September 1915

September

• 01

  • Germany gives way on submarine warfareOn 1 September 1915 Ambassador Bernstorff assured Secretary of State Lansing in writing that German submarines would not sink liners without warning.
  • French occupy Ruad islandOn 1 September 1915 French sailors occupied Ruad (Arwad) off the Syrian coast. It became a base for blockading the Ottoman coast and for intelligence.
• 03

  • Germans take GrodnoDuring the night of 2–3 September 1915 the Germans forced the Niemen and took Grodno after street fighting. The next night the Russians gave up the last forts.
• 05

  • Key eventNicholas II takes supreme commandOn 5 September 1915 Nicholas II arrived at the Stavka in Mogilev and took command of the army. Grand Duke Nicholas left; Alekseyev became chief of staff.
  • Second skirmish at Hafiz KorOn 5 September 1915 British and Indian troops routed thousands of Mohmands at Shabkadar and Hafiz Kor. It was the largest battle on the frontier since 1897.
• 06

  • Alliance treaty signed in SofiaOn 6 September 1915 Bulgaria made a secret alliance with Germany in Sofia and a military convention at Pless. For attacking Serbia it was to get Macedonia.
• 07

  • Start of the Battle of TarnopolOn 7 September 1915 the Russians struck from bridgeheads on the Seret, routed an Austro-Hungarian brigade, took German guns and pushed the enemy to the Strypa.
• 08

  • Grand Duke Nicholas becomes Viceroy of the CaucasusRemoved as commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich became Viceroy of the Caucasus and commander of the Caucasus Army. He left Stavka on 7 September.
  • Failed assault on MoraOn 8 September 1915 General Cunliffe's troops stormed Mora mountain in northern Kamerun. The attack broke down a few dozen metres from the German sangars.
• 09

  • Start of the Battle of DvinskOn 9 September 1915 the right wing of the German Niemen Army set off for Dvinsk, to reach the Dvina and cover the attack on Vilna from the north.
  • Start of the Battle of VilnaOn 9 September 1915 the German 10th Army struck north of Vilna, into the gap between two Russian armies. General Garnier's cavalry pushed into the breach.
  • Renewed attack on BushehrOn 9 September 1915 several hundred Tangistanis attacked the British lines at Bushehr. They were repulsed after hours of fighting that saw a cavalry charge.
  • Border convention at DidymoteichoIn September 1915 Turkey agreed to cede Didymoteicho and the Maritsa valley with the railway to Dedeagach to Bulgaria. News of the new border reached the West.
  • US demands the recall of Ambassador DumbaOn 9 September 1915 the US demanded the recall of Austro-Hungarian ambassador Konstantin Dumba, who had proposed strikes in American munitions plants.
• 16

  • Germans take PinskIn mid-September 1915 the German Army of the Bug took Pinsk in Polesia. The Russians fell back behind the Yaselda and the Ogiński Canal into the Pripet marshes.
  • Battle of Tarnopol endsOn 16 September 1915 Ivanov ended his counter-offensive and pulled back to the Seret. The Russians had halted the Austro-Hungarian offensive in East Galicia.
• 18

  • Germans take VilnaOn 18 September 1915 the Germans entered Vilna, left by the Russians overnight. The Polish-Jewish city, once capital of Lithuania, came under German rule.
• 21

  • Bulgaria decides to mobiliseOn 21 September 1915 Radoslavov's government decided to mobilise the army. The British chronology speaks of partial mobilisation, but the decree was general.
  • Venizelos asks for 150,000 Entente troopsOn 21 September 1915 Venizelos asked France and Britain for 150,000 troops. They were to replace the Serbs, who could not field them against Bulgaria.
• 22

  • Dedeagatch agreementOn 22 September 1915 Sofia announced the terms of its pact with Turkey. Bulgaria got the Maritsa valley and the whole railway to the Aegean port of Dedeagatch.
  • Bulgaria announces general mobilisationLate in the evening of 22 September 1915 Tsar Ferdinand signed the decree for general mobilisation. Radoslavov gave assurances of "armed neutrality".
  • Order for the second advance on JaundeOn 22 September 1915 Gen. Dobell issued orders for a new advance on Jaunde in Kamerun. The British and French columns were to set off on 6 October.
• 23

  • Greece announces mobilisationOn 23 September 1915 King Constantine I signed the decree mobilising the Greek army. Venizelos was preparing for war; the King wanted armed neutrality.
  • Agreement with the Netherlands Overseas TrustOn 23 September 1915 London and the Netherlands Overseas Trust agreed import limits on fodder, fats, oils and wool. The Netherlands was put on British rations.
• 24

  • Entente promises troops to GreeceOn 24 September 1915 the French and British ministers assured Venizelos that their countries would send 150,000 men. The first were to come from Gallipoli.
• 25

  • Key eventBattle of Loos beginsOn 25 September 1915 the British attacked at Loos behind chlorine gas, taking the village, Hill 70 and the Hohenzollern Redoubt, but reserves were too far back.
  • Key eventThird Battle of Artois beginsOn 25 September 1915 the French Tenth Army again attacked Vimy Ridge. The left wing reached Souchez, but on the rest of the front the attack broke down.
  • Key eventSecond Battle of Champagne beginsOn 25 September 1915 two French armies attacked in Champagne. They took the German first line and 14,000 prisoners, but the second position stopped the attack.
  • James Wolfe Murray dismissedOn 25 September 1915 Gen. James Wolfe Murray ceased to be Chief of the Imperial General Staff. For almost a year he had remained in Kitchener's shadow.
  • Bulgaria begins mobilisationIn late September 1915 hundreds of thousands of reservists poured into Bulgarian barracks. Rifles and uniforms were short, and zeal was lower than in 1912.
  • Serbia promises Dojran and Gevgelija to GreeceUnder 25 September 1915 the British chronology records that Serbia promised Greece the Dojran and Gevgelija area. Pašić hoped to win Greek help this way.
• 26

  • Archibald Murray becomes Chief of the Imperial General StaffOn 26 September 1915 Gen. Archibald Murray became Chief of the Imperial General Staff. For three months he tried to give the General Staff its voice back.
• 27

  • Constantine agrees to the Salonika expeditionOn 27 September 1915 Venizelos told the British that the King had agreed to Entente troops at Salonika. Officially, Constantine I was to know nothing.
  • Explosion of the battleship Benedetto BrinOn 27 September 1915 the Italian battleship Benedetto Brin blew up in the harbour of Brindisi. More than 450 men were killed. Austrian sabotage was suspected.
• 28

  • British win at KutOn 28 September 1915 Townshend's division skirted the marshes by night and took the Turkish redoubts at Es Sinn. That night the Turks fell back up the Tigris.
  • Dumba recalled from the United StatesOn 28 September 1915 the State Department asked Britain and France for safe conduct for Ambassador Dumba, whom Vienna had finally recalled from Washington.
  • Greece rejects the offer of Entente troopsOn 28 September 1915 Athens thanked London for its offer of troops, deeming them unnecessary for now. A day later the Greeks asked for this reply to be ignored.
  • Subsidy for PersiaOn 28 September 1915 Britain and Russia agreed to Persia's request for a monthly subsidy. The money was to keep the Tehran government on the Entente side.