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JANUARY 1915 Turkey - With the Russian armies under pressure in the Caucasus, an appeal is made to the Allies to attack the Turks and take them off balance. With both Winston Churchill and Adm Fisher at the Admiralty favouring an "eccentric strategy" to defeat the Central Powers (although Fisher prefers the Baltic), Adm Carden in the Eastern Mediterranean is asked to assess the possibility of forcing the Dardanelles with ships alone, before going on to Constantinople and hopefully forcing Turkey out of the war. Allies prepare to attack the Dardanelles - The Dardanelles, through to the Sea of Marmara is a narrow, winding passage flanked on the north by the Gallipoli peninsula. Cape Helles and Sedd-el-Bahr lay at the northern entrance in European Turkey and Orkanieh and Kum Kale to the south on the Asiatic side. Ten miles in is Kephez Bay, a further five finds Chanak where the Narrows, just one mile wide at this point start. Five more miles leads to Nagara - all these named places being on the Asiatic side. The straits are heavily defended by a 100 guns up to 14in calibre although many of these and the fortifications themselves are obsolescent. Leading up to the Narrows are minefields protected by covering guns and searchlights, torpedo tubes and anti-submarine nets. The Turks under Gen von Sanders have been strengthening the defences since the first Allied bombardment in November.
15th January - French submarine "SAPHIR" (1910, 390/425t, 6-45cm tt). The first Allied, and French attempt to break through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara fails when "Saphir" is sunk off Nagara in the Narrows. Some sources report she ran aground, others that she was mined. She is the first of four French boats lost in the Dardanelles in 1915. NEAR EAST - continued Caucasus - The Russians badly defeat the Turks, who lose most of their Third Army, including an entire corps. Operations continue in the area for the rest of the year. FEBRUARY 1915 24th February - French destroyer "DAGUE" (1912, 800t, 2-10cm, 4-45cm tt). Allied supplies for Montenegro pass through the port of Antivari in the southern Adriatic. "Dague" is sunk by a drifting mine in the Antivari Roads, the first French warship lost in the Adriatic. Turkish Waters Start of Naval Attack on the Dardanelles - Adm Carden's fleet now includes super-dreadnought "Queen Elizabeth", battlecruiser "Inflexible", 12 pre-dreadnoughts (including "Irresistible" and "Vengeance") and four French pre-dreadnoughts (Vice-Adm Guéprette), together with other ships based at Mudros on the island of Lemnos which is occupied by the Royal Marines. The opening bombardment starts around 10.00 on the 19th with "Inflexible", "Albion", "Cornwallis", "Triumph" and the French "Bouvet" and "Suffren" firing on the entrance forts, but to little effect. Bad weather prevents operations until the 25th, when shell hits are made on the forts around Cape Helles and Orkanieh. By the end of the month, the outer defences have been virtually destroyed with the aid of demolition parties landed from the ships. Amongst these is a party of marines and sailors led by Lt-Cdr Eric Robinson, ship's officer, HMS "Vengeance", which goes ashore at Kum Kale in the afternoon of the 26th under the cover of "Irresistible" and "Vengeance" and supporting cruisers. Under heavy fire, Robinson holds back his own men, and goes on to destroy two guns in the vicinity and another one at Orkanieh. With this exploit and later sorties into the Dardanelles, including the one which successfully torpedoes the stranded submarine "E-15" in April, he is gazetted for the Victoria Cross in August 1915.
