May, 1915
There is no specific date, but any history of WWI that didn't mention it would be incomplete. The genocide perpetrated against the Armenians by the dying Ottoman Empire. In a bid to return the empire to it's glorious past as a world power, it was decided that Christians were first to be taxed, then enslaved, finally murdered without mercy, sometimes by gun or sword, sometimes by overwork and exhaustion. The world war, with Muslim Turkey on one side and Christian Russia on the other provided the perfect pretext for incredible violence against innocent bystanders caught between the two combatants. One of the greatest crimes against humanity, which has gone unpunished and is even being denied to this day, is getting underway 100 years ago today. Let's pause to remember their horror.
And reflect also on the evils of unbridled nationalism and religious chauvinism that the human race is so undeniably subject to.
Meanwhile, on May 25-26, the first submarine to reach the Aegean Sea torpedoes and sinks the British battleships Triumph and Majestic. The other six British battleships are withdrawn and render impossible any further naval assault in the Dardanelles.
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