British and French Get Ample Warning; Make No Preparations Special to The Great War Project (14-16 April) In these days a century ago, a German prisoner of war tells his British captors that the German army is stockpiling thousands of canisters of chlorine gas at the Belgian town of Ypres. Both sides are keenly aware…
SAVAGE VIOLENCE AGAINST ARMENIANS IN TURKEY
by Mike Shuster
Deportations Designed to Kill; Thousands on Death March Special to The Great War Project. (11-13 April) The circumstances of the Armenian population living in Ottoman Turkey continual to deteriorate. The murderous treatment of the Armenians in Turkey is not new. It has been going on for years. But now it is turning more and more…
ARMENIAN POPULATION OF TURKEY UNDER SIEGE
by Mike Shuster
Orders to Kill Men, Deport Women and Children Turks Blame Armenians for Losses Special to The Great War Project (8-10 April) The beginning of an enormous tragedy strikes the Armenian community living in Turkey. “The Turks,” writes historian Martin Gilbert, “bitter at their losses of men and land, blamed the local Armenian population for cooperating…
OTTOMANS FACING INVASION ON THREE FRONTS.
by Mike Shuster
Panic in Constantinople; Turks Seek Scapegoat in Armenia (Special to The Great War Project) (4-6 April) In the spring of 1915 a century ago, the situation confronting the Ottoman Empire is desperate. “The Ottomans faced invasion on three fronts,” writes historian Eugene Rogan. One is in Mesopotamia. The British hold the Basra region of southern…
GERMANS DECLARE UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WAR.
by Mike Shuster
Now Merchant as Well as Warships Legitimate Targets. American Ships at Risk. Special to The Great War Project (31 March-3 April) Suddenly, the war at sea reaches a boiling point. “On March 31 [a century ago],” writes historian Martin Gilbert, “more ships were sunk in a single day, twenty-nine, than in the war up to…
SUBMARINES REVOLUTIONIZING NAVAL WARFARE
by Mike Shuster
Germans Step Up Use of U-Boats; An ‘Ungentlemanly Weapon.’ First American Killed in the War. Special to The Great War Project (27-30 March) On March 28 precisely a century ago, the first American is killed in the First World War. His name is Leon Thrasher. He is a mining engineer, and he drowns when a…
PREPARATIONS UNDER WAY FOR GREAT BRITISH LANDING AT GALLIPOLI.
by Mike Shuster
Fight On, the Cry from All Sides. Only Lone Voices in Opposition. Special to The Great War Project (24-26 March) Stalemate and deadlock still prevail on the Western Front in northern France and Belgium. Elsewhere, defeat after defeat, slaughter after slaughter on both sides only steels the determination to fight on. Writes historian Martin Gilbert:…
AUSTRIANS SURRENDER KEY FORT ON EASTERN FRONT
by Mike Shuster
Thousands of Austrians Taken Prisoner; Starvation in Fort; Russian Officer: ‘Most Horrible Sight I’ve Ever Seen.’ Special to The Great War Project (21-23 March) While the British focus most of their attention on northwestern Turkey – the Dardanelle Straits and the Gallipoli Peninsula — the war between Austria-Hungary and Russia on the Eastern Front continues…
ON GALLIPOLI PENINSULA ARMY WILL TAKE OVER
by Mike Shuster
Second Naval Assault on Dardanelles Abandoned. Secret Plan with Russia to Carve up Ottoman Empire. Special to The Great War Project (19-20 March) The British bombardment a century ago of the Dardanelle Straits in western Turkey is a disaster. Three French and British battleships are sunk by mines in the straits. Three more are put…
ALLIED ARMADA FAILS IN ATTACK ON TURKEY
by Mike Shuster
At Dardanelles, Turkish Defenses Sink, Cripple Six Battleships; A Colossal British Miscalculation Special to The Great War Project (17-18 March) On the morning of March 18th a century ago, the British unleash a huge naval attack on the Dardanelles, the strategic waterway in northwestern Turkey. Initially ten battleships – six British and four French –…