Western Front
Captain Albert Ball, Royal Flying Corps (44 victories, last 2 on May 5) killed aged 20 in an SE5 inverted from low cloud behind German lines; cause perhaps vertigo. Only 5 of No 60 Squadron’s 11 Scouts he was among return from evening patrol. Posthumous Victoria Cross. It is possible that Ball was shot down by Lothar von Richthofen, who claimedan aerial victory at about the time and place of Ball’s plane falling. However, von Richthofen claimed a triplane; while the Sopwith Triplane was in operational status at the time, Ball never flew one. Captain Ball fell on the enemy side of the lines and was buried with full military honours by the Germans.
British cavalry crossing a bridge over a communication trench near Neuve Eglise: © IWM (Q 6183):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...1486851/photo/1
British position between Bullecourt and Queant improved by Australians.
Some of “The Balmorals” performers who are entertaining British troops at Chelers: © IWM (Q 5330):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...3120384/photo/1
President Wilson’s war address is translated into German and sent towards German lines via balloons:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...3800832/photo/1
Daylight aeroplane raid on north-east London, 1 killed, 2 wounded.
Edward 'Mick' Mannock of the Royal Flying Corps, shoots down a balloon to claim his first aerial victory.
Southern Front
Bulgarian counter-attack on Franco-Venizelist forces near Gevgeli repulsed.
Naval and Overseas Operations
German submarine SM
UB-39, which sunk 93 ships during its career, hits a mine and sinks with all 24 crew.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: Imperial Camel Corps blow up wells south of Beersheba (until May 14).
Political, etc
Germany: German Chancellor uses Social Democrats to influence Soviet delegates towards German terms of peace.
Russia: First post-Revolution Bolshevik Party Conference (until May 12) with 80,000 members; Lenin elected to Central Committee. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, named Lenin, after his return to Russia:
https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...70318.jpg?ssl=1
Russian Provisional Government takes control of grain stocks in order to control food supply and prices.
France: With one of six Frenchmen in uniform, France is importing thousands of Chinese labourers to make up for manpower shortages.
Turkey: Falkenhayn reaches Constantinople to discuss Baghdad’s reconquest (he leaves on May 13).
United States: Theodore Roosevelt promises he can recruit 180,000 men and send them to France in 6 weeks. [ed note: another one of the absurd claims made by people in the US, who should have known better; never came about.]
Herbert C. Hoover warns that Germany might win the war before the U.S. is ready to send men to the front.