The following events occurred in September 1918:
September 1, 1918 (Sunday) Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin – The Australian Second Division captured most of the commune Péronne, France. Second Battle of Bapaume – The New Zealand Division, with support by the British, captured Bancourt Ridge from the Germans to secure the town of Bapaume, France. The United States Army 28th Infantry Division defeated German forces after nearly a month of brutal street fighting that destroyed most of the commune of Fismes, France.A Fismes en 1918, j'étais là avec les Yanks , Tome 1, Cyrille Delozanne (). Ville de Fismes. Service Culturel. www.fismes.fr Battle of Baku – British Major-General Lionel Dunsterville, commander of the Allied force in Baku, Azerbaijan, met with leaders of the Centrocaspian Dictatorship and warned if the situation to hold the city from the Islamic Army of the Caucasus did not improve in the next few days, his force would withdraw. He was convinced to stay on until a White Army reinforcement of 600 troops arrived. The sports stadium Gressbanen opened in Oslo and became the home of the Ready sports club. The Stefan Batory School opened in Warsaw. Born: Joe L. Brown, American sports executive, general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 to 1976; in New York City (d. 2010) James D. Martin, American politician, U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1965 to 1967; in Tarrant, Alabama (d. 2017) M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi army officer, commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War; in Sunamganj District, British India (d. 1984) Igor Kaczurowskyj, Ukrainian poet and literary critic, known for literary criticisms including Literary Genres and Structure and European Literature of the Middle Ages, and poetry collections such as Mirrors of Eternity; in Nizhyn, Ukraine (d. 2013) Died: Leonard C. Bailey, 92–93, American entrepreneur and inventor, founder of one of the first African American banks (b. 1825) Francis Oats, 59, English industrialist, chairman of De Beers from 1908 to 1918 (b. 1848)
September 2, 1918 (Monday) Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin – Australian forces broke through the German line after capturing the rest of Péronne, France.Australian Government: Department of Veterans' Affairs 2008 Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line – The Canadian Corps attacked the German line between the French communes of Drocourt and Quéant, France. The Revolutionary Military Council of Soviet Russia was established, chaired by Leon Trotsky, to organize the disparate revolutionary militias into one established army. Born: Allen Drury, American journalist and novelist, recipient for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Advise and Consent; in Houston (d. 1998) Died: John Forrest, 71, Australian politician, first Premier of Western Australia (b. 1847)
September 3, 1918 (Tuesday)
Second Battle of Bapaume – The battle for Bapaume, France, ended with a victory for New Zealand over Germany, with 800 New Zealand soldiers killed and 2,300 wounded. Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin – German forces retreated back to the Hindenburg Line, ending the battle at a cost of 3,000 Australian casualties. Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line – Canadian troops forced the Germans to withdraw back to the Hindenburg Line; six Canadian soldiers received the Victoria Cross for action during the battle. Battle of San Matteo – Austro-Hungarian forces bombarded the San Matteo peak of the Ortler mountain in the Alps in an attempt to take it back from Italian forces. The attack failed with 17 men lost on the Austro-Hungarian side and 10 on the Italian side. The attack was the last offensive carried out by Austria-Hungary in World War I. At an altitude of 2,800 metres, it was the highest battle ever fought until a battle during Kargil War in 1999 was fought at 5,600 metres.Bönisch, Georg "Die toten Augen im Berg" [War in the eternal ice of the Alps] Der Spiegel 30 March 2004 (in German) The Imperial German Navy combined five squadrons to form the world's first navy fighter wing, the Royal Prussian Marine Jagdgeschwader, with Gotthard Sachsenberg as its first commanding officer. The Bolshevik government of Russia published the first official announcement of the Red Terror, a period of repression against political opponents, as an "Appeal to the Working Class" in the newspaper Izvestia. One of the first major executions was Fanny Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party who shot and wounded Vladimir Lenin five days earlier after resolving he was "a traitor to the Revolution". Tennis player Robert Lindley Murray defeated Bill Tilden 6–3, 6–1, 7–5 in the final to win his second consecutive title in the U.S. National Championship men's singles at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The Pike County Agricultural High School was established in Summit, Mississippi on the property of an earlier agricultural school opened in 1908. It began incorporating college level courses in 1929 and became a junior college in 1932. In 1988, it was granted full college status to become the Southwest Mississippi Community College. Born: Helen Wagner, American actress, best known for the role of Nancy Hughes in the television soap opera As the World Turns; in Lubbock, Texas (d. 2010) Died: Michael J. Garvin, 57, American architect, known for New York City landmarks such as the Haffen Building and the Bronx Borough Courthouse (b. 1861)
September 4, 1918 (Wednesday) The United States Army established the 95th Infantry Division at Camp Sherman, Ohio. Daily newspaper El País published its first edition in Montevideo, and initially was a mouthpiece for the National Party in Uruguay."Fundado el 14 de Setiembre de 1918" , El País (2011). Born: Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster, best known for The Rest of the Story radio segments; in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 2009) Gerald Wilson, American jazz musician and composer, renowned trumpeter and composer for Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington; in Shelby, Mississippi (d. 2014) John Carrick, Australian politician, cabinet minister of the Malcolm Fraser administration; in Sydney (d. 2018)
