March 1915

March

• 01

  • Blockade of German East AfricaOn 1 March 1915 Britain declared a blockade of the whole coast of German East Africa, to cut the colony off from supplies and hem in the Königsberg.
  • Austrians bombard AntivariOn the night of 1–2 March 1915 Austro-Hungarian warships raided Antivari. They wrecked the pier and food stores and sank the King of Montenegro's yacht.
  • Anglo-French declaration against German tradeOn 1 March 1915 London and Paris, in reprisal for the German war zone, announced they would stop ships carrying goods to or from Germany.
• 04

  • Russians retake StanisławówOn 4 March 1915 the Russian 9th Army retook Stanisławów, captured by the Austrians two weeks earlier. The town stayed in Russian hands until June.
  • France sends a corps to the DardanellesIn early March 1915 General d'Amade's Orient Expeditionary Corps, a French division for the Dardanelles, sailed from ports in France and North Africa.
  • Sinking of U-8On 4 March 1915 British destroyers destroyed the German submarine U-8 in the Strait of Dover after it had been detected thanks to indicator nets.
  • Russia demands ConstantinopleOn 4 March 1915 Sergey Sazonov asked Britain and France to agree that Constantinople and the Straits would be annexed to Russia after the war.
• 05

  • Venizelos offers the Entente the fleet and troopsOn 5 March 1915 Venizelos offered the Entente the Greek fleet and one division for the Dardanelles operation, although the King had not yet agreed.
  • Bombardment of Smyrna beginsOn 5 March 1915 Vice-Admiral Richard Peirse's British squadron shelled the forts defending Smyrna, to destroy the defences and clear the gulf of mines.
• 06

  • Venizelos resignsOn 6 March 1915 King Constantine I rejected the plan for Greek participation in the Dardanelles operation. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos resigned.
• 07

  • Greece asks about the occupation of LemnosOn 7 March 1915, the day after Venizelos resigned, the Greek government asked London to explain the British occupation of the island of Lemnos.
• 09

  • Bombardment of Smyrna endsOn 9 March 1915 an envoy of the governor of Smyrna came to the British admiral. The shelling stopped and a truce was agreed until the morning of 11 March.
  • Dimitrios Gounaris becomes prime minister of GreeceOn 9 March 1915 King Constantine I appointed Dimitrios Gounaris prime minister of Greece. He was an opponent of Venizelos and a supporter of neutrality.
  • British reply on LemnosOn 9 March 1915 London replied to the Greek request for an explanation of the occupation of the island of Lemnos, citing military necessity.
• 10

  • Key eventThe Battle of Neuve Chapelle beginsOn 10 March 1915, after a 35-minute bombardment, the British First Army attacked at Neuve Chapelle. It took the village in hours but could go no further.
• 11

  • British Reprisals OrderOn 11 March 1915 Britain issued an order to stop goods bound to and from Germany, and extended the list of absolute contraband.
• 12

  • Netherlands warns against misuse of its flagOn 12 March 1915 the Netherlands announced that foreign ships passing themselves off as Dutch in its ports and waters, e.g. under its flag, would be held there.
  • London agrees to a Russian ConstantinopleOn 12 March 1915 Britain agreed that Russia would get Constantinople and the Straits after the war. In return it wanted, inter alia, Persia's neutral zone.
  • French reprisal decreesIn mid-March 1915 France, following Britain's example, decided to stop goods going to and from Germany and extended its contraband lists.
  • Ian Hamilton to command the Mediterranean forceOn 12 March 1915 Kitchener gave General Ian Hamilton command of the land forces that were to support the fleet attacking the Dardanelles.
• 13

  • End of the battle of Neuve ChapelleOn 13 March 1915 Haig halted the attack at Neuve Chapelle. The British held the village but did not reach Aubers Ridge. Shells had also run short.
  • Franco-Belgian agreement on military serviceOn 13 March 1915 France and Belgium suspended for the war the 1891 convention that had let some young men of both countries defer military service.
  • Sinking of the Swedish steamer HannaOn 13 March 1915 the Swedish steamer Hanna sank off Yorkshire. The British held she was torpedoed, but she may have struck a German mine.
• 14

