What was happening in the Middle East during World War I
In the Middle East, Ottoman armies faced British, Russian and French troops across four main campaigns. On 24 April 1915 Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian leaders in Constantinople, and between 0.8 and 1.2 million Armenians, by one estimate, were then sent on death marches toward the Syrian desert; at Van, Armenians held out with the Russian army. At Gallipoli the Allies tried to take the straits and failed, withdrawing in January 1916, and in Mesopotamia a British Indian garrison surrendered at Kut after 147 days. In June 1916 the Sharif of Mecca launched the Arab Revolt. After two failed attacks on Gaza in the spring of 1917, British Empire forces took Beersheba at the end of October and Jerusalem in December, and broke the Ottoman line at Megiddo in September 1918. The armistice signed at Mudros on 30 October 1918 ended the Ottoman war, and within two weeks Allied troops entered Constantinople.
This page lists all 235 events in our records for the Middle East from January 1914 to December 1918, so the months before and after the fighting are here too. 182 are battles and other fighting; the rest are the politics, disasters, culture and daily life that went on alongside. The biggest come first, then every event year by year.
How sure we are: events with no label are high confidence. Medium confidence means the event rests on one source family or a detail is uncertain; Low confidence means the sources disagree or are thin, and the notes say where. Dates are in the Gregorian calendar; where a country still used another calendar, the notes give the original. How events are checked
The biggest stories
War & conflictWidely known
Ottoman authorities arrest Armenian leaders in Constantinople
· Constantinople, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Ottoman officials in Constantinople seized hundreds of Armenian leaders and intellectuals and deported them. Under Talaat Pasha's orders, an estimated 0.8 to 1.2 million Armenians were then driven toward the Syrian desert on death marches during 1915 and 1916.
Why it is interesting. The arrests were part of a genocide in which around one million Ottoman Armenians were murdered, mostly on death marches.
Notes and dating details
Lead gives 24 April 1915 for the arrests. Wikidata gives 1915 with a start of 1915-04-24 and an end of 1923; the infobox gives the genocide as 1915-1917. Calendar not stated in source. Merged duplicate row 1915-04-24-armenian-community-leaders-are-arrested-in-constantinople (Armenian community leaders are arrested in Constantinople). Its notes: The article gives the arrest order and first wave on 24 April 1915, with the night running into 25 April. The Armenian National Archives page also dates the arrests to the night of 24/25 April and says 25 April was a Sunday, which matches the Gregorian calendar, so no Rumi conversion is needed. It says only 'several hundred' were arrested, while the article gives 235 to 270 for the first wave. Wikidata gives the year only.
· Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Britain, France and Russia tried to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war by taking the Turkish straits. After the fleet failed in March, troops landed in April. The campaign ended in Ottoman victory.
Why it is interesting. Mustafa Kemal rose to prominence there, and the landings' anniversary is Anzac Day.
Notes and dating details
The campaign is dated from 19 February 1915, when the Anglo-French fleet opened its long-range bombardment of the outer forts, to the final evacuation on 9 January 1916 (English article infobox, lead and body). Wikidata gives 25 April 1915, the day of the landings, which is a later stage of the same campaign. No calendar conversion applies: the date comes from the Allied side, which used the Gregorian calendar, and Turkish Wikipedia gives the naval phase as starting on the same day, 19 Subat (February) 1915. The earlier note offering 4 March 1915 as a possible Gregorian equivalent was mistaken and has been removed.
· Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Allied land campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula was abandoned and the invasion force withdrawn, ending on 9 January 1916 after about eight months of fighting. The Ottoman Empire was the victor.
Why it is interesting. Turkey regards it as a defining moment in its history, and Mustafa Kemal rose to prominence there before founding the Republic of Turkey.
Notes and dating details
Infobox and lead give 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916; French Wikipedia also ends it on 9 January 1916 (but starts it 18 March 1915). Ottoman theatre, but the date is the end of the Allied withdrawal and matches Wikidata; the calendar worker judged it Gregorian. The English article's casualty figure (about 250,000 each side) was dropped because German Wikipedia gives different totals (100,000 dead and 250,000 wounded in all).
The Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule is launched at Mecca
· Mecca, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, told his supporters to strike at the Ottoman garrison in Mecca, formally launching a Hashemite-led Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Why it is interesting. The rebels aimed at an independent, unified Arab state from Aleppo to Aden, which Britain had promised to recognize.
Notes and dating details
calendar not stated in source. Wikidata gives June 1916 (month only). The text also says Ali and Faisal began the revolt on 5 June 1916 by attacking the Ottoman garrison at Medina, and that the revolt proper began on 10 June.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
French troops entered the Ottoman capital on 12 November 1918 and British troops followed a day later, under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros. An Allied military administration was set up in early December.
Why it is interesting. The city had not been in other hands since Constantinople fell in 1453.
Notes and dating details
Wikidata gives 1918-11-13, the day the British arrived; the English article gives 12 November 1918 for the first French troops and 4 October 1923 for the last Allied departure, while French Wikipedia dates the start to 13 November and the end to 6 October 1923. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
· Plain of Sharon, Ottoman Palestine · Middle East
British and Indian infantry broke through Ottoman lines near the coast, and the Desert Mounted Corps rode through the gap, almost surrounding two Ottoman armies in the Judean Hills. Arab Revolt forces had first struck at Ottoman lines of communication.
Why it is interesting. Allenby won decisive results at comparatively little cost, using barrages, cavalry, armoured cars and aircraft.
Notes and dating details
Battle ran 19-25 September 1918 per article; Wikidata start and end agree. The dates follow the Western reckoning; Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, so no conversion applies. Infobox location is Vilayet of Beirut; the lead names the Plain of Sharon and other sites.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
Armenians in Van, with the Russian army, resisted Ottoman attempts to massacre the Armenian population of Van province during the 1915 Armenian genocide. The defense lasted into May.
Why it is interesting. Armenians defended themselves against massacre, and the episode is later cited in genocide denial.
Notes and dating details
Start day disputed: the infobox and Wikidata give 19 April 1915, the article's own section on the siege dates it to 20 April, and the Near East Museum also says it began on 20 April. The end is 17 May in the article body (Armenian civilian forces took control; Russian forces arrived) and 'May' in the Museum's page. Because the days differ, month precision is used. These English-language sources use Gregorian dates; no Old Style conversion was applied.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
British Empire forces began the fighting that ended in the capture of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire. Allenby entered the Old City on foot on 11 December, and the fighting continued until 30 December 1917.
Why it is interesting. Allenby walked into the Old City, and Lloyd George called the capture a Christmas present.
Notes and dating details
Infobox and lead give 17 November to 30 December 1917. Ottoman Empire: calendar not stated in source, dates stored as given.
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
British Empire infantry and mounted troops attacked the Ottoman garrison at Gaza. Late in the afternoon, with Gaza nearly taken, the force was pulled back because of fading light and large Ottoman reinforcements.
Why it is interesting. Within a few weeks, in April 1917, British forces met an even heavier defeat in the Second Battle of Gaza.
Caucasus campaign begins between Russia and the Ottoman Empire
· South Caucasus and Armenian Highlands · Middle East
Medium confidence: rests on one source family, or a detail is uncertain.
The Caucasus campaign was a series of armed conflicts between the Russian and Ottoman empires in the South Caucasus and Armenian Highlands, with naval fighting in the Black Sea. It ran until the Armistice of Mudros.
Why it is interesting. Fighting reached Trabzon, Bitlis, Mush and Van.
Notes and dating details
The article gives three starts: the infobox says 29 October 1914, the lead says the Russian campaign started on 1 November 1914, and the text puts the Russian declaration of war on 2 November. No calendar is stated for any of them, so only the year is stored. Infobox end 30 October 1918 (Armistice of Mudros).
Hilal İdman Yurdu, later Altay, is founded in İzmir
SportMedium confidence
A sports club called Hilal İdman Yurdu was set up in İzmir to promote sport among Turkish youth. It later became Altay Spor Kulübü.
Notes
English Wikipedia gives 16 January 1914 and the name Hilal İdman Yurdu. Turkish Wikipedia also gives 16 January 1914 but names the club Altay İdman Yurdu at its start, so the original name is uncertain. Neither article says which calendar the day uses (the Ottoman Empire used the Rumi calendar in 1914), so the date is kept as given.
Russia and the Ottoman Empire agree a reform plan for the Armenian provinces
Politics & diplomacy
The Ottoman government accepted two foreign inspectors-general for its eastern provinces: Dutchman Louis Westenenk and Norwegian officer Nicolai Hoff. When the war began, Hoff was in Van and Westenenk was about to leave for Erzurum.
Silahtarağa power station begins generating electricity in Istanbul
TechnologyMedium confidence
The plant on the Golden Horn started with three 6-megawatt generators, becoming the Ottoman Empire's first large urban power station. It was later expanded to 80 MW and is now a museum and arts campus.
Notes
English and Turkish Wikipedia both give 11 February 1914 (Turkish: officially opened 11 Subat 1914). Neither says which calendar; modern Turkish sources normally convert to Gregorian, but if this were a Rumi (Julian-based) date the Gregorian equivalent would be 24 February. Region set to Middle East for the Ottoman Empire; the site is on the European side of Istanbul.
A Kurdish revolt against Ottoman rule began in early March 1914 with a skirmish with gendarmes. Rebels besieged Bitlis and took it on 2 April; it was put down by 4 April.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire). Infobox: early March to 4 April 1914.
· Phocaea (Foca), near Smyrna, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Ottoman Greek town of Phocaea attacked and emptied by irregulars
War & conflictMedium confidence
Armed bands attacked Phocaea (Foca) on the night of 12 June; over the next days houses were looted and residents fled by sea, with tens to hundreds killed and some 6,200 people displaced.
Notes and dating
Date uncertainty: Death toll 50 to 200
Death toll is disputed: 50, 100 or 200. The infobox claims the Young Turk government ordered it; the text only shows state support.
Shapour Bakhtiar was born in Dehkord, Iran. He later became the last prime minister of Iran under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Persia). Birthplace disputed: the article gives Dehkord (now Shahr-e Kord) in infobox and text; Wikidata gives Isfahan, imported from another Wikipedia without a reference. The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center gives 26 June 1914 in a mountainous area of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province; the article says he went to elementary school in Shahr-e Kord and secondary school in Isfahan. Britannica could not be opened (HTTP 403). Kept Dehkord as the better supported place.
Armenian Revolutionary Federation holds its eighth world congress at Erzurum
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation met at Erzurum for its eighth world congress, across July and August 1914, just before the Ottoman Empire joined World War I. Ottoman representatives asked Armenians to back the war effort; the congress rejected inciting rebellion in Russia and ended without agreement.
Notes
Wikidata gives end date 1914-08-02; the article says only July-August 1914. Calendar not stated in source.
The first of several Kurdish rebellions against the Ottoman Empire began in August 1914, before the empire entered the war, after reprisals following the killing of a Dersim mayor's nephew.
Notes
Source gives August 1914 only. Calendar not stated in source. Wikidata gives 1914-08; rebellions continued to October 1918.
German warships Goeben and Breslau reach the Dardanelles and are handed to the Ottoman navy
War & conflict
After shaking off British pursuers in the Mediterranean, the two German ships reached the Dardanelles on 10 August and were transferred to the Ottoman navy on 16 August, with German crews still aboard.
Notes
The Goeben article does not name Bone and Philippeville as the targets on 4 August; the Wikipedia 1914 page does.
· Tel Aviv, Ottoman Empire (now Israel) · Middle East
Eden Cinema opens in Tel Aviv
Stage, music & filmMedium confidence
Eden Theater was inaugurated in Tel Aviv on the corner where Lilienblum Street meets Pines Street. German architect Richard Michael designed it; Akiva Aryeh Weiss, one of Ahuzat Bayit's founders, built it for licence holders Moshe Abarbanel and Mordechai Weiser.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman-ruled area; the article mentions the Ottoman authorities and the governor of Jaffa). The building is dated 1913 in the infobox; the article gives 22 August 1914 for the inauguration. Abarbanel and Weiser obtained the business licence in 1913.
· Zeitun (Süleymanlı), Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Armenian militia of Zeitun resists Ottoman forces
War & conflictMedium confidence
The Hunchak Armenian militia of the city of Zeitun (Süleymanlı) fought the Ottoman Empire from 30 August to 1 December 1914. One report says the Armenians defeated all the Ottoman troops and that 60 militia died.
Notes
Wikidata's only date, 1 December 1914 (imported from English Wikipedia), is the end of the first phase. The outcome and the 60 militia deaths are given as reports (the victory claim cites a Washington Post dispatch of 12 November 1914), not confirmed. Ottoman Empire used the Rumi calendar; calendar not stated in source.