NEAR EAST - continued Egypt - In the First Turkish Attack on the Suez Canal, 15,000 Turks under Djemal Pasha, the Turkish commander in Syria, cross the 120 miles of the waterless Sinai Desert and reach the east bank of the Suez Canal with their artillery. Attacking on the 3rd, some manage to cross into Egypt, but are repulsed and retreat. For the rest of 1915, thousands of Allied troops arrive in Egypt to protect this vital waterway, and the British make preparations to advance across the Sinai Peninsular. * Royal Navy BATTLE HONOUR is awarded to the British warships present at the defence of the Canal, including pre-dreadnoughts "Swiftsure" (flagship, Adm Peirse) and "Ocean", and protected cruisers "Minerva" and "Proserpine" - Suez Canal, 2nd-4th February 1915. French warships also in action include old battleship "Requin" and protected cruiser "D'Entrecasteaux". MARCH 1915 Turkish Waters 2nd-18th - Main Naval Attacks on the Dardanelles - Bombardments on the 2nd and 3rd are indecisive with the battleships being hindered by mobile gun batteries. Another start is made on knocking out the Narrow's defences on the 5th. But even the big-gunned "Queen Elizabeth" is not up to this task, hampered as she is by ineffective spotting aircraft. Even more importantly, the minesweeping trawlers with their untrained fisherman crews are unable to clear the minefields, even at night because of the enemy searchlights. By the 10th, Adm Carden is reporting failure, but is ordered by Churchill and Fisher to press ahead with the attacks on the Narrows. He does so, but the minesweeping fails to make any progress and he resigns, to be succeeded on the 15th by Rear-Adm John de Robeck, his second-in-command. The 18th is now set for the major attack and by 11.30 on that date, "Queen Elizabeth", "Inflexible", "Agamemnon" and "Lord Nelson" are six miles inside the Dardanelles bombarding the forts at the Narrows, with "Majestic" and "Prince George" to the north and "Swiftsure" and "Triumph" to the south taking on the mobile guns. By noon the latter appear to have been silenced, although "Inflexible" and "Agamemnon" are lightly damaged in the process. Now the four French battleships close the Narrows to nearly do the same for the guns there, but at a cost of damage to battleship "Gaulois", beached on Rabbit Island. It is now the turn of six British battleships to move further in, when the first major disaster occurs. Around 14.00, as she retires, the French battleship "BOUVET" (1898, 12,200t, 2-30.5cm) is either mined or hit by a heavy shell in a magazine and sinks with most of her crew. The British trawlers are ordered to clear the minefields, but even worse is to come in the area around Eren Keui Bay on the Asiatic side, where "Bouvet" sunk. Here, some 20 mines were laid by the 365t minelayer "Nusret" in a position believed by the Allies to have been cleared. Just after 16.00, battlecruiser "Inflexible" (Capt Phillimore) hits a mine, is badly flooded with 29 men killed, but reaches Tenedos before going on to Malta for repairs. Four minutes later, the battleship "IRRESISTIBLE" (1902, 14,500t, 4-12in) commanded by Capt Dent has to be abandoned for the same reason and sinks three hours later. Adm de Robeck now orders the ships to withdraw, but too late to save the already shellfire-damaged battleship "OCEAN" (1900, 13,150t, 4-12in). She strikes another mine around 18.00 and founders during the night. In a matter of hours, of the 16 Allied capital ships taking part, three have been sunk and three heavily damaged (including the French battleship "Suffren") in exchange for a few Turkish guns, although the minefields still remain the main obstacle to progress. Now de Robeck organizes a more effective minesweeping force using destroyers. But since the 15th, the War Council has been considering using troops. Lord Kitchener agrees to release the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) Corps, and the Naval and 29th Divisions, which together with French troops, provides a force of 80,000 men which assembles on Lemnos under Gen Sir Ian Hamilton. Adm de Robeck accepts that ships alone cannot break through and the Navy ends its attempts in an endeavour that might have succeeded. By the 18th the Turkish defenders were badly demoralized and nearly out of ammunition. But now the Allies are committed to the Gallipoli landings, although the troops will not be ready until the 25th April. This gives the Turks time to recover and prepare.
5th-15th - Attack on Smyrna, Turkey - Other parts of the Turkish Mediterranean coast are targets for Allied attacks, including the major port of Smyrna, which is to be blockaded because of its potential as a U-boat base. On the 5th, Vice-Adm Peirse, C-in-C Egypt and West Indies station, arrives off Smyrna with armoured cruiser "Euryalus", pre-dreadnoughts "Triumph" and "Swiftsure", a seaplane carrier, and minesweepers. His first tasks are to bombard and destroy the protecting forts and clear the approach minefields, neither of which are accomplished. On the 11th, seaplane carrier "Anne Rickmers", a captured German merchantman, is torpedoed and damaged by German-commanded, Turkish torpedo boat "Demir Hissar". Negotiations for surrender also take place with the Turkish Governor, but without success, and on the 15th, the force withdraws. APRIL 1915 27th April - French armoured cruiser "LEON GAMBETTA" (1905, 12,000t, 4-19.4cm & 16-16.47cm). Units of the French fleet continue to blockade the Austrians in the Adriatic, but now under threat from Austrian and reported German U-boats. On the night of the 26th/27th while on patrol off the Straits of Otranto, unescorted "Leon Gambetta" is hit by two 18in torpedoes fired by Austrian "U-5" (Lt Ritter von Trapp of "Sound of Music" fame). She sinks rapidly, taking down with her over 600 men. Turkish Waters 17th April - Turkish torpedo boat "DEMIR HISSAR" (1906, 97t, 3tt). The German-commanded vessel, after her exploits off Smyrna, heads into the Aegean. On the 17th, after failing to sink a British transport, she is intercepted south of the Greek island of Chios by British destroyers "Jed", "Kennet" and "Wear" and runs herself aground. Some sources claim protected cruiser "Minerva" forced "Demir Hissar" ashore. 17th-19th April - Destruction of British submarine "E-15" - A second Allied submarine attempts to break through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara. Early in the morning of the 17th, after leaving Mudros, "E-15" (1914, 670/810t, 5-18in tt, 1-12pdr, Lt Cdr T S Brodie) runs aground some ten miles in, under Kephaz Point. Fired on and disabled, Cdr Brodie and members of the crew are killed. Various attempts are now made to destroy "E-15". Submarine "B-6", with Cdr Brodie's brother on board, tries to sink her by torpedo, but misses. Later, during the night, destroyers "Grampus" and "Scorpion" (commanded by the future Adm A B Cunningham of World War 2 Mediterranean Fleet fame), attempt to find her, but fail.
