Modern Era
Siege of Kut (1915-1916): Britain's Humiliation in Mesopotamia
Ottoman victory; about 13,000 British and Indian troops surrendered, and thousands died in captivity.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Execution of Edith Cavell (1915): The Nurse Shot by the Germans
Cavell and Philippe Baucq were executed; the case became a powerful symbol in Allied propaganda and recruitment.
Modern Era
Zeppelin Raids on Britain (1915-1918): The First Blitz
German airships killed around 550 people in Britain, but heavy losses to improved defences ended the campaign by 1918.
Modern Era
Great Retreat of the Serbian Army (1915) Across Albania
Serbia was occupied, but the surviving army was evacuated to Corfu, rebuilt and returned to fight on the Salonika front.
Modern Era
Battles of the Isonzo (1915-1917): Italy's Mountain War
Eleven Italian offensives gained only a few miles at enormous cost; the twelfth battle, Caporetto, was an Austro-German breakthrough.
Modern Era
Battle of Loos (1915): Britain's First Use of Poison Gas
Limited British gains at very heavy cost; the failure contributed to Sir John French's replacement by Douglas Haig in December 1915.
Modern Era
Battle of Neuve Chapelle (1915): Britain's First Planned Attack
The British and Indian troops captured the village but failed to break through; about 11,000-12,000 British and Indian casualties.
Modern Era
Armenian Genocide (1915-1916): Deportations and Mass Killings
An estimated 600,000 to 1.5 million Armenians died, and the Armenian presence in most of Anatolia was destroyed.
Modern Era
Second Battle of Ypres (1915): The First Poison Gas Attack
German tactical gains; the Ypres salient was reduced in size but held by Allied forces.
Modern Era
Sinking of the Lusitania (1915): U-Boat Attack Off Ireland
The liner sank in about 18 minutes with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, provoking a major crisis between the United States and Germany.
Modern Era
Gallipoli Campaign (1915-1916): Allied Failure at the Dardanelles
Ottoman victory; the Allies failed to force the Dardanelles and evacuated the peninsula by 9 January 1916.
Modern Era
Murder of Rasputin (1916): The Death of the Tsarina's Favourite
Rasputin was killed, but his death did not save the monarchy, which fell ten weeks later.