November 1915

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.
• 02

  • Asquith on Serbian independenceOn 2 November 1915 Asquith gave the Commons a review of the war. He declared that Serbian independence was one of the essential objects of the Allies.
  • Russians occupy QazvinOn 2 November 1915 the British chronology records the Russian occupation of Qazvin. Baratov's corps was moving to the town on the road from Enzeli to Tehran.
• 03

  • End of the Third Battle of the IsonzoOn 3 November 1915 the Italians last stormed Podgora and Monte San Michele. Next day the defenders retook their trenches and Cadorna halted the offensive.
  • Serbian government leaves KraljevoOn 3 November 1915, as Kragujevac fell, Pašić's government and the Supreme Command left Kraljevo for Raška. It had left Niš, the wartime capital, a week before.
  • First meeting of the War CommitteeOn 3 November 1915 the British government's new War Committee met. It did not decide on evacuating Gallipoli and sent Kitchener to the Dardanelles.
  • Port and Transit Executive CommitteeOn 3 November 1915 Asquith set up a committee with executive powers to clear the congestion in British ports and speed up the turn-round of ships.
• 04

  • Attack on Mount BanyoOn 4 November 1915, in fog, four Nigerian companies under Cunliffe attacked the fortified Mount Banyo in Kamerun. At night the Germans threw dynamite at them.
  • 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.
• 05

  • Bulgarians take NišOn 5 November 1915 the Bulgarian First Army entered Niš, Serbia's wartime capital. The Central Powers won the railway to Sofia and Constantinople.
  • Battle of Kačanik beginsIn early November 1915 the Bulgarians advanced through the Kačanik gorge towards the Field of Kosovo to cut the Serbs' last road south. The Serbs resisted.
  • Zaimis government resignsEarly on 4 November 1915 the Greek parliament voted against the Zaimis government. The prime minister resigned, and the King chose new elections over Venizelos.
• 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.
  • Stefanos Skouloudis becomes prime minister of GreeceAfter the fall of the Zaimis government King Constantine gave power to the 76-year-old banker Stefanos Skouloudis. A few days later he dissolved parliament.
• 07

  • Sinking of the cruiser UndineOn 7 November 1915 the British submarine E19 torpedoed the light cruiser Undine, escorting a ferry to Sweden, north of Rügen. About 24 men were killed.
  • Sinking of the AnconaOn 7 November 1915 a submarine flying the Austro-Hungarian flag shelled and sank the Italian liner Ancona off Sardinia. About 200 died, Americans among them.
• 08

  • Serbs repel the Bulgarians at KačanikOn 8–10 November 1915 Serbian divisions repelled the Bulgarians attacking via the Kačanik gorge and Gnjilane towards Kosovo Field, then counter-attacked.
  • Reports of an Entente loan to GreeceA British chronology says the Entente lent Greece £1.6 million on 8 November 1915. Other sources point instead to money for Athens being withheld.
• 10

  • Start of the Fourth Battle of the IsonzoOn 10 November 1915, after a short, concentrated bombardment, the Italians again attacked Gorizia and Monte San Michele. By evening almost all were repulsed.
  • Indian Corps leaves FranceOn 10 November 1915 the Indian Corps was finally relieved on the front in France. Its two infantry divisions set off via Marseilles for Mesopotamia.
  • Kitchener arrives at the DardanellesOn 10 November 1915 Lord Kitchener held talks at Mudros on the fate of Gallipoli. After seeing the beachheads he leaned towards a partial evacuation.
  • Britain introduces licences for shipsFrom 10 November 1915 British ships of 500 tons or more needed a licence to carry cargo between foreign ports. They were to return to serving the home country.
  • Requisitioning of ships to carry foodOn 10 November 1915 the Board of Trade was empowered to direct ships to carry grain. A committee for the carriage of foodstuffs was to increase wheat supplies.
  • Legions capture Polish HillOn 10 November 1915 the Second Brigade and Austro-Hungarian troops took the Russian positions at Kostiuchnówka. The Germans named the hill Polish Hill.
• 11

