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…
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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 –…
BRITISH ASSAULT EXPECTED IN DARDANELLES
by Mike Shuster
A Massive Concentration of Warships. Turks Fortify Strategic Waterway; Constantinople Threatened. Special to The Great War Project (14-16 March) A fleet of sixteen British battleships is gathering in the Aegean Sea just outside the Dardanelles. This is the narrow, strategic waterway that leads from the Mediterranean to Constantinople, the Ottoman capital and on to the…
THOUSANDS OF BRITISH, GERMANS PERISH AT NEUVE CHAPELLE.
by Mike Shuster
‘This is Not War; It is the Ending of the World.’ Special to The Great War Project (11-13 March) In France the battle for Neuve Chapelle lasts for three terrible days. “It began well,” writes historian Michael Neiberg, “but soon degenerated into chaos that the Germans exploited. By the end, the British gained little for…
IN FRANCE BRITISH SEEK BREAKOUT AT NEUVE CHAPELLE
by Mike Shuster
Initial Success Yields to Disaster; Communications Confusion Brings Tragedy Special to The Great War Project (8-10 March) After weeks of little action on the Western Front, the British launch a major attack on the Germans at the already destroyed French village of Neuve Chapelle. The goal: to break through the German trench lines and capture…