The following events occurred in December 1915:
December 1, 1915 (Wednesday)
Battle for Lake Tanganyika – German warship Kingani, on patrol in Lake Tanganyika that separated Belgian Congo from German East Africa, ran a reconnaissance mission on the lake port of Kalemie on the Belgian side of the great African lake. A mob of soldiers vandalized the German Club in Sydney, Australia by throwing stones and breaking every facade window of the club. Police broke up the mob shortly after, arresting one soldier and charging him with malicious damage and riotous behaviour. The 35th and 42nd Battalions of the First Australian Imperial Force were established for the Gallipoli campaign, but became part of the Western Front when Allied force withdrew early 1916 from the Turkish coast. The 1st and 2nd Composite Mounted Brigades of the British Army were disbanded. The 35th and 36th Brigades of the British Indian Army were established for the Mesopotamian campaign. Funakawa Light Railway extended the Oga Line in the Akita Prefecture, Japan, with station Hadachi serving the line. The Fyling Hall railway station was closed as part of the wartime measure in Fylingthorpe, England. Died: Stuart Merrill, 52, American poet, known for his Symbolist poetry in French, author of Les Gammes, Les Fastes, and Petits Poèmes d'Automne (b. 1863) Henry Hart, 77, African American entertainer and composer, leading composer and performer of minstrel shows in Indianapolis (b. 1839)
December 2, 1915 (Thursday) Fourth Battle of the Isonzo – Cold winter began interfering with supplies to the front lines, forcing the battle between Italy and Austria-Hungary to wane to minor skirmishes throughout the rest of the month. Italian forces suffered 49,500 casualties including 7,500 dead, while Austro-Hungarian forces had 32,100 casualties including 4,000 dead. Battle for Lake Tanganyika – Lieutenant Job Rosenthal, commander of the German warship Kingani, on patrol in Lake Tanganyika was caught on shore while gathering intelligence on Allied defenses on the lake port of Kalemie, Belgian Congo. He was able to smuggle out a letter warning command in German East Africa of mounting Allied action around the African lake but it took months to reach his superiors.Paice 2008, p. 147 The college athletics organization Pacific Coast Conference was established with four charter members from University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington, University of Oregon, and Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University). The conference was disbanded in 1959.(Portland) Oregon Daily Journal. December 3, 1915. "Four Colleges Form Coast Conference at Very Secret Session" The operetta Katinka, composed by Rudolf Friml, premiered in Morristown, New Jersey before appearing at the 44th Street Theatre on Broadway on December 23.Although most reference works, including Wlaschin (2006) p. 188 and Gänzl (2001) p. 869, give December 23 as the date of the Broadway premiere, Everett (2008) p. 20 gives December 22. The City of Henley and Grange was established in South Australia, Australia. It amalgamated with the City of Charles Sturt in 1997. Born: Prince Takahito of Mikasa, Japanese noble, younger brother of Hirohito, last surviving paternal uncle of Emperor Akihito; in Tokyo, Empire of Japan (present-day Japan) (d. 2016) Marais Viljoen, South African state leader, fifth and last State President of South Africa; in Robertson, Western Cape, South Africa (d. 2007) Jane Marsh Beveridge, Canadian filmmaker, member of the National Film Board of Canada, known for her short documentaries on women serving in World War II including Women Are Warriors and Proudly She Marches; as Jane Smart, in Ottawa, Canada (d. 1998) Died: Edward R. Bacon, 67, American railroad executive, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad; died of complications after an appendicitis operation (b. 1848)
December 3, 1915 (Friday) A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the border of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, India, killing 170 people and destroying many homes. British Indian forces under Major-General Charles Townshend arrived at Kut, located on the Tigris in what is now eastern Iraq. Since the Battle of Ctesiphon weeks earlier, the army had been reduced to a third of its strength and 400 miles deep into Ottoman territory. Senussi campaign – The British garrison at Matruh, North Africa was increased by 1,400 men, and equipped with several guns from the Royal Marine Artillery, and two aircraft from the Royal Flying Corps as a means to deal with the growing Senussi insurgency. High winds toppled the Owen's electric light tower in San Jose, California, which was already structurally weak from another wind storm in February. Fortunately, there were no injuries from the collapse. The debris was hauled away at a cost of $4,000 for the city."San Jose Electric Tower falls into street during gale", The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California), December 4, 1915, p. 1."Tall tower of San Jose is toppled", The Morning Press (Santa Barbara), December 4, 1915, p. 4. Born: Charley Wensloff, American baseball player, pitcher for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1943 to 1948, 1947 World Series champion; as Charles William Wensloff, in Sausalito, California, United States (d. 2001)
December 4, 1915 (Saturday) Kosovo Offensive – The Central Powers captured Debar in Serbia (now part of North Macedonia), officially ending the offensive. The Serbian army lost 30,000 soldiers, 199 guns, 150 vehicles and various other equipment. The remaining Serbian army was transported to the Greek island of Corfu where thousands more died from exhaustion and other health complications related to the retreat. The Panama–Pacific International Exposition officially closed in San Francisco, after receiving close to 19 million visitors over ten months, including 450,000 visitors on its closing day. The Son of Tarzan, the fourth Tarzan novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, began serial publication in the magazine All-Story Weekly. It would be published in book form in 1917. Born: Johnny Lombardi, Canadian television personality, best known for promoting multicultural community TV programming, recipient of the Order of Canada; in Toronto, Canada (d. 2002)
