Germany
Germany in the First World War →Tag
(889)1915
January
February
- 04
- Winter Battle of Masuria beginsThe British chronology dates the start of the Winter Battle of Masuria to 4 February 1915. The Germans were still massing; the attack began on 7 February.
- Germany declares a war zone around the British IslesOn 4 February 1915 Germany declared the waters around the British Isles a war zone. From 18 February U-boats were to destroy enemy merchant ships there.
- 22
- End of the Second Battle of the Masurian LakesOn 22 February 1915 the Germans declared the winter battle in Masuria over. The Russian 10th Army left East Prussia, but most of its corps escaped.
- Start of the battle of PrzasnyszOn 22 February 1915 German divisions began to encircle Przasnysz in northern Mazovia, and the Russians sent fresh Siberian corps against their flank.
- Bread cards in GermanyOn 22 February 1915 Berliners received their first bread cards, 2 kilograms a week per person. Cut off by the blockade, Germany began rationing food.
March
- 21
- Germans retake MemelOn 21 March 1915 the Germans drove the Russians out of Memel after street fighting. In the pursuit, aided by warships, they took about 500 prisoners at Palanga.
- First airship raid on ParisOn the night of 20–21 March 1915 two German airships bombed Paris and its suburbs. Z X, damaged by fire from the ground, crashed on the way back.
April
- 14
- Germany accuses the French of using gasOn 14 April 1915 a German communiqué accused the French of using bombs with "asphyxiating" gas near Verdun. There were more such accusations in those days.
- Japan reveals German peace feelersAccording to the British chronology, on 14 April 1915 Japan informed London of German attempts to persuade it to make a separate peace.
- 22
- Key eventSecond Battle of Ypres beginsOn 22 April 1915 the Germans released a cloud of chlorine at Ypres. Two French divisions broke, and a gap several kilometres wide opened north of the town.
- Key eventBattle of Gravenstafel Ridge beginsOn the night of 22–23 April 1915 Canadians counter-attacked at Ypres to close the gas-attack gap. Of 1,500 men who charged the wood, under 500 were left.
May
- 01
- Key eventStart of the Battle of GorliceOn 1 May 1915 German and Austro-Hungarian guns began shelling the Russians at Gorlice, and on 2 May Mackensen's army attacked and broke through the front.
- Torpedoing of the tanker GulflightOn 1 May 1915 U-30 torpedoed the American tanker Gulflight off the Scilly Isles. She did not sink, but two seamen drowned and the master died of heart failure.
- 08
- Key eventBattle of Frezenberg Ridge beginsOn 8 May 1915, after a hurricane bombardment, the Germans broke the British front on Frezenberg Ridge near Ypres. The last reserves closed the gap at night.
- Battle of Sanok and Rzeszów beginsOn 8 May 1915 the Russians, driven from the Wisłoka, tried to halt the Central Powers' pursuit on the Wisłok. They were to die in their positions, not retreat.
- 09
- Key eventBritish attack Aubers RidgeOn 9 May 1915 the British First Army attacked Aubers Ridge to support the French in Artois. Machine-gun fire stopped the attack in no man's land.
- Key eventSecond Battle of Artois beginsOn 9 May 1915 the French Tenth Army attacked near Arras. Pétain's corps reached Vimy Ridge in two hours, but without reserves it could not hold it.
- Wilson on the sinking of the LusitaniaAfter the Lusitania was sunk President Wilson long kept silent. On 10 May 1915 in Philadelphia he said that a man could be "too proud to fight".
- 13
- Battle of Frezenberg Ridge endsOn 13 May 1915 the Germans made their last attack at Ypres in the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge. Dismounted cavalry and British infantry held the front.
- Sinking of the battleship GoliathOn the night of 12/13 May 1915 the Turkish destroyer Muavenet-i Milliye crept into the Dardanelles and torpedoed the British battleship Goliath. About 570 died.
- 14
- Central Powers take JarosławIn mid-May 1915 the German Guard and the Austro-Hungarian VI Corps took the Russian bridgehead at Jarosław and reached the San. The town suffered from shelling.
- End of the battle of Sanok and RzeszówIn mid-May 1915 the Russians withdrew from western Galicia behind the San. The Central Powers took Sanok and Rzeszów and 130,000–140,000 prisoners.
- 24
- Key eventGerman gas attack at BellewaardeAt dawn on 24 May 1915 the Germans released chlorine at Ypres on a 7 km front, took Mouse Trap Farm and part of Bellewaarde Ridge but did not break through.
- Fighting to retake Przemyśl beginsOn 24 May 1915 Mackensen's army struck at Radymno to cut Przemyśl off from the east. The Russians lost Radymno and thousands of men as prisoners.
- Battle of the Stryj beginsOn 24 May 1915 the South Army began shelling Russian positions before Stryj. Linsingen massed his forces for one blow, but the infantry stuck in the wire.
- Germany breaks off relations with ItalyOn 24 May 1915 Germany broke off diplomatic relations with Italy, which had declared war on Austria-Hungary. Yet Berlin and Rome did not go to war.
- 25
- End of the Second Battle of YpresOn 25 May 1915 the Second Battle of Ypres died down. After five weeks of fighting and gas attacks the Germans had shrunk the salient but not taken Ypres.
- End of the Battle of FestubertOn 25 May 1915 the London 47th Division took a German trench at Festubert and French decided to halt the offensive. Ten days of fighting cost 16,600 men.
June
- 03
- The Central Powers retake PrzemyślEarly on 3 June 1915 German and Austro-Hungarian troops entered Przemyśl, abandoned by the Russians. Russian rule in the town had lasted 73 days.
