June 1915

[June 1], 1915 (Tuesday)

• Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive — German infantry occupied three large forts around Przemyśl after a Russian counterattack failed.
• British light cruiser HMS Arethusa encountered a German airship on the North Sea and quickly launched a Sopwith seaplane to intercept. However, the pilot mistook smoke from British destroyers as a recall signal and abandoned the chase, ending one of the most promising early opportunities for the interception of an airship by a shipborne aircraft.
• The 107th Infantry Division of the Imperial German Army was established.
• The United States Department of the Navy awarded its first contract for an airship to the Connecticut Aircraft Company.
• Shinano Railway extended the Ōito Line in the Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with station Hakuyachō serving the line. As well, the Geibi Railway extended the Geibi Line in the Okayama Prefecture, Japan, with station Miyoshi serving the line.
• The second part of the Mandra–Bhaun Railway opened in British India, connecting Mandra with Bhaun.
• The Sunset Beach Hotel opened in Glenwood Township, Pope County, Minnesota. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

  [June 2], 1915 (Wednesday)

• Second Battle of Artois — The French bombarded German defenses around Neuville-Saint-Vaast, France for three days before launching an attack.
• Shabin-Karahisar uprising — An Armenian militia of 250 began a month-long resistance against the Ottoman Empire in response to the Armenian genocide using a fort in the Giresun Province of Turkey.
• Ceylon Governor Robert Chalmers declared martial law in the colony after violent unrest between Muslim and Buddhist broke out in Kandy and spread to other towns and cities.
• The Imperial German Army established the 83rd and 84th Infantry Divisions.
• Born:
• * Walter Tetley, American voice actor, best known as the voice of "Sherman" in the TV cartoon Mr. Peabody; as Walter Campbell Tetzlaff, in New York City, United States
• * Lester del Rey, American science fiction writer and publisher, editor with wife Judy-Lynn del Rey of Del Rey Books; as Leonard Knapp, in Saratoga Township, Winona County, Minnesota, United States
• * Li Lili, Chinese actress, known for film roles in Little Toys and The Big Road; as Qian Zhenzhen, in Beijing, Republic of China
• Died:
• * George Randell, 84, Australian politician, Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1873 to 1875 and 1880 to 1890
• * Dave Orr, 55, American baseball player, first baseman for various teams including the New York Metropolitans and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms from 1883 to 1890

  [June 3], 1915 (Thursday)

• Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive — The Fourth and Seventh armies of Austria-Hungary struck the flank of the Russian Eleventh Army and drove them back to the River Dniester.
• Mexican Revolution — Troops of Álvaro Obregón and Pancho Villa clashed at León, Guanajuato in Mexico. Obregón lost his right arm in a grenade attack but Villa was decisively defeated.
• Battle of Amara – The British Indian Army defeated Ottoman forces on the Tigris between the towns of Amara and Qurna, Mesopotamia, inflicting 120 casualties and capturing over 1,700 prisoners.
• The Imperial German Army established the 5th Ersatz Division.
• The first match of the New Zealand West Coast Rugby League team was held in Victoria Park, Greymouth, New Zealand against Canterbury.
• Born: Milton Cato, Saint Vincentian state leader, first Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on British Windward Islands; as Robert Milton Cato, in Saint Vincent, British Windward Islands

  [June 4], 1915 (Friday)

• Third Battle of Krithia — British, French, and Indian forces made a third and last attempt to capture Achi Baba, the main position for Ottoman defenses on the Gallipoli peninsula but were beaten back, sustaining some 6,500 casualties. Ottoman casualties were higher, ranging between 9,000 and 10,000 men.
• The LZ 40, the first Zeppelin P Class airship of the Imperial German Navy, was flown to bomb targets in London.
• The Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service test flew the M.F.1 floatplane in Horten, Norway, the first Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk model based on a design by Maurice Farman.
• The fraternity Alpha Sigma Nu was founded at Marquette University as an honor society for Jesuit colleges.
• Born:
• * Modibo Keïta, Malian statesman, first President of Mali; in Bamako Coura, French Sudan
• * Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer, batman for the New Zealand national cricket team from 1937 to 1951; in Lincoln, New Zealand

  [June 5], 1915 (Saturday)