25th April - Allied Landings at Gallipoli - By now, an Allied Fleet including 18 battleships and 12 cruisers is ready to land the first 30,000 troops. They go ashore at V, W, X and Y beaches around Cape Helles at the southwest tip of Gallipoli and further north near Gaba Tepe (later known as Anzac Cove) on the 25th, mainly using ships boats. But the Turks are in prepared positions, ready with a new Fifth Army of 80,000 under German Gen von Sanders. The landings are partly successful, but none of the main objectives are reached - neither the town of Krithia and heights of Achi Baba from the Cape Helles area, nor across the narrow neck of Gallipoli to reach the Dardanelles from Anzac Cove. Here the ANZAC's are stopped by a Turkish division commanded by Mustapha Kemal (later Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey). The campaign drags on for 8 months, with the Allies never gaining more than a foothold. The beachheads are swept by fire from the surrounding heights, Allies and Turks attack frequently, but in every case with heavy casualties for few gains. Then in the summer, disease strikes to add to those killed in the fighting. Thus the main outflanking operation of the war bogs down into trench warfare little different from that on the Western Front. And in supporting the Allies, the Royal Navy loses three battleships in May. On V Beach, still on the 25th, as the battleship "Albion" bombards, the ex-collier "River Clyde" attempts to land 2,000 men of the 29th Division across three lighters and a grounded dredging hopper. The pontoon bridge is put in place, when the Turks open heavy fire. After three hours, only 200 men have reached the shore, with many more left dead and wounded. The main body only succeeds with the coming of nightfall, but what little success there was in daylight was mainly due to the "River Clyde's" men. They position the lighters and hopper, securing and holding them as the troops land. Cdr Unwin, the commanding officer of the "River Clyde", who also commissioned her, even stands in the water holding lines, and although himself wounded, later rescues other wounded from shore by boat. Midshipman Drewry, who commands the hopper is also wounded, but carries on, later to be taken over by Midshipman Malleson. Other heroes of the hour include AB Williams who remains in the water, holding the pontoon fast until killed, and Seaman Samson, working on the lighters all day before being badly wounded. Members of the Royal Naval Division also distinguish themselves. Sub-Lt Tisdall, Platoon Commander, Anson Btn, waiting to land from the "River Clyde" and serve with the army, goes ashore to help Cdr Unwin bring back the wounded. He lands next day, to be killed himself at Achi Baba on the 6th May. Also ashore at Anzac Cove on the 28th is L/Cpl Parker RMLI, Portsmuth Btn to relieve Australian troops near Gaba Tepe, and close to Turkish positions. On the night of the 30th, he volunteers to take ammunition and supplies to isolated trenches. Several are killed or wounded in the attempt, and Parker alone succeeds, to then give first aid. Later he is seriously wounded.
30th April - Australian submarine "AE-2" (1914, 655/800t, 4-18in tt, 1-12pdr), Lt Cdr Stoker. Heading into the Dardanelles early on the 25th, the "E" class "AE-2" is the first boat to break through into the Sea of Marmora, torpedoing a Turkish gunboat in the Narrows on the way. Then on the 30th, near Marmora Island, and dived, she loses trim and surfaces wildly near a torpedo boat. Unable to stay down, she is holed in the pressure hull by three shells from the enemy warship - the "Sultan Hissar", and has to be scuttled. By now, Lt-Cdr Boyle's "E-14" has also got through. 3rd April - Turkish cruiser "MEDJIDIYE" (1904, 3300t, 2-15cm). The Turks lose one of their few major warships when light (or protected) cruiser "Medjidiye" in company with the "Hamidieh" and four torpedo boats sails to bombard Odessa. She hits a mine and sinks in shallow water just 15 miles short of the target. "Medjidiye" is soon raised by the Russians, and is back in service by year's end as the "Prut", named after the minelayer lost to "Goeben" in October 1914. MAY 1915 Italy Declares War on Austria-Hungary - On the 23rd, Italy turns against her former allies, but at this time only declares war on Austria-Hungary, partly to gain territory. (War is not declared on Germany until August 1916). The Italian Army of nearly 900,000 men organised into 36 divisions and under the command of Gen Luigi Cadorna, Chief of the Italian General Staff, is poorly equipped but outnumbers the Austrians on this front. The frontier between Austria and Italy stretches nearly 300 miles from Switzerland to the Adriatic in the shape of a large "S" on its side, and consists of almost impassable mountains, well fortified by the Austrians. Starting at the Swiss border is the Austrian enclave of Trentino which pushes right down into northern Italy with the Austrians on the heights, and the Italians down below in the Po Valley where their main railway lines are situated. To the east of the Trentino are the high Carnic Alps, and then the Isonzo River running north to south through Gorizia to the Carso Plateau and the sea at the Gulf of Trieste. Beyond the Isonzo is the Ljubljana Gap, the only gateway into Austria-Hungary, and the Italians main objective. Even this means battling uphill, with the ever-present threat of the Austrians in the Trentino behind them, breaking out and cutting the Italian supply lines. ITALIAN NAVY - As Italy enters the war, so the first of the two "Doria" class battleships (13-30.5cm or 12in), "Duilio", is completed, with "Andrea Doria" following in 1916. With the recently commisioned "Conte di Cavour", Italy now has a total of five dreadnoughts compared to the three in August 1914.