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake strikes near Burdur, Ottoman Empire
DisastersMedium confidence
An earthquake estimated at 7.0 on the surface-wave scale struck at 00:07 local time near Lake Burdur in southwestern Anatolia. The main shock and a later fire wrecked over 17,000 homes; the death toll is disputed, from 2,344 casualties to 4,000 deaths.
Notes
Local date 4 October 1914, 00:07; UTC 3 October 1914 22:07. The local date is Gregorian: it agrees with the UTC timestamp (1914-10-03 22:07:07) and with Wikidata. Toll is disputed: Wikipedia gives 2,344 casualties, citing a scholarly paper on the region's earthquake history, while Wikidata records 4,000 deaths (and 700 injured) referenced to NOAA's significant-earthquake database. Also called the Afyon-Bolvadin earthquake.
The Ottoman Empire fought British, Russian and French forces across the Middle East in four main campaigns, ending with the Ottoman acceptance of the Armistice of Mudros.
Notes
Start date 29 October 1914 from the infobox, which links it to the Black Sea Raid; the body dates the first Ottoman clash with the Allies, the shelling of Odessa, to that day (marked citation needed). The lead gives 30 October 1914. Wikidata lists start time 29 October 1914 (no reference) and point in time 30 October 1914 (imported from English Wikipedia). The Black Sea raid article gives 29 October 1914 as a Gregorian date.
· Black Sea (Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk) · Middle East
Ottoman fleet under German command raids Russian Black Sea ports
War & conflictMedium confidence
Ottoman warships led by the German-crewed Goeben and Breslau shelled Odessa, Sevastopol, Theodosia and Novorossiysk on 29 October on Enver's secret orders, bringing Russia, Britain and France into war with the Ottoman Empire in the following days; finance minister Cavit resigned.
Notes
Gregorian date stored. Russian sources date the raid 16 October Old Style and Ottoman sources 16 Tesrin-i Evvel 1330 (Rumi). Declarations of war: Britain and France 5 November. Russia declared war on 2 November in the Black Sea raid and Ottoman Empire in World War I articles; the Ottoman entry article says 1 November, but its own footnote dates that declaration 20 October Old Style, which is 2 November in the Gregorian calendar. The Ottoman entry article gives 31 October as the Ottomans' formal entry.
Russian troops under General Georgy Bergmann crossed the border, heading toward Köprüköy, to secure the Eleşkirt valley. The offensive opened the fighting of the Caucasus campaign and ended in an Ottoman victory.
Notes
Wikidata gives end 1914-11-17; infobox gives 2–21 November 1914. Calendar not stated in source. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 15 November 1914.
An Indian Expeditionary Force sailed from Bombay on 16 October, bombarded the fort at Fao on 6 November and occupied Basra on 22 November, to guard oil installations.
Notes
Qurna's date is not given in the fetched article. Basra: 22 November per the article; other accounts give 21 November.
Campaign for Aden and South Arabia begins in World War I
War & conflictMedium confidence
The British Empire and the Ottoman Empire opened a campaign for South Arabia and the port of Aden, a stopping point for ships bound for the Suez Canal. It began when British-Indian troops landed at Cheikh Saïd.
Notes
Infobox dates the campaign 10 November 1914 - 31 March 1919; the body says transports carrying the 29th Indian Brigade arrived off Cheikh Saïd on 10 November 1914. The lead puts Britain's declaration of war on the Ottomans on 5 November and the Ottoman reply on 11 November. Wikidata start 10 November 1914 (unreferenced); Wikidata end June 1916 (unreferenced) differs from the infobox. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory).
A British force under H. V. Cox landed to destroy the Ottoman works, wells and armaments at Cheikh Said. The Ottomans withdrew, and the British had won outright by the following day.
Notes
Infobox range 10-11 November 1914; the operation ended 11 November. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory).
Ottoman troops attacked a British camp at dawn south of Basra in Ottoman Iraq, opening a battle that ended on 22 November when Indian troops occupied the abandoned city for the British.
Notes
Infobox and lead give November 11-22, 1914; the body dates the Ottoman dawn attack to November 11 and the occupation of Basra to November 22. Wikidata start and end match (unreferenced). Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory).
Mehmed V, the Ottoman Caliph, declared a holy war on the Entente powers and called on Muslims in Entente-controlled countries to back the Ottomans. It was published the next day.
Notes
Full article footnote gives the Rumi date 29 Teşrin-i Evvel 1330, which corresponds to 11 November 1914 Gregorian. Presented 11 November, published in Takvim-i Vekayi on 12 November, read at the Fatih Mosque on 14 November.
Abd al-Karim Qasim was born in Baghdad. He became an Iraqi army officer and, after the monarchy was overthrown in 1958, governed as prime minister from 1958 until 1963.
Notes
Born under Ottoman rule. Arabic Wikipedia also gives 21 November 1914, a Saturday, and Wikidata gives the same day.
A series of conflicts among the Ottoman, British and Russian empires began in December 1914 in neutral Qajar Iran and lasted until 30 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros ended it. Over 2 million Persian civilians died, mostly in the famine of 1917–1919.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source. Infobox: December 1914 – 30 October 1918.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps is formed in Egypt
War & conflict
The ANZAC corps was formed in Egypt, with General William Birdwood in command, from Australian and New Zealand troops. It later served in the Gallipoli campaign.
Notes
Lead says formed in Egypt in December 1914; Birdwood reached Cairo on 21 December to take command.
British forces fought Ottoman troops who had retreated from Basra, at Qurna in what was then Ottoman Iraq. The battle began on 3 December 1914 in the Mesopotamian campaign and ended in a British-Indian victory.
Notes
The article gives the battle as 3 to 9 December 1914. Calendar not stated in source.
After the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, Britain cut Egypt's nominal Ottoman tie and proclaimed a Sultanate of Egypt. On 19 December 1914 Hussein Kamel assumed the title of Sultan.
Notes
Hussein Kamel's own article gives 19 December 1914 as the day he was declared Sultan, and says British forces had removed his nephew Abbas Hilmi II from the khedivate on 5 November 1914. The Khedivate article gives 5 November as its abolition in the history section but 19 December in the infobox, so the end of the Khedivate is dated two ways; the stored date is the accession day. Wikidata gives 1914-12-19.
· Sarikamish, Kars Oblast, Russian Empire · Middle East
Battle of Sarikamish begins
War & conflictLow confidence
Russian and Ottoman forces began a battle at Sarikamish during the Caucasus campaign of World War I. It ended in a Russian victory on 17 January 1915.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; Russian Empire location. Wikidata agrees with article on 22 December 1914. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 4 January 1915.
· Ardahan, Kars Oblast, Russian Empire · Middle East
Battle of Ardahan begins
War & conflictLow confidence
An Ottoman force under the German Lt. Col. Stange moved to seize Ardahan and sever Russian communications with the Sarikamish–Kars line. By 3 January 1915 Russian forces under Vorontsov-Dashkov had won a decisive victory at Ardahan.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; Russian Empire location. The infobox and lead give 25 December 1914 to 18 January 1915, but the body says Stange's force took Ardahan on 27 December 1914 after seventeen days of Russian resistance, and that Ardanuch was retaken on 18 January 1915; the dates are not fully consistent. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 7 January 1915.
· South Caucasus and Armenian Highlands · Middle East
Caucasus campaign begins between Russia and the Ottoman Empire
War & conflictMedium confidence
The Caucasus campaign was a series of armed conflicts between the Russian and Ottoman empires in the South Caucasus and Armenian Highlands, with naval fighting in the Black Sea. It ran until the Armistice of Mudros.
Notes
The article gives three starts: the infobox says 29 October 1914, the lead says the Russian campaign started on 1 November 1914, and the text puts the Russian declaration of war on 2 November. No calendar is stated for any of them, so only the year is stored. Infobox end 30 October 1918 (Armistice of Mudros).
The Second Aliyah was a wave of Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel from 1904 to 1914, bringing approximately 35,000 Jews, mostly from Russia and some from Yemen, into Ottoman Palestine.
Notes
Year only. Wikidata describes the period as 1903-1914; the article gives 1904-1914. Ottoman Empire, calendar not stated in source.
In 1914 an Istanbul museum opened as the Museum of Islamic Endowments, inside the Süleymaniye Complex. It is now the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, located since 1983 in Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha's palace.
Notes
Year only (infobox 'established: 1914'; History section says it first opened in 1914). Istanbul was then in the Ottoman Empire; the article uses the modern name Turkey and says the museum was renamed after the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923. Calendar not stated in source. Wikidata inception 1914, unreferenced.
Fighting begins in the Sinai and Palestine campaign
War & conflictMedium confidence
German-led Ottoman troops crossed into the British-held Sinai Peninsula, trying and failing to seize the Suez Canal. The campaign continued until the Ottomans signed the armistice at Mudros on 30 October 1918.
Notes
The lead dates the start of fighting to January 1915; the body dates the first Ottoman attacks on the Suez Canal to 26 and 27 January 1915, followed by the principal assault on 3–4 February. Wikidata gives 28 January 1915 without a reference. The infobox gives 17 November 1914 as the start of the wider campaign.
An Ottoman operation led by the German officer Stange to seize Ardahan and cut the Russian link to the Sarikamish-Kars line ended in a Russian victory. It had run alongside the Battle of Sarikamish.
Notes
Day not settled: the infobox and lead give 25 December 1914 to 18 January 1915, but the lead also says a decisive Russian victory was achieved by 3 January 1915, and the body dates the Russians' retaking of Ardanuch (not Ardahan) to 18 January 1915 and says Stange's force took Ardahan on 27 December 1914. Wikidata also gives 18 January 1915, unsourced. The sources agree only on January 1915, so month precision is stored. Calendar not stated in source (Russian and Ottoman Empires).
The battle between Russian and Ottoman forces, begun on 22 December 1914, ended on 17 January 1915 with a Russian victory. Ottoman troops, poorly equipped for the winter, suffered heavy losses in the mountains.
Notes
The article's infobox and lead give 22 December 1914 to 17 January 1915; the calendar is not stated (Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire). One outside account (Foreign Exchanges) says the Ottoman retreat began about 7 January and that some Ottoman units held out until 17 January, so 17 January is the end of the whole operation rather than of the main fighting. The article's figure of about 25,000 frozen before the main fighting could not be confirmed outside and was left out of the interest line.
· Jarrab Lake, north of Al Majma'ah, Arabia · Middle East
Battle of Jarrab is fought near Al Majma'ah in Arabia
War & conflictMedium confidence
Forces of the Al Rashid, led by Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Rashid, defeated those of Ibn Saud near Jarrab Lake. Ibn Saud's British military adviser, Captain William Shakespear, was killed.
Notes
Wikidata gives 17 January 1915, imported from English Wikipedia with no other source. The article's infobox and lead give 24 January 1915, citing McLoughlin (1993) and Goldberg (1986), and the article on Captain William Shakespear gives his death in the battle as 24 January 1915.
A German-led Ottoman force crossed the Sinai from southern Palestine to attack the British-protected Suez Canal, and a few men got across. The attack failed, with Ottoman losses estimated at roughly 1,300 to more than 2,000 men, including 716 taken prisoner, and it opened the Sinai and Palestine campaign.
Notes
Dates: the infobox and lead give 26 January to 4 February 1915; Wikidata has the same start and end. Ottoman losses are disputed: the lead says nearly 2,000 (Bruce; Falls); British headquarters estimated more than 2,000 (Falls); Bruce gives some 1,500 including 716 prisoners; the infobox gives 784 killed or wounded and 716 captured; German Wikipedia, citing Eugene Rogan, gives Djemal Pasha's figures of 192 dead, 381 wounded and 727 missing. Ottoman side involved; dates are as given in the English-language sources.
· Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Gallipoli campaign begins
War & conflict
Britain, France and Russia tried to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war by taking the Turkish straits. After the fleet failed in March, troops landed in April. The campaign ended in Ottoman victory.
Notes
The campaign is dated from 19 February 1915, when the Anglo-French fleet opened its long-range bombardment of the outer forts, to the final evacuation on 9 January 1916 (English article infobox, lead and body). Wikidata gives 25 April 1915, the day of the landings, which is a later stage of the same campaign. No calendar conversion applies: the date comes from the Allied side, which used the Gregorian calendar, and Turkish Wikipedia gives the naval phase as starting on the same day, 19 Subat (February) 1915. The earlier note offering 4 March 1915 as a possible Gregorian equivalent was mistaken and has been removed.
Ships of the Royal Navy, French and other Allied navies attempted to break through the narrow Dardanelles waterway against the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman defenders, mainly using naval mines, defeated the effort.
