World War 1 - A Short Timeline of 1915

World War 1 - A Short Timeline of 1915 Germany now plotted a change of tactic, fighting defensively in the West and trying to defeat Russia in the east quickly by attacking, while the Allies aimed to break through on their respective fronts. Meanwhile, Serbia came under increased pressure and Britain planned to attack Turkey. January 8: Germany forms a southern army to support the faltering Austrians. Germany would have to send ever more troops to prop up what became a puppet regime. January 19: First German Zeppelin raid on British mainland. January 31: The first use of poison gas in WW1, by Germany at Bolimow in Poland. This ushers in a terrible new era in warfare, and soon the allied nations join in with their own gas. February 4: Germany declares submarine blockade of Britain, with all approaching ships considered targets. This is the start of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare. When this is restarted later in the war it causes Germany to lose. February 7 - 21: Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, no gains. (EF) March 11: The Reprisals Order, in which Britain banned all neutral parties from trading with Germany. As Germany was suffering a naval blockade by Britain this became a serious issue. The US was supposedly neutral, but couldnt get supplies to Germany if it had wanted to. (It didnt.) March 11 - 13 : Battle of Neuve-Chapelle. (WF) March 18: Allied ships attempt to bombard areas of the Dardanelles, but their failure causes the development of an invasion plan. April 22 - May 25: Second Battle of Ypres (WF); BEF casualties are triple those of Germans. April 25: The Allied ground assault begins in Gallipoli. (SF) The plan has been rushed, the equipment is poor, commanders who would later prove themselves act badly. It is a colossal mistake. April 26: The Treaty of London is signed, in which Italy joins the Entente. They have a secret agreement which gives them land in a victory. April 22: Poison Gas is first used on the Western Front, in a German attack on Canadian troops at Ypres. May 2-13: Battle of Gorlice-Tarnow, in which the Germans push Russia back. May 7: The Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine; casualties include 124 Americans passengers. This inflames US opinion against Germany and submarine warfare. June 23 - July 8: First Battle of Isonzo, an Italian offensive against fortified Austrian positi ons along a 50-mile front. Italy makes ten more attacks between 1915 and 1917 in the same place (The Second - Eleventh Battles of Isonzo) for no real gains. (IF) July 13-15: The German Triple Offensive begins, aiming to destroy the Russian army. July 22: The Great Retreat (2) is ordered - Russian forces pull back out of Poland (currently part of Russia), taking machinery and equipment with them. September 1: After American outrage, Germany officially stops sinking passenger vessels without warning. September 5: Tsar Nicholas II makes himself Russian Commander-in-Chief. This directly leads to him being blamed for failure and the collapse of the Russian monarchy. September 12: After the failure of the Austrian Black Yellow offensive (EF), Germany takes over ultimate control of Austro-Hungarian forces. September 21 - November 6: Allied offensive leads to Battles of Champagne, Second Artois and Loos; no gains. (WF) November 23: German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces push the Serbian army into exile; Serbia falls. December 10: The Allies begin slowly withdrawing from Gallipoli; they complete by January 9 1916. The landing has been a total failure, costing a huge number of lives. December 18: Douglas Haig appointed British Commander-in-Chief; he replaces John French. December 20th: In The Falkenhayn Memorandum, the Central Powers propose to bleed the French White through a war of attrition. The key is using Verdun Fortress as a French meat grinder. Despite attacking on the Western Front, Britain and France make few gains; they also incur hundreds of thousands more casualties than their enemy. The Gallipoli landings also fail, causing the resignation of a certain Winston Churchill from British government. Meanwhile, the Central Powers achieve what looks like success in the East, pushing the Russians back into Belorussia...but this had happened before - against Napoleon - and would happen again, against Hitler. Russias manpower, manufacturing and army remained strong, but casualties had been huge. Next page 1916 Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Persian Battle at Thermopylae in 300 Movie

