20 November

Great War events that took place on 20 November.

1914 (Friday)

Western Front	Sir John French's fourth despatch published dealing with Battle of Ypres.^[a]
Eastern Front	Poland: German attacks on Russian line from Lovich to Skiernievitse.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Egypt: The Bikanir Camel Corps beats off the Turks on the coast towards Port Said.
Naval and Overseas Operations	Admiralty announces extension of mine-field in North Sea.

Notes

↑ Sir John French's fourth despatch on 20 November covers the period from the beginning of October to 19 November (12th the last date mentioned), including the Givenchy-Armentieres-Wytschaete fighting, and the First Battle of Ypres. It describes the transfer of the British army from the Aisne to the North-west, and its swing round to the East, arrival of the 4th Corps (7th and 8th Divisions) and 2nd Cavalry Division in Flanders, fighting of the 22nd Corps near La Bassée, 3rd Corps near Armentières, and 1st and 4th Corps etc., around Ypres.

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.

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[1] Sir John French's fourth despatch on 20 November covers the period from the beginning of October to 19 November (12th the last date mentioned), including the Givenchy-Armentieres-Wytschaete fighting, and the First Battle of Ypres. It describes the transfer of the British army from the Aisne to the North-west, and its swing round to the East, arrival of the 4th Corps (7th and 8th Divisions) and 2nd Cavalry Division in Flanders, fighting of the 22nd Corps near La Bassée, 3rd Corps near Armentières, and 1st and 4th Corps etc., around Ypres.

[a]