7 September

Great War events that took place on 7 September.

1914 (Monday)

Western Front	▶ Battle of the Marne (continued). Struggle on the River Ourcq and the Petit-Morin.	▶ Mauberge captured by the Germans with many prisoners and guns.	▶ Sir John French's first despatch (published on 9 September).^[a]
Eastern Front	Galicia: Fresh struggle round Grodek: Russian cavalry reach the Carpathians.
Southern Front	Second Austrian invasion of Serbia begins: the River Drina crossed in force.
Naval and Overseas Operations	▶ East Africa: German reverse near Tsavo.	▶ Pacific cable cut between Banfield and Fanning Island by SMS Nürnberg.

1915 (Tuesday)

Home Front	Zeppelin air raid on East Suffolk and London begins.

Notes

↑ Sir John French's first despatch covers the period since the landing of British troops (1st Corps, 1st and 2nd Divisions; 2nd Corps, 3rd and 5th Divisions and 1st Cavalry Division) in France up to their retirement to the Oise (28 August) on the line Noyon–Chaulny–La Fère. It describes the battles of Mons (23 August), Landrecies (25 August), Le Cateau (26 August), together with the arrival of the 4th Division on the 23rd, and the general retreat necessitated by the overwhelming German forces, and the movements of the French troops who assisted in this theatre. Sit H. Smith-Dorrien and the Royal Flying Corps specially singled out for distinction.

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] Sir John French's first despatch covers the period since the landing of British troops (1st Corps, 1st and 2nd Divisions; 2nd Corps, 3rd and 5th Divisions and 1st Cavalry Division) in France up to their retirement to the Oise (28 August) on the line Noyon–Chaulny–La Fère. It describes the battles of Mons (23 August), Landrecies (25 August), Le Cateau (26 August), together with the arrival of the 4th Division on the 23rd, and the general retreat necessitated by the overwhelming German forces, and the movements of the French troops who assisted in this theatre. Sit H. Smith-Dorrien and the Royal Flying Corps specially singled out for distinction.

[a]