Persian Battle at Thermopylae in 300 Movie Thermopylae (lit. hot gates) was a pass the Greeks tried to defend in a battle against the Persian forces led by Xerxes, in 480 B.C. The Greeks (Spartans and allies) knew they were outnumbered and hadnt a prayer, so it was no surprise that the Persians won the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans who led the defense were all killed, and they may have known in advance that they would be, but their courage provided inspiration to the Greeks. Had the Spartans and allies avoided what was, in essence, a suicide mission, many Greeks might have willingly medized* (become Persian sympathizers). At least that is what the Spartans feared. Although Greece lost at Thermopylae, the following year they won battles fought against the Persians. Persians Attack the Greeks at Thermopylae Xerxes fleet of Persian ships had sailed along the coastline from northern Greece into the Gulf of Malia on the eastern Aegean Sea towards the mountains at Thermopylae. The Greeks faced the Persian army at a narrow pass there that controlled the only road between Thessaly and Central Greece. Spartan King Leonidas was general in charge of the Greek forces that tried to restrain the vast Persian army, to delay them, and keep them from attacking the rear of the Greek navy, which was under Athenian control. Leonidas may have hoped to block them long enough that Xerxes would have to sail away for food and water. Ephialtes and Anopaia Spartan historian Kennell says no one expected the battle to be as short as it was. After the Carnea festival, more Spartan soldiers were to arrive and help defend Thermopylae against the Persians. Unfortunately for Leonidas, after a couple of days, a medizing traitor named Ephialtes led the Persians around the pass running behind the Greek army, thereby squashing the remote chance of Greek victory. The name of Ephialtes path is Anopaea (or Anopaia). Its exact location is debated. Leonidas sent away most of the amassed troops. Greeks Fight the Immortals On the third day, Leonidas led his 300 Spartan hoplite elite troops (selected because they had living sons back home), plus their Boeotian allies from Thespiae and Thebes, against Xerxes and his army, including the 10,000 Immortals. The Spartan-led forces fought this unstoppable Persian force to their deaths, blocking the pass long enough to keep Xerxes and his army occupied while the rest of the Greek army escaped. The Aristeia of Dieneces Aristeia relates to both virtue and the reward given the most honored soldier. In the Battle at Thermopylae, Dieneces was the most honored Spartan. According to Spartan scholar Paul Cartledge, Dieneces was so virtuous that when told there were so many Persian archers that the sky would grow dark with the flying missiles, he replied laconically: So much the better we shall fight them in the shade. Spartan boys were trained in night raids, so although this was a show of bravery in the face of countless enemy weapons, there was more to it. Themistocles Themistocles was the Athenian in charge of the Athenian naval fleet that was nominally under the command of the Spartan Eurybiades. Themistocles had persuaded the Greeks to use the bounty from a newly discovered vein of silver at its mines at Laurium to build a naval fleet of 200 triremes. When some of the Greek leaders wanted to leave Artemisium before the battle with the Persians, Themistocles bribed and bullied them into staying. His behavior had consequences: Some years later, his fellow Athenians ostracized the heavy-handed Themistocles. The Corpse of Leonidas There is a story that after Leonidas died, the Greeks tried to retrieve the corpse by means of a gesture worthy of the Myrmidons trying to rescue Patroclus in the Iliad XVII. It failed. The Thebans surrendered; the Spartans and Thespians retreated and were shot by Persian archers. The body of Leonidas may have been crucified or beheaded on Xerxes orders. It was retrieved about 40 years later. Aftermath The Persians, whose naval fleet had already suffered seriously from storm damage, then (or simultaneously) attacked the Greek fleet at Artemisium, with both sides suffering heavy losses. According to the Greek historian Peter Green, the Spartan Demaratus (on Xerxes staff) recommended splitting the navy and sending part to Sparta, but the Persian navy had been too heavily damaged to do so fortunately for the Greeks. In September of 480, aided by northern Greeks, the Persians marched on Athens and burned it to the ground, but it had been evacuated.