Originally posted on 11th September 2018
5th January - Beginning of the Montenegrin Campaign of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
The Battle of Mojkovac was fought on 6th and 7th January and is probably the most famous battle of the campaign. Although the Montenegrin army won the battle, this could not prevent the final defeat, but still gave the Serbian army more time for their retreat.
10th January - Beginning of the Erzurum Offensive
The Erzurum Offensive was a winter offensive of the Imperial Russian Army against the Ottoman Empire. It took place in January and February 1916 and ended with the conquest of the strategic city Erzurum on 16th February.
24th January - Afghanistan and the German Empire sign a friendship and trade agreement.
In 1915 the diplomatic Niedermayer-Hentig Expedition was sent to Afghanistan by the German and the Ottoman Empire. Its purpose was to encourage Afghanistan to declare full independence from the British Empire, enter World War I on the side of the Central Powers and attack British India. Although the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom tried to intercept the mission, it reached Kabul in September 1915. The mission failed in its main task of rallying Afghanistan, but a friendship treaty between Afghanistan and the German Empire was signed in January 1916.
27th January - The United Kingdom introduces the military conscription for all unmarried men between 18 and 41.
21st February - Beginning of the Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun began on 21st February 1916, when the German army attacked the French defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun. Despite initial German success the French forces recaptured much of the lost territory in August and December. When the battle was finally over on 18th December 1916, it had become the longest battle on the Western Front of World War I and one of the most costly battles in human history. In both France and Germany Verdun became a symbol of the futility of the war. Beginning in the 1960s it has also become a symbol of the Franco-German reconciliation.
1st March - Beginning of the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo
8th or 12th March - An avalanche buries a Prisoners of War camp on the Vršič pass.
During World War I approximately 12000 Russians were transported by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the Vršič pass as Prisoners of War. There they were forced to build a road over the pass so that the reaching of the new front line in the Isonzo Valley would become easier. Several thousand young Russian prisoners died building this road. The prisoners also built a wooden Russian Chapel to honour their fallen countrymen.
9th March - Portugal enters World War I alongside the Entente.
At the beginning of World War I Portugal remained officially neutral, but already shortly after there were hostile engagements between Portugal and the German Empire due to the German campaign in Angola and the submarine warfare which sought to blockade the United Kingdom, the most important market for Portuguese products. On 9th March 1916 the German Empire declared war on Portugal followed by Portugal's reciprocal declaration. Around 12000 Portuguese troops died during World War I. After the war the German Empire was forced to cede the port of Kionga to Portugal.
24th April - Beginning of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland, which was quelled six days later
29th April - End of the Siege of Kut Al Amara
The Siege of Kut Al Amara took place between the 7th December 1915 and the 29th April 1916, when a British-Indian garrison was besieged by the Ottoman Army in the town of Kut in modern day Iraq. The siege happened, as Allied troops had to retreat after the Battle of Ctesiphon and as General Townshend decided to stay in Kut instead of moving forward to Basra. The Ottoman army was supported by the German general and military historian Baron von der Goltz. After some efforts to relieve the city had failed, the Allied surrendered after 147 days of siege. The surviving soldiers became prisoners and were forced to march to Aleppo. The British went back on the offensive in December 1916 and retook Kut on the 23rd February 1917.
16th May - Due to the foreseen defeat of the Ottoman Empire, France and the United Kingdom divide the Middle East into spheres of influence with the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
31st May - Beginning of the Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was fought between the 31st May and 1st June 1916 near the coast of Denmark's Jutland Peninsula. It was the largest naval battle and the only major encounter between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during World War I. It formed a part of a larger German strategy to break the British blockade against Germany and to allow German naval vessels to access the Atlantic. Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk with a great loss of life. But although more ships and sailors were lost on British side, they were able to prevent the German plans. In German it is known as Skagerrakschlacht (Battle of Skagerrak).
4th June - Beginning of the Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive was a Russian offensive against the Central Powers between June and September 1916. Although many soldiers lost the lives, it was one of the most successful Allied offensives of World War I.
5th June - Death of Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener became Secretary of State for War in 1914 and then already foresee a long war. He organised the largest volunteer army that Britain had seen and oversaw a significant expansion of materials production to fight on the Western Front. On 5th June 1916 Kitchener was on the HMS Hampshire to attend negotiations in Russia, when it struck a German mine.
1st July - Beginning of the Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme was fought between the 1st July and the 18th November 1916 by the German Empire against France and the United Kingdom. The battle started with a large-scale offensive of the Triple Entente and ended without a big achievement. It was the largest battle on the Western Front of the World War I and one of the bloodiest battles in human history. At the Somme the British used tanks for the first time in a battle.
19th July - Beginning of the Battle of Fromelles
The Battle of Fromelles was fought on the 19th and 20th July 1916 between troops of the German Empire and the British Empire. It was subsidiary to the Battle of the Somme and resulted in a German victory, as preparations for the attack were rushed, the troops involved lacked experience in trench warfare and the power of the German defence was underestimated. The attack was the debut of the First Australian Imperial Force on the Western Front. Later it was described as the worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history.
4th August - Beginning of the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo
The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, also known as Battle of Gorizia, was the most successful of the twelve battles of the Isonzo for the Italians. It resulted in the Italian conquest of Gorizia, but also saw many Italian casualties.
27th August - Romania enters World War I alongside the Entente.
8th September - Beginning of the Battle of Tabora
The Battle of Tabora was fought in September 1916 between forces from the Belgian Congo and German East Africa. During the battle the Belgian forces conquered Tabora, Kigoma and the Tanganjikabahn railway. The victory left much of the Ruanda-Urundi territory under Belgian military occupation.
13th September - Beginning of the Allied Monastir Offensive in modern day Macedonia, which was intended to lead to a Bulgarian defeat, but which just stabilised the Macedonian Front after the Allied capture of Monastir
14th September - Beginning of the Seventh Battle of the Isonzo
9th October - Beginning of the Eighth Battle of the Isonzo
31st October - Beginning of the Ninth Battle of the Isonzo
5th November - The Regency Kingdom of Poland is founded on former Russian territory as puppet state of the Central Powers.
21st November - Death of Emperor Franz Joseph I
12th December - The Central Powers sent a peace offer to the Entente, but it is rejected.
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