The walls of Le Quesnoy, scaled by New Zealand troops liberating the town on 4 November 1918, Henry Armytage Sanders. Image courtesy Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
New Zealand troops liberate the walled town of Le Quesnoy from four years’ German occupation. They advance 10km and capture nearly 2,000 prisoners in this, their last major action of the war. New Zealand and Le Quesnoy
British forces occupy Mosul and advance into Azerbaijan
The Salvation Army Band, members of the VAD, Digger Post, returned soldiers, cadets, boy scouts and the general public join the mayor of Orange at the railway station to welcome Army Chaplain Major William McKenzie MC (aka “Fighting Mac”) to Orange. The crowd proceeds to the Town Hall where a civic reception is extended to the visitor. Fighting Mac in Orange
A public meeting at the Orange Town Hall discusses the best way to welcome home the original Anzacs, including perhaps the issue of a commemorative gold medal. Returning Anzacs
Hostilities between the Allies and Turkey cease at noon
Slovakia declares independence from Hungary, following the Czechs declaration of independence from Austria on 29 October; Czechoslovakia is subsequently formed
Since the beginning of August British troops on the Western Front have captured 172,659 prisoners, 2,378 guns, 17,000 machine guns and 2,750 trench mortars
Turkey signs an armistice with the Allies, becoming the second of the Central Powers to quit the war, following Bulgaria’s surrender on 29 September. The Armistice of Mudros is signed by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs, Rauf Bey, and the British Admiral Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe, on board HMS Agamemnon in Mudros harbour on the Greek island of Lemnos. The terms of the armistice state that hostilities between the Allies and Turkey are to cease from noon on 31 October 1918.
The British warship HMS Agamemnon in Mudros Harbour in 1915. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Stanley Michael Jordan dies of disease in France. Stanley is the last person from the Orange district to die before the declaration of armistice. Four other men, however, would die post armistice from war-related injuries or disease.
Fifteen aircraft of the No 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps engage 60 German aircraft, shooting down ten for the loss of one
German sailors at Kiel mutiny after hearing that they will be ordered to engage the British fleet in the face of defeat. News of the mutiny spreads throughout Germany and inspires other insurrections.
The Czechs declare their independence from Austria. Two days later, Slovakia declares independence from Hungary; Czechoslovakia is subsequently formed.
The Leader reports that Australian war casualties now number 290,191: 54,431 dead; 93 missing; 3,401 prisoners; 156,173 wounded; 75,877 sick; and 216 unspecified. The Latest Casualty List
Overseas postal costs in Australia rise by a halfpenny. The news charges do not apply to articles addressed to people serving with the Australian Imperial Force or the Australian Navy. The New Postage
