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.[12]
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.[14]
Royal NavydestroyerHMS Falcon 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.[15]
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.[21][22]
Operation Michael – British forces halted the German advance at
Ancre,
France, ending the first stage of the
Spring Offensive.[43] The offensive had cost the
Allies some
c. 255,000 men including 177,739 killed, 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.[44] 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.[45]
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.[36]
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.[49]
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.[46]
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.[51]
The German submarine
UB-53 sighted German Zeppelin L 59 catching fire accidentally and crashing into the sea near the
Strait of Otranto with the loss of all hands. The airship was on the outbound leg of a flight from
Yambol,
Bulgaria, in an attempt to bomb the Royal Navy base at
Malta.[55]
Finish composer
Leevi Madetoja lost his brother Yrjö Madetoja during the
Battle of Antrea, presumably captured and killed by the
Finnish Red Guards during fighting around
Kavantsaari. Madetoja later composed a three-movement piano suite titled The Garden of Death for the memory of his lost brother.[62]
Battle of Ahvenkoski – The German detachment force of 800 soldiers retreated west of
Ahvenkoski,
Finland under the mistaken assumption the
Red Guards had superior numbers at
Kotka. Instead, the Finnish force of roughly 500 dug into positions on the
Kymijoki River until reinforcements arrived.[64]
Battle of the Lys – With the British situation on the
Western Front looking dire, British commanding officer
GeneralDouglas Haig issued a general order for troops to keep fighting "with our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause" to protect "the safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind".[65]
German battleship
SMS Rheinland ran aground at the
Åland Islands of
Sweden with the loss of two crew. She was salvaged and returned to service in May.[70]
An assembly of
Baltic Germans passed a resolution to call upon the
German Empire to recognize a collection of Baltic states as monarchy called the
United Baltic Duchy with the capital being
Riga. However, the recognition did not come until September 22, and the
German Revolution permanently stopped any chance of forming a nation.[74]
Battle of Helsinki – German forces attacked the main headquarters of the
Red Guards in
Helsinki and completed their capture of the city. Some 4,000 to 6,000 Red Guards were captured and another 400 were killed in fighting. Some 10,000 supporters also fled the city.[77]
The Military Service Bill, which included conscription in
Ireland, became law. A conference of nationalist parties,
Sinn Féin and labour movements met in
Dublin to organize a nation-wide
opposition to conscription.[89]
German flying ace
Manfred von Richthofen shot down and killed British ace
Richard Raymond-Barker, making him the 80th and final kill for the notorious "Red Baron". Richthofen would be killed himself the following day.[95][96]
Battle of Lahti – Around 1,000
Red Guard reinforcements from
Hollola,
Finland were dispatched to recapture
Lahti,
Finland. German forces pushed them back, killing 37 Red Guards and taking another 500 prisoner. A further 300 supporters were arrested in the village over the next three days.[100]
German flying ace
Manfred von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron", died at Morlancourt Ridge near the
Somme River after he was fatally wounded by a single bullet fired on his plane while he pursued Canadian pilot
Wop May over the battlefield. Historians debated who fired the fatal shot, with May's commanding squadron leader
Roy Brown given official credit since he flew to May's rescue and fired on von Richthofen's plane.[102] However, contemporary analysis of von Richthofen's autopsy suggested the fatal shot more than likely came from ground fire, with Australian artillery gunners Sergeant
Cedric Popkin, Snowy Evans or Robert Buie as the ones who actually downed "The Red Baron".[103] The German war ace's record total of 80 victories was only exceeded by French ace
René Fonck, who although was only credited with 75 kills, claimed 142. France’s criteria for a “kill” required a third party to witness the crash and “out of control” kills did not count meaning he could have possibly shot down 67 planes out of control. Only six of them needed to crash to overtake Richthofen and since planes that are driven out of control usually crash, it is almost certain he scored significantly higher than the Red Baron.[104][105]
Women in
Denmark were allowed to vote for the first time in
elections. The
Venstre Party won a majority in the
Folketing (Danish Parliament), with voter turnout at 75 percent.[110]
Battle of Antrea – The
Red Guards surrendered and were allowed to pull back to
Vyborg. Both sides lost an equal number of men, with total casualties in the battle at 624.[128]
Finnish Civil War – A German unit of 400 men was dispatched to the village of
Syrjäntaka,
Finland before dispersing throughout the area, leaving only 150 soldiers in the village. A small unit of German soldiers and White Guards were sent to
Hauho but were driven back with 50 casualties.[133]
Battle of Lahti – The
Red Guards launched a final attack on
Lahti,
Finland but the lack of order among the ranks allowed the experienced, disciplined German defenders to beat back the assault.[136]
The first
elections were held in
Portugal since
Sidónio Pais staged a
coup d'état in December. The elections were boycotted by the major opposition parties and as a result Pais and the
National Republican Party won 108 of the 155 seats in the House of Representatives and 32 of the 73 seats in the Senate.[139]
Battle of Viipuri – The
White Guards defeated the last
Red Guard resistance and occupied
Vyborg,
Finland. Around 1,000 Red Guards broke through the line in a dash to the border, but most were captured and about half were shot dead during a massacre of prisoners and civilians that followed.[137]
Battle of Syrjäntaka – The
Red Guard overwhelmed German forces at
Syrjäntaka and forced them to retreat. However, the Germans were able to capture 150 Red Guards and hand them over to the
White Guards, who executed many of them. It was last military victory for the Red Guards in the
Finnish Civil War.[133]
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