Mediterranean War at Sea May/June - German coastal submarine "UB-3" (commissioned as the Austrian U-9, 1915, 130/140t, 2-45cm tt). After arriving by rail at Pola for assembly, coastal submarine "UB-3" sails for the Aegean and Dardanelles area and goes missing. She apparently left Pola on the 23rd May, towed by the Austrians as far as the Straits of Otranto,and was never seen again. 24th May - Main Sortie of the Austrian Fleet - With war declared, the bulk of the Austrian fleet sails to bombard the Italian Adriatic coast, mainly in the northern part. Further south the Italian destroyer "TURBINE" (1902, 330t, 4-7.6cm, 2-45cm tt) is encountered off the island of Pelagosa and sunk by Austrian scout cruiser "Helgoland" and destroyers "Csepel", "Tatra" and "Lika". The Austrian ships, including the three pre-dreadnought "Radetzky's" and the three completed "Tegetthoff" dreadnoughts, are back in Pola that same day. There they spend the rest of the war, with one exception in 1918, inactive as a "fleet in being" ready for any large fleet action. NEAR EAST Gallipoli - Heavy and intermittent fighting, continues in Gallipoli through to July and then August, when further landings are made. Turkish Waters British submarine successes - Royal Navy submarines win two more VC's for their commanders in the Dardanelles campaign, in a month which also sees the loss of one French submarine and three British battleships. Starting out on the 27th April, Lt-Cdr Boyle in "E-14" reaches the Sea of Marmara for a successful three weeks patrol that hinders the reinforcement of Turkish forces in Gallipoli. Accounts somewhat vary on his successes which include a claimed torpedo gunboat sunk on the way in. What is certain is that in the Sea of Marmara, Boyle sinks an escorted transport, small gunboat "Nur ul Bahir", and an ex-White Star liner carrying troops for Gallipoli, before he rejoins the fleet on the 18th May. Then after his failure to break through to the Baltic in 1914, Lt-Cdr Naismith in "E-11" now reaches the Sea of Marmara. Leaving on the 19th May, his orders are "to run amuck", which he does, sinking some eight ships including a transport laying alongside the capital of Constantinople. He safely returns in early June, and makes two more equally successful patrols beyond the Dardanelles later in 1915. + The VICTORIA CROSS is awarded to Lt-Cdr Edward Boyle RN and Lt-Cdr Martin Naismith RN. 1st May - French submarine "JOULE" (1913, 400/550t, 1-45cm tt, 6 torpedo collars/cradles) tries to break through the Dardanelles defenses, but hits a mine in the Narrows, and is lost with all her crew. 13th-27th May - Three British Battleships Lost - On the night of the 12th/13th, the old British battleship "GOLIATH" (1900, 13,200t, 4-12in) is at anchor off Cape Helles, providing close gunfire support for the Allied troops deadlocked on Gallipoli. The German-manned, Turkish torpedo boat "Muavenet" (or "Muavenet-I-Miliet") torpedoes and sends her to the bottom with over 500 seamen. The first German U-boat to sail into the Mediterranean is now in the Aegean. Lt-Cdr Hersing in "U-21" left Germany in late April, reaching Cattaro in mid-May. A week later, he headed on for the Dardanelles and the Allied ships laying off Gallipoli, the larger ones protected by net defences against expected submarine attack. On the 25th, he torpedoes British pre-dreadnought "TRIUMPH" (1904, 12,000t, 4-10in) while she is firing her guns in support off Gabe Tepe, midway between Suvla Bay and Cape Helles. She capsizes in a short time with the loss of some 70 men.
