Middle East
Front
(383)1915
January
- 02
- End of the Battle of SarikamishIn early January 1915 the Russians encircled the remnants of the Ottoman IX Corps at Sarikamish and took its commander. X Corps escaped over the mountains.
- Russians abandon UrmiaOn 2 January 1915 Russian troops withdrew from Urmia in northern Persia. Thousands of Assyrians and Armenians fled with them; Kurds and Turks took the town.
- 08
- Turks take TabrizOn 8 January 1915 Kurdish and Turkish units entered Tabriz, abandoned by the Russians. The occupation of the capital of Persian Azerbaijan lasted three weeks.
- Battle of Kara Urgan beginsIn early January 1915 the Ottoman XI Corps attacked the Russians at Kara Urgan, on the road from Erzurum to Sarikamish. Then Enver Pasha left the front.
- 13
- End of the battle of Kara UrganIn mid-January 1915 the Russians forced the Ottoman XI Corps to retreat from Kara Urgan. It was the last act of the fighting for Sarikamish.
- War Council decides to attack the DardanellesOn 13 January 1915 the British War Council told the Admiralty to prepare a February naval expedition to the Dardanelles, aimed at Constantinople.
February
- 02
- Turkish advance guards on the Suez CanalOn 2 February 1915 the leading Turkish units approached Ismailia. In a sandstorm they clashed with Indian troops and dug in a few kilometres from the canal.
- Turks enter the Aden ProtectorateOn 2 February 1915 Ottoman troops from Yemen attacked the sultanate of Al-Bayda on the edge of the Aden Protectorate. Local tribes repulsed the attack.
- 20
- Australians and New Zealanders for the DardanellesOn 20 February 1915 Kitchener ordered General Birdwood's 30,000 or so Australians and New Zealanders to prepare for operations at the Dardanelles.
- New Persian foreign ministerAccording to a British chronology, on 20 February 1915 Mo'aven od-Dowleh replaced Ala al-Saltaneh as Persian foreign minister. Persia barely kept neutral.
March
- 18
- Fleet attack in the Dardanelles repulsedOn 18 March 1915 the Allies attacked the forts at the Dardanelles Narrows. Bouvet, Irresistible and Ocean sank on Turkish mines and the fleet withdrew.
- John Nixon takes command in MesopotamiaOn 18 March 1915 General Sir John Nixon became commander of the British forces in Mesopotamia. Force D was to grow to two divisions.
- 25
- Indian Expeditionary Force F merged into Force EOn 25 March 1915 Indian Expeditionary Force F in Egypt was formally merged into Force E. Its brigades were already leaving for other fronts.
- Liman von Sanders takes command at the DardanellesAt the end of March 1915 Enver Pasha gave General Otto Liman von Sanders the new 5th Army, tasked with defending the Dardanelles and the Gallipoli peninsula.
April
- 28
- First attack on KrithiaOn 28 April 1915 the British and French attacked from Helles towards Krithia village and the hill of Achi Baba. Turkish resistance halted the weary troops.
- British treaty with al-IdrisiIn late April 1915 Britain concluded a treaty with Muhammad al-Idrisi, ruler of Asir. Idrisi undertook to fight the Turks in return for arms and protection.
May
June
July
August
- 06
- Landing at Suvla BayOn the evening of 6 August 1915 British IX Corps began landing at Suvla Bay on Gallipoli. The Turks had only three battalions there and were caught unawares.
- Battle of Sari Bair beginsOn 6 August 1915 Australians took the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine, and after dark columns from Anzac set off up the gullies towards the Sari Bair heights.
- 08
- British occupy BushehrOn 8 August 1915 the British occupied the Persian port of Bushehr and took over its administration, in reply to the July Tangestani attack on the Residency.
- Sinking of the battleship Barbaros HayreddinOn 8 August 1915 the British submarine E11 torpedoed the Turkish battleship Barbaros Hayreddin in the Sea of Marmara, off Bulair. About 250 men died.
September
- 28
- British win at KutOn 28 September 1915 Townshend's division skirted the marshes by night and took the Turkish redoubts at Es Sinn. That night the Turks fell back up the Tigris.
- Subsidy for PersiaOn 28 September 1915 Britain and Russia agreed to Persia's request for a monthly subsidy. The money was to keep the Tehran government on the Entente side.
October
November
- 04
- Kitchener leaves for the DardanellesOn the night of 4/5 November 1915 Lord Kitchener left London to decide the fate of Gallipoli on the spot. Asquith took charge of the War Office.
- Monro and Birdwood receive new commandsOn 4 November 1915 Kitchener gave General Birdwood the command at Gallipoli and moved General Monro, who had advised evacuation, to Salonika.
- 25
- Retreat from CtesiphonOn the evening of 25 November 1915 Townshend pulled his bled-white division back from Ctesiphon to Lajj. The march on Baghdad was over; the retreat led to Kut.
- Monro becomes commander-in-chief in the MediterraneanAt the end of November 1915 Gen. Monro took command of the British forces in the eastern Mediterranean, and Gen. Birdwood of the Dardanelles Army.
December
- 25
- Christmas Eve assault on KutOn 24 December 1915 the Turks made their biggest assault on the Kut fort. Fighting lasted into the night; on Christmas Day the defenders held the ruined fort.
- Clash at Wadi MajidOn Christmas Day 1915 the Western Frontier Force attacked the Senussi camp near Mersa Matruh and drove the order's forces out of Wadi Majid.
- Farmanfarma becomes prime minister of PersiaAt the end of December 1915 Prince Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma of the Qajar dynasty, long tied to the British, became prime minister of Persia.