Notes
The infobox gives 19 February - 18 March 1915 and the body describes the first shots on 19 February 1915, when two destroyers probed the straits; Wikidata also gives 19 February (unreferenced). The lead gives 17 February 1915 - 9 January 1916, but nothing in the body supports 17 February, so 19 February is used. No outside source could be opened to cross-check. Calendar not stated in source.
Locust swarms strip vegetation across Ottoman Syria
DisastersMedium confidence
From March to October 1915, locust swarms ate nearly all the vegetation in parts of northern present-day Israel, Palestine, Mount Lebanon and Syria. Historian Zachary J. Foster says fruit and vegetable harvests were wrecked by 60 to 100 per cent.
Armenians in Van, with the Russian army, resisted Ottoman attempts to massacre the Armenian population of Van province during the 1915 Armenian genocide. The defense lasted into May.
Notes
Start day disputed: the infobox and Wikidata give 19 April 1915, the article's own section on the siege dates it to 20 April, and the Near East Museum also says it began on 20 April. The end is 17 May in the article body (Armenian civilian forces took control; Russian forces arrived) and 'May' in the Museum's page. Because the days differ, month precision is used. These English-language sources use Gregorian dates; no Old Style conversion was applied.
At Shaiba in Ottoman Iraq, British-Indian forces fought Ottoman troops and Al-Muntafiq fighters during an Ottoman attempt to retake the city of Basra. The British-Indian side won.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory); dates given as 12-14 April 1915.
Sultan Hussein Kamel establishes the Order of Ismail
Politics & diplomacy
Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt established the Order of Ismail, a state honour meant to reward eminent services to the state. It ranked just below the Order of Muhammad Ali.
Notes
14 April 1915 is stated in both the English and Italian Wikipedia articles (the Italian cites medals.org.uk); Wikidata agrees. The order ranked directly below the Order of Muhammad Ali per the infobox.
Ottoman authorities arrest Armenian leaders in Constantinople
War & conflictMedium confidence
Ottoman officials in Constantinople seized hundreds of Armenian leaders and intellectuals and deported them. Under Talaat Pasha's orders, an estimated 0.8 to 1.2 million Armenians were then driven toward the Syrian desert on death marches during 1915 and 1916.
Notes
Lead gives 24 April 1915 for the arrests. Wikidata gives 1915 with a start of 1915-04-24 and an end of 1923; the infobox gives the genocide as 1915-1917. Calendar not stated in source. Merged duplicate row 1915-04-24-armenian-community-leaders-are-arrested-in-constantinople (Armenian community leaders are arrested in Constantinople). Its notes: The article gives the arrest order and first wave on 24 April 1915, with the night running into 25 April. The Armenian National Archives page also dates the arrests to the night of 24/25 April and says 25 April was a Sunday, which matches the Gregorian calendar, so no Rumi conversion is needed. It says only 'several hundred' were arrested, while the article gives 235 to 270 for the first wave. Wikidata gives the year only.
Troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps came ashore at night on the Aegean side of the Gallipoli peninsula, north of the intended beach. They formed a small beachhead as over two thousand were killed or wounded.
Notes
Landing on 25 April 1915 (Gregorian; British Empire sources, article dates it Sunday 25 April). The article's 'over two thousand killed or wounded' is the ANZAC total for the day and is described there as inexact. Wikidata gives an end date of 3 May; the article dates the landing itself to 25 April. The Australian War Memorial confirms the landing date and the Kum Kale diversion.
British troops land at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula
War & conflictMedium confidence
The British 29th Division came ashore at Cape Helles, the main landing area at the foot of the Gallipoli peninsula, with Royal Navy gunfire support. They gained a foothold, but their plans fell into disarray and the advance stalled.
Notes
Lead gives the landing as 25 April 1915; infobox gives 25-26 April. The Australian War Memorial confirms 25 April, five beaches, severe casualties at V and W beaches, and the foothold. The article's judgement that the commander mismanaged the landing was dropped as an opinion.
French troops landed at Kumkale, on the Asian side of the Dardanelles, to draw attention away from the main landings on the European side. They fought Ottoman forces, with an inconclusive result.
Notes
Landing on 25 April 1915 (article and infobox; the article gives the result as inconclusive). The Australian War Memorial calls the French attack at Kum Kale a minor diversionary attack on the same day, matching the row.
· Anzac Cove, Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Ottoman forces attack Anzac Cove for a second time
War & conflict
Ottoman troops attacked the British Empire forces defending Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula over three days. The attack was repelled.
Notes
Infobox gives 27-29 April 1915; Wikidata gives 27 April only. The Australian government's Anzac portal also says Ottoman counter-attacks ran 27 to 29 April and were repulsed. The dates are Gregorian (British Empire sources).
British and French troops made the first Allied attempt to advance at Gallipoli, which came on the third day after the Cape Helles landing. Ottoman defenders beat the attack back quickly; planning was poor and communications failed.
· Baby 700, Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Battle for Baby 700 at Gallipoli
War & conflictMedium confidence
British Empire forces attacked the Ottoman-held ridge of Baby 700 after the Anzac landing. The assault failed at heavy cost, and a lone Australian battalion was withdrawn at night, leaving the ridge to the Turks.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Infobox gives 2/3 May 1915: the attack began at 19:30 on 2 May and the last battalion withdrew after nightfall on 3 May. Wikidata gives 3 May, imported from English Wikipedia.
· Krithia, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Second Battle of Krithia begins at Gallipoli
War & conflict
Allied forces again tried to advance at Helles toward Krithia and Achi Baba. After three days of costly fighting they gained only a small amount of ground and missed their objectives.
Notes
Dates 6-8 May 1915 given by the article's infobox and by Wikidata; the earlier check also cited the Australian War Memorial's London page (not re-opened in this repair). The article's Allied casualty figure of 6,500 (and 2,000 Ottoman) rests on one source and was not confirmed, so it is not used. The 2nd Brigade's loss is stated differently inside Wikipedia: the Krithia article says 50% casualties, the 2nd Brigade article says roughly a third of its strength; the interest line uses the lower, 'roughly a third'. An earlier version of this row gave about 1,000 killed and wounded in an hour, which could not be confirmed from the approved sites. Dates are Gregorian.
Russian battleships and Ottoman battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim clash north of the Bosporus
War & conflictMedium confidence
A Russian squadron of pre-dreadnought battleships faced the Yavuz Sultan Selim, an Ottoman battlecruiser, out on the Black Sea above the Bosporus. The Ottoman ship pulled back after a short firefight, and the Russian shelling operation was interrupted.
Notes
Also called the Battle of the Bosporus. Polish Wikipedia gives the date as 10 May 1915 with 27 April as the Old Style equivalent, so the stored date is already Gregorian (New Style); the English article also gives 10 May. Calendar not stated in the English article. Region left as Middle East because the action took place 22-25 miles north of the Bosporus.
Ottoman troops attack Anzac Cove and are beaten back
War & conflictMedium confidence
About 42,000 Ottoman troops attacked the 17,300 ANZAC defenders at Anzac Cove in the early hours of 19 May. The assault had failed by midday, costing the attackers thousands of casualties against fewer than seven hundred for the defenders.
Notes
Ottoman casualty figures are uncertain: the Wikipedia article says around ten thousand including three thousand dead, while the Australian Government Anzac Portal says about 3,000 dead and 10,000 wounded. Defender losses: 168 dead and 468 wounded (Wikipedia), 160 killed and 468 wounded (Anzac Portal). Wikipedia lists truces on 20 and 24 May; the Anzac Portal names only 24 May. Dates are the Gregorian dates of the Allied sources.
Moshe Dayan was born in Degania Alef, then in the Ottoman Empire. He became an Israeli military leader and politician, serving as Chief of the General Staff and as Defense Minister.
· Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The battle for No.3 Post begins at Gallipoli
War & conflictMedium confidence
New Zealand Mounted Rifles troops captured a new Turkish position on the northern edge of the ANZAC beach-head and named it No.3 Post. Cut off and counter-attacked, the 9th Squadron held on for twenty-eight hours before relief, and the post was then abandoned.
Notes
Calendar not stated in the article; Ottoman Empire, but the dates are the Gregorian dates used by New Zealand sources. The New Zealand History site (Ministry for Culture and Heritage) also dates the action 28 to 30 May 1915 (and says the post was abandoned on 31 May; the article says the same night as the relief). Casualty figures (42 dead, 109 wounded) rest on the Wikipedia article only.
British forces capture Amara in the Mesopotamian campaign
War & conflict
From 31 May to 3 June 1915, British forces under Charles Townshend fought Ottoman troops in the flooded marshes of the Tigris between Qurna and Amara. The British took Amara, and 1,773 Ottoman troops were captured.
Notes
Infobox and lead give 31 May - 3 June 1915. Wikidata's point in time of 3 June 1915 is the battle's last day; its start (31 May) and end (3 June) match the article. Also called the Second Battle of Qurna.
Armenian militia resists Ottoman troops at Shabin-Karahisar
War & conflictMedium confidence
Armenian militia of the Hunchaks from Giresun Province held a fort outside the town of Shabin-Karahisar against Ottoman troops during the Armenian genocide in June 1915.
Notes
English Wikipedia (infobox, lead and Wikidata) gives 2-30 June 1915, about 250 Armenian fighters and a month of resistance. A blog that quotes Ottoman military reports gives a start on 5 June, about 500 attackers and a rebellion suppressed by the 18-19 June reports. The sources disagree on days, length and numbers and none is clearly better, so the row is stored at month level without a count. Calendar of the sources not stated (Ottoman Empire).
The Battle of Kanzan between the Al Saud and the Ajman begins
War & conflictMedium confidence
In June 1915 Abdulaziz led an army of 4,000 men against the Ajman tribe, which numbered fewer than 3,000, at Kanzan in Al Ahsa. The Ajman were resisting Al Saud rule.
Notes
English Wikipedia says the fighting began in June 1915 and lasted nearly six months, with an Ajman victory. Arabic Wikipedia dates the battle to 15 Sha'ban 1333 AH (28 or 29 June 1915) and says the Ajman fled, so the length and outcome are disputed and left out of the row. Wikidata gives an end date of November 1916 (month level).
The Ottoman government enacts the Temporary Law of Deportation
Politics & diplomacy
The Ottoman government officially enacted the Temporary Law of Deportation, which authorised the deportation of the Empire's Armenian population. The Council of Ministers had passed it on 27 May 1915, and it expired on 8 February 1916.
Notes
Passed by the Council of Ministers on 27 May 1915; officially enacted 1 June 1915 (used here, same as Wikidata); German Wikipedia gives the same dates, with 1 June as the day it took force on publication in the Takvim-i Vekayi (18 May 1331 in the Rumi calendar) and validity until 8 February 1916. The article also records a repeal order of 21 February 1916.
The Third Battle of Krithia is fought at Gallipoli
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 4 June 1915 Allied forces attacked Ottoman defences on the Gallipoli peninsula, the last of a series of attacks meant to reach the goals set for 25 April. A more modest plan was used, but the attack again failed at high cost.
· Beyazit Square, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Twenty Hunchakian activists are hanged in Constantinople
War & conflictMedium confidence
Twenty activists of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party were hanged by the Ottoman government in Sultan Beyazit Square, Constantinople, during the Armenian genocide.
British and Indian forces under George Gorringe attacked the Ottoman garrison of Nasiriyah in Mesopotamia and defeated it. Each side fielded roughly 5,000 men.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1915-07-25, the end of the battle; the infobox gives 27 June - 25 July 1915 while the lead places the battle in July 1915. Infobox Ottoman losses: 2,000 killed or wounded, 1,000 taken prisoner. calendar not stated in source.
· Cape Helles, Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Battle of Gully Ravine begins at Cape Helles
War & conflictMedium confidence
British and Indian troops attacked Ottoman positions along Gully Ravine at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula. Unlike earlier Allied attacks there, this one largely reached its aims, though at a heavy cost; Ottoman casualties from 28 June to 5 July are estimated at 14,000 to 16,000.
Notes
The infobox figures of 3,800 Allied and 6,000 Ottoman casualties are not used: the article body puts Ottoman casualties for 28 June to 5 July at 14,000-16,000 (the 6,000 refers to those under the earlier bombardment of the French attack), and Turkish Wikipedia gives 16,000. The 2,500 French casualties in the article belong to the separate French attack on Kereves Spur on 21 June, a week earlier, so they are not counted here; Gully Ravine itself was a British and Indian attack on the left flank (29th Division, 29th Indian Brigade, 156th Brigade). Calendar not stated in the article (Ottoman Empire); the dates are the Allied Gregorian dates.
· Musa Dagh, Ottoman Empire (present-day Hatay Province, Turkey) · Middle East
Armenians begin their stand on Musa Dagh
War & conflictMedium confidence
When Ottoman deportation orders reached six Armenian villages near Musa Dagh in July 1915, the villagers refused to go and withdrew onto the mountain. They held off assaults for fifty-three days, and the French Navy eventually rescued them.
