Western Front
Battle of the Somme: Fourth major joint Allied push to aid Rumania. At 1200 hours French Sixth Army attacks north of Somme, captures most of Ciery and German defences along road north to Le Forest and Le Forest village, but at junction with BEF (on extreme left) little help possible and Germans launch strong counter-attacks (September 4).
Battle of Guillemont sub-phase of the Battle of the Somme begins (until September 6): large-scale British attack, 20th Division captures Guillemont and part of Mouquet Farm.
Battle of Pozieres sub-phase of the Battle of the Somme Ridge ends. Continuous fighting near Falfemont Farm. British attacks on Schwaben Redoubt and High Wood fail.
Battle of Verdun: German attack fails on Vaux-Chapitre defences. French gradual if costly advances (until September 13).
Ypres: I Canadian Corps hands sector to I Anzac Corps and is switched to Somme.
British naval air squadron effectively attacks Ghistelles (five miles south-east Ostend).
The “Zeppelin” SL 11 in flames in the night sky. All crewmembers were killed:
http://imgur.com/39JreZM
Margaret Lloyd George inspecting the ruins of “Zeppelin” SL 11:
http://imgur.com/neGsJva © IWM (Q 73559)
“Zeppelin” is in quotes, because the British consistently referred to all German dirigibles as “Zeppelins”. In reality, the initials S-L stand for Schüte-Lanz, the manufacturer of the dirigible in question. As a further note, it seems that members of any particular nation are systematically incapable of correctly identifying another nations’s military equipment-witness the Germans constantly mis-identifying the Royal Aircraft Factory F. E. 2 as a “Vickers” (similar configuration, but the Vickers was an early pusher type that had long since been withdrawn from front-line service).
Eastern Front
Brusilov Offensive, Carpathians: Lechitski success near Dorna Watra, takes 4,500 PoWs southeast of Halicz (September 5). Russians close to Zlota Lipa capture position near Brzezany, taking many prisoners. Near Orsova on Danube, Austro-Hungarians withdraw to west bank of Cherna.
Dobruja: Mackensen’s tri-national Danube Army invades Rumania.
Constanza (Romania) bombed.
Naval and Overseas Operations
Germany: Unrestricted U-boat warfare to be postponed until peace initiative (Pless council, Chancellor, Admiral Holtzendorff, Hindenburg and Ludendorff present).
East Africa: Dar-es-Salaam, capital of German East Africa, surrenders to British Naval Forces.
Political, etc.
United States: President Wilson signs the Adamson Act, which mandates an eight-hour day and extra pay for overtime work for interstate railroad workers.