March 1--Norwegian steamer reports ramming a submarine off English
coast.
March 2--Bulgaria protests to Austria, Russia, and Serbia against mines
in the Danube; diligent inquiry in England fails to produce any evidence
supporting report that British superdreadnought Audacious, wrecked by
mine or torpedo on Oct. 27, is about to be restored to the fighting
line.
March 3--Allied fleet silences three inner forts on the Asiatic side of
the Dardanelles; Berlin report says British cruiser Zephyr was damaged.
March 4--Attack on Dardanelles continues; French ships bombard Bulair
forts and destroy Kavak Bridge; Field Marshal von der Goltz has asked
for German artillery officers to aid in defending Dardanelles, but it is
reported that Germans cannot spare any; German submarine U-8 is sunk by
destroyers of the Dover flotilla; German submarine chases hospital ship
St. Andrew.
March 5--Allies report that six, possibly seven, German submarines have
been sunk since beginning of the war; two Captains of British merchant
ships claim prize for sinking German submarines; British Admiralty
informs shipping interests that a new mine field has been laid in the
North Sea; Germans report a French ammunition ship sunk at Ostend;
Japanese report that the schooner Aysha, manned by part of the crew of
the Emden, is still roving the Indian Ocean; there is despair in
Constantinople as Dardanelles bombardment continues; Russian Black Sea
fleet is steaming toward the Bosporus; allied fleet is bombarding
Smyrna.
March 6--British ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince George attack strong
Dardanelles forts, they blow up one and damage two; allied landing party
suffers loss; Asia Minor ports are being shelled; one-third of the
Dardanelles reported clear of Turkish mines; concentration of Turkish
fleet reported; Germans state that a submarine, reported by the Captain
of British merchantman Thordis to have been sunk by his vessel, escaped;
German Embassy at Washington expresses regret over torpedo attack on
British hospital ship Asturias in February, stating that the attack,
which did no harm, was due to mistake.
March 7--Queen Elizabeth and other ships continue bombardment of
Dardanelles forts.
March 8--Allied fleet forces its way further into Dardanelles, British
ships opening direct fire on main Turkish positions; more forts are
silenced; most of the Allies' ships are hit, but little damage is done;
effective fire at 21,000 yards against batteries on the Asiatic side;
seaplanes are being much used for locating concealed guns; it is
reported from Petrograd that when the allied fleets began the forcing of
the Dardanelles a Russian ship was invited to head the column, and did
so; ports on the Black Sea are destroyed by Russians; British Admiralty
announces that prisoners from U-8 will be segregated under special
restrictions, and they may be put on trial after the war because of
German submarine methods; British collier Bengrove sunk in Bristol
Channel by torpedo or mine.
March 9--German submarines sink three British merchantmen, thirty-seven
men going down with one ship; Military Governor of Smyrna says that
British have bombarded unfortified villages; another British
superdreadnought joins allied fleet at Dardanelles; French transports
are on way with troops; Turks lose coal supply by Russian bombardment of
Zunguldiak; report from Berlin that German submarine U-16 has sunk five
merchantmen; British Admiralty states that German submarines, from Jan.
21 to March 3, sank fifteen British steamships out of a total of 8,734
vessels above 300 tons arriving at or departing from British ports in
that period; more mines planted near Denmark.
March 10--German auxiliary cruiser Prince Eitel Friedrich anchors at
Newport News for repairs and supplies; she brings passengers and crews
of eleven merchant ships sunk by her in a cruise of 30,000 miles,
including crew of American sailing ship William P. Frye, bound from
Seattle to Queenstown with wheat, sunk on Jan. 28, despite protests of
the Frye's Captain; more Dardanelles forts are reduced; batteries on
Eren-Keui Heights silenced; British sink German submarine U-12; British
collier Beethoven sunk.
March 11--President Wilson states that there will be "a most searching
inquiry" into the sinking of the William P. Frye by the Prinz Eitel
Friedrich, "and whatever action is taken will be based on the result of
that inquiry"; Commander Thierichens of the Eitel defends sinking of the
Frye, claiming her cargo was contraband; British warships are ordered to
the entrance to the Capes of the Chesapeake to prevent escape of the
Eitel; Eitel goes into drydock for repairs; more Dardanelles forts are
damaged; mine sweeping is being conducted by the Allies at night; allied
fleet before Smyrna gives Turkish commander twenty-four hours to
surrender, otherwise bombardment will go on; it is reported from The
Hague that twelve German submarines are missing; Germans talk of
reprisals if British do not treat submarine crews as prisoners of war.
March 12--Dardanus batteries on the Dardanelles are silenced; Germans
are fortifying Constantinople; Allies' Consuls demand establishment of a
neutral zone at Smyrna; British auxiliary cruiser Bayano sunk off coast
of Scotland, probably by a submarine, with loss of 200; it is learned
that British bark Conway Castle was sunk on Feb. 27 off the Chilean
coast by the German cruiser Dresden; it is learned that French steamer
Guadeloupe has been sunk off Brazil by the German auxiliary cruiser
Kronprinz Wilhelm; it is reported from Berlin that Germans have sunk 111
merchant steamships, with tonnage of 400,000, since war began; British
cotton ship Indian Prince is reported sunk.
