March 1916

[March 1], 1916 (Wednesday)

• Germany began to attempt to use submarines in fleet actions in a bid to erode the numeric superiority of the Royal Navy by setting up U-boat blockades and having the High Seas Fleet maneuver to draw British ships into the submarine lines.
• A new provisional military government for Montenegro was established under Austro-Hungarian General Viktor Weber Edler von Webenau.
• The New Zealand Division was established in Egypt with General Andrew Hamilton Russell in command.
• The 52nd Australian Battalion was established as part of the expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force.
• Air squadrons No. 45 and No. 47 were established by the Royal Flying Corps.
• The art gallery Liljevalchs konsthall, designed by Swedish architect Carl Bergsten, was inaugurated in Stockholm.
• The transfer of the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth into its purpose-built premises was completed.
• Born: Bing Devine, American sports executive, general manager of the baseball teams St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets from 1957 to 1969; as Vaughan Pallmore Devine, in St. Louis, United States
• Died: Walter H. Taylor, 77, American Confederate Army officer, aide to General Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War; died of cancer

  [March 2], 1916 (Thursday)

• Military conscription came into force in Great Britain through the Military Service Act.
• The British Second Army recaptured The Bluff from the Germans, a strategic mound near St Eloi southeast of Ypres in Belgium, that they had lost in mid-February. The British took 908 casualties while inflicting 1,622 on the Germans.
• Hohenzollern Redoubt - British forces attempted to recapture the German-held redoubt north of Loos-en-Gohelle, France after it had failed to do so in the Battle of Loos the previous year. Three mines were dug and filled with explosives underneath the German line at the start of the attack, with soldiers using the newly formed craters as assault and hold objectives.
• Senussi campaign - Recon aircraft departed from Matruh to scout enemy between Sidi Barrani and Sollom on the Egyptian coast.
• Born:
• * Oscar F. Peatross, American marine officer, recipient of the Navy Cross for commands during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War; in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
• * Mickey Rocco, American baseball player, first baseman for the Cleveland Indians from 1943 to 1946; as Michael Dominick Rocco, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
• Died: Elisabeth of Wied, 72, Romanian noble, Queen consort of Romania, wife to Carol I of Romania

  [March 3], 1916 (Friday)

• Hohenzollern Redoubt - German forces attempted to recapture the craters the British used as defense during the previous day's assault.
• The first mercury dime was introduced by the United States Mint.
• The Original Dixieland Jass Band began playing at Schiller's Cafe in Chicago, under the name Stein's Dixie Jass Band.
• Born: Paul Halmos, Hungarian-born American mathematician, best known for his advances in probability and functional analysis; in Budapest, Austria-Hungary
• * Frank Licht, American politician, 67th Governor of Rhode Island; in Providence, Rhode Island, United States
• Died: Chinubhai Madhowlal Ranchhodlal, 51, Indian noble, first Indian Hindu to become a Baronet

  [March 4], 1916 (Saturday)

• Third war budget for Great Britain saw income tax raised to five shillings on the pound.
• The third Irish Race Convention was held in New York City, and resulted in the formation of the Friends of Irish Freedom, which advocated support for Irish independence from Great Britain.
• Royal Navy battle cruiser HMS Renown was launched by Fairfield Shipbuilding Company in Glasgow and served prominently in both world wars.
• U.S. Navy destroyer USS Sampson was launched by Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, but only saw service for the next three years before being decommissioned.
• The University of Oregon fight song "Mighty Oregon" was first performed at a college basketball game by the Oregon Marching Band in Eugene, Oregon. The song has a similar tune to the popular hit "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".
• Born:
• * Hans Eysenck, German-born British psychologist, best known for his research into intelligence and personality, author of The Psychology of Politics; in Berlin, German Empire
• * Ernest Titterton, British physicist, member of the Manhattan Project and Operation Crossroads; in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
• * William Alland, American film producer, best known for sci-fi B-movies including Creature from the Black Lagoon, This Island Earth and It Came from Outer Space, also played the reporter Jerry Thompson in Citizen Kane; in Delmar, Delaware, United States
• Died: Franz Marc, 36, German painter, one of the founding members of The Blue Rider group, known for such works including The Tower of Blue Horses and Fate of the Animals; killed in action at Braquis, France

  [March 5], 1916 (Sunday)

