<– Part 92 – April 23, 1916 | Part 93 – April 30, 1916 | Part 94 – May 7, 1916 –>
A rebellion erupted April 24 in Ireland, Easter Monday, several thousand strong. It was the largest since the Rebellion of 1798. Despite the large size and success in seizing several government buildings; however, despite shooting dead a guard and occupying the gatehouse of Dublin Castle, seat and emblem of London Rule, the superior British forces put the rebellion down by the 29th. During this same time, a meeting of worldwide socialists was held in Kienthal, a Swiss village, who stated their opposition to the war and the Central Powers as well.
However, despite this reassuring news from Ireland, bad news in the form of a crushing defeat of British troops arrived that same day – the beseiged forces at Kut, ridden with disease and starvation, were forced to surrender – over 13,000 British troops have been captured in Mesopotamia by the Ottomans. It is the largest defeat in decades, and follows just 4 months after the defeat at Gallipoli. The failure of a paddle steamer to reach the troops was the final nail in the coffin.
On April 27, the Germans launched a gas attack against British troops, whose gas masks were unable to protect them. The beginning of an offensive in the Halluch area, it ground to a halt when wind position shifted in the following days, blowing the gas into the German lines and killed hundreds. Despite this, the German assault was ordered, but British troops drove them back into their trenches. The British lost 1,600 men to gas and another 350 in the actual fighting, while the Germans suffered 1,500 casualties from gas alone.
Also on April 27, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War, asked the Americans for military assistance in Europe.
On April 30, the Lake Naroch offensive by the Russian Empire was halted, as the Russian artillery and infantry was unable to breach the strong German defensive positions. Of the 372,000 Russians and 82,000 Germans present for fighting, approximately 100,000 Russians and 30,000 Germans are casualties.
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