28th March 1915
Western Front
French repulse all counter-attacks at Les Eparges.
Eastern Front
Attempted renewal of offensive by Germans in northern Poland.
Failure of Austrian attacks and progress by Russians in the Carpathians.
Naval and Overseas Operations
German submarine torpedoes and sinks S.S. "Falaba". The Thrasher incident, as it became known in U.S. media, nearly became the start of America's involvement in World War I. On March 28, 1915, the British steamship RMS Falaba was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-28. In the incident, 104 people were killed, including one American passenger — Leon Chester Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer from Massachusetts.
Russian Black Sea fleet bombards the forts on the Bosporus.
Smyrna forts shelled.
Bombardment of the Dardanelles by Allied warships resume; there is little return fire from the Ottoman side.
Crews fail to raise the U.S. submarine F-4, which sank 2 days ago off Honolulu; rescuers now believe all 21 submariners are dead.
Political etc.
German government condemns the British for attacking the German cruiser Dresden, which sank off the coast of Chile, in neutral waters.
Greek government issues an official statement stating there is no need to abandon the country’s neutrality.
Typhoid Mary, asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen who infected 51 people, is quarantined for the rest of her life.
Ship Losses:
Falaba ( United Kingdom): The ocean liner was torpedoed and sunk in St. George's Channel 38 nautical miles (70 km) west of the Smalls Lighthouse by U-28 ( Kaiserliche Marine with the loss of 104 lives.[55] Survivors were rescued by three trawlers, amongst them Eileen Emma and Wenlock (both United Kingdom).
Cattle is herded to the butcher: provision for Austrian troops in the Carpathians.