Notes
Start day disputed, so stored at month level. The English infobox gives 21 July to 12 September 1915 and Russian Wikipedia says the 8-day deadline to leave expired on 21 July and counts 53 days to the evacuation on 12 September, but French Wikipedia says the villagers began climbing Musa Dagh on 31 July and reached the top on 2 August, after the deportation order was posted on 30 July. Wikidata gives July 1915 (month only). The end, the evacuation by the French Navy on 12 September 1915, is given by English, French and Russian Wikipedia. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
Russian troops make a first, failed assault on Bitlis
War & conflictLow confidence
Russian troops attacked the fortifications of Bitlis in July 1915 without success. A Russian corps including Armenian volunteer units took the town in March 1916; the Ottomans won it back in August, but Russian forces recaptured it later that month.
Notes
Infobox gives July 1915 - August 1916; the lead describes the battle as engagements of summer 1916, with the first confrontation in July 1915. The July 1915 failed assault is stated only in the English article; French Wikipedia's account of the battle begins on 21 February 1916 and does not mention it, and no outside source for it was found. Wikidata end date is 1 August 1916. The Russians took Bitlis on 2-3 March 1916 (French Wikipedia agrees) and recaptured Mush and Bitlis on 24 August 1916 after the Ottoman retaking. Calendar not stated in the article.
· Iwardo, Tur Abdin, Ottoman Empire (present-day Gülgöze, Turkey) · Middle East
Assyrians defend the village of Iwardo
War & conflictMedium confidence
Assyrian villagers and refugees defended Iwardo in Tur Abdin against Ottoman authorities and allied Kurdish tribes during the Assyrian genocide. Estimates put the defenders at 700 to 1,000 fighters against 13,000, and the defence ended in an Assyrian victory.
Notes
The infobox gives July - October 1915, but the article body says Kurdish and Ottoman forces began arriving in mid-July and the defenders resisted for 52 days (Dutch Wikipedia also says 52 days), which would end around early September. The end is therefore uncertain and not stored. Calendar not stated in the article (Ottoman Empire).
Russian and Ottoman forces fight the Battle of Manzikert
War & conflictLow confidence
A Russian general launched an offensive near Malazgirt on 10 July 1915, and fighting lasted until 26 July. Both armies suffered heavily. The Russians pulled back northward and Turkish troops took Malazgirt again.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Russian and Ottoman forces involved). Infobox location: Malazgirt, Bitlis Vilayet. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 23 July 1915. French and Turkish Wikipedia repeat the same 10-26 July dates, so they are not independent. Outcome is also described differently: the English article and infobox say Ottoman victory, while Russian Wikipedia says the situation changed little and the Russians gained a slight tactical advantage.
· Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
British forces land at Suvla Bay
War & conflictMedium confidence
A British amphibious landing began on the night of 6 August at Suvla on Gallipoli's Aegean coast. Light opposition at first gave way to stalemate, and the commander, Frederick Stopford, was dismissed on 15 August.
· Lone Pine, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Battle of Lone Pine begins
War & conflictMedium confidence
Australian troops attacked and captured the main Ottoman trench line at Lone Pine on Gallipoli on 6 August, as a diversion from the main August Offensive. The Ottomans counterattacked until calling off their efforts on 9 August, and the Allies kept the position.
· Gallipoli peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Battle of Sari Bair begins
War & conflictMedium confidence
Also known as the August Offensive, this British operation aimed to take the Sari Bair ridge, the high ground in the middle of the Gallipoli peninsula, alongside a new landing at Suvla Bay. It lasted until 21 August 1915 and ended in an Ottoman victory.
The British meant this as a minor action at Helles to divert attention from the coming August Offensive. Brigadier General H.E. Street instead ordered a series of costly attacks that gained only a small patch of ground, the Vineyard.
· The Nek, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Australian light horsemen charge at the Nek, Gallipoli
War & conflictMedium confidence
Australian light horsemen from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade made a bayonet attack on Ottoman trenches on Baby 700. Of 600 men in four charges, 372 were killed or wounded, while Ottoman losses were negligible.
· Chunuk Bair, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Battle of Chunuk Bair begins
War & conflictMedium confidence
Allied forces attacked the Ottoman-held peak of Chunuk Bair in the Sari Bair range. New Zealand and British troops reached the summit on 8 August, but the relieving British battalions were forced from it on 10 August when Mustafa Kemal led an Ottoman counter-attack.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Infobox gives 7-19 August; the body says British units reached the summit early on 8 August and were driven off on 10 August, and describes the peak as retaken "a few days later"; no body statement supports 19 August, so no end date is stored. No outside check available for the end date.
A British expeditionary force, mostly Indian Army troops, entered Bushehr by land and sea with naval gunfire support and proclaimed the city occupied. Iran had declared neutrality in the war.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Infobox gives 8 August - 16 October 1915 for this third occupation, but the article body says only that the occupation ended in October 1915, so no end date is stored.
English physicist Henry Moseley was killed by a sniper at Gallipoli while serving with the Royal Engineers, aged 27.
Notes
Gallipoli was Ottoman territory, but this is the date recorded for a soldier of the British Empire forces, so no calendar shift applies; matches Wikidata.
Assyrian defenders, with a few Armenians, held out at Azakh against Ottoman forces and Kurdish tribes during the Assyrian genocide. About 1,200 Christians were killed in the siege, and the attackers eventually withdrew.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Infobox gives August 18 - November 21, 1915, but the 21 November end date is uncited and the Sayfo article says the defenders repelled attacks over about three weeks after the first attack on 17 or 18 August, so no end date is stored.
British forces attacked at Suvla on Scimitar Hill, aiming to remove the Ottoman threat and link up with the Anzac sectors. The assault failed after heavy fighting that lasted far into the night.
Allied troops attacked Hill 60, a low knoll in the Sari Bair range, to join the Anzac and Suvla landings. Assaults on 21 and 27 August failed to take the summit, which stayed Ottoman.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Infobox gives 21-29 August 1915.
Some Ottoman Armenians in Urfa began to defend themselves against the Armenian genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire. The resistance was put down after German intervention.
Notes
Start day disputed, so stored at month level: the English article and infobox and Wikidata (one reference) give 29 September 1915, while German Wikipedia gives 20 September to 20 October 1915. The English infobox gives the end as 15/20 October 1915 and the body says the fighting lasted 16 or 21 days; Wikidata gives 1915-10-20. Calendar not stated in source.
British and Indian forces defeat Ottoman troops at Es Sinn
War & conflictMedium confidence
After a night march, British and Indian troops under Charles Townshend drove Ottoman forces from their positions on the Tigris south of Kut-al-Amara. They entered Kut the next day.
In October 1915 a rebellion against Iran's monarchist central government began in Gilan. Its guerrilla fighters, called Jangalis, went on to fight foreign invaders.
Notes
Month-level date. The English infobox gives October 1915 to October 1921 and the body says the movement was launched in October 1915; German Wikipedia says only that the Jangalis fought in Gilan from 1915. Wikidata gives the end as 1920-06-05, unreferenced. Calendar not stated in source (Persia).
The Senussi, a religious order of nomads from Libya and Egypt, crossed the Libyan-Egyptian border and began fighting British Empire forces along the Egyptian coast. Italy was also an opponent in the wider campaign.
Notes
Month-level date. Infobox gives November 1915 to February 1917; the campaign also reached eastern Libya. Ottoman Empire involved, so calendar flagged; source gives no O.S./N.S. label.
British Empire forces under General Townshend fought Ottoman troops at Ctesiphon in the Mesopotamian campaign of World War I. The fighting ran from 22 to 25 November 1915, and the result is listed as inconclusive.
Notes
Townshend ordered a night march at the end of 21 November, aiming to attack at dawn on 22 November. Calendar not stated in source.
Mubarak Al-Sabah, seventh ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait since 1896, dies of malaria made worse by a bad heart. He was succeeded by his son Jabir II.
Notes
The English lead sentence also says he died on 18 November 1915; the infobox, the dates in the lead brackets, the death section, Wikidata (one reference) and French Wikipedia (which also places the death in Kuwait) give 28 November, so 28 November is kept. Place of death not stated in the English source; Wikidata gives Kuwait City.
Russian forces defeat Iranian resistance at Robat Karim
War & conflictLow confidence
Russian forces fought Iranian resistance at Robat Karim, near Tehran, during the First World War and won. The Iranian side was commanded by Heydar Latifiyan.
Notes
Infobox gives an Old Style date pair, 27 December 1915 (N.S.) and 9 December (O.S.), citing Shishov (2010); the two are 18 days apart rather than the 13-day Julian offset (9 December O.S. would be 22 December N.S.), so the pair is inconsistent. Wikidata gives 17 December 1915 with no reference. Only the month is stored. Persia used the Islamic calendar and Russia the Julian.
Ottoman forces under Halil Pasha arrived at Kut on 7 December 1915 and besieged the British Indian Army garrison there. The siege lasted until the garrison surrendered on 29 April 1916.
Notes
Infobox gives 7 December 1915 to 29 April 1916 (147 days). German Wikipedia also says the pursuing Ottoman forces reached Kut on 7 December 1915. Calendar not stated in source.
Russian destroyers sink two Ottoman gunboats off Kefken Island
War & conflictLow confidence
Three Russian destroyers, Derzky, Gnevny and Bespokoiny, met two Ottoman gunboats in the Black Sea and sank both. The gunboats had been dispatched to recover the German submarine UC-13, which had grounded near the Sakarya river.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Russian and Ottoman forces involved). Wikidata label is 'Second Battle of Kirpen Island'; the article is titled 'Battle of Kirpen Island'. Infobox lists Russian casualties as unknown. Turkish and Italian Wikipedia repeat the English text (10 December 1915), so they are not independent. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 23 December 1915.
Britain and Abdulaziz Al Saud sign the Treaty of Darin
Politics & diplomacy
Abdulaziz Al Saud, ruler of Nejd and Hasa, and Sir Percy Cox for the British government signed the treaty on the island of Tarut. Britain recognised him as ruler of Najd under its protection and gave him a loan of £20,000 and arms.
Notes
Loan and arms shipment dated June 1916 in the article.
A period of mass starvation began on Mount Lebanon during the First World War and lasted until 1918. Estimates of the dead vary widely, from about 80,000 to 240,000, and most victims were Christians.
Notes
English Wikipedia says about 200,000 died out of 400,000 and that most were Maronites. French Wikipedia's text says estimates range from 80,000 to 240,000 (all figures include deaths from epidemics), its infobox gives 100,000 to 350,000, and it cites Courbage's 155,000 of 415,000 (37%); German Wikipedia gives about 100,000 of 450,000. The toll is therefore disputed and the summary gives the wide range. Year stored: the article places the famine in 1915-1918, although it describes grain shortages from November 1914.
Battle of Kara Killisse is fought on the Caucasus front
War & conflictLow confidence
Russian forces under Nikolai Yudenich fought the Ottoman Third Army under Abdul Kerim Pasha at Kara Killisse during the Caucasus campaign of the First World War. The battle was indecisive, though the Russians treated it as a victory.
Notes
Dates disputed inside the article, so stored at year level: the English infobox and Wikidata (unreferenced) give 27-31 July 1915, while the body dates the battles to 5-8 August 1915, and the lead places the engagement within the Russian Alashkert operation (9 July-3 August; Russian Wikipedia gives Old Style dates there with Gregorian equivalents in brackets). The infobox says Russian victory, but the body calls the battle indecisive with the Russians only partly succeeding, so the summary follows the body. Troop numbers (40,000 against 60,000) and Ottoman losses were not confirmed outside and are not used. Calendar not stated in the article.
· Diyarbekir vilayet, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Genocide of Christians in Diyarbekir vilayet
War & conflictMedium confidence
In 1915, Ottoman authorities carried out a systematic anti-Christian genocide in Diyarbekir vilayet under the governor Mehmed Reshid. It killed most of the Armenians and Syriac Christians living there.
Notes
The article says the genocide began in April 1915 and continued into 1916, so only the year is stored. It also says there were no orders from the capital until the end of June and that Reshid acted on his own authority until then, while historian Raymond Kévorkian argues that the CUP leadership probably gave the order for the killing of Assyrian Christians; the wording 'ordered by' was therefore replaced with 'under'. The 83% figure is the total of Jacques Rhétoré's contemporary tally in the article's table.
Mass killing of Assyrians begins in Ottoman-occupied Azerbaijan
War & conflictMedium confidence
While Ottoman troops occupied Persia's Azerbaijan province in 1915, Ottoman forces and pro-Ottoman Kurds began mass killings of Assyrian civilians, part of the Sayfo, the killing and deportation of Assyrian and Syriac Christians during World War I.
