of the survivors, one of the injured sailors having died during their journey. The other life boat, with 12 survivors onboard arrived at the island of São Miguel Island, on the 17th October. This was U-139's last action as a few weeks later the submarine surrendered to France on 24 November 1918. John Doran  Germans accept Surrender terms  On the Move  Moving Forward  On the March  Orders  Training  Reformed and disbanded    A Busy Day  Attack Made  New bomber Squadron formed  Attack Practised              Artillery Active  New bomber squadron formed  Companies practicing advance in open warfare and rearguards.  Companies practicing advance in open warfare  At 0900 Companies training started in attack  Frequent Shelling  2nd Army attacked at 0535 hours.  On the Move to Etricourt  Company Training  Letter from General Hon. J.H.G. Byng KCB., K.C.M.G., M.V.O. Can you add to this factual information? Do you know the whereabouts of a unit on a particular day? Do you have a copy of an official war diary entry? Details of an an incident? The loss of a ship? A letter, postcard, photo or any other interesting snipts? If your information relates only to an individual, eg. enlistment, award of a medal or death, please use this form: Add a story.

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Want to know more about 14th of October 1918? There are:31 items tagged 14th of October 1918 available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Remembering those who died this day, 14th of October 1918. Armourers Mate Eddie Addison. H.M.S. Vivid. Read their Story. Pte. Charles Paul Arnold. 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers Read their Story. Pte. John Bailey. 1st Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Pte. Horace Battley. 26th Btn Royal Fusiliers Pte. Arthur S. Bell. 1/4th Btn. Seaforth Highlanders Read their Story. Gnr. Bertie William Buckhurst. 113th B Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery Pte. Frederick Chainey. 15th Btn. Hampshire Regiment Read their Story. Pte. William James Cornell. 15th Battalion Read their Story. Sgt. David Donohoe. 19th Btn Northumberland Fusiliers Read their Story. Cpl John Redican Finnie. MM 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers Sgt. Bernard Foley. 15th Battalion Cheshire Regiment Read their Story. Pte. Sydney Hayes. 4th Btn. Cheshire Regiment Pte. J. Iliffe. 19th (2nd Tyneside Pioneers) Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers Read their Story. Pte. Frederick Victor Lacey. 19th (St Pancras) Battalion London Regiment Read their Story. Pte. Reginald Percy Laker. 10th Battalion East Kent Regiment Cpl. James McPhie. VC 416th (Edinburgh) Field Company Royal Engineers Read their Story. Pte. Alfred Ratcliffe. 1/5th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Read their Story. Pte. Alfred Ratcliffe. 1/5th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Read their Story. Sgt. Arthur Robins. MM. 89th Field Coy Royal Engineers Read their Story. Pte. John Campbell Anderson Sinclair. 8th Btn. Black Watch Read their Story. Pte. Edward Sweeney. 8th Battalion Black Watch Read their Story. Francis Tasker. 9th Btn. Durham Light Infantry Edward Ward. 5th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Read their Story. Pte. Frederick Ward. 17th (1st South East Lancashire) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers Read their Story. Bmbdr. Harold Henry Whittall. 168 Siege Bty. Cpl. Joseph Thomas Wiggins. 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment Read their Story. Rflmn. Edward Vaughan Williams. 2nd Btn. Royal Irish Rifles Read their Story. Pte. William Wilson. 8th (Service) Battalion Seaforth Highlanders Read their Story. Pte. Thomas Woodall. 1/7th Bttn. Cheshire Regiment Read their Story. Pte. Thomas Woodall. 7th Btn. Cheshire Regiment Read their Story. Pte. Thomas Woodall. 1/7th Btn. Cheshire Regiment Read their Story. L/Cpl. Charles Frederick Yates. 1st/5th Btn. Leicestershire Regiment Read their Story. Add a name to this list.

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