Black Sea 10th May - German battlecruiser "Goeben" meets heavy units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including pre-dreadnought "Evstafi", on a raid off the Turkish coast. She is damaged by two 30.5cm (12in) shells to the east of the Bosphorus. JUNE 1915 Italy - By the time the Italians are ready for the first of some eleven Battles of the Isonzo River, the Austrians have 20 divisions ready on the front under the command of Archduke Eugen. In the First Battle of the Isonzo which lasts from 23 June to 7 July, the Italians attack towards Gorizia, but make only limited progress. Meanwhile in the Trentino and the Alps, they launch a number of minor assaults to improve their positions. Mediterranean War at Sea 9th June - British light cruiser "Dublin". Taking part in a sweep off the Albanian coast, and escorted by French and Italian destroyers, "Dublin" is hit and damaged by a torpedo from Austrian submarine "U-4". Soon working up to 17 knots, "Dublin" gets back to Brindisi but is out of action for several months. 10th June - Italian submarine "MEDUSA" (1912, 250/305t, 2-45cm tt). As German submarines are transferred to the Austrian Navy, and also prepare to operate in the Mediterranean under the Austrian flag, they score their first successes in the Adriatic. After completion at Pola and shortly before being handed over to the Austrians as "U-11", the German-crewed "UB-15" commanded by Lt Heimburg, sinks "Medusa" in the northern Adriatic off Venice. (Other dates including the 1st and 9th June may be found in some sources). 3rd June - French minelayer "CASABIANCA" (1895, 970t, 100 mines). The Allies now attempt to close the Gulf of Smyrna with minefields. During the operations, the old torpedo cruiser "Casabianca", converted to a minelayer, blows up and sinks on one of her own mines. NEAR EAST Mesopotamia - From the Basra area, a British Army corps (Gen John Nixon) including the 6th Indian Division (Gen Charles Townshend) moves northwards up the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers aiming for Baghdad. Amara on the Tigris (not to be confused with the more distant Kut-el-Amara) is captured on the 3rd assisted by a variety of small Royal Navy vessels including "Comet", "Shaitan", "Shushan" and "Sumana". JULY 1915 Italy - Ten days after the end of the First Battle, the Second Battle of the Isonzo starts and runs on into August or September, depending on accounts. Little progress is made by the Italians. Mediterranean War at Sea 7th July - Italian cruiser "AMALFI" (1909, 9,800t, 4-25.4cm, 8-19cm). The Italian Navy suffers its first major losses when two armoured cruisers are sunk in the Adriatic by enemy submarines. First to go on the 7th is the Venice-based "Amalfi" supporting a sweep by Italian destroyers down the Istrian coast. She is torpedoed and sunk in the upper Adriatic by the recently assembled German "UB-14" (but designated Austrian "U-26"), commanded by Lt Heimburg, who a month before in "UB-15", had accounted for Italian submarine "Medusa". 18th July - Italian cruiser "GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI" (1901, 8,100t, 1-25.4cm & 2-20.3cm). Further south, the "Garibaldi" and her cruiser division are off the southern Dalmatian coast, bombarding the railway line between Ragusa and Cattaro. She is hit by one or two torpedoes and sinks off Gravosa, victim of the Austrian "U-4", which damaged "Dublin" in June. 27th July - French submarine "MARIOTTE" (1913, 530t, 4-45cm tt, 2 drop collars). Yet another Allied submarine is sunk trying to break through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara. The "Mariotte" is trapped in the Turkish net defences off Chanak in the Narrows, forced to surface and scuttled after being shelled by shore batteries. NEAR EAST Mesopotamia - Nasiriya on the Euphrates is captured by British forces in the move on Baghdad. Black Sea Russian Black Sea Fleet - At Nikolayev in the Ukraine, the first two "Imperatritsa Mariya" class Dreadnoughts with their 12-30.5cm (12in) guns are completing for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. When commissioned later in the year, the "Imperatritsa Mariya" and "Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya" will give the Russians superiority over the German-Turkish fleet with its single dreadnought battlecruiser, the "Goeben". Russian sister-ship "Imperator Alexander III" (later "Volya") will not be ready until 1917. AUGUST 1915 Mediterranean War at Sea 5th August - Italian submarine "NEREIDE" (1913, 220t, 2-45cm tt). The Italians occupied the Austrian island of Pelagosa in the central Adriatic in July, and later the same month, the Austrians made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture it. Now in August, the Italian "Nereide" is laying offshore in support of the garrison. Surfaced, she is torpedoed and sunk by the Austrian Lt von Trapp's "U-5". Following another Austrian attack later in the month, the island is evacuated. 12th August - Austrian submarine "U-12" (1911, 240t, 2-45cm tt). Austrian submarines suffer their first loss. On or around the 12th, "U-12" is mined and sunk in the upper Adriatic, off Venice. 