France
France in the First World War →Tag
(541)1916
January
- 01
- Allies take YaoundéOn 1 January 1916 Col. Gorges's British column entered Yaoundé unopposed. The Germans had left the day before and were falling back south, towards Muni.
- King Peter arrives in SalonikaOn 1 January 1916 the ailing King Peter I of Serbia reached Salonika. After the retreat through Albania and a stay in Brindisi he chose the Entente base.
- 15
- First Serbian soldiers on CorfuIn mid-January 1916 the first Serbian soldiers from Albania began to arrive on Corfu. Many were so exhausted that they died soon after coming ashore.
- King Peter leaves SalonikaOn 15 January 1916 King Peter I of Serbia sailed from Salonika on a French warship. He went to take a cure at the spa of Edipsos on the Greek island of Euboea.
February
- 21
- Key eventStart of the Battle of VerdunOn 21 February 1916 more than 1,200 German guns opened fire on the French positions at Verdun. A battle began that lasted until December 1916.
- Airship LZ 77 shot downOn the evening of 21 February 1916 a French anti-aircraft gun shot down the airship LZ 77 near Revigny, flying behind Verdun. None of the crew survived.
March
April
May
- 09
- Anglo-French exchange of notes on Asia MinorOn 9 May 1916 French ambassador Paul Cambon sent Grey a note with terms for dividing Ottoman lands. It was the French text of the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
- Milne replaces MahonOn 9 May 1916 Gen. George Milne took command of the British Salonika Army. Bryan Mahon sailed for Egypt the same day to command on the Libyan border.
June
- 21
- Entente ultimatum to GreeceOn 21 June 1916 the ministers of France, Britain and Russia demanded that Greece demobilise, form a non-party government and hold elections. Athens gave in.
- Zaimis prime minister of Greece againOn 21 June 1916 King Constantine entrusted the government to Alexandros Zaimis, who accepted all the Entente's demands and formed a cabinet of officials.
- 27
- Demobilisation of the Greek armyOn 27 June 1916 the Zaimis government demobilised the Greek army, as the Entente demanded. Released reservists began forming anti-Venizelist leagues.
- Ratification of the economic conference resolutionsIn late June 1916 France's government approved the resolutions of the Paris economic conference. In London they sparked a dispute over the future of free trade.
July
- 30
- First joint Allied air operationsOn 30 July 1916 No. 3 Wing RNAS aircraft from Luxeuil first flew with the French against Germany. The targets were petrol stores at Müllheim in Baden.
- Russian troops in SalonikaOn 30 July 1916 General Diterikhs's 2nd Special Infantry Brigade began landing at Salonika. Crowds welcomed the Russians on the quays and in the streets.
August
September
- 25
- Key eventStart of the Battle of MorvalOn 25 September 1916 the British Fourth Army attacked on the Somme at noon and took Morval and Lesbœufs in three hours. At Gueudecourt the attack failed.
- Venizelos leaves AthensOn the night of 24–25 September 1916 Eleftherios Venizelos and Admiral Kountouriotis secretly sailed from Athens to Crete to lead the National Defence movement.
October
- 10
- Entente ultimatum on the Greek fleetOn 10 October 1916 Admiral Dartige du Fournet demanded Greece's light warships, the disarming of its large ones and control of Piraeus, police and railway.
- Lambros becomes prime minister of GreeceOn 10 October 1916 the historian Spyridon Lambros took office in Athens. His cabinet of officials and professors at once faced a French admiral's ultimatum.
November
- 19
- Allies take BitolaOn 19 November 1916 French and Serbian cavalry, followed by French and Russian infantry, entered Bitola. It was the first Serbian town recovered from the enemy.
- Entente demands expulsion of Central Powers envoys from AthensOn 19 November 1916 Admiral Dartige du Fournet ordered the German, Austrian, Bulgarian and Turkish ministers out of Greece, three days after demanding arms.
December
- 03
- The Clémentel agreementOn 3 December 1916 London and Paris signed a shipping agreement. Britain promised France fixed tonnage, and a joint bureau was to charter neutral ships.
- Bombardment of FunchalOn 3 December 1916 the German U-38 entered the Funchal roads on Madeira, sank three Allied ships and a barge, and then shelled the town with her deck gun.
- 15
- Britain recognises Hussein as King of the HejazIn December 1916 Britain, France and Russia recognised Sharif Hussein as King of the Hejaz, but not as King of the Arabs, as he styled himself.
- Barbusse's Under Fire wins the Prix GoncourtOn 15 December 1916 the Prix Goncourt went to Henri Barbusse's Under Fire, a stark picture of a French squad in the trenches, by a volunteer from the front.
- 26
- London conference on the peace notesOn 26–28 December 1916 British and French ministers met in London to discuss the reply to the peace notes, Salonika and the Nivelle plan.
- Joffre becomes Marshal of FranceOn 26 December 1916 Joffre gave up the last of his authority over the army and was made Marshal of France, the first since 1870. It was a consolation prize.
- 27
- Sinking of the battleship GauloisOn 27 December 1916 the German UB-47 torpedoed the French battleship Gaulois east of Kythira. The ship sank, but only four sailors were killed.
- Anglo-French agreement on TogolandOn 27 December 1916 London and Paris agreed on the provisional administration of conquered Togoland, dividing it into two separate administrative zones.
- 30
- Entente rejects the German peace offerOn 30 December 1916 ten Entente states rejected the Central Powers' offer in a joint note. They called it a war manoeuvre rather than a peace proposal.
- Chinese labourers in FranceAt the end of 1916 the British, following the French, turned to labourers from China. By 1918 over 100,000 of them were working behind the front in France.