January 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.
• 04

  • First attempt to relieve Kut beginsOn 4 January 1916 the advanced guard of Aylmer's corps set off up the Tigris from Ali al-Gharbi. The relief of Kut began disorganised and without hospitals.
• 06

  • Sinking of the battleship King Edward VIIOn 6 January 1916 the British battleship King Edward VII struck a mine laid by the raider Möwe off Cape Wrath and sank a few hours later.
  • Start of the Battle of Sheikh SaadOn 6 January 1916 Younghusband's vanguard attacked the Turkish trenches at Sheikh Saad on both banks of the Tigris. It stalled and the Turks were reinforced.
• 07

  • Start of the evacuation of Cape HellesOn 7 January 1916 the Turks attacked at Helles, but their assault collapsed. That night another 2,300 soldiers left the cape, leaving 17,000 ashore.
• 08

  • Key eventEnd of the evacuation of GallipoliOn the night of 8–9 January 1916 the last British troops sailed from Helles. After eight months of fighting the Gallipoli campaign ended in Allied defeat.
  • End of the Battle of Sheikh SaadOn 8 January 1916 Aylmer's exhausted troops did not renew their attack at Sheikh Saad. The Turks withdrew in the night; the British had lost about 4,000 men.
• 09

  • Monro and Birdwood give up their commandsAfter the evacuation of Gallipoli Gen. Monro gave up his Mediterranean command and Gen. Birdwood's Dardanelles Army was disbanded. Both moved on to other tasks.
• 10

  • Entente notifies Greece of the transfer of the Serbs to CorfuOn 10 January 1916 the Entente ministers in Athens told Greece that the remnants of the Serbian army would be shipped from Albania to the Greek island of Corfu.
  • Key eventAustrians capture LovćenOn 10 January 1916 Austro-Hungarian infantry reached the summit of Lovćen, the Montenegrin mountain fortress above Kotor. The road to Cetinje lay open.
  • Murray takes command in EgyptOn 10 January 1916 Gen. Archibald Murray took over the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from Monro to guard the Suez Canal and rebuild the Gallipoli divisions.
• 11

  • French occupy CorfuOn 11 January 1916 a French detachment landed on the Greek island of Corfu to prepare a refuge for the remnants of the Serbian army evacuated from Albania.
  • Start of the Erzurum offensiveIn January 1916, in the depths of winter, Yudenich struck the Turks in the Caucasus. The first attacks on Mount Karadağ were to draw their reserves away.
• 12

  • Montenegro asks for an armisticeAfter the fall of Lovćen, Montenegro asked on 11 January 1916 for a six-day armistice. Vienna demanded unconditional surrender and the advance went on.
• 13

  • Austrians occupy CetinjeOn 13 January 1916 Austro-Hungarian troops entered Cetinje, Montenegro's capital, unopposed. The king and court had left; the government again sued for peace.
  • Ottoman troops in KermanshahIn January 1916 Ottoman battalions arrived in Kermanshah. The city was not captured, but was a centre of Persian nationalists allied with Germany.
  • Greece refuses consent to the occupation of CorfuOn 13 January 1916 the Skouloudis government protested at the French occupation of Corfu, citing its perpetual neutrality. The Entente did not yield.
  • Russians take KangavarOn 13 January 1916 Baratov's corps took Kangavar in western Persia after hard fighting, routing Kanitz's detachments and the Turkish battalion supporting them.
• 14

  • Fighting on the WadiOn 14 January 1916 the British found the Turkish trenches on the Wadi empty. The Turks slipped away to the Hanna defile; the Tigris Corps lost over 1,600 men.
  • Percy Lake appointed commander in MesopotamiaOn 14 January 1916 Gen. Percy Lake, chief of staff of the army in India, was appointed commander in Mesopotamia in place of the gravely ill Gen. John Nixon.
• 15

