<– Part 189 – March 3, 1918 | Part 190 – March 10, 1918 | Part 191 – March 17, 1918 –>

American soldiers stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, have been falling ill with influenza this week. Beginning with Private Albert Gitchell on March 4, nearly 100 soldiers are now sick.

21 men of the American 165th Infantry Regiment were killed at Rouge Bouquet on March 7, when an artillery shell landed atop the roof of their trench dugout, burying them alive. A regimental sergeant, Joyce Kilmer, wrote a poem memorializing it, which has spread across American newspapers the following weeks.

British and Ottoman forces continue fighting in Palestine as the British secure their flank near the Jordan, with fighting across nearly the entire front beginning March 8, but especially focused at Tell ‘Asur. The tide of battle has steadily been swinging in British favor.

Advancing German forces in Ukraine encountered the Czechoslovak Legions March 8, elements of the Russian Army, on March 8 at Bakhmach. Fighting has erupted, as any captured Czechoslovaks receive a summary execution as deserters from Austria-Hungary. Fighting peaked earlier today, with the Germans surprisingly receiving the bulk of the losses.