Great War events that took place on 31 August.
1914 (Monday)
| Western Front | ▶ Germans reach Givet. | ▶ French Army holds the line Aisne-La Vesle-Reims-Verdun. | ▶ Battle of the Grande Couronne of Nancy (31 August–11 September) |
| Eastern Front | ▶ East Prussia: Alexander Samsonov commits suicide during Russian rout; Paul von Rennenkampf forced to begin a retreat to the frontier. | ▶ Galicia: Austrian line broken near Halicz. |
Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Compendium.
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.