April 1915

April

• 01

  • Roland Garros shoots down an aircraft through the propellerOn 1 April 1915 Roland Garros shot down a German Albatros with a gun firing through the propeller, shielded by steel wedges. The fighter aircraft was born.
• 03

  • Municipal self-government law for the Kingdom of PolandIn spring 1915 Tsar Nicholas II approved a law giving the towns of the Kingdom of Poland elected councils. The Russians never managed to put it into effect.
  • Turkish raid on OdessaOn 3 April 1915 the Turkish cruiser Mecidiye struck a Russian mine off Odessa and sank. Goeben and Breslau, covering the raid, escaped the Black Sea Fleet.
  • Completion of the barrage in the Strait of DoverIn early April 1915 the barrage of mines and nets in the Strait of Dover came into full operation. The Germans soon forbade their U-boats this route.
• 07

  • Indian Expeditionary Force G sails for the DardanellesIn early April 1915 the first Indian units sailed from Egypt for the Dardanelles. They were the gunners of two mountain batteries attached to ANZAC.
• 08

  • The Armenian deportations beginOn 8 April 1915 the first convoy of deported Armenians left Zeytun in Cilicia. Deportations ordered by the Ottoman authorities turned into genocide.
  • Internment of Prinz Eitel FriedrichOn 8 April 1915 the German auxiliary cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich, at Newport News since March, agreed to be interned in the United States.
• 09

  • Nixon takes over command in MesopotamiaOn 9 April 1915 Gen. John Nixon arrived in Basra and took over command in Mesopotamia from the ailing Gen. Arthur Barrett, on the eve of a Turkish attack.
• 12

  • Battle of Shaiba beginsOn 12 April 1915 Turkish troops and the Arab allies of Süleyman Askerî attacked the British camp at Shaiba near Basra. The attacks were repulsed.
  • First advance on JaundeIn April 1915 Col. Mayer's columns set out from Edea towards Jaunde, the capital of German Kamerun. On 14 April they fought their way across the Kele river.
  • Entente offers Smyrna to GreeceOn 12 April 1915 the Entente ministers promised Gounaris's government gains in the vilayet of Aidin if Greece joined the war on Turkey. The prize was Smyrna.
  • Paris agrees to a Russian ConstantinopleIn April 1915 France was the last to agree that Russia should receive Constantinople and the Straits after the war, on condition that its own plans were met.
• 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.
  • End of the battle of ShaibaOn 14 April 1915 British and Indian troops took the Turkish trenches by Barjisiyah wood. The Turks fled Basra and their commander Süleyman Askerî shot himself.
  • Greece rejects the Smyrna offerOn 14 April 1915 Greece answered the Smyrna offer with conditions. It would fight Turkey if the Entente guaranteed its borders. The Entente refused.
  • Harcourt promises the dominions a voice on peaceOn 14 April 1915 Colonial Secretary Lewis Harcourt told the House of Commons that the British government would consult the dominions when peace talks came.
  • 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.
• 16

  • Turks occupy UrmiaOn 16 April 1915 Halil Bey's regular Ottoman troops reached Urmia in northern Persia. Since January the town had been held by Kurds and Turkish volunteers.
  • Michael Tighe takes command in East AfricaOn 16 April 1915 General Michael Tighe replaced General Richard Wapshare as commander of the British forces in East Africa.
• 17

  • Key eventBritish capture Hill 60On 17 April 1915 the British blew mines under Hill 60 south of Ypres and took it within minutes. Over the following days they beat off counter-attacks.
  • Allies advance on GaruaIn April 1915 Col. Cunliffe brought reinforcements and a naval gun to Garua. The Allies began to tighten the ring around the German fortress in Kamerun.
  • Skirmish at Hafiz KorIn mid-April 1915 Mohmand tribesmen invaded British Indian territory near Shabkadar. Troops from Peshawar drove them back at Hafiz Kor.
• 20

  • Defence of Van beginsOn 20 April 1915 the troops of Governor Cevdet Bey attacked the Armenian quarters of Van. Fearing a massacre, the Armenians took up armed self-defence.
• 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.
• 23

  • British blockade of KamerunAt midnight on 23–24 April 1915 the Allies declared a blockade of the Kamerun coast to cut the Germans off from supplies smuggled from Spanish Guinea.
• 24

  • Key eventBattle of St Julien beginsOn 24 April 1915 the Germans struck the Canadians at Ypres with chlorine. The 1st Canadian Division's front gave way, and in the afternoon St Julien fell.
• 25

  • Key eventAllies land at GallipoliOn 25 April 1915 British, Australian, New Zealand and French troops landed at the Dardanelles. The Turks put up fierce resistance.
  • Russians bombard the Bosporus againOn 25 April 1915, the day of the Gallipoli landings, the Russian Black Sea Fleet shelled the Bosporus forts to tie down Turkish forces near Constantinople.
  • Clash at GibeonIn late April 1915 General McKenzie's mounted troops caught the retreating Germans at Gibeon. A night ambush failed, but in the morning the Germans were routed.
• 26

  • Italy signs the Treaty of LondonOn 26 April 1915 Italy signed a secret pact with the Entente in London. In return for lands on the Adriatic it pledged to enter the war within a month.
  • Internment of the Kronprinz WilhelmOn 26 April 1915 the German auxiliary cruiser Kronprinz Wilhelm, the last Kaiserliche Marine raider then at large on the oceans, was interned at Newport News.
  • Sinking of the cruiser Léon GambettaDuring the night of 26–27 April 1915 the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-5 sank the French cruiser Léon Gambetta at the mouth of the Adriatic. 684 men died.
  • Fall of the Moshir od-Dowleh governmentAccording to the British chronology, on 26 April 1915 Persian premier Moshir od-Dowleh and foreign minister Mo'aven od-Dowleh resigned under Entente pressure.
• 27

  • Ain od-Dowleh becomes prime minister of PersiaPer the British chronology, on 27 April 1915 Ain od-Dowleh, premier in the Constitutional Revolution era, again led Persia. A new foreign minister came in too.
• 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.
• 30

  • The Germans take ŠiauliaiOn 30 April 1915 German cavalry entered Šiauliai in Lithuania, set ablaze by the retreating Russians. The raid was to draw the Russians away from Galicia.