December 5, 1915 (Sunday) Costa Rica held mid-term parliamentary elections, with the Republican Party of Costa Rica receiving two-thirds of the vote, in which just over half of the eligible electorate voted.Nohlen, D. (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p. 155 French submarine Fresnel was scuttled after running aground on the Bojana river that fed into the Adriatic Sea. Austro-Hungarian naval destroyer Warasdiner completed the destruction of the ship and took the French crew prisoner. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – The shipwreck camp the polar exploration party set up following the sinking of the polar exploration ship Endurance drifted northward on the ice, reducing the choice of Antarctic islands the crew would make landing to one: Paulet Island. The Sunshine Special luxury passenger train service made its inaugural run on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. Died: Thomas Parker, 71, English engineer, known for his advances in battery technology and the invention of coalite; died of a brain tumor (b. 1843)
December 6, 1915 (Monday) Battle of Kosturino – The Second Bulgarian Army under General Georgi Todorov began an assault on British and French defenses at Kosturino in what was part of Serbian controlled Macedonia. The second of the Chantilly Conferences for the Allied military organizations was held to formulate a coordinated strategy for the upcoming year against the Central Powers.6–8 "Décembre 1915, Chantilly : La Grande Guerre change de rythme". François Cochet. Revue historique des armées. Laurel Run mine fire – An underground coal mine fire near the communities of Laurel Run and Georgetown, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania started when a miner accidentally left a carbide lamp hanging from a timber support before leaving for the weekend, causing it to ignite. Workers returning the following week discovered the fire and tried to extinguish it by blocking off its air supply by pouring sand in the area and filling the openings of the mine with concrete. However, the fire persisted and spread, continuing to burn well into the 21st-century. The 123rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was established.Mowat, Dan One-Two-Three: The Story of the 123rd Overseas Battalion, Royal Grenadiers, CEF. Ottawa, Ontario: The Author, 2015. Born: Wacław Micuta, Polish partisan fighter and economist, one of the leaders in the Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation in 1944, member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; in Petrograd, Russian Empire (present-day Saint Petersburg, Russia) (d. 2008)
December 7, 1915 (Tuesday)
Gallipoli campaign – Allied forces began to withdraw from Gallipoli in gradual waves in order to not tip off the Ottomans. In many cases, rifles were rigged to self-fire to disguise the departure, based on a design put forth by Australian soldier William Scurry. Siege of Kut – Major-General Charles Townshend chose the 6th Division of the British Indian Army to make a stand against an Ottoman force of 11,000 men at Kut 100 miles south of Baghdad rather than retreat further south to Basra, allowing the Ottomans to reinforce their siege while making it harder for the British to send reinforcements. Battle of Kosturino – The Bulgarian army launched a bayonet attack on British defenders at Kosturino using the cover of fog. Both British and French soldiers regrouped to repel the attack. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his State of the Union Address to the 64th United States Congress. While the United States was still neutral during World War I, Wilson emphasized the larger role the country could play on the international stage: "The moral is, that the states of America are not hostile rivals but cooperating friends, and that their growing sense of community or interest, alike in matters political and in matters economic, is likely to give them a new significance as factors in international affairs and in the political history of the world." The 33rd Indian Brigade was disbanded and replaced with the 34th Indian Brigade during the Mesopotamian campaign. The German Club in Sydney, Australia applied to renew its licensing to reopen after repairs were made to damages caused by a mob of soldiers on-leave at the start of the month, but the licensing court refused to entertain renewals until after the war, resulting in the club eventually shutting down. Born: Eli Wallach, American actor, best known for roles in films Baby Doll, The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; in New York City, United States (d. 2014) Leigh Brackett, American author and screenwriter, author of the screenplays The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo and The Empire Strikes Back, credited for developing the space opera novel; in Los Angeles, United States (d. 1978) Lorna Arnold, British historian, noted expert on the British nuclear weapons programmes, author of Britain, Australia and the Bomb; as Lorna Margaret Rainbow, in Harlesden, England (d. 2014) Johnny Gee, American baseball player, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants from 1939 to 1946; as John Alexander Gee Jr., in Syracuse, New York, United States (d. 1988)
December 8, 1915 (Wednesday) Battle of Kosturino – The Bulgarians broke through the British-French lines and captured 10 artillery guns. Siege of Mora – British soldiers burned an African village that had been supplying food supplies to German defenders at Mora in Kamerun in a means to starve German troops and force them to surrender.