• Spanish ocean liner Príncipe de Asturias ran aground and sank off the coast of Brazil, killing 445 out of 588 passengers and crew on board.
• The adventure drama To Have and to Hold was released in the United States, directed by George Melford and starring Wallace Reid and Mae Murray in her film debut.
• The Spanish association football club Mallorca was established in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
• Born:
• * Karl Kasten, American artist, member of the abstract expressionism movement with known works including Dante in 1962; in San Francisco, United States
• * Biju Patnaik, Indian politician, chief minister of the Indian state of Odisha from 1961 to 1963 and 1990 to 1995; as Bijayananda Patnaik, in Cuttack, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India

  [March 6], 1916 (Monday)

• Battle of Verdun - Germany resumed attacks on the French line.
• Hohenzollern Redoubt - British and German forces clashed over one of the main craters created by underground explosives, known as the Triangle, in an attempt to regain control of the redoubt.
• Newton D. Baker, former Mayor of Cleveland, was appointed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson as Secretary of War.
• The 48th, 103rd, 104th and 105th Batteries were established as part of the expansion of the Royal Australian Artillery.
• Norwegian shipping company Finmarkens Amtsrederi was formed in Hammerfest, Norway, and would change to FFR when it began operating bus and ferry services.
• Died: George William Whitaker, 75, American painter, best known for his landscapes of Rhode Island, earning the title "Dean of Rhode Island Artists"

  [March 7], 1916 (Tuesday)

• The Royal Navy suffered two losses in the North Sea on the same day: destroyer HMS Coquette, which struck a mine and sank with the loss of 22 men, and submarine HMS E5, which struck a mine while attempting a rescue with a loss of all 31 of her crew.
• Senussi campaign - The bulk of the Western Frontier Force returned to the Egyptian port of Sidi Barrani.
• The German automobile company BMW was founded in Munich.
• Born:
• * Robert Atkinson, British naval officer and business executive, three-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and chairman of British Shipbuilders from 1980 to 1984; in Tynemouth, England
• * Frank Nabarro, English-born South African physicist, one of the developers of solid-state physics; in London, England
• * Clare Dennis, Australian swimmer, gold medalist at the 1932 Summer Olympics); as Clara Dennis, in Burwood, New South Wales, Australia
• Died: John Caldwell, 66, American politician, member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1897 to 1900

  [March 8], 1916 (Wednesday)

• Battle of Dujaila - An attempt to relieve defending British forces at Kut in what is now modern-day Iraq failed disastrously when a British relief force of 20,000 infantry and cavalry led by Lieutenant-General Fenton Aylmer was stopped by defending Ottoman forces half their size, thanks to the strategic command of German field marshal Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz. The British took 3,500 casualties while Ottoman forces sustained 1,290.
• Ross Sea party - The sledging party of the second arm of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was reduced to three walking members during their return trek from Mount Hope in the Antarctic, with expedition leader Aeneas Mackintosh, Arnold Spencer-Smith and Victor Hayward too ill to walk. With the load too much for the able-bodied, Mackintosh offered to stay behind while the rest hauled the other two sick men to Hut Point where they could be medically treated.
• The 43rd Australian Battalion was established as part of the expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force.
• Royal Navy destroyer HMS Negro was launched by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company in Jarrow, England, but it would not complete a year of service when it was sunk in December.

  [March 9], 1916 (Thursday)

• Germany declared war on Portugal.
• Fifth Battle of the Isonzo - An Italian offensive under command of General Luigi Cadorna was launched against Austro-Hungarian defenses around Gorizia and Tolmin in what is now northeastern Italy and southwestern Slovenia. The attacks were an attempt to distract the Central Powers from counter-offensives at the Battle of Verdun.
• Battle of Verdun - Germany attacked the commune of Cumières-le-Mort-Homme from Béthincourt, France.
• Mexican Revolution - Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa lead about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fought back and drove them away.
• Senussi campaign - The Western Frontier Force left Sidi Barrani and marched to capture Sollum, Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and their Senussi allies.
• Ross Sea party - Arnold Spencer-Smith, member of the second arm of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, died while en route to Hut Point for medical treatment for exhaustion and scurvy. He was buried in the ice by expedition members Ernest Joyce and Ernest Wild, who managed to transport fellow ill compatriot Victor Hayward to Hut Point for treatment.
• Born:
• * Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr., American politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Army; in Hickman, Kentucky, United States
• * Puey Ungphakorn, Thai economist, Governor for the Bank of Thailand from 1959 to 1971; in Bangkok, Siam
• Died: James Key Caird, 37, Scottish mathematician, one of the financiers for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition