Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany appoints Max von Baden Chancellor of Germany. King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicates in the wake of the Bulgarian military collapse in WWI. He is succeeded by his son, Boris III. WWI: The Pursuit to Haritan by the Desert Mounted Corps begins. October 4 Wilhelm II of Germany forms a new, liberal government to sue for peace. The T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion in New Jersey kills 100+, and destroys enough ammunition to supply the Western Front for 6 months. October 7 – The Regency Council (Poland) declares Polish independence from the German Empire, and demands that Germany cede the Polish provinces of Poznań, Upper Silesia and Polish Pomerania. October 8–10 – WWI: Second Battle of Cambrai: British and Canadian troops take Cambrai from the Germans and the First and Third British Armies break through the Hindenburg Line. October 8 – WWI: In the Forest of Argonne in France, U.S. Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132. October 9 – Landgrave Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse is elected King of Finland. October 11 – The magnitude (Mw) 7.1 San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing 76–116 people. A destructive tsunami contributes to the damage and loss of life. October 12 – Cloquet Fire: The city of Cloquet, Minnesota, and nearby areas are destroyed in a fire, killing 453. October 18 – The Washington Declaration proclaims the independent Czechoslovak Republic. October 24 – WWI: The Battle of Vittorio Veneto opens. October 25 WWI: Aleppo is captured, by Prince Feisal's Sheifial Forces. The steamer Princess Sophia sinks on Vanderbilt Reef near Juneau, Alaska; 353 people die, in the greatest maritime disaster in the Pacific Northwest. October 26 – WWI – Charge at Haritan: Units of the Desert Mounted Corps battle with Ottoman forces for the last time in WWI. October 28 Czechoslovakia declares its independence from Austria-Hungary. A new Polish government is declared in Western Galicia (Eastern Europe). October 29 The Wilhelmshaven mutiny of the German High Seas Fleet breaks out. The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs declares its independence from Austria-Hungary. October 30 The Martin Declaration is published, including Slovakia in the formation of the Czecho-Slovak state. The Armistice of Mudros ends conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I, and grants independence to