SHORTAGE OF SHELLS; SMALL GAINS AT HEAVY COST BRITISH FIRE ON OWN TROOPS Special to The Great War Project (12-14 May) This is a particularly dismal moment – a crisis really — for the British and their allies. A century ago, on both the Western Front in France and the Turkish Front at Gallipoli, the…
WILL AMERICA ENTER THE WAR NOW?
by Mike Shuster
Wilson is Silent on Lusitania disaster; New Allied Losses on Western Front Special to The Great War Project (8-11 May) In the aftermath of the Lusitania disaster, many questions arise that do not yet have answers. One of the most important, and most controversial, is why the British Admiralty offered no convoy to protect the…
!EXTRA! LUSITANIA TORPEDOED BY GERMAN SUBMARINE!
by Mike Shuster
Luxury Ocean Liner Sinks in Minutes; More Than a Thousand Feared Dead. Many Americans Killed; Wilson Ponders Response. Special to The Great War Project (5-7 May) On May 7th precisely a century ago, at 2:10 in the afternoon off the southeast coast of Ireland, the British ocean liner Lusitania is hit by a torpedo launched…
ALLIED REVERSAL ON TWO FRONTS
by Mike Shuster
At Gallipoli, Strong Turkish Resistance; On Eastern Front, Russians Routed Special to The Great War Project (2-4 May) In this first week of May a century ago, the British proclaim they are doing well on the battlefield on several fronts. But these are empty claims, as Turkish and German forces mount strong resistance against the…
LUSITANIA LEAVES NEW YORK FOR LIVERPOOL
by Mike Shuster
Germany Issues Warning: Passengers Travel at Own Risk Ship’s Owners Say No Contraband on Board Special to The Great War Project (30 April—1 May) On May 1st a century ago, the luxury ocean liner Lusitania is ready to set sail from New York, bound for Liverpool, England. The ship is one of the few grand…
DISASTER FOR ALLIES AT GALLIPOLI
by Mike Shuster
ANZACs Face Strong Turkish Defense, Terrible Terrain, Incompetent British Leadership Special to The Great War Project. (26-29 April) In these days a century ago, the British continue to pour troops onto the beaches of Gallipoli Peninsula in western Turkey. The Turkish forces defending the beaches from cliffs above put up unexpectedly strong, indeed fierce resistance.…
ALLIED ATTACK ON GALLIPOLI GOES BAD FROM THE START
by Mike Shuster
British Underestimate Ottoman Forces, Turkish Resolve Thousands of Allied Troops Killed on the Beaches Special to The Great War Project (25 April) In the hope of a swift victory, the Allied powers on this day a century ago, land some 50,000 troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula in northwestern Turkey, on the northern shore of the…
MURDER OF ARMENIANS ‘WELL PLANNED AND ORCHESTRATED’
by Mike Shuster
The Gruesome Details; Thousands of Cultural Leaders Killed An Armenian Day of Mourning Special to The Great War Project (23-24 April) On April 24th one hundred years ago to the day, the head of the Armenian Church in the Ottoman Empire appeals to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to intervene in the slaughter of Turkey’s Armenian…
A NEW TERRIFYING WEAPON – GAS
by Mike Shuster
On Sunny Breezy Day, A Grey-Green Cloud of Death; German Gas Attack Leaves Thousands Choking, Fleeing the Battlefield Special to The Great War Project (21-22 April) “It was on April 22,” writes historian Martin Gilbert, “that gas was used for the first time in the First World War.” The attack takes place in the evening,…
IN TURKEY’S EAST, A WITNESS TO MURDER
by Mike Shuster
Order to Exterminate all Armenian Males, Twelve Years and Over; German Gas Stockpile Growing Special to The Great War Project (17-20 April) The slaughter of the Armenians in Turkey continues unabated. On April 19th a century ago the killing is especially merciless in the town of Van in eastern Turkey. “By April 19th,” writes historian…