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A table of shells requirements from a May 9, 1915 memorandum by Sir John French, Commander of the British Expeditionary Force 1914 and sent to Members of Parliament David Lloyd George, Bonar Law, and Arthur Balfour. French also provided some of the information to Colonel Repington, the military correspondent for the Times of London, who published his story on the 'shell shortage' on May 15, 1915.
The poet, novelist, and political activist Gabriele d'Annunzio speaking in favor of Italy's entry into the war on the side of the Entente Allies, and against 'Giolittismo' at the Costanzi Theater in Rome, May, 1915. Giovanni Giolitti was five-time Prime Minister of Italy, and opposed intervention in the Great War. Illustration by Achille Beltrame.
Turkish Cavalry, from a German postcard.
Anzac Cove, Ari Burnu, from John Masefield's 'Gallipoli.'
German and Austro-Hungarian forces under the command of generals von Hindenburg and Archduke Friedrich besieged Warsaw, and took it during the Gorlice-Tarnow Offensive. Austrians von Hötzendorf, Friedrich, and Pflanzer-Baltin form the bottom of the ring; the others are German. The flag and shield of Germany are on the bottom left; those of Austria and Hungary the bottom right.
"Colonel FitzGerald and Captain Guest reported that on May 12 and 14 [1915] they had carried out my instructions and laid the facts before Mr. Lloyd George, Mr. Balfour, and Mr. Bonar Law. On May 15, Colonel Repington's article appeared in the 'Times.' The world knows what then happened. The Coalition Government was formed, with Mr. Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions; and, though delays afterwards occurred, the problem was at last faced with the intelligence and energy that its gravity demanded . . ." ((1), more)
"A second assault was delivered on May 16th [1915] at Festubert. Here the German trenches were protected by special wire cables, nearly two inches in diameter with parapets in front of these entanglements. The British, lacking high explosives, could not sweep these obstructions aside with their artillery fire.After showering the German trenches with shrapnel, the infantry charged against the barrier. Unable to cut the thick wire, the Britishers laid their overcoats upon the entanglements and crawled over the top in the face of a murderous machine-gun fire. Though thousands perished at this barrier, the British troops did not waver." ((2), more)
"Monday, May 17, 1915There is intense excitement in Italy. In Rome, Milan, Venice, and Genoa there is a continuous succession of stormy demonstrations which are almost revolutionary in character.Under the pressure of popular feeling King Victor Emmanuel yesterday refused the resignation of the Salandra-Sonnino Cabinet. Giolotti's plot has thus failed. The only course now open to the 'neutralist' Parliament is to bow to the demands of the national instincts." ((3), more)
"Thus it was that on the two tragic days of 18 and 19 May 1915, young Turkish soldiers charged forward, to be mowed down by enemy artillery and machine guns before they could attempt to rush enemy trenches. Those who died on the spot were the lucky ones.Those who were maimed, crippled or so heavily wounded they could not move, lay on the battlefield, expecting the next shell, grenade or bullet to finish them off. The few who were eventually picked up by stretcher bearers were carried away for treatment, with the certainty that if they survived, they would soon be sent back to the front. And for what? Simply put, the greater glory of Enver Pasha and his cocky Divisional Commanders." ((4), more)
"'Poor Simpson of 3rd F.A. was killed early in morning while still doing good work with the donkey.' The imperturbable manner in which this man, born in South Shields, County Durham, but enlisting in a West Australian unit, had brought wounded men down to the beach with the aid of his donkey was already growing into a legend which in due honour to Simpson was to symbolize the brave work done by men of all the field ambulance units." ((5), more)
(1) Commanding British forces on the continent, General Sir John French had recognized the overwhelming superiority of German artillery in the sheer number of shells it could use against the allies as early as September 1914. Guns were allocated one half, one quarter, of the shells they were firing, and the high command imposed restrictions on the number of shells allowed per gun per day. The War Office did not respond with anything approaching the requirements, and British soldiers paid heavily for this shortfall in the Battles of Ypres and Neuve Chapelle. According to his memoir, it was the events of May 9, 1915, and the beginning of the Battle of Festubert, that convinced French to approach politicians and the press about the shell shortage. The scandal led to a coalition government, and brought the future Prime Minister David Lloyd George in as Minister of Munitions.
1914 by John French, page 368, copyright © 1919, by Houghton Mifflin Company, publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, publication date: 1919
(2) The Allies major spring offensive of 1915 was launched on May 9. The French Second Battle of Artois had limited success on the first day. The British launched a simultaneous attack in the Battle of Festubert and Aubers Ridge. The French continued their offensive into June, the British through late May.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 157, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(3) Entry for Monday, May 17, 1915, from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador in Russia. Italy had signed the Pact of London on April 26, committing the country to enter the war on the side of the Entente Allies by May 26 in exchange for a loan of £50,000,000 and promises of territories (such as Trentino and Trieste) to be won. King Victor Emmanuel, Prime Minister Antonio Salandra, and Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino all favored war, but faced overwhelming neutralist sentiment throughout the country and in the figure of former Prime Minister Giolotti. By mid-May Benito Mussolini, Gabriele D'Annunzio, and other pro-war activists were demonstrating, sometimes violently, for war.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. I by Maurice Paléologue, page 338, publisher: George H. Doran Company, publication date: 1925
(4) Excerpt from the account by Şefik Bey, commander of the 27th Infantry Regiment. of the Turkish offensive at Ari Burnu, Anzac Cove, on May 18 and 19, 1915. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs) had entrenched (as best they could) on the hills above the beach at Ari Burnu. The Turkish attack of May 18 and 19 was the most concerted effort of the Gallipoli campaign to drive them into the sea. The 'cocky Divisional Commanders' led two newly trained divisions from Constantinople. When Turkish War Minister Enver Pasha asked them if they were prepared to launch an immediate offensive, they had both replied they were. In his memoir, Liman von Sanders, German commander of Turkish forces on the Peninsula, admitted the offensive was a mistake.
Gallipoli 1915; Day One Plus . . . 27th Ottoman Inf. Reft. vs. ANZACS; Based on Account of Lt. Col. Sefik Aker, Commander of 27th Infantry Regiment by H.B. Danisman, page 62, publisher: Denizler Kitabevi, publication date: 2007
(5) Australian John Simpson Kirkpatrick, a stretcher bearer with the ANZAC Third Field Ambulance unit, landed on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, the first day of the Allied invasion. In the three and a half weeks before his death on May 19, he used four donkeys to help him transport the wounded to the relative safety of the shore and transfer to a hospital ship. Legend credits him and his donkeys with bearing 300 wounded from the battle lines. The first sentence of the quotation is by Edney Moore of the Australian Medical Corps.
Men of Gallipoli: The Dardanelles and Gallipoli Experience August 1914 to January 1916 by Peter Liddle, pp. 155, 156, copyright © Peter Liddle, 1976, publisher: David and Charles, publication date: 1976
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