Notes
Wikidata gives January 1915. The first mass killings are dated to the Ottoman occupation of Azerbaijan, January to May 1915, so year precision is used. Calendar not stated in source. The infobox frames the genocide as 1914-1924.
Russian forces defeat the Ottomans at the Battle of Dilman
War & conflictMedium confidence
At Dilman in Qajar Iran, Russian forces under Tovmas Nazarbekian, helped by Armenian and Assyrian volunteers, defeated an Ottoman army. By the end, the Ottomans had lost 3,500 soldiers killed.
Notes
Date disputed. English Wikipedia and Wikidata (which copies it) give 15 April 1915. Russian Wikipedia gives 18 April (1 May) 1915, citing the Russian military historian Airapetov for the 3,500 Ottoman dead, and an Ottoman-side passage commented out in the English article (from Kevorkian) also says hostilities began 18 April/1 May. The two readings fall in different months (April or May), so only the year is stored. The article's claim that most Ottoman troops were Kurds who almost all deserted was not confirmed outside and is left out.
During the Russian Empire's wartime occupation, an administration backed by Armenian volunteer units takes shape around Van after the siege of Van, with Aram Manukian as de facto head. Armenians sometimes called it the Republic of Van.
Notes
Infobox gives April-May for the start; text says administration formed around April 1915. Candidate region Oceans replaced. Calendar not stated in source.
Narekavank, a tenth-century Armenian monastery near Lake Van, stopped functioning during the Armenian genocide of 1915. It was reportedly demolished around 1951, and a mosque now stands on the site.
Notes
Year only. Ottoman territory in 1915. English Wikipedia says the monastery was abandoned in 1915 and reportedly demolished around 1951 (citing Sevan Nisanyan); French Wikipedia says it was destroyed in 1915 during the genocide. Wikidata gives a 1915 end, unsourced. Demolition date is therefore disputed; 1915 is when it ceased to function.
Sultan Hussein Kamel establishes the Order of the Nile
Politics & diplomacy
Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt set up the Order of the Nile in 1915 to reward people who had given useful service to the country. When the monarchy ended in 1953 it was reconstituted as a Republic of Egypt honour.
Notes
Candidate category was religion_philosophy; changed to politics_diplomacy.
Hussein Kamel of Egypt created this order in 1915 to honour women in many walks of society. Today it is a dynastic order for women of the Egyptian royal family, very rarely awarded.
Notes
Wikidata gives 14 April 1915, imported from Russian Wikipedia; the article gives the year 1915.
British and Indian forces of the Tigris Corps attacked Ottoman positions along the Tigris at Sheikh Sa'ad from 6 to 8 January 1916. It was the first of several attempts to break through and relieve the besieged garrison at Kut.
Notes
Infobox and lead give 6-8 January 1916; a 1924 British map caption gives 6-9 January. Ottoman theatre; calendar not stated in source, though the operation is a British-Indian one.
· Gallipoli Peninsula, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Gallipoli campaign ends
War & conflict
The Allied land campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula was abandoned and the invasion force withdrawn, ending on 9 January 1916 after about eight months of fighting. The Ottoman Empire was the victor.
Notes
Infobox and lead give 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916; French Wikipedia also ends it on 9 January 1916 (but starts it 18 March 1915). Ottoman theatre, but the date is the end of the Allied withdrawal and matches Wikidata; the calendar worker judged it Gregorian. The English article's casualty figure (about 250,000 each side) was dropped because German Wikipedia gives different totals (100,000 dead and 250,000 wounded in all).
From 10 January 1916 the Russian Caucasus Army waged a winter offensive against the Ottoman Third Army around Erzurum. Russian troops entered the city on 16 February, when the operation ended, and broke through into Anatolia.
Notes
Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire involved; the infobox dates do not name a calendar. French Wikipedia also gives a start on 10 January 1916 and the fall of Erzurum between 12 and 16 February 1916, consistent with the English article's Gregorian 16 February. The English article's casualty figure of 66,000 and the Third Army 'corps-size' claim were not confirmed outside Wikipedia and are left out of the reader text.
Russian and Ottoman forces fought at Köprüköy from 10 to 19 January 1916 during the Caucasus campaign. The Russian Empire won and the Ottoman lines guarding Erzurum were broken.
Notes
Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire involved. French Wikipedia dates the Russian offensive's start to 10 January 1916, the taking of Köprüköy to 17 January and the fall of Erzurum to 12-16 February 1916, in line with the English article's Gregorian dates, so no Old Style shift is applied. The infobox strengths (85,000 and 65,000) and casualties (12,000 and 25,000) were not confirmed outside Wikipedia and are left out of the reader text.
British attack Ottoman positions at the Wadi, Mesopotamia
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 13 January 1916 British forces under General Aylmer attacked Ottoman defences at the Wadi, east of Sheikh Sa'ad, trying to relieve Kut-al-Amara. They took the Wadi but lost 1,600 men.
Notes
Ottoman theatre; calendar not stated in source, though the attack was a British operation. Infobox casualties: 1,600 dead or wounded, numerous captured. The Battle of Wadi article says 10,000 men surrendered at Kut and calls it the largest British surrender up to then, but the Siege of Kut article says around 13,000 became prisoners, so the figure and superlative were dropped.
After a brief bombardment over 20 and 21 January 1916, Anglo-Indian troops charged Ottoman positions at the Hanna defile on 21 January, crossing flooded ground. The Ottomans won, and the attackers suffered heavy losses.
Notes
Ottoman theatre. Lead and infobox both give 21 January 1916, and German Wikipedia also gives 21 January 1916; a 1924 British map in the article is titled for the first attack on Hanna on 21 January 1916, so the date is the British (Gregorian) one. The infobox casualty counts (2,741 and 503) were not confirmed outside Wikipedia and are left out of the reader text.
Russian cavalry corps begins the Kermanshah operation in Persia
War & conflictMedium confidence
Russia's 1st Caucasian Cavalry Corps, led by Nikolai Baratov, launched an offensive in western Iran during the Persian Campaign. Persian gendarmes, tribal militias and German volunteers opposed it, and the Russians won.
Notes
Operation ran February to March 1916; only the start month is stored. Russian and Persian dates: calendar not stated in source. Wikidata gives an end of 1916-03-01.
Russian naval and land operations began along the Black Sea coast under Nikolai Yudenich, against the Ottoman Third Army under Vehip Pasha. They ended in the capture of Trabzon.
Notes
Dates: the article gives Gregorian-looking dates (it has the Rize landing on 4-5 March, which Turkish Wikipedia also dates to 4 March 1916), and Russian Wikipedia confirms the start as 23 January (5 February) 1916. The end is disputed: the English article ends the campaign on 15 April 1916, when Ottoman troops left Trabzon that night, while Russian Wikipedia ends the operation on 5 (18) April 1916 with the capture of the city. The row keeps 15 April, the Ottoman withdrawal.
The Temporary Law of Deportation, which authorized deporting the Ottoman Empire's Armenian population, expired on 8 February 1916. An order sent to all provinces repealed it on 21 February 1916.
Notes
Ottoman calendar not stated in source. The same article gives 21 February 1916 for the repeal order and 15 March 1916 for the end of activities.
A British column attacked a Senussi camp at Agagiya, east of Sidi Barrani in Egypt, and took prisoner Jaafar Pasha, who led the Senussi forces on the coast. A Dorset Yeomanry cavalry charge then cut off the retreating Senussi.
At Moascar, Egypt, the renamed New Zealand and Australian formation became the New Zealand Division once its Australian troops had departed. Major General Andrew Hamilton Russell commanded it for the rest of the war.
Notes
Checklist hint said January; the article dates the formation to 1 March 1916. January 1916 is when a plan for a division was proposed.
Battle of Dujaila: British attempt to relieve Kut fails
War & conflictMedium confidence
A British and Indian relief force under Lieutenant-General Fenton Aylmer attacked Ottoman positions east of Kut, trying to lift the siege. The attempt failed, costing Aylmer thousands of men.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source. The lead says Aylmer lost 3,500 men and the infobox gives 4,000 British casualties; the two figures were not confirmed outside Wikipedia, so the reader text gives no exact count.
General Archibald Murray took command of the new Egyptian Expeditionary Force, a British Empire formation created by merging the Force in Egypt with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It came into being as the Sinai and Palestine campaign began.
Notes
Wikidata category suggested exploration; this is a military formation.
British Empire troops raid Turkish forces at Jifjafa well, Sinai
War & conflictMedium confidence
Australian light horse, with other British Empire detachments, rode out to strike a Turkish position, the Jifjafa well, in the Sinai Desert. The raid killed six defenders, took about three dozen prisoners and wrecked the well, for the loss of one man.
Notes
Wikidata's main date is 14 April (the end date); it also holds 11 April as the start. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman-side forces involved). Prisoner counts vary within the article: the infobox and lead say 36, the body says an Austrian engineer officer and 34 soldiers (35), and Scott's DSO citation says 38, so the reader text says about three dozen. The article's claim that this was the first offensive operation by any Australian force in the campaign could not be checked outside it, so it was dropped.
Colmar von der Goltz, a Prussian field marshal and military writer, died in Baghdad while serving in the Ottoman Army. He had commanded its Sixth Army from October 1915.
Notes
Ottoman-era death in Baghdad. English and German Wikipedia both give 19 April 1916 (German Wikipedia: the night of 18-19 April, typhus), so the date is taken as Gregorian; no Old Style shift is applied.
Ottoman force defeats British mounted brigade at Katia
War & conflict
Kress von Kressenstein led an Ottoman surprise attack on the British 5th Mounted Brigade, spread thinly east of Romani to guard a new railway and pipeline. The attack succeeded completely, while a linked Ottoman attack at Duidar failed.
Notes
The British-side account ties the day of the attack to both St George's Day and Easter Sunday, which places the date in the Western (Gregorian) calendar; Wikidata agrees.
· Kut-al-Amara, Baghdad Vilayet, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
The Siege of Kut ends with the British Indian garrison's surrender
War & conflictMedium confidence
General Charles Townshend surrendered the besieged British Indian garrison at Kut to the Ottoman Army on 29 April 1916, after 147 days. The survivors were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo, and many died on the way.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; the source gives the siege as 7 December 1915 to 29 April 1916.
From 21 May to 29 June 1916, Assyrian volunteers carried out raids against Kurdish tribesmen in Hakkari. The year before, these tribes, helped by the Ottoman Empire, had driven the Assyrians out to Russian-controlled Urmia.
Notes
The fighters left Urmia on 21 May 1916 and returned to Iran on 29 June 1916 (article, citing Yaqo Ismail); the infobox gives the same range. Calendar not stated in source. If the source's date is Old Style (Julian), the Gregorian date would be 3 June 1916.
In June 1916, during the Arab Revolt, Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, proclaimed a Hashemite kingdom in the Hejaz, independent of the Ottoman Empire, with British backing.
Notes
The infobox dates the state's start to 10 June 1916, beside the Mecca Revolt, and the list of kings starts Hussein's reign then; the text says he declared himself king shortly after the revolt broke out and gives June 1916, so the month is stored. Wikidata's 10 June is imported from English Wikipedia. Calendar not stated in source.
The Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule is launched at Mecca
War & conflictMedium confidence
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, told his supporters to strike at the Ottoman garrison in Mecca, formally launching a Hashemite-led Arab uprising against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Wikidata gives June 1916 (month only). The text also says Ali and Faisal began the revolt on 5 June 1916 by attacking the Ottoman garrison at Medina, and that the revolt proper began on 10 June.
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, began a revolt against the Ottomans from Mecca on 10 June 1916. Most of the garrison had gone to Taif, and the last Turkish resistance, at the Jirwal barracks, gave up in early July.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source. Infobox and body give June 10 - July 4, 1916 (French Wikipedia repeats the same account), but the English Arab Revolt article says Mecca was taken on 9 July 1916, so the end is stated only as early July.
Forces loyal to Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, besieged the Ottoman army in Taif, supported by British-supplied guns. The city fell after weeks of fierce fighting, which the Turks felt as a major blow after the loss of Mecca.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Only the infobox gives day-level dates (10 June - 23 September 1916); the Arab Revolt article in the same pack says Abdullah took Ta'if on 22 September 1916.
Russian forces under Nikolai Yudenich counterattacked the Ottoman Third Army, striking the communications centre of Erzincan. The Ottoman troops retreated with heavy losses and the Russians captured the town.
Notes
2-25 July 1916 per the English and French infoboxes. Russian Wikipedia dates the start of the counteroffensive 19 June 1916 Old Style, which is 2 July Gregorian, so the stored date is Gregorian. Ottoman loss figures differ: the English article says 34,000 (about half captured, 17,000 in the infobox), Russian Wikipedia gives 17,000 killed and 27,000 prisoners; the summary no longer gives a number.
