<– Part 40 – April 25, 1915  | Part 41 – May 2, 1915 |  Part 42 – May 9, 1915 –>

On the 26th of April, the French cruiser Léon Gambetta was sunk by an Austrian submarine in the Strait of Otranto, just of the “heel” of Italy. There are also reports of some type of secret meeting in London between the Entente powers, and another unsubstantiated report that Italian representatives were present.

On the Gallipoli peninsula, several battles have been fought as the Entente attempts to expand the beachhead against the Ottomans. Most of them, such as the battle of Krithia, have settled into a war of attrition, as has happened on the Western front in Europe. On said front, the offensive at Ypres – now referred to as the Second Battle of Ypres – continues to see heavy fighting as the Germans advance to St. Julian. Reports of Entente troops suffocating, coughing blood, and so on indicates that the Germans are using poison gas.

On the 28th, the British seem to have signed a treaty with the Emirate of Asir, on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, to secure assistance against the Ottoman Turks. Further north, the Entente advance at Krithia was finally halted.

HMAS AE2. From Wikipedia.

In Europe, the German Empire continued her advance into the territory of the Russian Empire and occupied Shavli, in the area of Lithuania, on April 30. Off the Gallipoli peninsula, after forcing her way through the Dardanelles, the HMAS AE2 submarine suffered mechanical troubles, was fired upon after surfacing next to an Ottoman warship, and was scuttled by her captain. However, her mission of showing the power of submarines to disrupt Turkish communications was successful.

The following morning, on May 1, Russia secured a decisive victory against the Turks at Dilman, in northern Persia. Later that evening, the Turks suffered another setback when an attack at Eski Hissarlik failed to drive the Entente off of the Gallipoli peninsula; the British and French troops were dug in and ready for a night attack.

Earlier that afternoon, a US merchant ship, the S.S. Gulflight, was fired upon by a German submarine. Ironically, she was attacked because she was being escorted by two British warships suspicious that she had been refueling the same submarine. The sub captain reported that he saw no markings on the ship, but  broke off his attack after seeing a small US flag. Although damaged, the Gulflight did make it to port, suffering 3 casualties (including her captain, of a heart attack). The are the only US casualties by German submarine (as she is, to date, the only ship attacked).

This morning, May 2, the Germans south-east of Krakow at Gorlice-Tarnów launched a minor skirmish to relieve pressure on the Austrian-Hungarians to their south, but it is reported that the Russian line is evaporating, and it seems that the Austro-German forces may follow-up their success with a general offensive.

Gorlice-Tarnow breakthrough earlier today, and “projected progress through the next few months.” From Wikipedia.