2 January

Great War events that took place on 2 January.

1915 (Saturday)

Eastern Front	▶ Russian success on the Bzura and Ravka rivers.	▶ Hard fighting near Gorlice.	▶ Russian progress near the Uzsok and Rostoka Passes.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	▶ Battle of Sarikamish continues.	▶ Urmia (North Persia) evacuated by Russian forces.^[a]
Naval and Overseas Operations	HMS Fox and HMS Goliath bombard Dar-es-Salaam.

1916 (Sunday)

Western Front	Bombardment of Hartmannsweilerkopf (Alsace).
Eastern Front	Heavy fighting north-east of Czernowitz.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres	Turks shell Kut-el-Amara.
Naval and Overseas Operations	P. & O. Geelong and Glengyle sunk in Mediterranean.

1917 (Tuesday)

Eastern Front	▶ Enemy attack repulsed near Zloczow (North-east Galicia).	▶ Continued heavy fighting in Moldovian mountains.	▶ Enemy advance between frontier and Focsani; Russian successful counter-attacks south-east of that town.	▶ Enemy advance Macin mountains.
Political	Ionel Brătianu, Premier of Rumania, reconstitutes Cabinet.

1918 (Wednesday)

Western Front	British repulse raid near La Bassée.
Eastern Front	▶ Central Committee of Soviets meet to receive reports of Peace pourparlers.	▶ German conditions denounced.
Southern Front	Austrians bomb Castelfranco, Veneto (West of Treviso) and hit hospitals.
Political	▶ Air Council established by Order in Council^[b]	▶ U.S.A.: Statement showing result of American War Mission in Europe issued.^[c]	▶ Newfoundland: Sir Edward Morris, Prime Minister resigns.

Notes

↑ This city was occupied by Russian forces before the outbreak of the War.
↑ Air Council established by Order of Council. Lord Rothermere is President and Secretary of State, and Major General Trenchard, Chief of Air Staff.
↑ Principle recommendations made by American delegates to Paris Conference are: 1) Constant and speedy despatch of American troops to Europe. 2) Speeding up of merchant ship building. 3) Close co-operation with other belligerents.

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] This city was occupied by Russian forces before the outbreak of the War.

[2] Air Council established by Order of Council. Lord Rothermere is President and Secretary of State, and Major General Trenchard, Chief of Air Staff.

[3] Principle recommendations made by American delegates to Paris Conference are: 1) Constant and speedy despatch of American troops to Europe. 2) Speeding up of merchant ship building. 3) Close co-operation with other belligerents.

[a]

[b]

[c]