5 January

Great War events that took place on 5 January.

1915 (Tuesday)

Western Front	French blow up half-a-mile of German trenches in the Argonne.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Tabriz (North Persia) evacuated by Russian forces^[a] (see 8 and 30 January, 1915).
Naval and Overseas Operations	Union forces occupy Schuit Drift on the Orange River.	West Africa: German attack on Eda (Cameroons) repulsed by French garrison.

1916 (Wednesday)

Southern Front	Austrian offensive in Montenegro.
Political	Military Service Bill is introduced.^[b]	British answer regarding the "HMS Baralong" case.^[c]

1917 (Friday)

British capture two enemy posts near Beaumont Hamel.
Eastern Front	▶ Ground is gained in Russian offensive between Lake Babit and the Tirul Marsh (west of Riga).	▶ Enemy advance at various points on Rumanian front, especially between the rivers Rimnic and Buzea.	▶ The Dóbruja is entirely cleared of Russians and Rumanians.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Battle of Kut-el-Amara begins.
Naval and Overseas Operations	East Africa: British occupy Kibambawe in the Rufiji valley.
Political	Conference at Rome between representatives of the British, French and Italian Governments.

1918 (Saturday)

Western Front	▶ Strong German attacks on British positions east of Bullecourt (Cambrai) are repulsed; also two air raids near Hollebeke.	▶ British bombard Conflans station.
Eastern Front	Turkey communicates peace terms to Russia.^[d]
Southern Front	Artillery activity from Asiago to the Adriatic and aerial activity on whole front.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	▶ Aden: British makes strong reconnaissance towards Hatum and Jabir, and destroy the former.	▶ Lt-Col. R. Storrs made Governor of Jerusalem.
Political	▶ Lloyd George addresses Man-power Conference on the War Aims.^[e]	▶ Independence of Finland recognised by Sweden.	▶ Lloyd George forms new Cabinet.

Notes

↑ The city was occupied by Russian forces before the outbreak of the War.
↑ The Military Service Bill, introduced by H. H. Asquith to redeem his pledge on 2 November, 1915, that married men would not be called up until after single men, provided that unattested single men and childless married men of military age should be regarded as having attested; that service should be for the duration of the war; that Ireland should be exempted.
↑ The German Government in autumn of 1915 accused the crew of the British auxiliary cruiser "Baralong" of shooting the crew of a U-boat, sunk on 19 August, 1915. Sir Edward Grey offered to submit the case to an impartial tribunal, if the Germans would submit three specific cases of outrages by German sailors to the same tribunal. The Germans rejected this offer on 14 January, 1916, on the grounds that the cases had already been investigated in Germany.
↑ Turkish peace terms to Russia include total demobilisation and disarmament for Russia while Turkey remains armed; also annulment of treaties referring to Persia.
↑ Lloyd George, addressing Man-Power Conference, says we have no desire to destroy Germany or any other nation, but we must have restoration, reparation, freedom for nations now enslaved and settlement of Asiatic and African problems. He also hopes for an international organisation to reduce chances of war and to limit armaments. The speech is well received in Allied countries.

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] The city was occupied by Russian forces before the outbreak of the War.

[2] The Military Service Bill, introduced by H. H. Asquith to redeem his pledge on 2 November, 1915, that married men would not be called up until after single men, provided that unattested single men and childless married men of military age should be regarded as having attested; that service should be for the duration of the war; that Ireland should be exempted.

[3] The German Government in autumn of 1915 accused the crew of the British auxiliary cruiser "Baralong" of shooting the crew of a U-boat, sunk on 19 August, 1915. Sir Edward Grey offered to submit the case to an impartial tribunal, if the Germans would submit three specific cases of outrages by German sailors to the same tribunal. The Germans rejected this offer on 14 January, 1916, on the grounds that the cases had already been investigated in Germany.

[4] Turkish peace terms to Russia include total demobilisation and disarmament for Russia while Turkey remains armed; also annulment of treaties referring to Persia.

[5] Lloyd George, addressing Man-Power Conference, says we have no desire to destroy Germany or any other nation, but we must have restoration, reparation, freedom for nations now enslaved and settlement of Asiatic and African problems. He also hopes for an international organisation to reduce chances of war and to limit armaments. The speech is well received in Allied countries.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]