  • Möwe captures the AppamOn 15 January 1916 the raider Möwe captured the British liner Appam off Madeira. A German prize crew took her with prisoners to the United States.
  • Publication of the Papen papersIn mid-January 1916 the papers taken from Papen by the British at Falmouth were made public. The stubs of his cheques pointed to the agents he had paid.
  • 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.
  • Serbian government moves to BrindisiIn mid-January 1916 Pašić's government left threatened Scutari and sailed to Brindisi in Italy. A few days later it moved on from there to Corfu.
  • 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.
• 16

  • Sarrail takes command of all Entente troops at SalonikaOn 16 January 1916 General Maurice Sarrail took command of all Allied troops at Salonika. General Mahon's British army also came under his orders.
• 17

  • Russians capture KöprüköyOn 17 January 1916 the Russians entered Köprüköy on the Aras, lost to the Turks in 1914. A breakthrough in the mountains forced the Third Army to retreat.
  • King Peter at EdipsosIn mid-January 1916 King Peter I of Serbia reached the spa of Edipsos on Euboea. Ailing after the retreat through Albania, he stayed there for over four months.
• 18

  • Baron Beyens becomes Belgian foreign ministerOn 18 January 1916 Baron Eugène Beyens, pre-war envoy in Berlin, became Belgium's foreign minister, having stood in for the ailing Davignon since summer.
• 19

  • Lake replaces NixonOn 19 January 1916 Gen. Percy Lake took over command in Mesopotamia at Basra. The sick Gen. Nixon sailed away; the relief of Kut was stuck in the Tigris mud.
• 20

  • End of the armistice in MontenegroKing Nicholas I left Montenegro and announced from Italy that he rejected the Austrian terms. Talks collapsed and Vienna threatened to resume fighting.
• 21

  • Failed attack at HannaOn 21 January 1916 the Tigris Corps attacked the Turkish position at Hanna head-on. In rain and mud the attack collapsed and the first relief of Kut failed.
• 22

  • Austrians take AntivariOn 22 January 1916 Austro-Hungarian troops took Antivari (Bar), Montenegro's only important port. The whole Montenegrin coast was now in enemy hands.
  • Reports of Romanian–Russian talksA British chronology records the start of Romanian–Russian talks on military aid on 22 January 1916. Other sources do not confirm that date.
• 23

  • Austrians occupy ScutariOn the evening of 23 January 1916 Austro-Hungarian troops entered Scutari unopposed, ending half a year of Montenegrin rule in northern Albania's chief town.
  • Austrians take PodgoricaAround 23 January 1916 the Austrians entered Podgorica, Montenegro's largest town. In the turmoil of those days the Albanian leader Isa Boletini was killed.
• 24

  • House of Commons passes conscriptionOn 24 January 1916 the House of Commons passed the Military Service Bill on third reading by 383 votes to 36. Conscription was to apply to unmarried men.
• 25

  • Austrians occupy San Giovanni di MeduaIn late January 1916 the Austrians occupied the Albanian port of San Giovanni di Medua. It was empty, as the Allies had removed the last Serbs days before.
• 26

  • US protests against the blacklistOn 26 January 1916 the US ambassador in London reserved in a note the right to protest against the British blacklist act, which threatened American trade.
• 27

  • Shipping Control CommitteeOn 27 January 1916 Asquith set up the Shipping Control Committee under Lord Curzon. It was to share out scarce tonnage between home, the forces and the Allies.
  • Key eventBritain introduces conscriptionOn 27 January 1916 the Military Service Act received royal assent. Unmarried men in Great Britain aged 18 to 41 became liable for conscription.
• 29

  • Last airship raid on ParisOn the night of 29–30 January 1916 the airship LZ 79 bombed Belleville and Ménilmontant, killing more than 20 people. It was the last airship raid on Paris.
• 31

  • Smith-Dorrien resigns the East African commandUnder 31 January 1916 the chronology of the war records Gen. Smith-Dorrien's resignation of the East African command. Serious illness had kept him at Cape Town.
  • Airship raid on the MidlandsOn the night of 31 January–1 February 1916 nine naval airships sent against Liverpool bombed the Midlands instead. 70 people were killed and 113 injured.