Year 1915

Diary for Thursday, December 30, 1915: Southern Fronts Salonika: First Zeppelin raid. Air War Salonika: First German air raid (by Zeppelins), a Greek shepherd killed on outskirts, but incident does […]

Diary for Wednesday, December 29, 1915: Western Front First conference between Joffre and Haig: summer 1916 (Somme) offensive mooted. Joffre proposes great combined offensive by 65 divisions on a 60-mile

Diary for Tuesday, December 28, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: Cabinet decides for conscription. Western Front Last of Indian Corps leaves France. Artillery activity near Armentieres and Ypres. Eastern Front Baltic

Diary for Monday, December 27, 1915: Eastern Front Galicia and Bukovina: Ivanov Offensive with 18 infantry and 4 cavalry divisions + 1,000 guns (1000 shells each) along 90-mile front from

Diary for Sunday, December 26, 1915: Sea War North Sea: Disguised raider Möwe (Dohna-Schlodien) leaves Bremen, bluffs her way through Northern Patrol. On January 16 she captures British liner Appam

Diary for Saturday, December 25, 1915: African Fronts Uganda Railway: Germans repulsed from Ndi station (until next day); 17 British cause 24 German casualties in cross-border raid. Cameroons: British reject

Diary for Friday, December 24, 1915: Southern Fronts Montenegro: Austrian 62nd Division finally crosses river Tara after heroic Montenegrin resistance. Western Front Germany – Falkenhayn initiates prepara­tions for the Verdun

Diary for Thursday, December 23, 1915: Western Front France: Nivelle promoted to command French III Corps. African Fronts Cameroons: Final British advance on Yaunde resumes in 4 columns.

Diary for Wednesday, December 22, 1915: Western Front Alsace: First use of storm troops, Sturm battalion Rohrin (night 22/23) in successful German counter-attack on Hart­mannsweilerkopf: 82nd Landwehr Brigade recaptures the

Diary for Tuesday, December 21, 1915: Western Front Sir W Robertson succeeds Sir A Murray as CIGS (Chief of British Imperial Generals Staff); like Haig, Robertson believes in attrition tactics

Diary for Monday, December 20, 1915: Middle East Gallipoli: ANZAC AND SUVLA BRIDGEHEADS EVACUATED by 0510 hours (20,652 men and 38 guns since December 19). Monro urges Helles evacuation on

Diary for Sunday, December 19, 1915: Air War Western Front: 48 Anglo-German air encounters. Western Front Flanders: Germans introduce phosgene gas (10 times toxicity of chlorine) against British at Pilkem-Wieltje

Diary for Saturday, December 18, 1915: Western Front Flanders: Sir J French’s farewell to BEF, leaves France on December 21. Joffre laments his departure. HAIG ASSUMES COMMAND OF BEF at

Diary for Friday, December 17, 1915: Western Front Artillery activity all along the front. Artois: German grenade attack about the quarries north of Loos. Middle East Britain: Mark Sykes argues

Diary for Thursday, December 16, 1915: Western Front French War Minister Gallieni brings Verdun defences’ defects to Joffre‘s attention. Flanders: British trench raid near Armentieres. Sea War U-boat U24 (Schneider)