  • Start of the march on BaghdadOn 11 November 1915 Townshend's advanced guard moved up the Tigris from Aziziyah. The British marched on Baghdad not knowing how many Turks awaited them.
• 14

  • Senussi attack SollumIn mid-November 1915 men of the Senussi order began firing on the Egyptian post at Sollum. War was beginning on Egypt's western border.
• 15

  • Central Powers diplomats leave TehranOn 15 November 1915 the Central Powers' envoys left Tehran ahead of the Russians. They hoped the Shah would go with them, but he stayed in the capital.
• 16

  • Bulgarians take the Babuna Pass and PrilepOn 16 November 1915 the Bulgarians drove the Serbs off the Babuna Pass and took Prilep. The last hope of linking the Serbian army with the French collapsed.
• 17

  • Anglo-French conference in ParisOn 17 November 1915 British and French ministers in Paris discussed Greece and Salonika, rejected Kitchener's plan and agreed to a joint war council.
  • Sinking of the hospital ship AngliaOn 17 November 1915 the hospital ship Anglia, carrying wounded from France, struck a mine laid by UC-5 off Folkestone. Between about 130 and over 160 died.
• 20

  • Germans and Austrians take Novi PazarOn 20 November 1915 German riflemen entered Novi Pazar in the Sandžak, and the Austro-Hungarian 10th Mountain Brigade next day. The Serbs fell back to Kosovo.
• 21

  • End of the Battle of KačanikOn 21 November 1915 the Bulgarians repulsed the last Serbian attempt to break out of Kosovo towards Skopje. Putnik ordered his armies back behind the Sitnica.
• 22

  • Battle of Ctesiphon beginsOn 22 November 1915 Townshend's division took the first Turkish trench line at Ctesiphon, but a counter-attack stopped it before the second. Losses were huge.
  • Smith-Dorrien appointed to command in East AfricaOn 22 November 1915 London chose Gen. Horace Smith-Dorrien to lead the expedition against German East Africa. Illness prevented him from taking up the post.
• 23

  • Capture of Mitrovica and PristinaOn 23 November 1915 Germans entered Pristina and Austro-Hungarians Mitrovica. Trapped on the Field of Kosovo, the Serbs began retreating to the Adriatic.
  • Serbian government leaves PrizrenIn late November 1915 the Serbian government, king and high command left Prizren, the last seat of power in the country, and set out across Albania to Scutari.
  • British abandon SollumOn 23 November 1915 the Egyptian garrison left Sollum and sailed to Mersa Matruh, where the Western Frontier Force was gathering to fight the Senussi order.
  • Entente note to GreeceOn 23 November 1915 four Entente envoys demanded assurance that Greece would not disarm their troops. They promised to return seized land and pay damages.
• 24

  • Greece accepts the Entente demandsOn 24 November 1915 Skouloudis's government replied to the Entente note. It gave assurances that Greek troops would not disarm or intern Allied soldiers.
  • Agreement with Danish merchantsIn November 1915 Danish merchants and industrialists guaranteed London that imported goods would not reach Germany. In return the blockade was to spare them.
• 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.
  • Inter-Allied munitions organisationIn November 1915 the Entente munitions ministers agreed in London on a joint munitions bureau. Albert Thomas's idea, however, never got beyond paper.
  • 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.
• 29

  • Afonso Costa prime minister againOn 29 November 1915 Afonso Costa, leader of the Democrats, became head of the Portuguese government for the second time, replacing José de Castro's cabinet.
• 30

  • Serbian retreat through Albania beginsIn late November 1915 the beaten Serbian army, with the king, government and crowds of refugees, set off across the snowy mountains of Montenegro and Albania.
  • Italy accedes to the Pact of LondonOn 30 November 1915 Italy openly acceded to the Pact of London. In London the five Entente powers pledged that none would conclude a separate peace.