• Women's suffrage was introduced in Denmark and Iceland.
• Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive — German forces recaptured the Austro-Hungarian fortress Przemyśl from the Russians on the Eastern Front after a three-week siege.
• Third Battle of Krithia — Ottoman forces counter-attacked after the Allies failed to capture Achi Baba on the Gallipoli peninsula and drive them back to the sea. The attack nearly broke British defenses, but British officer Lieutenant George Moor managed to rally retreating troops and order them to retake a critical lost trench. The action motivated the rest of the force to stand their ground, subsequently Moore was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.
• German submarine was shelled and sunk in the North Sea by Royal Navy ship HMT Oceanic II with the loss of one of her 28 crew.
• French destroyer was accidentally rammed and damaged in the Ionian Sea by. She was consequently scuttled by.
• British submarine HMS E11 slipped past the Dardanelles again and returned to Allied water, after a successful mission that infiltrated Istanbul and the sinking of 11 ships over a three-week period. Submarine commander Martin Dunbar-Nasmith was awarded a Victoria Cross for the mission.
• The prototype of the Sigrist Bus airplane by the Sopwith Aviation Company was given a test flight and achieved a new altitude record. The model was then used to develop the 1½ Strutter biplane which became available by mid-December.
• Died:
• * Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, 23, French artist and sculptor, member of the Vorticism movement; killed in action at Neuville-Saint-Vaast
• * John C. Rice, 58, American actor, best known for performing the first onscreen kiss with May Irwin in 1896 for the Thomas Edison film The Kiss; died of Bright's disease

  [June 6], 1915 (Sunday)

• Third Battle of Krithia — British general Aylmer Hunter-Weston managed to reorganize the Allied forces into an effective defense on the coast of Gallipoli and beat back the Ottoman defense, inflicting 3,000 casualties and forcing a stalemate.
• Second Battle of Artois — The French captured the main road leading to Neuville-Saint-Vaast, France.
• British carrier SS Immingham was lost in the Mediterranean Sea.
• Switzerland held a referendum on a war tax with most voters, over 450,000, in favor on implementing the one-off tax and over 27,000 against. It was the first time a referendum has passed in every Swiss canton.
• The BHP Newcastle Steelworks opened in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
• The London Underground extended the Bakerloo line with a new tube station at Maida Vale.
• The Icelandic sports club Þór Akureyri was established, and now encompasses teams for association football, basketball, handball and taekwondo.

  [June 7], 1915 (Monday)

• Battle of Hébuterne — The French 2nd Army attacked German positions around Hébuterne, France to support the 10th Army efforts further north at Artois. French troops were able to overrun the first two German lines during the opening day.
• The Dardanelles Committee met in London decided to reinforce the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force of General Ian Hamilton with three divisions from Kitchener's Army in an attempt to reinvigorate the Gallipoli campaign.
• The first German Army Zeppelin airship was destroyed in air-to-air combat by British pilot Reginald Warneford of No. 1 Squadron over Ghent, Belgium. The airship crashed in Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium, killing one person on the ground and all but one of the crew. Warneford received the Victoria Cross for the action.
• The LZ 38, the first Zeppelin P Class airship of the Imperial German Army, was destroyed when British planes bombed the shed it was housed in near Evere, Belgium.
• The first airship flew out of Friedrichshafen-Löwental airfield near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
• Born:
• * Dominic Bruce, British air force officer, member of the No. 9 and No. 214 Squadrons during World War II, noted escapee from German POW camp Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, Order of St. Gregory the Great, Military Cross, and Air Force Medal; in Hebburn, England
• * Graham Ingels, American comic book artist, best known for his work for EC Comics; in Cincinnati, United States
• Died: Charles Reed Bishop, 93, American businessman and philanthropist in Hawaii, founder of the Kamehameha Schools and First Hawaiian Bank

  [June 8], 1915 (Tuesday)

• Battle of Hébuterne — The Germans regrouped to slow the French advance and recaptured their second line by the end of the day.
• Born:
• * Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian poet, known for his poems and activism work for an independent India; in Kayyar, British India
• * Ruth Stone, American poet, recipient of 2002 National Book Award and 2002 Wallace Stevens Award for the poetry collection In the Galaxy; in Roanoke, Virginia, United States

  [June 9], 1915 (Wednesday)

• Battle of Hébuterne — French attacks on the southern flanks became disorganized, with one German patrol able to take 100 French prisoners.
• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent Germany the second of three letters related to the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in May, rejecting Germany's argument the British blockade was illegal and that the Lusitania was carrying munitions.
• United States Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over disagreement regarding his nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
• Second Battle of Garua — After nearly 10 days of siege from British and French forces, close to half of the native colonial troops under German command in forts around Garua, German Cameroon began to mutiny or desert their posts.
• British colonial force cracked down on rioters in Ceylon, resulting in 116 dead.
• British cruiser was torpedoed and damaged in the Adriatic Sea off Albania by Austro-Hungarian submarine with the loss of 12 of her 440 crew. HMS Dublin was subsequently repaired and returned to service.
• The Georgia Prison Commission denied an application to commute the death sentence of Leo Frank in a 2–1 vote, who was convinced in 1913 for the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan.
• British naval forces occupied the island of Kamaran in the Red Sea off the coast what is now Yemen.
• The French Army established the Marine Infantry Tank Regiment.
• Born: Les Paul, American musician, inventor of the solid body electric guitar; as Lester William Polsfuss, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States