19151916

1915–1916 refers to the two-year span during World War I when major campaigns, diplomatic developments, and social upheavals reshaped the course of the war and its aftermath.

On the Western Front, trench warfare continued to dominate, with Verdun (February–December 1916) and the Battle of the Somme (July–November 1916) producing enormous casualties. The first use of tanks in combat occurred on September 15, 1916, during the Somme offensive, signaling a technological shift in battlefield warfare. Naval warfare also remained a critical aspect, with sustained U-boat activity affecting civilian shipping and Allied responses.

In the East, the Brusilov Offensive (June–September 1916) represented a major Russian offensive that achieved tactical gains but strained resources and shifted Allied concerns toward the Eastern Front. In the Mediterranean and Middle East, the Gallipoli campaign concluded with Allied withdrawal in January 1916. The Battle of Jutland (May–June 1916) stood as the largest naval engagement of the war.

Political and diplomatic developments included the Easter Rising in Ireland (April 1916) and the Sykes-Picot Agreement (May 1916), which outlined a postwar division of Ottoman territories and influenced Middle Eastern geopolitics for decades. The Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and continued into 1916, resulting in massive loss of life and displacement.

The United States maintained formal neutrality through most of 1915–16, with public opinion gradually shifting toward intervention; U.S. entry would come in 1917. Collectively, 1915–1916 marked a turning point in World War I, broadening the war’s geographic scope and setting the stage for postwar redrawing of political boundaries.