The Battle of Bitlis ends with Russian forces holding the town
War & conflictMedium confidence
After a Russian capture in March, an Ottoman offensive from 2 August 1916 retook Bitlis and Muş, but Russian forces took both back on 24 August. The series of engagements, begun in July 1915, ended in a Russian victory.
Notes
The article gives the whole battle as July 1915 - August 1916. The Ottoman counter-offensive began on 2 August 1916 and the article says Russian forces had retaken Mus and Bitlis by 24 August, so month precision is kept. Wikidata gives the end as August 1916 (month only, unreferenced). Calendar not stated in source.
Ottoman and Russian forces fight the Battles of Çapakçur
War & conflictLow confidence
Ottoman and Russian forces fought around Bingöl during an offensive by the Turkish 2nd Army. The Ottoman side, under Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Ali Fuat Pasha, won and temporarily retook Muş and Bitlis.
Notes
Month-level because the days are uncertain: the English infobox says 2-7 August, but the English Battle of Mus article and Turkish and Russian Wikipedia put the start of the Ottoman offensive on 3 August, and the Russian-language source behind the article may use Old Style dates (which would be about 13 days later, still in August). The Turkish article gives only 1916 and no days.
A German and Ottoman force that had crossed the Sinai attacked British Empire troops at Romani, east of the Suez Canal. The fighting lasted until 5 August and ended in a British Empire victory, the last Central Powers ground attack on the canal.
Notes
Fought 3-5 August 1916; main attack came in the night of 3/4 August.
Russian and Ottoman forces began fighting around Muş in southeastern Anatolia. After about three weeks the Russians captured the city and the Ottoman Second Army was nearly destroyed. Mustafa Kemal was among the commanders.
Notes
Infobox gives 3-24 August 1916. Turkish and Russian Wikipedia also give 3 August as the start of the Ottoman offensive (Russian text dates the whole operation 21 July-29 August Old Style, which is 3 August-11 September Gregorian), so the stored date is Gregorian.
British Empire troops of the ANZAC Mounted Division attacked a retiring Ottoman force at Bir el Abd. After a day of attacks and counter-attacks, the British commander ordered a withdrawal, leaving the Ottomans holding the field.
Fakhri Pasha and two brigades reached the outskirts of Yanbu, trying to recapture the city from the Arab Revolt. Arab and British defenders, helped by Royal Navy ships, held on until the Ottomans retreated toward Medina on 18 January 1917.
Notes
Calendar not stated in the English article. Russian Wikipedia gives the same dates, 1 December 1916 to 18 January 1917; no source states a calendar, and both articles rely on British accounts.
British Empire forces defeat an Ottoman garrison at Magdhaba
War & conflict
On 23 December 1916 the Anzac Mounted Division and other units attacked an entrenched Ottoman garrison in the Sinai desert and captured its six redoubts. The defenders surrendered in the late afternoon.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved, so the calendar was checked: the date is given in Gregorian form and Wikidata agrees on 23 December.
Hejazi Arab rebels surrounded Medina, then held by the Ottoman Empire. Fahreddin Pasha's Ottoman battalion resisted for two years and seven months, and the siege lasted until January 1919.
Notes
calendar not stated in source. Lead and infobox put the start at 10 June 1916 (end 10 January 1919), while the body says the siege began in October 1916; the year is stored because the day and month differ. Wikidata gives 10 June 1916.
Battle of Rafa: British forces defeat Ottoman garrison
War & conflict
British Empire troops of the Desert Column assaulted an entrenched Ottoman garrison at El Magruntein, south of Rafah. Late in the day the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade took the central redoubt and the rest of the defences fell.
Notes
Fought close to the Egyptian-Ottoman border. Date fits the British campaign chronology (railway reached El Arish on 4 January 1917) and matches Wikidata. Prisoner numbers differ inside the article: the infobox and French Wikipedia give 1,434, while the body cites sources giving 1,472 to 1,635, so the text says roughly 1,400 to 1,600.
British-led Arab forces landed by sea at Wejh and, backed by naval bombardment, defeated the 1,300-strong Ottoman garrison on 23-24 January 1917, in the Arab Revolt.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory).
The Senussi campaign, fought by the Senussi against Italy and the British Empire in the Western Desert of Egypt and eastern Libya, ended in February 1917, and a peace was then arranged.
Notes
Infobox and lead give November 1915 to February 1917. The body also mentions the Accords of Acroma in April 1917. Category changed from everyday_life.
British camel troops raid Bir el Hassana in the Sinai
War & conflictMedium confidence
British camel-mounted troops attacked about twenty Turkish soldiers and some armed Bedouin in central Sinai. A minor action, it saw an aeromedical evacuation described as a British Army first.
Notes
Wikidata gives 21 February 1917, the end of the 13-21 February range in the infobox. One column left Suez on 13 February.
Two British-led mounted columns left the Suez Canal area to attack the Ottoman garrison at Nekhl in central Sinai, the second of three actions to retake the peninsula.
Notes
Wikidata gives 21 February 1917, the end of the 13-21 February range in the infobox. Columns set out on 13 February.
In the Mesopotamian campaign, Frederick Maude's British force recaptured Kut. Ottoman commander Kâzım Karabekir pulled out roughly 2,500 men in good order.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; Ottoman Empire involved.
Yigael Yadin was born in Jerusalem, then in the Ottoman Empire. He became an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician, who later led the Israel Defense Forces as its second Chief of Staff and then became Deputy Prime Minister.
Notes
Sources disagree on the day. English and French Wikipedia and one Wikidata statement give 20 March 1917; Hebrew Wikipedia (citing Silberman's biography) and another Wikidata statement give 21 March 1917. Neither is clearly better, so only the month is stored. The calendar (Ottoman Jerusalem) is not stated in the sources.
British Empire forces under General Stanley Maude took Baghdad from the Ottoman Empire on 11 March 1917, during the Mesopotamian campaign of World War I.
Notes
Infobox gives the battle as 8-11 March 1917 at the Diyala River below Baghdad; the lead dates the capture itself to 11 March, matching Wikidata's end date. Pipeline place said Iran; the article says Ottoman Iraq. Ottoman Empire: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
British forces under Stanley Maude moved north from Baghdad against Ottoman troops, taking Fallujah on 19 March. The offensive ended on 23 April when Samarra and its railway fell, at a cost of about 18,000 British casualties.
Notes
Wikidata date 1917-04-23 is the end of the offensive; start 13 March 1917 and end 23 April 1917 are both given in the source. Sick count is 38,000 in the lead and 37,000 in the infobox. Calendar not stated in source.
After capturing Baghdad, British forces attempted to trap a portion of the Ottoman Sixth Army, without success. The battle opened shortly after dawn near Mount Hamrin and the Diyala River and ended in an Ottoman victory.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source. Turkish Wikipedia also gives 25 March 1917. The infobox figures (about 8,000 British engaged and 1,200 British casualties) are repeated by Turkish Wikipedia but no independent source was found, so they are not used.
British Empire infantry and mounted troops attacked the Ottoman garrison at Gaza. Late in the afternoon, with Gaza nearly taken, the force was pulled back because of fading light and large Ottoman reinforcements.
British and Ottoman armies are locked in stalemate in southern Palestine
War & conflictMedium confidence
After the Ottoman victory at the Second Battle of Gaza, the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force and the Ottoman Army stayed locked in position between Gaza and Beersheba for six months, with trench warfare and patrols.
Notes
Wikidata gives the stalemate as April to October 1917. The article dates it from April 1917 to the offensive at Beersheba on 31 October 1917; German Wikipedia also gives April to October 1917.
Egyptian Expeditionary Force troops attacked the entrenched Ottoman garrison at Gaza in southern Palestine, three weeks after the first battle there. The Ottoman defenders won.
British Empire troops fought Ottoman forces at Istabulat in Ottoman Iraq during the Samarra offensive, after the capture of Baghdad. The result was a British-Indian victory.
· Ayvalik, Ottoman Empire (present-day Turkey) · Middle East
Ottoman authorities deport the Greek population of Ayvalik
War & conflictMedium confidence
Ottoman authorities forcibly deported the mostly Greek population of Ayvalik to the Anatolian interior in May 1917. The operation was organised by Liman von Sanders and involved death marches, looting, torture and massacre.
Notes
Evacuation order issued 14 March 1917; the deportation itself is dated to May 1917. Calendar not stated in source. The deportation figures come only from the English article; French Wikipedia has the same article and no outside source on the approved list gives figures.
Near Mavana, Assyrian volunteers under Agha Petros and Malik Khoshaba fought an Ottoman force commanded by Halil Kut. The battle ran from 5 May to 13 August 1917 and ended in an Assyrian victory.
Notes
Date range 5 May to 13 August 1917 as given in the infobox and lead; Wikidata gives the same start. The article exists only in English, its force figures are unreferenced and no outside source was found, so the battle and its dates are single-sourced. Calendar not stated in source (Persia, Ottoman forces).
· Asluj to Hafir el Auja, southern Palestine · Middle East
British raid wrecks sections of the Beersheba to Hafir el Auja railway
War & conflictMedium confidence
Working parties of Royal Engineers and mounted troops destroyed bridges and rails on the Ottoman railway between Asluj and Hafir el Auja, the main Ottoman desert base, while another division demonstrated against Beersheba.
Notes
Southern Palestine was Ottoman territory; the date 23 May 1917 is given without naming a calendar, so calendar not stated in source. Wikidata label names Asluj; the article is titled for the Beersheba railway.
Eric Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and grew up mainly in Vienna and Berlin. He became a British Marxist historian of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism.
Arab forces take the port of Aqaba from Ottoman defenders
War & conflictMedium confidence
Attackers under Sherif Nasir and Auda abu Tayi, advised by T. E. Lawrence, defeated the Ottoman garrison at the Red Sea port of Aqaba during the Arab Revolt.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire involved).
Ahmet Kenan Evren was born in Manisa Province, Ottoman Empire. A Turkish army officer, he went on to serve as president of Turkey from 1982 until 1989.
Notes
German, French and English Wikipedia give Alasehir as birthplace; Turkish Wikipedia and Wikidata give Kula; both are in Manisa Province, so the place is given at province level. All editions give 17 July 1917, treated as Gregorian.
Ordered to secure the Hejaz Railway, the Ottoman force at Ma'an moved against the North Arab Army and was ambushed by 700 Arab troops. The Ottomans took heavy losses, had 300 men captured, and fell back.
Notes
The article is a short stub whose one cited source (Al-Shyyab 2020) could not be opened; its 23 October 1917 date and 700 Arab troops, 300 captured come from the infobox and lead. French and Russian Wikipedia repeat the same account and date and appear to be translations of it, so they are not independent. Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
· El Buqqar (Zeelim), Ottoman Palestine · Middle East
Battle of El Buqqar Ridge is fought in Ottoman Palestine
War & conflictMedium confidence
Ottoman troops attacked the British 8th Mounted Brigade's outpost line at El Buqqar Ridge. Part of the Yeomanry was overwhelmed, while another group held until reinforcements came and the attackers pulled back.
Notes
Fought at El Buqqar in Ottoman Palestine; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
British Empire forces attacked and took the Ottoman garrison at Beersheba, starting the Southern Palestine Offensive. Late in the day, Australian light horse regiments charged the town with bayonets in hand.
Notes
Beersheba was in the Ottoman Empire; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
· Southern Palestine, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Southern Palestine offensive runs from Beersheba to Jerusalem
War & conflict
Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force attacked Ottoman forces at Beersheba on 31 October 1917, pushed them back to Jaffa, and captured Jerusalem on 9 December 1917 after weeks of fighting in the Judean Hills.
Notes
Start (attack on Beersheba, 31 October 1917) and end (capture of Jerusalem, 9 December 1917) match Wikidata's start and end dates; Wikidata's point date is the end date. The attacking force was the British Empire's, whose dates are Gregorian.
British Empire forces began an attack on the village of Nebi Samwil, an Ottoman defensive position in front of Jerusalem. The village was taken on 21 November, but the attack did not reach Jerusalem.
Notes
Infobox gives 18-24 November 1917, lead gives 17-24 November; Wikidata gives 18 November. Month stored. Ottoman calendar question; dates appear Gregorian.
British forces attacked the Ottoman defences at Gaza on the night of 1 to 2 November. The Ottomans were later forced to leave Gaza during the night of 6 to 7 November.
Notes
Gaza was Ottoman-held; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
British Empire units attacked the Ottoman position at Tel el Khuweilfe in the Judean Hills north of Beersheba, where Ottoman troops guarded the road to Jerusalem via Hebron. The attacks did not dislodge the defenders but pulled in Ottoman reserves.
