4 February

Great War events that took place on 4 February.

1915 (Thursday)

Western Front	British casualties on Western Front to this date approximately 104,000.
Eastern front	▶ The Winter Battle in Masuria (East Prussia).	▶ Continued heavy fighting on Bzura-Ravka front; Russians cross Bzura and take positions near Dachova.	▶ Russians falling back in Bukovina.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	▶ Actions on the Suez Canal end.	▶ Turkish forces retreat into Sinai.
Naval and Overseas Operations	German attack on Kakamas (north-west Cape Colony) repulsed.
Political	German Government declare waters round the United Kingdom a "war region" as from 18 February.^[a]

Notes

↑ Quote from German declaration: "The waters around Great Britain and Ireland....are herewith proclaimed a war region. On and after February 18, every enemy merchant vessel found in this region will be destroyed without its always being possible to warn the crew and passengers....Neutral ships will also incur danger in the war-region, since....it cannot be guaranteed that attacks intended for enemy ships will not affect neutral ships also. Vessels sailing to the north of the Shetlands, in the eastern part of the North Sea, and in a zone at least 30 knots wide along the Netherlands coast, are not menaced by any danger."

Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.

On This Day pages are styled as timelines and have been transcribed from two out-of-copyright sources: Chronology of the War (1918-1920), and History of the Great War – Principle Events 1914-1918 (1922). The spelling of place-names is a particularly convoluted subject. Some names were spelt differently depending on source, others have changed over time for various political or geographical reasons. In general, spelling of place names are original to British use at the time of, and shortly after, the war. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Similar events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to their original texts.

Compendium entries form the central hub of (a) An index-like collection of places, people, ships, battles, political events, etc., and (b) Words and phrases of the Armed Forces of Great Britain during the Great War. The majority of these have been transcribed from Chronology of the War (1918-1920) and Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases (1925) respectively, the later which is reflected in the language used and some may seem derogatory by today's standards.

Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and does not come under the general licence of this site. Please be aware that some images, although very few, may depict distressing scenes.

Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent updated histories, present-day spellings, or geographical borders. It is also written from a British perspective, and words such as "enemy" are used extensively. For further details and a full list of sources, click here.

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[1] Quote from German declaration: "The waters around Great Britain and Ireland....are herewith proclaimed a war region. On and after February 18, every enemy merchant vessel found in this region will be destroyed without its always being possible to warn the crew and passengers....Neutral ships will also incur danger in the war-region, since....it cannot be guaranteed that attacks intended for enemy ships will not affect neutral ships also. Vessels sailing to the north of the Shetlands, in the eastern part of the North Sea, and in a zone at least 30 knots wide along the Netherlands coast, are not menaced by any danger."

[a]