This timeline covers
all the political and military events that occurred across Europe
and the rest of the world during 1915. This is the year that see's
unrestricted sinking of ships by German U-Boats and the defeat
of British forces at Gallipoli.
01/01/1915
Allied offensive
in Artois and Champagne begins.
15/01/1915
Japan's makes 21
demands on China.
19/01/1915
First German zeppelin
air raid on England.
04/02/1915
Germany declares
a submarine blockade of Great Britain. Any ship approaching
England is considered a legitimate target.
07/02/1915
Second Battle of
Masurian Lakes begins.
19/02/1915
British naval units
bombard Turkish forts in the Dardenelles.
21/02/1915
Russians lose the
Second Battle of Masurian Lakes, suffering heavy loses in the
process.
01/03/1915
American citizen
die as the British liner Falaba, becomes the first passenger
ship to be sunk by U-boats. Captain George Van Horn Moseley
of U.S. War College Divison suggests a plan for universal military
training to the Chief of Staff.
11/03/1915
Britain announces
a blockade of all German ports.
30/03/1915
Allied offensive
in Artois and Champagne ends.
Mar 1915
Battle of Neuve-Chapelle.
22/04/1915
The Second Battle
of Ypres begins. Poison gas is used for the first time by Germans
in an attack on the Canadian sector.
23/04/1915
Allied forces make
landings an Gallipoli, Turkey.
26/04/1915
France, Russia, Italy
and Britain conclude secret Treaty of London.
Apr 1915
The Germans, focusing on Eastern
Front, launch an offensive against the Russians breaking through
Gorlice-Tarnow in Poland.
02/05/1915
Austro-German offensive begins
into Russian Poland.
05/05/1915
Second Battle of
Ypres ends.
07/05/1915
The British liner
Lusitania is sunk by a U-Boat with the loss of 1,198 civilians,
including 128 American lives, creating a US-German diplomatic
crisis.
09/05/1915
Second Battle of Artois begins.
23/05/1915
Ignoring treaty agreements
with the Central Powers, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
25/05/1915
British Prime Minister Asquith
reorganises his Liberal government as a coalition of the parties.
29/06/1915
The Italians launch an unsuccessful
attack against Austro-Hungary at what will be called the 1st
Battle of Isonzo. There will be 12 in total.
21/07/1915
President Wilson sends notes
to Secretary of War Garrison and Secretary of Navy Daniels
directing them to draft a defense program.
04/08/1915
German troops capture Warsaw.
19/08/1915
Two Americans die in sinking
of ship Arabic, off the coast Ireland by a U-boat.
21/08/1915
The Washington Post carries story
that General Staff are planning to send a force of 1 million
soldiers overseas.
24/08/1915
Another U.S paper, this time
the Baltimore Sun carries the story that General Staff is planning
to send a million soldiers overseas. The War College Division
denies the allegations in Washington Post and Baltimore Sun.
The American General Staff, in response to request from Secretary
of War Lindley M. Garrison, devotes much of the year to preparing
the "Statement of a Proper Military Policy for the United
States".
30/08/1915
Responding to American demands,
Germany stops sinking ships without warning.
31/08/1915
The Germans end their offensive
against the Russians having forced Russia out of much of Poland.
The Gallipoli debacle ends, with the Turkish siege of the remaining
Allied forces.
05/09/1915
Tsar Nicholas takes commands
of Russian armies.
15/09/1915
British forces use gas in battle
near Loos, but shifting winds cause 60,000 British casualties.
22/09/1915
The Second Battle of Champagne
begins.
Sep 1915
Battles of Artois starts. Battle
of Loos starts.
03/10/1915
Anglo-French force lands at Salonika
in Greece.
Oct 1915
Battles of Artois & Champagne
ends. Battle of Loos ends. Austro-German-Bulgarian forces invade
Serbia, expelling the Serbian army from the country
04/11/1915
Henry Ford's peace ship, Oskar
II, begins its voyage to Europe.
15/12/1915
General Sir Douglas Haig takes
Field Marshal Sir John French's position as Commander-in Chief
of the British Forces in France. This also gave him control
of the Canadian Forces in Europe.
28/12/1915
The Allies begin the withdrawal
of troops from Gallipoli.