Notes
Infobox gives 1-6 November 1917; the lead says fighting continued into 7 November. Ottoman-held southern Palestine: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
· Hareira and Sheria, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Battle of Hareira and Sheria is fought
War & conflictMedium confidence
Attacking from the flank with XX Corps, British Empire forces captured the Ottoman defences protecting Hareira and Sheria, mid-way along the Gaza to Beersheba line.
Notes
Hareira and Sheria were Ottoman-held; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
Two Light Horse regiments, the 11th and 12th, rode at an Ottoman rearguard at Sheria on 7 November 1917, backing an attack by the 60th (London) Division. Heavy fire forced them to stop and dismount, and one troop that missed the signal was wiped out.
Notes
Sheria lay in Ottoman-held southern Palestine; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given. Wikidata gives the same day.
· Wadi el Hesi, north of Gaza, Palestine · Middle East
British forces capture Wadi el Hesi and Sausage Ridge
War & conflictMedium confidence
British units crossed the Wadi el Hesi late on 7 November 1917, and the 52nd (Lowland) Division attacked Sausage Ridge the next day. The Ottoman rearguard defended it through the day and most of the night; when it fell early on 9 November, the rearguard had already slipped away.
Notes
Wikidata gives 9 November as main date (start 7 November, end 9 November). Ottoman-held area north of Gaza: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
On 8 November 1917 units of the 5th Mounted Brigade charged a rearguard position held by German, Austrian and Turkish gunners and machine-gun infantry. They captured the position, seventy prisoners, eleven guns and four machine guns. Of 170 men, 26 were killed and 40 wounded.
Notes
Huj was in Ottoman-held southern Palestine; calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
· Junction Station, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem · Middle East
Battle of Mughar Ridge
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 13 November 1917 a cavalry charge helped by infantry took two fortified villages in the centre of the Ottoman line. The fighting was part of the British pursuit after Beersheba, and Junction Station was captured, cutting the rail link with Jerusalem.
Notes
Lead describes operations from 10 to 14 November; 13 November is the date given for the battle. Ottoman-held area: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
On 14 November 1917 the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade fought an Ottoman rearguard near Rishon LeZion, and by that night the Turkish force was in full retreat.
Notes
Casualty figures are not used: the infobox gives 44 New Zealanders dead and 141 wounded and 182 Turkish dead (possibly 400), the lead gives 81 wounded, and no outside check was available. Ottoman-held area: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
British Empire forces began the fighting that ended in the capture of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire. Allenby entered the Old City on foot on 11 December, and the fighting continued until 30 December 1917.
Notes
Infobox and lead give 17 November to 30 December 1917. Ottoman Empire: calendar not stated in source, dates stored as given.
The Zoroastrian Adrian Temple in Tehran was consecrated on 30 November 1917, which was the Azergan fire festival day, once Zoroastrians within Iran had paid to finish it.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1917-11. Consecration on 30 November 1917; Persian/Zoroastrian date given as day 9 of month 9, the Azergan fire festival. Source also says the temple opened in 1917.
Forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force fought the Yildirim Army Group at El Burj on 1 December 1917, in an action that formed part of the Battle of Jerusalem.
Notes
Ottoman-held area: calendar not stated in source, date stored as given.
· Moukhtara, Mount Lebanon, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Kamal Jumblatt is born
LivesMedium confidence
Kamal Jumblatt was born in Moukhtara in Mount Lebanon. He became a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party.
Notes
French and Arabic Wikipedia both give 6 December 1917, matching the infobox. The English article notes that some sources give Deir El Kamar as the birthplace instead of Moukhtara. Ottoman Empire at the time; the date is read as Gregorian.
Ottoman Empire and Transcaucasian Commissariat sign the Armistice of Erzincan
War & conflict
The Ottoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat agreed to suspend fighting. Peace on the Caucasian and Persian Fronts lasted until 12 February, and Russian troops began to withdraw.
British forces cross the Auju River in the Battle of Jaffa
War & conflict
The 52nd (Lowland) Division made an assault crossing of the Auju River by night, and other divisions of XXI Corps followed. Ottoman defenders were forced to withdraw, securing Jaffa.
Notes
Battle ran 20-21 December 1917; the river crossing was made over the night of 20-21 December.
A famine of widespread starvation and disease struck Iran during World War I while British, Russian and Ottoman forces occupied it. Mainstream scholarship puts deaths at about 2 million between 1917 and 1919.
Notes
Period given as 1917-1919; droughts from 1916 and spread across the country by early February 1918. Death toll disputed: 8-10 million cited by Mohammad Gholi Majd, not widely accepted. Calendar not stated in source; year only.
British and Ottoman forces fought twice over Ramadi, a town on the Euphrates west of Baghdad, in July and September 1917. The first battle was a British defeat; in the second the British captured the garrison almost in its entirety.
Notes
Two separate battles: first 8-13 July 1917, second 28-29 September 1917 (infobox), so stored at year precision. Wikidata gives 28-29 September (start/end) only. Calendar not stated in source.
The flag of three stripes and a red triangle, designed by Mark Sykes, served Hussein bin Ali and fellow Arab nationalists in their Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
Notes
Date disputed, so only the year is stored. The English infobox gives 10 June 1916 with no reference, but the English body ties Hussein's decree adopting the flag to the ceremony for the Revolt's first anniversary, which would be June 1917. Arabic Wikipedia, citing Podeh (2011), says the newspaper al-Qibla published the official notice putting the four-colour flag into use from 9 Shaban 1335, which it equates with 10 June 1917, and adds that Podeh allows for earlier flying at Hussein's allegiance ceremony. The Hijri and Gregorian days it pairs may not match exactly, hence year level. Wikidata's description gives use from 1917 to 1920; French Wikipedia gives only a 1916-1918 span.
Freydun Atturaya, Benjamin Arsanis and Baba Parhad founded the party in Urmia in February 1917. It backed socialism and secularism and sought an independent Assyrian state. It is regarded as the earliest Assyrian political party and perhaps the earliest Assyrian national body.
Notes
The English article says the party was founded in Urmia in February 1917, inspired by the revolutionary mood in Russia that soon led to the Russian Revolution; Russian Wikipedia says February 1917 but after the February Revolution began (23 February Old Style, 8 March Gregorian). Because the calendar is not stated and the accounts differ, the date is stored at year level. Arabic and Russian Wikipedia confirm it as the first Assyrian political party.
The Armenian volunteer units were battalion-strength groups serving in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I. The Caucasus Front collapsed in 1917, and a congress of Eastern Armenians asked that scattered Armenian soldiers be gathered.
Notes
Infobox: dates 1914-1917. Calendar not stated in source.
Emir Hussein bin Ali institutes the Order of the Renaissance
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, created the order in 1917. Jordan now ranks it just below its top order of merit; its first induction was on 15 October 1918.
Notes
Wikidata category religion_philosophy changed to politics_diplomacy. Place of institution not given.
Al Ahly decided in 1917 to build its own stadium in Cairo, listed as Al Ahly Stadium from 1917 to 1929. It was later renamed Prince Farouk Stadium and then Mokhtar El-Tetsh Stadium, and is now the club's training ground.
Notes
Infobox gives opened 1917; the text says Al Ahly decided in 1917 to build the stadium.
An Ottoman squadron attacked a British flotilla at Imbros, an Aegean island, destroying the monitors there. On the way back the cruiser Midilli was sunk in a minefield and the battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim badly damaged.
Notes
Ottoman Empire, so the calendar was checked: the article's 20 January 1918 is taken as Gregorian (Rumi equivalent not stated). Wikidata also gives 20 January 1918.
After capturing Jericho, Egyptian Expeditionary Force troops began occupying the Jordan Valley in February 1918. General Allenby extended his line to the Dead Sea to guard his right flank, despite the harsh climate. Ottoman guns shelled the British from the Moab hills.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source. Wikidata gives September 1918 as the main date, with February 1918 as the start.
In February 1918 Assyrian volunteers under Agha Petros and Malik Khoshaba fought a series of clashes in Urmia against the city's mayor, Irshad Homayun, and his supporters. The trouble followed the Russian withdrawal from Persia.
Notes
Wikidata gives 9-10 February 1918, but the article supports only February 1918, so month precision is used. Persia is a calendar-check country.
A British Empire force attacked Ottoman positions east of Jerusalem and drove them back to Jericho and across the Jordan River. Light horse and mounted rifle brigades took Jericho itself.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved: Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, and the English article gives the dates of the British-led operation, so no conversion applies. Wikidata also lists start 19 February and end 21 February.
The last Russian soldiers left Tabriz, ending a military occupation that began in 1909, apart from a short break in January 1915. The Russian Revolution had left the troops in disorder.
Notes
Persia involved; calendar not stated in source. Occupation began 30 April 1909.
British forces attacked Ottoman lines from the Mediterranean coast to the edge of the Jordan Valley between 8 and 12 March 1918. The attack pushed the British front line northwards.
Notes
Fought on Ottoman-held ground. Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, and the English article gives the Western dates, so no conversion applies.
Under Agha Petros and Malik Khoshaba, Assyrian volunteers fought Shekak tribesmen under Simko Shikak at Charah fortress in Persia from 12 to 17 March 1918. It was revenge for the killing of the Assyrian patriarch Mar Shimun.
Notes
Persia: the article gives the dates in Western form, matching Wikidata's 12 and 17 March, so no conversion is applied.
Trebizond Peace Conference opens between the Ottomans and Transcaucasia
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
Delegates of the Ottoman Empire met a delegation of the Transcaucasian Diet and government in Trebizond. Rear-Admiral Hüseyin Rauf Bey represented the Ottomans; Akaki Chkhenkeli, Khalil bey Khasmammadov and Alexander Khatisian were among the Transcaucasian delegates. Talks ran until 13 April 1918.
Notes
Wikidata gives 12 March 1918 as the start; the article gives the opening session as 14 March. Ottoman calendar not stated in source.
· Jordan Valley and Amman, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
British Empire forces launch the First Transjordan attack on Amman
War & conflictMedium confidence
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force crossed the Jordan River, briefly occupied Es Salt and attacked Amman, but a strong Ottoman garrison and reinforcements forced it back to the Jordan Valley. The Ottomans and Germans held the field.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1918-04-02, the end date. The First Battle of Amman (27-31 March) was one phase of this operation. Source dates are Gregorian.
British-Indian forces win the action of Khan Baghdadi
War & conflict
On 26 and 27 March 1918, the 15th Indian Division fought Ottoman forces at Khan al Baghdadi in Iraq during the Mesopotamian campaign. The result was a British-Indian victory.
Notes
Infobox date 26-27 March 1918, matching Wikidata. Ottoman territory: Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, and the English article gives the Western date, so no conversion applies. Source family: wikimedia.
British Empire infantry and mounted troops attacked the Ottoman garrison at Amman during the first Transjordan attack. The reinforced defenders and Ottoman counter-attacks drove them back to the bridgeheads they held on the Jordan River; the fighting lasted until 31 March.
Notes
Infobox gives 27-31 March 1918. Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, so no conversion applies.
Second British attack across the Jordan at Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt
War & conflict
Light horse brigades captured Es Salt in fighting east of the Jordan River from 30 April to 4 May 1918, but strong Ottoman counterattacks followed. British Empire forces withdrew to the Jordan Valley.
Notes
Wikidata gives 4 May 1918 as the main date and 30 April 1918 as start; the end date 4 May is stored. Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
The 21st (Bareilly) Brigade was ordered to seize the 'two sisters' hills, defended by the Ottoman 7th Division, and the Black Watch and the Guides Infantry carried out the successful assault. The Ottomans lost four officers and 101 other soldiers as prisoners.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
After al-Khurma's emir defected, the Hashemite king sent a detachment to seize the oasis in July 1918. The Saudis and allied Ikhwan defeated the Hashemite forces and captured al-Khurma. British intervention led to a ceasefire lasting to 1924.
Notes
Wikidata gives July 1918 for the start and 4 July 1919 for the end, matching the infobox. The article does not give a day for the first clashes.
German and Ottoman forces attacked British Empire troops holding the Jordan Valley, where Australian Light Horse units defended the heights at Mussallabeh and Abu Tellul. British and Indian troops overwhelmed an Ottoman cavalry brigade before it could attack.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks replaced the Baku Commune in a bloodless coup. The new anti-Soviet administration asked Britain for help against the advancing Ottoman army and fell on 15 September 1918.
Notes
Source family: wikimedia. Wikidata gives only the year (and 1918-01-01 as an end date).
