1915

Jan 3  In a five-day battle ending today the Russians have smashed Turkey's offensive. Of the 95,000 men that the Turks sent on the offensive only 18,000 will return – about 50,000 of them having frozen to death.  

Jan 5  The Turkish government publicly charges that Armenian army bakers were poisoning their bread. A group of doctors examine and eat the bread and conclude that the charges are false. No matter. The government does not rescind the charge and the bakers are beaten.

Jan 12  The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote. In favor are 174; against 204. It is seen by many as a defeat for the Suffragettes rather than for women in general. Four states already allow women to vote, and there are complaints from conservatives that it should be for individual states to decide the issue.

Jan 18  Japan moves to extend its control over China. It presents China with Twenty-one Demands, which include economic privileges, the power to "advise," and joint Japanese-Chinese administration of police departments.

Jan 25  In the United States the first coast-to-coast (New York City to San Francisco) telephone call is made, facilitated by a recently invented vacuum tube amplifier.

Feb 28  Turkey's government remains suspicious of their Armenian ethnic minority – also a religious minority in that the Armenians are Christians. In the last days of this month the Turks have dismissed Armenian government officials. They have removed Armenians from combat units and put them into labor battalions.

Apr 13  Carranza's army, led by Álvaro Obregón, defeats the forces of Pancho Villa at Celaya, 265 kilometers north-west of Mexico City. Villa loses around 4000 killed, Obregón from 600 to 1,000. Obregón wins using defense tactics learned from watching the Western Front in Europe. Villa employed frontal cavalary charges (offensive warfare).

Apr 25  The British strategy, suggested by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, is to attack the enemy alliance at its "soft underbelly." British troops land at Cape Hellas, French at Kum Kale, and New Zealanders and Australians at Anzac. The Turks will contain these offensives.

May 6  In major league baseball in the United States, Babe Ruth hits his first career home run.

May 7  The war looms larger to people in the United States as the Germans sink the British liner the Lusitania. Among the 1,198 people who die are 128 Americans who chose to ignore German warnings. The ship was carrying munitions and was a legitimate target in the naval blockade warfare that Britain had initiated against Germany. Some in the US respond with a view of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany as a Satan responsible for the war. President Wilson announces that he is "too proud to fight." He favors neutrality.

May 15  Because of an upsurge in police harassment and violence from other anarchists, the anarchist Francisco Ferrer Association moves from New York City to a 140-acre tract of land near New Brunswick, New Jersey. Colonists can buy an acre of land for $100 and resold for $150. The use of government money is not questioned.

May 23  Some Italians see opportunity in joining the war. Italy has more to lose by warring against Britain and France, so Italy chooses to war against Austria-Hungary, with whom it has had territorial conflicts.

May 25  China's dictator-president, Yuan Shikai, signs an agreement with Japan. Indignation sweeps through China. Yuan seeks support from his fellow Chinese by appealing to tradition. He makes himself an emperor.

Jun 5  Denmark and Iceland give their women the right to vote.

Jun 19  In John Bull Magazine, Horatio Bottomley argues that Ramsay MacDonald (future prime minister) and James Keir Hardie are leaders of a pro-German campaign, that they should be tried by Court Martial as an aider and abetter of the King's enemies and taken to the Tower and shot at dawn.

Jul 28  President Wilson sends the US Navy and Marinese to Haiti to protect US business interests amid the political turmoil there. The Marines will remain until 1934.

Aug 4 The German army has been advancing against the poorly equipped Russians. The Germans drive the Russians out of Warsaw. Despite their failures the Russians soldier on.

Aug 6 Another offensive begins at Gallipoli. In four days the Turks, led in person by Mustafa Kemal, will push the invaders back, with great losses for New Zealanders. Kemal (the future Ataturk, a secularist) is being transformed into a national hero.

Sept 18  Reacting to international outrage at the sinking of the Lusitania and other neutral passenger lines, Kaiser Wilhelm sees himself as honorable and suspends Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. The German navy is ordered not to sink passenger ships.

Sep 25 - Oct 14  In the Battle of Loos the British push Germans out of the French town of Loos. The British have joined the Germans in using poison gas. Suffering 50,000 casualties the British are unable to press their advantage. The Germans have suffered around 25,000 casualties.

Oct 19  The US recognizes Carranza's government, a slap against Villa, Zapata and other social revolutionaries.

Nov 17  Henry Ford tells fellow peace activist Rosika Schwimmer, "I know who caused the war – the German Jewish bankers. I have the evidence here. Facts!"

Dec 7  Facing stalemate in what Churchill called a "soft underbelly," Allied forces begin a withdrawal from their Gallipoli campaign. The number of Allies having died in the campaign is approximately 46,000. The wounded number around 219,000. Nothing was gained.

to 1914 | to 1916

Copyright © 1998-2018 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.