1915 witnessed a number of major battles in World War One, not least at Gallipoli, Ypres and Loos. 1915 was also the year when poison gas (chlorine) was used for the first time.

January 8th: Battle of Soissons started.

 

January 14th: Battle of Soissons ended after the Germans launched a successful counter-attack against the French.

 

January 15th: The War Council authorised a naval attack on the Dardanelles.

 

January 19th: The first Zeppelin raid on Great Britain took place at Great Yarmouth.

 

January 24th: Battle of Dogger Bank between Royal Navy and the German Navy.

 

January 31st: The first recognised use of poison gas took place at Bolimov on the Vistula Front.

 

February 3rd: Unsuccessful attacks on the Suez Canal by the Turks.

 

February 4th: Germany declared the waters around Great Britain to be a ‘war zone’.

 

February 19th: British troops bombarded Turkish forts in the Dardanelles. Small number of Marines landed.

 

February 24th: A decision was taken that if the Navy could not defeat the defenders at the Dardanelles, then the task would be finished by the Army.

 

March 10th: The British Army launched an offensive at Neuve Chapelle.

 

March 13th: Mediterranean Expeditionary Force sailed from Egypt. Battle of Neuve Chapelle was ended.

 

March 18th: An Anglo-French force that involved 16 battleships attacked the Dardanelles but suffered heavy losses.

 

March 22nd: Army and Navy commanders agreed on a joint offensive. Two Zeppelins attacked Paris.

 

April 11th: British forces led by Sir John Nixon repel a Turkish attack on Basra.

 

April 22nd: First use of chlorine gas at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres.

 

April 25th: Allied troops landed at five beaches at Gallipoli and gained a small beachhead at Anzac Cove.

 

April 26th: A secret treaty between the Triple Entente and Italy brought Italy into the war on the side of the Allies.

 

May 1st: First American merchant ship sunk by Germans, the ‘Gulflight’, a tanker, off the Scilly Islands.

 

May 3rd: Italy denounced the Triple Alliance.

 

May 7th: The ‘Lusitania’ was sunk by a German U-boat; 1,201 lives were lost including 128 Americans.

 

May 9th: France launched a Spring Offensive in Artois and advanced towards Vimy Ridge.

 

May 19th: The Turks launched a major attack to force the Allies out of Gallipoli. They suffered heavy casualties.

 

May 23rd: Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary.

 

May 24th: A ceasefire was ordered for Anzac Cove to allow for the dead to be buried. The Austrian Navy bombarded Italian coastal towns and sunk the Italian destroyer ‘Turbine’.

 

May 25th: ‘HMS Triumph’ sunk by U-21 off the Dardanelles. Second Battle of Ypres ended.

 

May 26th: Italy announced that they would blockade Austria.

 

May 27th: ‘HMS Majestic’ sunk by U-21 off the Dardanelles.

 

May 30th: The Italians bombed the Austrians fleet base at Pula.

 

May 31st: The first Zeppelin raid on London took place killing 28 and wounding 60.

 

June 18th: The French Spring Offensive in Artois was ended.

 

June 20th: The Germans launched an offensive in the Meuse-Argonne area.

 

June 23rd: First Battle of Isonzo.

 

July 1st: Central War Industries Committee introduced to Germany and Austria-Hungary to co-ordinate war production.

 

July 7th: First Battle of Isonzo ended with minor Italian victories.

 

July 12th: German coal industry placed under state control.

 

July 13th: The German offensive in Meuse-Argonne came to an end.

 

July 18th: Second Battle of Isonzo started.

 

August 1st: The start of the ‘Fokker Scourge’ with the Fokker monoplane dominant over the Western Front.

 

August 3rd: Second Battle of Isonzo ended with a total of 90,000 casualties but with minimal territorial gains for the Italians.

 

August 5th: Germany captured Warsaw from the Russians

 

August 6th: Attempted breakout from Anzac Cove to capture nearby heights.

 

August 10th: The Turks recapture lost land and forced the Allies back to Anzac Cove.

 

August 20th: Italy started a sustained bombing campaign against Austrian military targets.

 

August 21st: The 29th Division was ordered to attack Hill 60 and Scimitar Hill. The attack failed with heavy casualties.

 

September 1st: Germany pledged that neutral ships would not be targeted in the sea war.

 

September 5th: Nicholas II of Russia took full control of the Russian Army.

 

September 25th: The British Army used poison gas for the first time at the Battle of Loos.

 

September 26th: Start of Battle of Kut al-Amara.

 

September 28th: End of Battle of Kut al-Amara; British forces defeated the Turks.

 

October 11th: Bulgarian troops attacked Serbia.

 

October 14th: The Battle of Loos came to an end.

 

October 18th: Third Battle of Isonzo started.

 

November 4th: Third Battle of Isonzo ended with no obvious gains for either side.

 

November 10th: Lord Kitchener visited the Gallipoli front and decided to withdraw ANZAC forces there. Fourth Battle of Isonzo started.

 

November 25th: The Serbian Army was ordered to retreat through Albania with the German Army in pursuit.

 

November 27th: Very poor weather led to 15,000 troops being evacuated from Anzac Cove for frostbite, trench foot and exposure.

 

December 3rd: Fourth Battle of Isonzo ended with minimal territorial gains for Italy.

 

December 19th: The Allies started the evacuation of Gallipoli. Douglas Haig replaced Sir John French as commander of the BEF.

1914    1916    1917    1918

April 2009