March 5—Allies report that six, possibly seven, German submarines have been sunk since beginning of the war; two Captains of British merchant ships claim prize for sinking German submarines; British Admiralty informs shipping interests that a new mine field has been laid in the North Sea; Germans report a French ammunition ship sunk at Ostend; Japanese report that the schooner Aysha, manned by part of the crew of the Emden, is still roving the Indian Ocean; there is despair in Constantinople as Dardanelles bombardment continues; Russian Black Sea fleet is steaming toward the Bosporus; allied fleet is bombarding Smyrna.
March 6—British ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince George attack strong Dardanelles forts, they blow up one and damage two; allied landing party suffers loss; Asia Minor ports are being shelled; one-third of the Dardanelles reported clear of Turkish mines; concentration of Turkish fleet reported; Germans state that a submarine, reported by the Captain of British merchantman Thordis to have been sunk by his vessel, escaped; German Embassy at Washington expresses regret over torpedo attack on British hospital ship Asturias in February, stating that the attack, which did no harm, was due to mistake.
March 7—Queen Elizabeth and other ships continue bombardment of Dardanelles forts.
March 8—Allied fleet forces its way further into Dardanelles, British ships opening direct fire on main Turkish positions; more forts are silenced; most of the Allies’ ships are hit, but little damage is done; effective fire at 21,000 yards against batteries on the Asiatic side; seaplanes are being much used for locating concealed guns; it is reported from Petrograd that when the allied fleets began the forcing of the Dardanelles a Russian ship was invited to head the column, and did so; ports on the Black Sea are destroyed by Russians; British Admiralty announces that prisoners from U-8 will be segregated under special restrictions, and they may be put on trial after the war because of German submarine methods; British collier Bengrove sunk in Bristol Channel by torpedo or mine.
March 9—German submarines sink three British merchantmen, thirty-seven men going down with one ship; Military Governor of Smyrna says that British have bombarded unfortified villages; another British superdreadnought joins allied fleet at Dardanelles; French transports are on way with troops; Turks lose coal supply by Russian bombardment of Zunguldiak; report from Berlin that German submarine U-16 has sunk five merchantmen; British Admiralty states that German submarines, from Jan. 21 to March 3, sank fifteen British steamships out of a total of 8,734 vessels above 300 tons arriving at or departing from British ports in that period; more mines planted near Denmark.
March 10—German auxiliary cruiser Prince Eitel Friedrich anchors at Newport News for repairs and supplies; she brings passengers and crews of eleven merchant ships sunk by her in a cruise of 30,000 miles, including crew of American sailing ship William P. Frye, bound from Seattle to Queenstown with wheat, sunk on Jan. 28, despite protests of the Frye’s Captain; more Dardanelles forts are reduced; batteries on Eren-Keui Heights silenced; British sink German submarine U-12; British collier Beethoven sunk.