March 13--England has lost 90 merchant ships and 47 fishing vessels,
sunk or captured, since the war began; Vice Admiral Carden is stated to
have predicted the forcing of the Dardanelles by Easter; fog delays
Allies' operations in Dardanelles; five British warships wait for Eitel
off Virginia Capes.
March 14--Three British cruisers sink German cruiser Dresden near Juan
Fernandez Island; no damage to British ships; French steamer Auguste
Conseil sunk by German submarine; German submarine U-29 is reported to
have sunk five British merchantmen in the last few days; citizen of
Leipsic offers reward to crew of submarine that sinks a British
transport.
March 15--It is reported from Rio Janeiro that Kronprinz Wilhelm has
sunk thirteen ships since she began her attack on Allies' commerce.
March 16--Officers of the Dresden at Valparaiso say their ship was sunk
in neutral waters; British say she was sunk ten miles off shore; German
liner Macedonia, interned at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, slips out of
port; British cruiser Amethyst is reported to have made a dash to the
further end of the Dardanelles and back; a mine sweeper of the Allies is
blown up; Vice Admiral Carden, "incapacitated by illness," in words of
British Admiralty, is succeeded in chief command in the Dardanelles by
Vice Admiral De Robeck; Germany protests to England against promised
harsh treatment of submarine crews; British and French warships again
appear off coast of Belgium.
March 17--It is reported from Denmark that the German cruiser Karlsruhe
has been sunk; it is reported from Spain that the Macedonia has been
captured by a British cruiser; two British steamers are sunk and one is
damaged by German submarines; German steamer Sierra Cordoba, which
aided the Dresden, is detained by Peruvian authorities until end of the
war; British lose three mine sweepers and one sailing vessel in the
Dardanelles.
March 18--British battleships Irresistible and Ocean and French
battleship Bouvet are sunk by floating mines in the Dardanelles while
bombarding forts; 600 men lost with the Bouvet, but almost all of the
British escape; British battle-cruiser Inflexible and French battleship
Gaulois are badly damaged by shells from the forts; most of the forts
suffer severely from the fleet fire; French submarine is sunk in the
Dardanelles; there is a lull in bombardment of Dardanelles and of
Smyrna; German submarine sinks British steamer Glenartney in English
Channel; Copenhagen report says a German sea Captain states that the
Karlsruhe was sunk in December.
March 19--Negotiations are being carried on, with American Embassy at
Constantinople as intermediary, to try to avert shelling of Pera when
allied fleet forces the Dardanelles; British steamers Hyndford and
Bluejacket torpedoed in English Channel.
March 20--One French and two British battleships are on their way to
Dardanelles to take place of vessels sunk; new attack is planned by
Allies, with Russia co-operating; Turks say that the ships sunk on March
18 were torpedoed; Chilean seamen say Dresden was sunk in Chilean
waters; Smyrna garrison is reinforced; dummy war fleet, composed of
disguised merchantmen, is reported to be ready in England for use in
strategy against the Germans.
March 21--German submarine sinks British collier Cairntorr off Beachy
Head.
March 22--British steamer Concord is torpedoed by a German submarine,
but is stated not to have been sunk.
March 23--Dutch steamer is fired on by a German trawler; Turks send
reinforcements to Dardanelles forts.
March 24--German vessels shell Russian positions near Memel; allied
fleet resumes bombardment of Dardanelles forts; Allies land troops on
Gallipoli Peninsula to help in a general attack on the forts which is
planned on arrival of more British and French ships; many Europeans are
leaving Constantinople.
March 27--U.S. battleship Alabama is ordered to proceed to Norfolk at
once to guard American neutrality should Prinz Eitel Friedrich leave
port.
March 28--British African liner Falaba is torpedoed and sunk by German
submarine in St. George's Channel; she carried 160 passengers and crew
of 90, of which total 140 were saved; many were killed by the torpedo
explosion; British steamer Aguila is sunk by German submarine U-28 off
Pembrokeshire coast; she carried three passengers and crew of forty-two,
all passengers and twenty-three of crew being lost; Russian Black Sea
fleet attacks Bosporus forts; Dardanelles forts again bombarded; German
Government, in official statement, says that Dresden was sunk in neutral
Chilean waters.
March 29--Dutch steamer Amstel is blown up by a mine; Russians renew
Bosporus attack; allied fleet shells Dardanelles forts at long range;
reinforced Russian fleet is showing activity in the Baltic; German
Baltic fleet is out.
March 31--London reports that three fleets and three armies will combine
in attack on Dardanelles forts; the forts are again bombarded; British
steamers Flaminian and Crown of Castile are sunk by German submarines;
Prinz Eitel Friedrich coals under guard of American sailors and
soldiers; Germans shell Libau.