Originally posted on 11th August 2018
22nd February - The German Empire declares the unrestricted submarine warfare.
22nd April - During the Second Battle of Ypres the German Empire uses toxic gas for the first time in the war.
Although the Hague Conventions of 1907 prohibited the use of toxic gas the German Empire used it for the first time in 1915. Because of the naval blockade of the Triple Entente the German Empire used the Haber process to produce the needed ammonia. During the war the Triple Entente and the Central Powers used more and more powerful toxic weapons.
24th April - Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople are arrested and exiled.
At the beginning of World War I the traditional territories of the Armenians were divided between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In the Ottoman Empire the Christian Armenians were accused to be liable to ally with Russia and the government treated the entire Armenian population as an enemy within its empire. On 24th April 1915 Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople were arrested and exiled. This is conventionally held to be the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. In the coming months the Armenians in Eastern Anatolia were displaced, killed or forced to walk in inhuman conditions towards the southern borders of the Ottoman Empire. Around 1,5million Armenians lost their lives during the Genocide. After World War I the short-living First Republic of Armenia was established. The Armenian Genocide is acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, although Turkey still denies that the word genocide is an accurate term for these crimes.
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| At some places like Van or Mount Musa Armenians defended themselves and resisted acts of massacre. The Ottoman authorities used these armed resistance to justify the forced deportations of Armenians from all over the empire, although the decisions of deportation and extermination were made before them. |
25th April - British and French forces land on Gallipoli (ANZAC Day).
Starting in February 1915 the British Empire and France tried to open the Dardanelles strait to the Allied fleets to provide access to the allied Russian Empire and to capture the Ottoman capital Constantinople. On 25th April 1915 Australian, British, French and New Zealandian troops landed on Gallipoli, but were repelled by the Ottoman defenders, which also included Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The campaign ended in January 1916 with an Ottoman victory and many casualties. The campaign was the only major Ottoman victory of the war and is regarded as a defining moment in Turkey's history. For Australia and New Zealand the battle is said to be the beginning of the national consciousness. In both countries is ANZAC Day the most significant commemoration of military casualties.
2nd May - Beginning of the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive, which was a turning point of the World War I on the Eastern Front, as the victory of the Central Powers led to the total collapse of the Russian lines and resulted in their retreat far into Russia
3rd May - John McCrae writes In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields is a war poem written on 3rd May 1915 by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae from Canada. He wrote the poem after his friend was killed during the Second Battle of Ypres. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems about World War I. Due to the poem the red Poppy became a famous symbol of World War I, as it keeps the remembrance of the fallen soldiers alive, but still shows that life goes on.
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
7th May - Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner. The ship was sunken as consequence of the unrestricted submarine warfare of the German Empire on 7th May 1915. 1198 passengers died including 128 citizens of the USA. The sinking caused a storm of protest in the United States and helped shift public opinion in the United States against the German Empire. Due to the protests from the USA the German submarine warfare was discontinued until 1917.
9th May - Beginning of the Second Battle of Artois or Lorettoschlacht, a Allied attempt to break through the German lines which remained inconclusive like so many others
23rd May - Italy enters World War I alongside the Triple Entente.
Before World War I was Italy a part of the Triple Alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, but when the war began in 1914 Italy stayed neutral. As Italy desired parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Trentino and Trieste, as spoils of war, it started secret negotiations with France and Great Britain. They agreed and Italy joined the war on 23rd May 1915 alongside the Triple Entente. Between 1915 and 1918 Italy fought a position warfare against the Austro-Hungarian Empire without major shifts of the lines. After World War I Italy got the promised territories and additionally also South Tyrol and Istria.
22nd June - The Austro-Hungarian Empire recaptures Lviv.
At the beginning of World War I was Lviv one of the strongest Austro-Hungarian garrisons in the Eastern part of the country. During the Battle of Lviv in August 1914 the city was captured by Russian troops and stayed conquered until June 1915. After World War I Lviv became a part of Poland.
23rd June - Beginning of the First Battle of the Isonzo, the first of twelve battles fought between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy in the Isonzo river valley in modern day Slovenia, of which the most were failures for the Italian army
18th July - Beginning of the Second Battle of the Isonzo
4th August - The German Empire captures Warsaw.
25th September - Beginning of the Second Battle of Champagne
The Second Battle of Champagne, in German known as Herbstschlacht in der Champagne (Autumn Battle in Champagne), was after the First Battle of Champagne (Winter Battle of Champagne) the second French try to break through the German lines in Champagne. It was fought between the 25th September and the 8th November 1915. Simultaneous also the French Third Battle of Artois and the British Battle of Loos were fought. Although the German troops were outnumbered by the French, the battle ended with a German victory. Afterwards there were no new attempt of the French to break through the German lines in Champagne.
25th September - Beginning of the Battle of Loos
The Battle of Loos was the largest British attack on the Western Front in 1915 and was fought between the United Kingdom and the German Empire between the 25th September and the 8th October. It was a part of the plan to break through the German defences to restore a war of movement. The battle ended without a major shift in the front. In the battle the British army used poison gas for the first time.
9th October - Austro-Hungarian and German troops capture Belgrade.
Belgrade was attacked for the first time short after the beginning of World War I. The city, which was bravely defended by Serbian troops and the city's inhabitants, was finally captured by Austro-Hungarian and German troops in October 1915. In the following time entire Serbia was occupied and the Serbian government had to retreat to Albania and later to Greece. After the war Belgrade became the capital of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
14th October - Bulgaria enters World War I alongside the Central Powers.
18th October - Beginning of the Third Battle of the Isonzo
10th November - Beginning of the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo
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