World War I, 1915

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Italy Joins Allies (June, 1915): The allies persuade Italy to leave the Triple Alliance with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, and join their side instead. Although allies with Germany and Austria, Italy did not agree to join WWI, since it understood that the alliance was defensive in nature, and viewed the Central Power's involvement as pre-emptive. In 1915, the allies offer Italy various territories across the Adriatic Sea, in Slovenia, Croatia, and Albania. Italy is persuaded, entering the war in June of 1915 by mounting an offensive strike against Austria-Hungary across their shared border.

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Italy Unsuccessfully Invades Austria-Hungary (June, 1915): The Italians met the Austrians along the Italy-Austria border in the Alps in 1915. The massive Italian army outnumbered the Austrians about by 2 to 1. However, the Austrians held a superior, higher-ground position in the Alps, negating the numerical advantage of the Italians. Plus, the Italians were poorly equipped. Italian commanders attempted several frontal assaults in 1915, but were badly defeated each time.

Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria Conquer Serbia (Nov, 1915): In 1915, the Central Powers finally persuaded Bulgaria to join their side, with the promise of the southern portion of Serbia (approximate to modern Macedonia) as their spoil of victory. With Austria-Hungary allocating greater numbers of troops, and the additional push from the SE by the Bulgarians, the Serbian army was overwhelmed. By the end of 1915, Serbia was completely conquered by the Central Powers, with Bulgaria taking possession of the southern portion as promised, and Austria-Hungary taking possession of the remainder. The surviving Serbian troops would escape to Albania, from where they would launch attacks against Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria throughout the duration of the war.

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Stalemate Along Western Front (1915): Throughout 1915, both sides essentially held their ground. The ground along this swathe of territory was fairly soft, enabling both sides to dig serviceable trenches. Plus, machine gun technology made it difficult to move the enemy side from its entrenched position. The Germans introduced chemcial warfare to the battlefield, killing thousands. However, they were unable to capitalize. The Germans continue to occupy Belgium and Luxembourg throughout 1915, forcing many of them into battle.

Germany and Austria-Hungary Turn Tables on Russia, Conquering Lithuania and Poland (1915): With the Western Front largely set for the time being, and Russia gaining ground inside Austria-Hungary, Germany redeploys the larger proportion of its army to the Eastern Front. This turns the tide of the war along the Eastern Front, as Russia is driven out completely out of Austria-Hungary. The unified German-Austrian battalions continue east, as Russia is forced to retreat. By the end of 1915, Germany and Austria conquer Lithuania and Poland from Russia.

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Stalemate between Russian and Ottoman forces in Caucasus (1915).

Ottoman Genocide Against Armenians Begins (1915): Reports of Armenians switching sides to join the Russians in battle fostered distrust among the Turkish Ottomans. Armenians were an ethnic group within the NE portion of the Ottoman Empire. As Allies closed in, 250 prominent Armenians were executed. This was followed by a mass deportation of Armenians to the Syrian desert. Armenians were stripped of their assets, and marched into this barren land without sufficient food, water or supplies. Soldiers orchestrating the exile allowed and participated in atrocities such as robbing, raping and indiscriminate murdering. Many also died of starvation and disease. As many as 500,000 would die during this mass deportation.

German U-Boat Attacks (1915): German U-boats (submarines) begin the tactic of sinking supply ships in the North Sea and North Atlantic Ocean to gain control over the supply lines between Britain and U.S. This tactic would later sink a civilian passenger ship, killing a number of Americans, which would help provoke the U.S. into the war.

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UK Naval Blockade of Germany (1915): UK maintains effective naval blockade of Germany, placing pressure on their ability to bring in necessary supplies.

Allies Attempt to Invade Ottoman Empire (1915):
Turkish Straits: Ottomans inflict mass casualties upon the invading Allies, successfully defending European portion of their Empire.
Iraq: Ottomans decisively defeat British in their attempt to invade Mesopotamia.
Arabia: British successfully incite Arab revolts against the Ottomans on the Sinai Peninsula and in Palestine.

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Ottomans unsuccessfully try to conquer Suez Canal (Egypt) from the British (1915).

African Theater (1915):
West Africa: Continued fighting between French/British versus the Germans in German colonies of Kamerun and Togoland. Allies maintain upper hand.
South Africa: British end the Boar rebellions and gain their cooperation against the Germans. British colony of South Africa conquers German colony of South West Africa in 1915.

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WWI Timeline: | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |

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