13th August - Austrian submarine "U-3" (1909, 240t, 2-45cm tt). Far to the south, but still on the 12th, "U-3" attacks and misses the Italian armed merchant cruiser "Città di Catania" on patrol in the Straits of Otranto. The AMC attempts to ram, but apparently unsuccessfully, and Allied destroyers are sent out. Next morning on the 13th, "U-3" is sighted and sunk by the gunfire of the French "Bisson" NE of Brindisi. 17th August - Italian submarine "JALEA" (1913, 250t, 2-45cm tt). Less than two weeks after the loss of "Nereide", "Jalea" is lost on an Austrian mine in the upper Adriatic, in the Gulf of Trieste. Turkish Waters Landings at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli - Gen Hamilton with three more Allied Divisions, tries to outflank the Turks on Gallipoli with further landings on the 6th. These take place just to the north of Anzac Cove and the ANZAC forces, at Suvla Bay, with the aim of reaching Sair Bair. In the face of the Turkish Fifth Army, now 13 divisions strong, the attempt fails. 8th August - Turkish pre-dreadnought "HAYREDDIN BARBAROSSA" (1893, 10,000t, 6-28cm). Returning to the Sea of Marmara for the second time, British submarine "E-11" (Lt-Cdr Naismith VC) accounts for numerous vessels including a gunboat during the month. Then on the 8th, off Bulair on the Gallipoli Peninsula, he torpedoes and sinks the ex-German pre-dreadnought "Hayreddin Barbarossa" on its way to support the Turkish land defences. RNAS aircraft torpedo attacks - A new form of warfare appeared on the 12th, when a Short 184 seaplane piloted by Flt Cdr Edmonds and flying from the converted fast packet "Ben-my-Chree" off the Gallipoli coast, hits a beached Turkish merchantman (recently torpedoed by Boyle's "E-14") in the Sea of Marmara with a 14in torpedo. In a similar attack five days later, a transport may have been sunk. This is the first use of torpedoes dropped from aircraft. SEPTEMBER 1915 Bulgaria & Serbia - With undefeated Serbia sitting across the supply routes between the main Central Powers and Turkey, with Rumania looking to go to war, and the Turks in need of support, the German C-in-C, Gen Falkenhayn decides to finish off Serbia and bring Bulgaria into the struggle. Persuaded by the success of the German-Austrian breakthrough against Russia, the inability of the Italians to make any progress across the Isonzo, and the British failure to take Gallipoli, Bulgaria secretly joins the Central Powers on the 6th. Two weeks later they start to mobilise the army ready for an attack on Serbia in October, a force which before the war is over will total some 1.2 million men. Mediterranean War at Sea 27th September - Italian pre-dreadnought "BENEDETTO BRIN" (1905, 14,700t, 4-30.5cm). The Italian Navy suffers another major loss, but in mysterious circumstances. The "Benedetto Brin" explodes in Brindisi harbour and sinks with heavy loss of life, including the commander of the 3rd Battle Division. Austrian sabotage is later claimed to be the cause. Turkish Waters 5th September - British submarine "E-7" (1914, 655t, 4tt, 1-12pdr). Another Allied submarine is lost to the Dardanelles defences. Heading from Mudros on the 4th for another patrol in the Sea of Marmara, "E-7" (Lt Cdr Cochrane) is trapped in A/S nets at Nagara and shaken by exploding mines. Next day on the 5th and still enmeshed, the boat is reportedly damaged by charges lowered from a rowing boat by Lt Cdr Heimburg, commander of the recently-arrived German "UB-14" and his cook! The British boat reaches the surface to be scuttled by Cdr Cochrane. NEAR EAST Mesopotamia - Kut-al-Amara on the Tigris, well on the way to Bahgdad, is taken when Gen Townshend defeats a well entrenched Turkish force. He pushes on for Baghdad. Capture of Kut-al-Amara - Just before the taking of Kut-al-Amara, ships of the RN Flotilla attempt to force a passage. They are stopped short of the town by a boom across the River Tigris, consisting of heavy hawsers and a dhow sunk in mid-stream, the whole covered by Turkish fire. At dusk on the 28th, armed paddle-steamer "Comet" (Lt-Cdr Cookson) and two armed launches fail to destroy the dhow by gunfire or break through the barrier by ramming. Cdr Cookson lays "Comet" alongside the dhow, and tries to cut through the connecting cables with an axe. He is hit and killed, and the ships withdraw. When Kut is taken the next day, the barrier is dismantled. + The VICTORIA CROSS is awarded posthumously to Lt-Cdr Edgar Cookson DSO RN. OCTOBER 1915 Italy - The Third Battle of the Isonzo, really a continuation of the earlier one, starts in mid-month with the struggle carrying on into November. Defeat of Serbia - After an interval of nine months, the Fourth Invasion of Serbia is about to take place. For the attack, German FM Mackensen commands three of the four armies taking part - the Austrian Third, German Eleventh, and Bulgarian First. The Germans and Austrians are to strike from Austria-Hungary in the north, aiming for the Serbian capital of