- End of the battles of Stryi and DrohobyczBy 3 June 1915 the Russians had fallen back from Stryi and Drohobycz to the Dniester. The oil basin was free, but they still held a bridgehead on the river.
- 11
- End of the Battle of PrzemyślA British chronology ends the Battle of Przemyśl on 11 June 1915. After the fortress fell, the front halted at Mościska and Mackensen prepared to hit Lviv.
- End of the Battle of the StryiOn 11 June 1915 the South Army, earlier pushed back over the Dniester, attacked again near Żydaczów. The British chronology ends the Stryi battle that day.
July
- 13
- Central Powers' great offensive in the east beginsOn 13 July 1915 the Germans struck from East Prussia towards the Narew. An offensive began that was to drive the Russians out of the Kingdom of Poland.
- Battle of the Narew and Biebrza beginsOn 13 July 1915 Gallwitz's and Scholtz's armies attacked the Russian front between the Vistula and Biebrza, aiming at the Narew crossings and Warsaw's rear.
- Second Battle of Przasnysz beginsOn 13 July 1915, after a bombardment of several hours from some 800 guns, Army Group Gallwitz broke the Russian First Army's main defence line at Przasnysz.
- Battles of Masłomęcz and Grabowiec beginOn 13 July 1915 the German Army of the Bug took up positions between Hrubieszów and Grabowiec. The attack on the Russian Thirteenth Army began on 15 July.
- 17
- Battle of SiennoOn 17 July 1915 Woyrsch's Silesian Landwehr broke the Russian front at Sienno on the west bank of the Vistula. The Russians fell back towards Ivangorod.
- End of the second battle of PrzasnyszBy 17 July 1915 the Germans had pushed the Russian 1st Army back about 30 km from Przasnysz and Ciechanów to fortified bridgeheads on the Narew.
- 18
- End of the battles of Masłomęcz and GrabowiecOn 18 July 1915 the Russian Thirteenth Army still held off the Bug Army near Hrubieszów and Grabowiec. It fell back that night as the front broke at Krasnystaw.
- End of the Battle of KrasnystawOn 18 July 1915 the Germans held Krasnystaw and the Wieprz bridgehead despite Russian Guards counter-attacks. At night the Russians fell back near the railway.
- 20
- Key eventStart of the Battle of Le LingeOn 20 July 1915 French chasseurs alpins attacked the German positions on the Linge ridge in the Vosges. The first assault collapsed under fire from bunkers.
- Start of the second battle of IvangorodOn 20 July 1915 Woyrsch's troops attacked the last Russian field position before the fortress of Ivangorod (Dęblin). The Austro-Hungarians entered Radom.
- 30
- Battles of Hrubieszów and Wojsławice endOn 30 July 1915 the Russian 13th Army began to retreat from Hrubieszów. After twelve days of fighting the Bug Army reached Strzelce and Leszczany.
- End of the Battle of BiskupiceOn 30 July 1915, after their defeat at Biskupice, the Russians fell back all along the front between the Vistula and the Bug. The Austro-Hungarians took Lublin.
- Start of the Battle of KupiškisOn 30 July 1915 the Russian 5th Army struck at Kupiškis in Lithuania, into the gap between Niemen Army cavalry corps due to set off for Vilna and Dvinsk.
August
September
- 09
- Start of the Battle of DvinskOn 9 September 1915 the right wing of the German Niemen Army set off for Dvinsk, to reach the Dvina and cover the attack on Vilna from the north.
- Start of the Battle of VilnaOn 9 September 1915 the German 10th Army struck north of Vilna, into the gap between two Russian armies. General Garnier's cavalry pushed into the breach.
- Border convention at DidymoteichoIn September 1915 Turkey agreed to cede Didymoteicho and the Maritsa valley with the railway to Dedeagach to Bulgaria. News of the new border reached the West.
- US demands the recall of Ambassador DumbaOn 9 September 1915 the US demanded the recall of Austro-Hungarian ambassador Konstantin Dumba, who had proposed strikes in American munitions plants.
- 25
- Key eventBattle of Loos beginsOn 25 September 1915 the British attacked at Loos behind chlorine gas, taking the village, Hill 70 and the Hohenzollern Redoubt, but reserves were too far back.
- Key eventThird Battle of Artois beginsOn 25 September 1915 the French Tenth Army again attacked Vimy Ridge. The left wing reached Souchez, but on the rest of the front the attack broke down.
- Key eventSecond Battle of Champagne beginsOn 25 September 1915 two French armies attacked in Champagne. They took the German first line and 14,000 prisoners, but the second position stopped the attack.
October
November
- 01
- Capture of KragujevacOn 1 November 1915 the Germans and Austrians entered Kragujevac. The Serbs left without a fight, having blown up the country's only arsenal the day before.
- End of the Battle of DvinskOn 1 November 1915 the German attack on Dvinsk petered out. The Russians kept the town and Dvina bridgeheads; the front froze there for over two years.
- 06
- End of the Second Battle of ChampagneOn 6 November 1915 the last fighting of the Second Battle of Champagne died down. German counter-attacks retook the Butte de Tahure and Hill 199 near Massiges.
- Submarine attack on SollumOn 6 November 1915 the German submarine U-35 sank the Egyptian coastguard cutter Abbas in the bay of Sollum and damaged the Nur al-Bahr.
- Capture of Mount BanyoAt dawn on 6 November 1915 Cunliffe's Nigerians reached the top of Mount Banyo in Kamerun. The German garrison fled at night in a storm, but most were caught.