4 November

Great War events that took place on 4 November.

1914 (Wednesday)

Western Front	▶ Lombartzyde recovered by the Allies.	▶ Battle of Ypres continues.
Eastern Front	Galicia: Austrians defeated at Jaroslau; loss of 19,000 prisoners and 40 guns in twelve days.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Armenia: Russian advance from Caucasus Mountains; Diadin occupied.
Naval and Overseas Operations	▶ East Africa: British reverse at Tanga.^[a]	▶ German cruiser SMS Yorck destroyed by a mine near Wilhelmshaven.
Political	Persia refuses to join Turkey in war against the Entente.

Notes

↑ Tanga, German port on the Moschi Railway (East Africa), attacked unsuccessfully by an Indian Expeditionary Force with one British battalion. 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 101st Grenadiers, I.A., and 1st Kashmir Rifles suffered heavily during the engagement in the town, and forced to retreat to the coast and re-embark. Casualties nearly 800, including 141 British officers and men. Germans displayed great cunning in defence of the town, also employing native ruses de guerre.

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

[1] Tanga, German port on the Moschi Railway (East Africa), attacked unsuccessfully by an Indian Expeditionary Force with one British battalion. 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 101st Grenadiers, I.A., and 1st Kashmir Rifles suffered heavily during the engagement in the town, and forced to retreat to the coast and re-embark. Casualties nearly 800, including 141 British officers and men. Germans displayed great cunning in defence of the town, also employing native ruses de guerre.

[a]