Belgrade, while the Bulgarian First will approach from the east. A fourth army, the Bulgarian Second, commanded from Sofia, is to attack into southeast Serbia and cut the railway to the Greek port of Salonika on the Aegean. The Serbs are outnumbered, outclassed, and lack artillery. The Austro-German armies begin their invasion from the north on the 6th/7th, and Belgrade falls two days later. Allies open the Macedonian Front - The Allies expect the Serbian attack, and on the 3rd, start to land a British and a French division at Salonika. Nominal command of the Allied Expeditionary Force is vested in French Gen Maurice Sarrail. Greece remains neutral, but the landings are supported by the pro-Allied Greek Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos, who soon falls from power. Another front - Macedonia - is thus opened, but soon faces political problems, and a lack of aims and clear command structure. Bulgaria at War - On the 11th, Bulgaria declares war, and two more armies advance into eastern and southeastern Serbia. A week later and the Bulgarians start to sever communications with Greece. Five more days and the railway line to Salonika is cut, and the Allies are unable to supply the Serbs or join up with them. As Serbia struggles to survive, the Allies retreat into Salonika and fortify the port against both Bulgarians and Greeks. Mediterranean War at Sea Allied attempt to close the Otranto Straits - With the Austrian fleet bottled up in harbour, the Allies make their first attempt to close the Straits of Otranto to German U-boats. Some 60 civilian fishing drifters arrive from Britain in September, and are now on A/S patrol with their nets out at the start of a long and ultimately unsuccessful effort to close the 50 mile wide Straits. By the end of the war, the Otranto Barrage as it will be called, will include minefields, destroyer, trawler and submarine-chaser patrol lines, motor launches, seaplanes and balloons. Attacks on Bulgaria - With war declared, Allied ships start to blockade Bulgaria's short Aegean coastline. On the 21st, British warships including cruiser "Theseus" and monitors "M-15" and "M-28" bombard Dedeagatch. 30th October - French submarine "TURQUOISE" (c1910, 390t, 6-45cm tt, 1-37mm). The first French submarine to reach the Sea of Marmara runs aground on the 30th and may have been hit by Turkish shore batteries (accounts differ). "Turquoise" is captured intact and incorporated into the Turkish Navy as "Mustadieh Ombashi", but never re-commissioned. Papers found on board allow the Germans to ambush "E-20" which broke through at the same time. 31st October - British destroyer "LOUIS" (1913, c1000t, 3-4in, 4tt) in a support role, is wrecked off Gallipoli in Suvla Bay and destroyed by Turkish gunfire. NOVEMBER 1915 Italy - The Third Battle of Isonzo ends in early November. The Fourth Battle soon starts and continues through to December. Serbia - The Fourth and final Invasion of Serbia comes to an end. The surviving Serbian armies, fighting on in the west and south, are forced to retreat into Montenegro and Albania. By the 28th, the campaign is nearly over, Serbia overrun by the Austro-German and Bulgarian armies, and the Serbs cut in half. Allied aircraft attack Bulgaria - Sqdn Cdr Davies, No.3 Sqdn, RNAS flying a Nieuport, and Flt Sub-Lt Smylie in a Henri Farman, attack the railway junction at Ferrijik near the Gulf of Enos in the Bulgarian province of Thrace on the 19th. As Smylie bombs, his 'plane is hit and he force-lands nearby. Cdr Davies lands and rescues him. * The VICTORIA CROSS is awarded to Squadron Cdr Richard Davies DSO, RNAS. Libya - The Senussi tribe is in revolt against their Italian masters, and also threatening the British in Egypt. The Germans attempt to support and supply the uprising. Mediterranean War at Sea 5th & 6th November - British armed boarding steamer "TARA" (1,860grt) & Egyptian coastguard vessel "ABBAS" - German submarine "U-35" (Lt-Cdr Kophamel) carries men and munitions across the Mediterranean, some towed in sailing schooners, and lands them at Bardia to support the Senussi. On the 5th, off Sollum, "U-35" sinks the "Tara" and tows the survivors in boats to Bardia, where they become prisoners of the Senussi. Next day the Egyptian "Abbas" is sunk and "Nur El Bahr" damaged off Sollum by the U-boat's gunfire. In March 1916, the "Tara's" men are rescued from their desert prison in a daring raid by a British armoured car force. NEAR EAST Gallipoli Campaign - Lord Kitchener visits Gallipoli. Allied casualties now total at least 250,000 including 50,000 killed, and the French are also pressing for a campaign on the Macedonian front from Salonika. The decision is taken to evacuate. Turkish Waters 5th November - British submarine "E-20" (1915, 670t, 5tt, 1-12pdr), Lt Cdr Warren. With information gleaned from the captured French submarine "Turquoise", the German "UB-14" (Lt-Cdr Heimburg) waits for and hits "E-20" with a single torpedo in the Sea of Marmara. Only nine men including the C.O. are picked up after the British boat explodes. (Some