· Plain of Sharon, Ottoman Palestine · Middle East
Battle of Megiddo begins in Ottoman Palestine
War & conflict
British and Indian infantry broke through Ottoman lines near the coast, and the Desert Mounted Corps rode through the gap, almost surrounding two Ottoman armies in the Judean Hills. Arab Revolt forces had first struck at Ottoman lines of communication.
Notes
Battle ran 19-25 September 1918 per article; Wikidata start and end agree. The dates follow the Western reckoning; Ottoman civil dating had matched Gregorian days since March 1917, so no conversion applies. Infobox location is Vilayet of Beirut; the lead names the Plain of Sharon and other sites.
The Battle of Sharon began with a Western Front style bombardment, aided by two destroyers. The 60th Division broke through and captured Tulkarm, headquarters of the Ottoman Eighth Army, and Desert Mounted Corps cavalry crossed the Plain of Sharon behind the Ottomans. It was an Allied victory.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source. Dates 19-25 September in lead and infobox.
With the Battle of Sharon it made up the Battle of Megiddo. British XX Corps attacked the Ottoman Seventh Army's line in front of Nablus half a day after Sharon, and by early 21 September the pressure forced the Seventh and Eighth Armies to break off.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
The British Empire's 60th Division attacked the line nearest the Mediterranean coast under a moving barrage, with fire from ships. It defeated the entrenched Ottoman Eighth Army and captured Tulkarm and its headquarters, clearing the way for the cavalry.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Britain's 54th (East Anglian) Division and a French detachment, including the French Armenian Legion, attacked the Yildirim Army Group at Wadi Ara as part of the Battle of Sharon. The fighting on the far right of the main assault shielded the attackers' flank.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
As cavalry moved forward in the Battle of Sharon, the 13th Cavalry Brigade set out to seize Nazareth, headquarters of the Yildirim Army Group. The garrison withdrew, and the cavalry occupied Nazareth the next day.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Chaytor's Force attacked the Ottoman Fourth Army and other units in the Jordan region, on the right flank of the Battle of Megiddo. It captured an Ottoman division on the main retreat road, seized a Jordan bridge and fords, took Es Salt and then Amman on 25 September.
Notes
Infobox gives 19-25 September 1918 and Wikidata lists 19 September as the start; the lead gives 21-25 September. Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
· Haifa, Ottoman Empire (now Israel) · Middle East
Indian cavalry captures Haifa
War & conflictMedium confidence
On 23 September 1918, Indian cavalry with part of the Desert Mounted Corps attacked Ottoman rearguards and captured the towns of Haifa and Acre, in the Battle of Megiddo. The Mysore and Jodhpur Lancers took part.
Australian light horsemen of the 4th Light Horse Brigade attacked Samakh, on the Sea of Galilee, where Ottoman and German troops were under orders to hold out to the last man. The assault began with a mounted charge and ended two hours later. The victory opened the way to Damascus.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Chaytor's Force first blocked the Nablus to Es Salt road and took the Jordan bridge at Jisr ed Damieh, then captured Es Salt and rode on against Amman. It beat a strongly held Ottoman rearguard that resisted determinedly.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Lancers from the 2nd regiment of the 10th Cavalry Brigade attacked the Ottoman garrison holding Irbid during the pursuit toward Damascus. They charged the rearguard but met a strong counter-attack and were beaten.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Ottoman soldiers slaughtered Arab civilians in the Syrian town of Tafas as a retreating column under Djemal Pasha's high command entered it. The aim was to demoralize the enemy.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; the source gives 27 September 1918 only.
· Jisr Benat Yakub, on the Jordan River · Middle East
Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub
War & conflictMedium confidence
The Australian Mounted Division attacked and captured the German and Ottoman rearguard positions defending the Daughters of Jacob Bridge and nearby fords on the Jordan River. It marked the start of the Desert Mounted Corps' chase toward Damascus.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
The Australian Mounted Division rode north towards Damascus, where German and Ottoman remnants had dug in on high ground at Kaukab. Two regiments, the 4th and the 12th, charged up onto the ridge and took part of the rearguard, and the remainder fled once the 5th Light Horse Brigade got round their flank.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Part of the 14th Cavalry Brigade was told to charge an Ottoman rearguard north of Kiswe. The charge captured part of the rearguard and split the Fourth Army column in two, in disorder.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
Several Kurdish rebellions broke out inside the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, the first in August 1914. Their main aim was an independent Kurdish state. Before the Mudros armistice, Mahmud Barzanji left Ottoman rule, founding a nearly independent Kurdish state under British oversight.
Notes
Infobox gives August 1914 - October 1918; the body places Barzanji's declaration after the British captured Kirkuk on 25 October 1918 and says his state lasted until June 1919. Calendar not stated in source.
The Desert Mounted Corps under Chauvel and Prince Faisal's Arab army encircled the city, and a brigade entered it at 05:00 on 1 October 1918. German and Turkish troops there surrendered quickly, and nearly 12,000 prisoners were taken before noon.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1918-09-26 as the start; the infobox gives 26 September - 1 October 1918 for the advance, and the lead puts the capture on 1 October 1918. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
After the 3rd Light Horse Brigade rode through Damascus, two squadrons of the 9th Light Horse rode ahead to block the road north. A third squadron charged the retreating column, cutting it in two and making it surrender.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
· Aleppo, Ottoman Empire (now Syria) · Middle East
Battle of Aleppo ends with the city's fall
War & conflict
Forces led by Prince Feisal bypassed a strong rearguard south of the city in darkness and entered Aleppo on 25 October 1918. Hand-to-hand fighting in the streets lasted most of the night.
Notes
Infobox, lead and Wikidata give 25 October 1918. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman territory).
Two cavalry regiments from the 15th Imperial Service brigade rode into a retreating Ottoman column at Haritan, north of Aleppo. Six squadrons of the same brigade then charged an Ottoman rearguard but were counterattacked and driven back.
Notes
Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
British and Ottoman forces fought at Sharqat in the Mesopotamian Campaign. An Anglo-Indian force under Sir Alexander Cobbe had left Baghdad on 23 October, and Assyrian volunteers fought alongside the British. Indian cavalry brigades occupied Mosul peacefully on 1 November.
Notes
Wikidata gives 23 October 1918, the day the British force left Baghdad; lead and infobox give 28-30 October. Ottoman Empire involved; calendar not stated in source.
After the First World War the empire's territories were divided into new states, with League of Nations mandates giving France Syria and Lebanon and Britain Mesopotamia and Palestine. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres never took effect.
Notes
The lead's date range is 30 October 1918 - 1 November 1922. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire). Candidate category war_conflict changed to politics_diplomacy.
Fighting between the Ottoman Empire and British, Russian and French forces ran from late October 1914 to 30 October 1918, when the Ottomans accepted the Armistice of Mudros. Its four main campaigns included Gallipoli.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire). The infobox start date is 29 October 1914 while the lead gives 30 October 1914; the end date 30 October 1918 is the same in both.
· Sinai, Palestine and Ottoman Syria · Middle East
Sinai and Palestine campaign ends
War & conflictMedium confidence
The campaign closed when the Ottomans accepted the Mudros armistice on 30 October 1918. The Battle of Megiddo in September began a rapid British offensive that destroyed three Ottoman armies and took Damascus and Aleppo.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire). The infobox start is 17 November 1914 while the lead says January 1915; the end date 30 October 1918 is consistent.
Ottoman, British and Russian forces clashed in neutral Persia from December 1914 until the Armistice of Mudros. Over 2 million Persian civilians died, mostly in the famine of 1917-1919.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Persia / Ottoman Empire).
· Armenian Highlands and South Caucasus · Middle East
Caucasus campaign ends with the Armistice of Mudros
War & conflictMedium confidence
A campaign that began with a Russian invasion of Turkish Armenia in November 1914 ended when the Ottomans signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia gained independence.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire); the infobox and lead both give 30 October 1918. Region set to Middle East following the candidate; the campaign ran across the South Caucasus and eastern Anatolia.
The Wafd Party, an Egyptian nationalist and liberal party, was founded in November 1918 after taking shape during the First World War. It later became a leading force in Egyptian politics.
Notes
Body text says founded in November 1918; the infobox gives 'foundation: 1919'. Wikidata gives 1918. Source family: wikimedia.
The Committee of Union and Progress, the Young Turk party that had run the Ottoman Empire as a dictatorship since 1913, was dissolved on 5 November 1918, soon after the empire lost World War I.
Notes
Day from the infobox dissolution field (5 November 1918); the full article puts the party's final congress at 1-5 November 1918, where members voted to abolish it. The infobox short description gives 1889-1919 and the lead says the CUP was active until 1926 (successor groups), so the end date depends on what counts as the party. Calendar: Ottoman civil dating had followed Gregorian day numbers since March 1917, so no conversion applies.
French troops entered the Ottoman capital on 12 November 1918 and British troops followed a day later, under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros. An Allied military administration was set up in early December.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1918-11-13, the day the British arrived; the English article gives 12 November 1918 for the first French troops and 4 October 1923 for the last Allied departure, while French Wikipedia dates the start to 13 November and the end to 6 October 1923. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
British imperial forces fought the Ottomans for Ottoman Iraq, from the landing at Fao to protect the oil fields until the fighting there ended in November 1918. They suffered defeat at the siege of Kut and captured Baghdad in March 1917.
Notes
The body puts the end of the Mesopotamian war at 14 November 1918, about two weeks after the Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October; French Wikipedia has the fighting last only until the October armistice, and the English page carries a note about unreliable sources, so confidence is medium. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
Kars congress declares a South-Western Caucasian Republic
Politics & diplomacyMedium confidence
A congress in Kars declared an independent South-Western Caucasian Republic and chose Cihangirzade Ibrahim Bey as its president. The provisional government lasted until British forces broke it up in April 1919.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source; the region had been Ottoman and Russian, so the date was flagged for checking. The lead also gives 1 December 1918 as the start of its existence. The name Provisional National Government of South-West Caucasia was settled on in March 1919.
France and the Turkish National Forces fought a series of conflicts in Cilicia and southern Anatolia from December 1918 to October 1921. French troops had first landed at Mersin on 17 November 1918, drawn by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and a refugee crisis after the Armenian genocide.
Notes
Wikidata gives 1918-12 (month). The infobox gives 7 December 1918 (the lead and French Wikipedia say only December 1918), and the first French landing at Mersin was on 17 November 1918, so the day is uncertain. Calendar not stated in source (Ottoman Empire).
· Borchaly (Lori) and Akhalkalaki districts · Middle East
The Armeno-Georgian War is fought
War & conflict
A border dispute over Lori and Akhalkalaki broke into open fighting between newly independent Georgia and Armenia. Armenian forces came within 10 kilometers of Tiflis before Georgian counterattacks; Allied intervention brought a ceasefire.
Notes
Source family: wikimedia. Ceasefire took effect at midnight on 31 December. Wikidata dates agree (7 to 31 December). Region chosen for the Caucasus.
Around 200 ANZAC soldiers attacked the village of Sarafand al-Amar and a Bedouin camp, killing the village's men and burning it down. Troops had grown angry at petty thefts and an alleged murder, and a New Zealand soldier, Leslie Lowry, had been killed the night before.
Notes
Infobox gives 40-137 dead; no figure is used here because estimates vary.
· Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Empire · Middle East
Great Famine of Mount Lebanon ends
DisastersMedium confidence
The famine on Mount Lebanon, which ran from 1915 and killed about 200,000 people, mostly Maronite Christians, ended around the close of the First World War and the arrival of French and British forces.
Notes
Source family: wikimedia. Article ties the end to the end of the war in 1918; Wikidata gives end 1918-01-01. Ottoman territory, year precision only.
A Kurdish tribal uprising led by Simko Shikak against the Qajar dynasty of Iran began in 1918 and lasted until 1922. By summer 1918 he held authority over the lands west of Lake Urmia.
Notes
Year only. Lead gives 1918 to 1922; it also says the challenge to central authority came in 1920-1922. Persian/Iranian calendar not an issue for the year. Source family: wikimedia.
Three days after the Ottomans resolved to leave Yemen under the Mudros armistice, Imam Yahya entered Sana'a and declared himself ruler. The kingdom lasted from 1918 to 1970 in the northwest of what is now Yemen, and he then attacked British-run Aden, but was repelled.
Notes
The infobox gives independence on 30 October 1918, the day the Ottomans signed the Mudros armistice; the lead says Imam Yahya entered Sana'a three days after the Ottoman decision to withdraw, and French Wikipedia dates his rule from 1 November 1918, so only the year is used. Calendar not stated in source.
After the First World War, Iraqi nationalists acting for Emir Faisal's Arab government in Damascus occupied the Zor Sanjak in Upper Mesopotamia from 1918 to 1920.
Notes
Calendar not stated in source. Occupation ran 1918-1920; no start day given.
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