Year 1915

Diary for Saturday, March 6, 1915: African Fronts Southwest Africa: Deventer‘s South Force of 9,000 men invades at Schuit Drift, river Orange. Berrange’s East Force (2,500 mounted infantry with 2 […]

Diary for Friday, March 5, 1915: Sea War Dardanelles: Battleship Queen Elizabeth fires 21,000 yards (ca. 19 km) over Gallipoli Peninsula at Narrows’ forts until next day. Aegean: ­2 Royal

Diary for Thursday, March 4, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: Admiralty decides the 29 PoWs of U8 cannot receive ‘honorable treatment’. Germany threatens reprisals on April 2. Shells and Fuses Agree­ment

Diary for Monday, March 1, 1915: Sea War Britain: Government declare it ‘WOULD PRE­VENT COMMODITIES OF ANY KIND ENTERING OR LEAVING GERMANY’. But, owing to fear of alienating USA and

Diary for Tuesday, March 2, 1915: Eastern Front Poland: Russian Twelfth Army night attacks until March 4 west of river Bobr fail – 21,000 casualties and 2 armored cars were

Diary for Sunday, February 28, 1915: Air War Britain: Admiral Fisher demands small non-rigid airships with ‘good turn of speed’ for anti-submarine duties. Within 21 days prototype SS (Sea Scouts)

Diary for Saturday, February 27, 1915: Western Front Champagne: Beausejour captured by French but only 1,000 German PoWs taken since February 16. Flanders: First Territorial division joins BEF, 46th (North

Diary for Friday, February 26, 1915: Western Front Meuse – First use of flamethrowers: 12 flamethrowers of Abteilung Reddemann support attacking infantry in Bois de Malancourt northeast of Verdun, first

Diary for Thursday, February 25, 1915: Sea War Dardanelles: Super-Dreadnought Queen Elizabeth (8 x 15-in guns) in first action joins 7 Anglo­-French battleships in silencing outer forts. Battleship Agamemnon (hit

Diary for Wednesday, February 24, 1915: Eastern Front Germans cross river Niemen near Sventsiansk. Western Front Meuse: French artillery in successful counter-battery operations. Fighting at Les Eparges. Sea War Adriatic:

Diary for Tuesday, February 23, 1915: Western Front Flanders: Field Marshal French refuses to relieve 2 French corps north of Ypres due to 29th Divisions going to Salonika, Joffre replies

Diary Monday, February 22, 1915: Eastern Front East Prussia – Winter Battle of Masuria ends: Germans claim 100,000 PoWs and 300 captured guns until February 23. First Battle of Przasnysz:

Diary for Sunday, February 21, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: Cabinet Munitions Production Committee formed. Western Front Champagne: French progress near Perthes. Vosges: Huchrod and Strossweiler taken by Germans, but French

Diary for Saturday, February 20, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: First formal Admiralty Conference on ‘land ships’ in Churchill’s bedroom (‘flu). Land Ship committee meets on February 24, two working models

Diary for Friday, February 19, 1915: Sea War North Sea: Norwegian tanker Belridge torpedoed without warning (by U16) but towed into Folkestone. Aegean: ­Anglo-French bombardment of Dardanelles outer forts (72

Diary for Thursday, February 18, 1915: Neutrals Italy: Anti-Austrian demonstrations at reopening of Parliament. Western Front Champagne: French repel five night counter-attacks and capture 2 redoubts until next day. Vosges­:

Diary for Wednesday, February 17, 1915: Eastern Front Bukovina: Austrians retake Czernowitz. Air War North Sea: 2 Zeppelins (L3 and L4) wrecked in crash-landings on neutral Danish coast. Dardanelles: HMS

Diary for Tuesday, February 16, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: Disabled Soldiers and Sailors Employment Comittee formed, Merchant Sailors War Injuries Compensation on February 18. Russia: Enemy citizens’ property confiscated. Western

Diary for Monday, February 15, 1915: Eastern Front Poland: Gallwitz occupies Plotsk on Vistula, beats Russians and attacks Przasnysz fortress on February 17. German XXI Corps marches 22 miles (ca.