September 5, 1918 (Thursday) Kazan Operation – The Red Army launched an attack to recapture Kazan, Russia from the White Army. North Russia intervention – A second attempt by the British to invade Russian-held territory in East Karelia (located between Russia and Finland) ended in failure, resulting in a mutiny the following day. In all, 93 British soldiers were court-martialled.Churchill's Crusade: The British Invasion of Russia 1918–1920, Clifford Kinvig, London 2006, , pp. 259-262 U.S. Navy troopship USS Mount Vernon was hit by a torpedo by German submarine , killing 36 on-board and injuring another 13 in the attack. Accompanying American destroyers forced the submarine away, allowing emergency repairs to get underway that saved Mount Veron and allowed her to return to port under her own power. The United States Army established the 97th Infantry Division at Camp Cody, New Mexico. Born: Bob Katter Sr., Australian politician, cabinet minister for the William McMahon administration; in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (d. 1990) Died: Nikolay Maklakov, 46, Russian politician, Minister of the Interior from 1912 to 1915; executed (b. 1871)
September 6, 1918 (Friday) Revolutionary Military Council of Soviet Russia consolidated all of its 299 revolutionary militias under one army with Jukums Vācietis as commander-in-chief, leading to the official mobilization of the Red Army. North Russia intervention – Revolutionary leader Nikolai Tchaikovsky of the Northern Regional Government was ousted by the military in Arkhangelsk, Russia and incarcerated in a monastery on the nearby Solovetsky Islands.Administrative-Territorial Division of Murmansk Oblast, pp. 25–26 The United States Army Air Service established the First Army Observation Group at the Gondreville-sur-Moselle Aerodrome in France to support American forces in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.Series "C", Volume 8, History of the First Army Observation Group. Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917–1919, National Archives, Washington, D.C. The Canadian Northern Railway was nationalized after the private railroad declared bankruptcy, and later became part of Canadian National Railway. The Church of England established the Diocese of Coventry in England. The General Caballero Sport Club was established in Zeballos Cué, Paraguay, and almost immediately its football team starting playing at the Estadio Hugo Bogado Vaceque stadium built for 5,000 spectators the same year. Died: Elizabeth Yates, 78, New Zealand politician, mayor of Onehunga, New Zealand, first female mayor in the British Empire (b. 1845)
September 7, 1918 (Saturday) An earthquake measuring 8.1 in magnitude struck the Kuril Islands, Russia, triggering a tsunami that killed 23 people. The 1st Marine Aviation Force of the United States Marine Corps participated in its first mission with the Northern Bombing Group.Knapp, Walter, "The Marines Take Wing," Aviation History, May 2012, p. 52 The South Melbourne Swans defeated the Collingwood Magpies 9.8 (62) to 7.15 (57) to win the Grand Final of the 1918 VFL season. John Brian Christopherson published his discovery that antimony potassium tartrate was an effective cure for bilharzia, a disease caused by parasitic flatworms. The private Racquet and Tennis Club opened on Park Avenue in New York City. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Born: Joe Waggonner, American politician, U.S. Representative of Louisiana from 1961 to 1979; in Plain Dealing, Louisiana (d. 2007) Died: Morfydd Llwyn Owen, 26, Welsh composer, known for compositions inspired by Welsh folk music including "Gweddi'r Pechadur" and "Suo Gân" (b. 1891)
September 8, 1918 (Sunday) A state conference was held in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia, with 170 delegates attending to discuss strategies for overthrowing the Soviet government and establish an alternative Russian republic.Goldstein, Erik The First World War Peace Settlements, 1919-1925. Routledge 2013, p. 49 Born: Derek Barton, British chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research into chemical processes including the Barton reaction; in Gravesend, England (d. 1998) Ben Culwell, American artist, member of the abstract expressionism movement in the United States; in San Antonio, Texas (d. 1992) Died: Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan, 70, German clergy, founder of the Society of the Divine Savior (b. 1848) Mikael of Wollo, Ethiopian noble, 67–68, Ras of Wollo, Ethiopia under the monarchies of Yohannes and Menelik, father of Lij Iyasu (b. 1850)
September 9, 1918 (Monday) A Red Army force of 8,300 men under command of Mikhail Tukhachevsky attacked the People's Army of Komuch of 11,500 men at Simbirsk, Russia.Н.Е.Какурин, И.И.Вацетис Гражданская война. 1918-1921 (N.E.Kakurin, I.I.Vacietis Civil War. 1918-1921) Sankt-Peterburg: Polygon Publishing House, 2002. Kazan Operation – Soviet naval forces secured a bridgehead outside of Kazan, Russia while the Red Army attacked on two other fronts around the city. German submarine struck a mine in the North Sea and sunk with the all 39 crew on board. The Ministry of Education, Arts and Sciences was established as part of the Ministries of the Netherlands as a means to resolve the issue of public funding of religious schools. Born: Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italian state leader, 9th President of Italy; in Novara, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Italy) (d. 2012) Guy de Montlaur, French painter and soldier, member of the Commandos Marine during World War II, member of the cubism and expressionism movements in France, recipient of the Legion of Honour; in Biarritz, France (d. 1977)