12 January

Great War events that took place on 12 January.

1915 (Tuesday)

Western Front	Germans recapture eastern slopes of Hill 132 (Soissons).
Eastern Front	Russians capture several villages near Rosog (East Prussia).
Naval and Overseas Operations	▶ Union forces occupy Raman's Drift (Orange River).	▶ Mafia Island (German East Africa) seized by a British force.
Political	German use of poison shells reported from Paris.

1916 (Wednesday)

Eastern Front	Resumption of Russian offensive in Galicia.
Southern Front	▶ Allies blow up bridges at Demirhissar and Kilindir.	▶ Armistice between Montenegro and Austria.
Political	▶ Military Service Bill secures second reading.	▶ Herr Liebknecht expelled from Socialist party in Reichstag.

1917 (Friday)

Eastern Front

▶ German attack near Kalutsem again repulsed.

▶ Enemy capture Mihalea, on Sereth (north-west of Braila).

1918 (Saturday)

Western Front	▶ British make successful raid at Loos and disperse four German raids south of Lens and east of Monchy le Preux.	▶ French repel "flame" attack on Chaume Wood (River Meuse).
Eastern Front	▶ Russo-German Peace Conference adjourns.	▶ Romanian Minister in Petrograd arrested by Bolsheviks.
Naval and Overseas Operations	▶ Two British destroyers lost in gale off Scottish coast.	▶ British column disembarks at Port Amelia, Portuguese East Africa.

Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.

On This Day pages are styled as timelines and have been transcribed from two out-of-copyright sources: Chronology of the War (1918-1920), and History of the Great War – Principle Events 1914-1918 (1922). The spelling of place-names is a particularly convoluted subject. Some names were spelt differently depending on source, others have changed over time for various political or geographical reasons. In general, spelling of place names are original to British use at the time of, and shortly after, the war. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Similar events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to their original texts.

Compendium entries form the central hub of (a) An index-like collection of places, people, ships, battles, political events, etc., and (b) Words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. The majority of these have been transcribed from Chronology of the War (1918-1920) and Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases (1925) respectively, the later which is reflected in the language used and some may seem derogatory by today's standards.

Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and does not come under the general licence of this site. Please be aware that some images, although very few, may depict distressing scenes.

Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent updated histories, present-day spellings, or geographical borders. It is also written from a British perspective, and words such as "enemy" are used extensively. For further details and a full list of sources, click here.

Browse index by letter: Top – A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z