|
1
Jan |
Winston Churchill is
appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding the 6th
battalion (Territorial Army) of the Royal Scots
Fusiliers. He experienced active service for a
few months on the Western Front in Belgium. |
|
27
Jan |
Conscription is
introduced in Britain. |
 |
|
21
Feb |
Using flamethrowers
and Storm Troops for the first time, the Germans launch a
massive attack against the French at Verdun, in
what will become the longest and one of the
bloodiest battles of the war. |
|
19
April |
US President Wilson
publicly calls for the German's to stop their
submarine policy of sinking all ships in enemy
waters without warning. |
|
27
April |
Field Marshal Lord
Kitchener, the British Secretary of State for
War, asks for US military participation in
Europe. |
|
29
April |
Described by one
historian as "the most abject capitulation in
Britain’s military history", British Empire
forces surrender to Turkish forces at Kut in
Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq. Of the 13,000
soldiers captured, less than half would survive
the Turkish jails. |
|
15
May |
In an attempt to
knock Italy out of the war in a single blow,
Austro-Hungarian forces begin the Trentino
Offensive towards Italy's northern plain. |
|
31
May - 1 June |
The Battle of
Jutland. At the only large-scale naval battle of
the War, German ships attempt to break free from
a British naval blockade of the North Sea.
Although the battle itself was inconclusive, it
did keep the German surface fleet confined to
port for the remainder of the war. Instead, the
German Navy turned its efforts to submarine
warfare. |
|
2
June |
After heavy losses
on both sides, the Trentino Offensive
stabilises. The Italians had lost 147,000 men in
defence of their land. |
|
4
June |
In an attempt to
relieve pressure on the British and French
armies along the Western Front, Russia
launches its Brusilov Offensive against
Austro-Hungary in Carpathia (modern day
Ukraine). |
|
5
June |
With British support
(led by T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)), Hussein,
grand sherif of Mecca, leads an Arab revolt
against the Turks in the Hejaz. |
|
1
July |
Start of the Battle
of the Somme. Some 60,000 British men are
killed or seriously wounded on the first day
alone. Despite such huge losses, Field Marshall
Douglas Haig orders that the battle must
continue. |
 |
|
30
July |
The Black Tom Island
munitions plant in America's Jersey City is
destroyed by an explosion. German saboteurs
appear to have bombed the plant to prevent
materials being sold to the Allies. Shrapnel
from the explosion damaged the Statue of
Liberty. |
|
Aug |
Romania enters the
war on the side of the Allies. |
|
15
Sept |
Tanks were
introduced for the first time on the Somme
battlefield by the British. They were used in
such limited numbers that their impact was
negligible. |
|
20
Sept |
Russia's Brusilov
offensive in Carpathia comes to an end. The
Austro-Hungarian Army is all but wiped-out, with
1.5 million men lost. Russian casualties are
numbered at a half million. |
|
18
Nov |
Battle of the Somme ends. With approximately 1.5
million casualties, it will be remembered as one
of the bloodiest military operations in history. |
|
28
Nov |
The first German
airplane (as opposed to zeppelin) air-raid on
London. The plan was to occupy the Royal Flying
Corps aircraft in defence of England, in
preference to them attacking the German air
force. |
A
British bi-plane |
|
7
Dec |
David Lloyd George
replaces Asquith as British Prime Minister of
the war time coalition. His war cabinet, unlike
that of his predecessor, would meet every day. |
|
18
Dec |
After almost ten
months the German attack on Verdun ends, with
the French holding their positions. The cost of
the longest battle of the war was more than a
quarter of a million deaths and at least a
million wounded. |
