1915
Spurred by boll weevil devastation of cotton crops in the south the great migration of blacks to the north begins. In a year and a half, the total is 350,000. Dr. Carter G. Woodson establishes the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and launches the Journal of Negro History, with himself as its editor.
1915
U.S. Supreme Court in Guinn v. United States declares the "grandfather clause" in the Oklahoma state constitution is unconstitutional.
1915
Sir Douglas Haig replaces Sir John French as the Commander-in-Chief of British forces.
1915
Albert Einstein, after a number of false starts, publishes his General Theory of Relativity, the definitive form of his general theory.
1915
Radical, antisemitic poet and journalist Dietrich Eckart returns to Munich after being gassed at the front.
1915
Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels coins the word Ariosophy. Its earliest mention is in Ostrara I, 82. (Roots)
1915
The Allied governments retain J.P. Morgan & Co. as their
agent to handle purchases of war supplies in the United States. Thomas Lamont,
of the House of Morgan, appoints Edward R. Stettinius, Sr. to oversee this vast
operation. Stettinius soon becomes a partner, heading a special department that
apportions British and French orders of war materiels among U.S. steel mills,
powder plants, tool works and dozens of other industries.
1915 January
Winston Churchill orders a mostly British, Allied fleet
to force the Dardanelles, then steam on to Constantinople (Istanbul) to dictate
peace terms.
1915 January 3
The Turks plan a wide envelopment of the Russians at
the Battle of Sarikamis In the Caucasus between Russia and Turkey. The Russians
counterattack, smashing the Turkish army.
1915 January 14
Turkish commander Djemal Pasha secretly sets out
across the Sinai Peninsula from Beersheba with an army of 22,000, intending to
seize the Suez Canal.
1915 January 19
Bombing attacks on Britain by Zeppelin
dirigibles, under the control of the German navy, result in few casualties,
causing more anger than panic. During the year, 18 more raids will take place.
1915 January 23
A German battle cruiser squadron under Vice Admiral
Franz von Hipper moves out to raid the English coast and harass the British
fishing fleet.
1915 January 24
British Admiral David Beatty's battle cruiser
squadron attacks Hipper off the Dogger Bank. Hipper wisely flees, but Beatty,
with superior speed, catches him, sinking one cruiser. Both flagships are
damaged.
1915 January 30
Colonel Edward M. House, Wilson's good friend and
advisor, sails to Europe on the Lusitania to try to mediate a peace settlement.
Both sides still feel they can get what they want and are unwilling to settle
the conflict so quickly. (Schlesinger I)
1915 January 31
The Central Powers, reinforcing their armies in the
east, launch a great offensive under Hindenburg in the Battle of Bolimov, a
feint aimed at Warsaw to distract Russian attention. Poison gas shells are used
for the first time, but are not highly effective in the freezing temperatures,
and the Russians do not report the gas attack.
1915 February
Hitler writes a long, autobiographical letter to his
lawyer and friend, Ernst Hepp. (Hepp Letter)
1915 February
The German submarine blockade of Great Britain begins.
1915 February 2
Advance elements of Djemal Pasha's army strike
across the Suez canal in pontoon boats, but are repelled. No further Turkish
assaults are made against the canal, but the threat holds back reinforcements
from Gallipoli.
1915 February 4
Germany proclaims a war zone around the British
Isles in retaliation for the blockade of its ports. Germany intensifies its
submarine campaign against Allied merchant ships and attacks neutral ships.
1915 February 8
The new German Tenth Army hits the Russian right.
The Russians are driven back into the Augustow Forest, barely escaping
encirclement. 90,000 Russian prisoners are taken by the end of the month.
1915 February 10
President Wilson warns Germany that the U.S. will
hold it "to a strict accountability" for "property damaged or
lives lost." German submarine warfare is taking a heavy toll on neutral
shipping, including American.
1915 February 19
A Franco-British fleet under British Admiral
Sackville Carden begin a systematic reduction of the Turkish fortifications
lining the Dardanelles.
1915 February 19
A German submarine sinks a Norwegian ship in
British waters.
1915 February 25
The outer Turkish forts are silenced and Allied
vessels enter the Dardanelles.
1915 March 10
A British attack at Neuve Chapelle fails after nearly
achieving a breakthrough.