  • Sinking of the cruiser DresdenOn 14 March 1915 British ships cornered the cruiser Dresden in Chile's Cumberland Bay. Her crew scuttled the ship, the last German cruiser on the high seas.
  • New prime minister of PersiaOn 14 March 1915 Hassan Pirnia, Moshir od-Dowleh, succeeded Mostowfi ol-Mamalek as head of the Persian government. The country still sought to stay neutral.
• 15

  • British squadron leaves SmyrnaOn 15 March 1915 the Admiralty recalled Admiral Peirse's squadron from Smyrna. The battleships went to the Dardanelles; smaller ships now blockaded the port.
  • First aircraft attack on a merchant shipOn 15 March 1915 a German seaplane dropped bombs on the British steamer Blonde off the Kent coast. None hit, and the ship got away safely.
• 17

  • France lays claim to Syria and CiliciaIn mid-March 1915 France demanded Syria and Cilicia for itself after the war. It was the price of its consent to Russian rule over Constantinople.
  • Hamilton takes command at the DardanellesOn 17 March 1915 General Ian Hamilton reached Tenedos and conferred with Admiral de Robeck. The fleet still wanted to try to force the Straits on its own.
  • End of the First Battle of ChampagneOn 17 March 1915 the French broke off their offensive in Champagne. After three months of fighting they had gained a strip 2–3 km deep, losing over 90,000 men.
• 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.
  • Russians take MemelOn 18 March 1915 Russian militia units entered Memel from Courland. They took hostages and plundered the town and the surrounding villages.
  • 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.
  • Agreement on American cottonIn March 1915 London agreed with American exporters to let through or buy up cotton already contracted. Cotton became contraband only in August.
• 19

  • Dutch protest against the blockadeOn 19 March 1915 the Netherlands protested in London and Paris against the Allied reprisal measures, which in its view broke the Declaration of Paris of 1856.
• 20

  • Skirmish at JakalswaterOn 20 March 1915 Botha's troops attacked the Germans at Riet, Pforte and Jakalswater. They took key wells on the edge of the Namib and over 200 prisoners.
  • Britain promises Lemnos to GreeceOn 20 March 1915 London guaranteed that after the war Turkey would cede to Greece the island of Lemnos, where the Allies had set up their Dardanelles base.
• 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.
• 22

  • Fall of PrzemyślAt dawn on 22 March 1915 the Przemyśl garrison blew up its forts and bridges, then raised white flags. About 120,000 men went into Russian captivity.
• 23

  • HMS Manica, the first balloon shipIn March 1915 the Royal Navy commissioned HMS Manica, the first ship fitted to fly an observation balloon. She was to direct gunfire at the Dardanelles.
  • Chinese-Japanese agreement on ManchuriaOn 23 March 1915 in Peking the Chinese and Japanese initialled several articles on South Manchuria, a partial accord in the dispute over the 21 Demands.
• 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.
  • Sinking of the Dutch steamer MedeaOn 25 March 1915 the German U-28 stopped the Dutch steamer Medea, carrying oranges for London, in the Channel, searched her and sank her by gunfire.
• 27

  • Russians bombard the Bosporus fortsOn 27 March 1915 the Black Sea Fleet left Sevastopol for the Bosporus. Next day two Russian battleships first bombarded the forts guarding the strait.
• 28

  • Sinking of the FalabaOn 28 March 1915 U-28 torpedoed the British passenger ship Falaba. Over a hundred died, among them Leon Thrasher, the first American killed by a U-boat.
• 30

  • South Africans occupy AusAt the end of March 1915 the Germans abandoned fortified Aus without a fight. General McKenzie's Central Force opened its way into the south of the colony.