September 6 in Military History

Benedict Arnold, now fighting for the British, led a raiding force of 1,700 troops against New London and the Groton Heights fort across the Thames River in his native Connecticut. The storming of Fort Griswold by the 40th and 54th Regiments cost 88 defenders killed, including many after surrender, and 35 British casualties. The port of New London and its privateer shipping were burned to ashes.

Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant, acting on his own initiative, occupied the strategically vital city of Paducah, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers. The bloodless seizure denied the Confederacy control of critical river access and demonstrated Grant's instinct for seizing the initiative, a quality that would distinguish him throughout the war.

Filipino guerrillas launched a surprise attack on Company C, 9th U.S. Infantry, at Balangiga on the island of Samar, killing 48 of 74 American soldiers. It was the worst U.S. military defeat in the Philippine-American War. In retaliation, Brigadier General Jacob H. Smith ordered his troops to turn Samar into a "howling wilderness," leading to widespread civilian suffering and a Congressional investigation.

Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley twice at close range during a public reception at the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley lingered for eight days before dying on September 14 of gangrene. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him, accelerating the expansion of US naval power and the creation of a global military posture.

Military Governor of Paris Joseph Gallieni requisitioned approximately 600 taxicabs to rush reserve troops to the front lines as the First Battle of the Marne reached its crisis point. The Allied counteroffensive halted the German advance just 30 miles from Paris.

The first true tank prototype, nicknamed Little Willie, underwent its first trial at William Foster and Company in Lincoln, England. Designed by William Tritton and Walter Wilson under the direction of the British Landships Committee, the 14-ton tracked vehicle used Bullock Creeping Grip tracks and a 105 horsepower Daimler engine. Development continued and produced the Mark I tanks that went into combat a year later.

The Union of South Africa declared war on Nazi Germany after a heated parliamentary debate in which Prime Minister J.B.M. Hertzog's proposal for neutrality was defeated. Jan Smuts replaced Hertzog as Prime Minister and immediately committed South African forces to the Allied cause. South African troops would fight with distinction in East Africa, North Africa, and Italy.

King Carol II of Romania abdicated under pressure from General Ion Antonescu, who had seized dictatorial powers the day before. Carol fled the country by train with his mistress Elena Lupescu, and his 18-year-old son Michael became king while Antonescu ran a fascist military regime. Romania aligned with Nazi Germany within weeks, committing its army to the invasion of the Soviet Union the following year.

A German decree went into effect requiring all Jews in German-occupied territories over the age of six to wear a yellow Star of David badge on their clothing at all times. The decree, which applied across Nazi-occupied Europe, was a critical step in the systematic persecution that would culminate in the Holocaust, the murder of six million Jews.

Germany launched the first V-2 ballistic missiles in combat, targeting Paris. The V-2, developed by Wernher von Braun at Peenemünde, was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile, traveling at over 3,500 mph, too fast to intercept. Over the following months, more than 3,000 V-2s would be launched against London, Antwerp, and other Allied targets, killing over 9,000 people.