May 4-16, 1912
Aegean Sea Italian troops seize Rhodes and other islands.
May 4, 1915
Western Front Following the Germans’ second use of gas at Ypres and an attack thwarted by French artillery, General Plumer completes the withdrawal of his troops, ending the fight for St. Julien. The French advance near Lizerne; the Germans capture Zonnebeke and Zevenkote. Describing the effects of the gas, a German officer writes, “The whole countryside is yellow…A curious sour, heavy, penetrating smell strikes me.”
Eastern Front The Russians make a stand on the Visloka River. German 11th Army advances rapidly as the Russian 3rd Army retreats toward the San.
Dardanelles A British attack at Gaba Tepe fails. Another Turkish attack at Cape Helles fails.
May 4, 1916
Macedonia After two earlier Zeppelin raids, the Allies have augmented their air defenses, so that when LZ-85 appears for a third bombing raid, anti-aircraft fire brings it down in ruins. The crew sets it aflame.
Mesopotamia Kalil ships the 420 British officers captured at Kut by steamer to Baghdad, the first stage of their journey to Anatolia. Most of the regular soldiers will march overland. General Townshend alone is destined for Constantinople and relatively comfortable captivity on an island in the Sea of Marmara.
May 4, 1917
Western Front French troops take Craonne.
Allied Panning Allied political and military leaders meet in Paris to confer on strategy. Lloyd George and other British representatives make known their concern over shipping losses and their desire tho drive the Germans out of Belgium, from which U-Boats launch their attacks out of the harbors at Zeebrugge and Ostend.
Mediterranean Two British transports are torpedoed; 690 men are lost.
Russia The government narrowly survives a vote of confidence.
May 4, 1918
Macedonia Serbian troops take and hold advanced Bulgarian positions in the Dobropolje sector.
May 4, 1919
China Student demonstrations in Peking protesting the Peace Conference’s weak response to Japanese bullying in China mark an upsurge in Chinese nationalism and a move toward a populist base rather than intellectual elites.
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