sources credit the sinking to "UB-15", which after assembly at Pola, had been temporarily commanded by Heimburg before transfer to the Austrian Navy. "UB-15" stayed in the Adriatic.) NEAR EAST - continued Mesopotamia - Just short of Baghdad, during the first advance on the city, the four day Battle of Ctesiphon starts on the 22nd. The attacking British and Indian forces fail to break through, and retreat back along the Tigris to Kut-al-Amara. Black Sea 29th November - German "UC-13" (1915, 170t, 12 mines). A few small German submarines have now reached the Black Sea, via Constantinople, and based mainly at Varna on the Bulgarian coast. After being assembled at Pola earlier in the year, "UC-13" now patrols off the Caucasian coastline, and on returning, runs aground in a heavy storm to the east of the Bosphorus, near the mouth of the Sakaria River (41°09N, 30°30E). She either sinks after the incident, or is later destroyed by gunfire. DECEMBER 1915 Serbia & Macedonia - Through December, January, and into February, remnants of the Serbian army make a fighting retreat across the snow-covered mountains to the coast of Albania, taking their prisoners with them. From there, the Italian and French Navies evacuate the survivors first to Corfu, and some eventually on to Salonika to be reformed into a new Serbian army. More than 100,000 men make this journey without loss. Early in December, the Italians land two divisions at Valona, Albania to hold the south of that country. Meanwhile, Franco-British troops continue operations on the Macedonian Front, with Salonika held in a state of defence. Mediterranean War at Sea 4th December - Italian destroyer "INTREPIDO" (1913, 680t, 1-12cm, 2-45cm tt). Austrian and German submarines attack Allied supply routes in the Adriatic, and German "UC-14" lays mines of Valona, Albania across the Straits of Otranto from the heel of Italy. On the 4th, "Intrepido" and a transport sink in "UC-14's" field. 5th December - French submarine "FRESNEL" (c1909, 400t, 6 torpedo collars/cradles). Austrian light forces including cruiser "Novara" and destroyers raid the coast of northern Albania and catch the "Fresnel" aground off the mouth of the Bojana River, close to where she has been on station. Destroyer "Warasdiner" completes her destruction by gunfire and captures the crew. 28th/29th December - Austrian Cruiser Raid in the Adriatic - The Austrian Navy makes another raid, this time to interfer with the Serbian evacuation. The new scout cruiser "Helgoland" accompanied by five "Tatra" class destroyers (all 1913/14, 850t, 2-10cm, 4-45cm tt) leave the advance base of Cattaro and head for Durazzo late on the 28th, and while on passage, sight French submarine "MONGE" (1910, 400t, 1-45cm tt & 6 torpedo collars/cradles) herself on patrol to the south of Cattaro. Destroyer "Balaton" opens fire before ramming and sending her to the bottom. Early next day the Austrian squadron arrives off Durazzo and opens fire, but destroyer "LIKA" is mined and sunk, and "Triglav" badly damaged in the same field. "Czepel" attempts to take her in tow, but fouls a propeller, and the job is taken over by "Tatra". The crippled Austrian force now returns slowly north. Allied forces in Brindisi are alerted and British light cruiser "Dartmouth" and the Italian "Quarto" sail to intercept, followed by French destroyers, and later by British light cruiser "Weymouth", the Italian "Nino Bixio" and Italian destroyers. The Austrians also respond and send out from Cattaro, armoured cruiser "Kaiser Karl VI", and later still, other ships including the "Novara", to support the returning survivors of the raid, but they do not see action.
3rd December - Turkish destroyer "YARHISAR" (c1907, 280t, 1-65mm, 2tt). On his third and last patrol in the Sea of Marmara, Lt-Cdr Naismith in "E-11" adds to his already considerable score of Turkish vessels sunk and disabled. On the 3rd, he torpedoes and sinks the "yar Hissar" in the Gulf of Ismit. British submarine operations - Coming to the end of their operations in the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, claims for Turkish ships sunk by British submarines to the end of 1915 include one old battleship and an armoured ship, six small warships, 16 transports and around 200 small steamers and sailing vessels, although some of these were beached and salved. In exchange, three British and one Australian "E" class boats have been lost, plus four French. Evacuation of Gallipoli - The Royal Navy completes the evacuation of the British and ANZAC forces from the northern beachheads around Anzac Cove and Suvla on the 19th, all without loss. Three weeks later, it is the turn of the men on the Cape Helles beaches at the tip of Gallipoli. Major Allied losses in warships throughout the failed campaign to take Constantinople include:
NEAR EAST - continued Mesopotamia - Gen Townsend and 10,000 men, with few supplies, are surrounded at Kut-al-Amara by a Turkish-Arab army. Relief forces from the south prepare to fight through to them. |
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