by Alex Hook
January 1917
The fighting continues as American attempts to broker a peace fail.
1
Politics: Turkey declares its independence of suzerainty of European powers.
War at sea: Cunard liner Ivernia is sunk in the Mediterranean: 153 reported missing.
Field Marshal von Mackensen enters Bucharest after it fell to the Germans.
7
Eastern Front: Battle of the Aa in Lithuania. Limited russian attack as the Twelfth Amry unexpectedly attacked German positions along a 30 mile front.
9
Mesopotamia: British forces attack Khadairi Bend.
War at sea: In the Mediterranean HMS Cornwallis is sunk by enemy submarine: 13 lost.
10
Politics: Allies extensively state their peace objectives in response to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s peace note. They agree to a League of Nations but strongly refute that they bear any resemblence to the enemy’s behaviour, motives and objectives.
16
Politics: German Foreign Minister Zimmerman sends a telegram from Berlin to the German ambassador in Mexico urging him to do whatever he can to provoke war between Mexico and the U.S. In return Mexico will get the return of southwestern U.S. British intelligence intercepts the transmission and starts decoding it.
17
United States: The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
20
Balkans: The Romanians establish an effective front along the Sereth River.
22
United States: In Washington D.C. President Wilson calls for ‘peace without victory.’
Wilson has become convinced that both sides must cease fighting immediately and talk instead.
The Battle of the Ancre, 11-21 November 1916.
A British gun emplacement near Mametz. The German wicker shell-cases show that the position was recently taken. In the background a field battery is moving up to a new postion.
General Robert Nivelle won fame in command at Verdun and succeeded Joffre as commander-in-chief in December 1916.
23
War at sea: Action off Schouwen Bank, Harwich Force destroyer Simoom is torpedoed by S.50 between Maas and north Hinder LVs
25
United States: The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million.
28
United States: The United States ends the search for Pancho Villa.
31
War at sea: In Berlin Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare in the war zone as of 1 February. This way Germany attempts to starve Britain into submission before the U.S. becomes willing and able to intervene. Warns neutrals that all ships entering the zone will be sunk without warning.
February 1917
Austria-Hungary opens secret peace negotiations with France, while in Russia there is general unrest. Germany tries to break Britain and win a quick victory using submarine warfare.
3
United States: Due in part to continued German naval action the U.S. severs diplomatic relations with Germany and demands the return of 72 American sailors on board the British steamer Yarrowdale, captured by a German raider. The following day the German ambassador Count Von Bernstorff is handed his passports and the U.S. ambassador in Berlin is recalled.
With the ruins of the village of Contalmaison in the distance, two bands of men pass each other: a working party carrying picks and Australian machine-gunners leaving the trenches.
3
War at sea: American steamer Housatonic sunk by U-boat near the Scilly Islands off the southwest coast of England.
5
United States: British General Staff estimates that no more than 250,000 American soldiers could be in Europe even after a year – an error as will be seen.
The constitution of Mexico is adopted.
7
War at sea: SS California of the Anchor liner is sunk without warning off the Irish coast by a submarine: 46 reported lost, 160 survivors.
9
Western Front: Orders given for Operation ‘Alberich,’ where German troops withdraw 25 miles to the Hindenburg Line.
13
War at sea: White Star liner Afric is sunk by a German submarine.
17
Western Front: British troops on the Ancre capture German positions.
21
Western Front: Operation ‘Alberich’ starts.
German forces begin withdrawal to strong positions on the Hindenburg Line.
District of the Chemin des Dames and the river Aisne where Nivelle conducted his French offensive.
Guarded by a sentry a wrecked British R.E.8 lies beside a road near Boesinghe. The pilot escaped but the undercarriage was badly damaged and the propeller smashed.
The Fricourt road in the Somme area as one of the few thoroughfares was often congested with men and machines.
23
Western Front: No. 100 Sqn arrives in France as the first night bomber squadron. It is equipped with FE2b aircraft.
24
United States: U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Walter H. Page is handed Zimmermann Telegram by Britain. It details the German proposal of an alliance with Mexico against the U.S. if Mexico declares war on the U.S.
Western Front: The Germans are evacuate the villages of Pys, Petit Miraumont, Warlencourt and Serre.
Mesopotamia: Kut-el-Amara is evacuated by the Turks and they retreat toward Baghdad. Occupied by the British.
25
War at sea: Cunard liner SS Laconia, torpedoed and sunk off the Irish coast with losses including four Americans.
26
United States: President Woodrow Wilson requests permission from Congress to arm U.S. merchantmen. The Senate, led by La Follette of Wisconsin, refuse to grant Wilson power to wage an undeclared naval war.
28
United States: U.S. government makes public the Zimmermann Telegram from Germany to Mexico proposing an alliance, and offering as a reward the return of Mexico’s lost territories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
In 1917 ‘Blimps’ (non-rigid airships) could fly for 50 hours at speeds up to 50mph. The gondola is an adapted fuselage from a 90 horse power B.E. plane.
MARCH
Russian Revolution
March 1917
The February Revolution (so-called because it takes place in February according to the Russian Julian calendar) convulses Russia and overthrows the Czarist regime, damaging the willpower and ability of the Russian armed forces. Elsewhere the British fail in Palestine but prevail in Messopotamia.
1
United States: Details of the Zimmermann telegram are published in the U.S. press. An angry Congress debates the Armed Ship Bill.
3
United States: Mexico denies having received an offer from Germany suggesting an alliance.
Western Front: British advance on Bapaume.
4
United States: The U.S. Senate adjourns without passing Armed Ship Bill as requested by the President.
6
War at sea: Austria publicly stands by Germany’s U-boat policy of ruthless warfare.
7
United States: President Wilson decides to arm U.S. ships despite Congress’ refusal to agree.
9
Russian Revolution: Food riots in Petrograd, formerly St. Petersburg, Russia.
Sir Herbert Plumer (c-in-c Second Army), Sir Edmund Allenby (c-in-c Third Army) and Sir Henry Horne (c-in-c First Army), at Camblain Chatelain in February 1917.
Romanian machine-gunners in a snow-covered Moldavian wood in February 1917.
Aerial view of the Héninel section of the Hindenburg Line clearly shows the strength of the trench systems.
10
Russian Revolution: Russian Czar suspends sittings of the Duma – the Russian parliament.
11
Balkans: Battle of Lake Prespa. The Allies start the Spring Campaign in Macedonia by attacking from Salonika to the north and northwest
of Mostar.
Mesopotamia: Led by General Maude British forces capture Baghdad after three days of fighting.
12
United States: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces the arming of U.S. merchantmen by executive order after failing to win approval from Congress.
13
Russian Revolution: Moscow in hands of revolutionaries.
14
Politics: China breaks diplomatic relations with Germany.
War at sea: American steamer Algonquin torpedoed without warning.
15
Russian Revolution: Nicholas II abdicates on this day (2 March in Julian calendar).
Mesopotamian Front: British troops advance up the Tigris in spring 1917.
16
Russian Revolution: A provisional government is formed in Russia. Prince Lvoff heads the new cabinet. General Mikhail Alexeev becomes commander in chief.
17
Politics: In France the government of Aristide Briand falls.
Western Front: Bapaume falls to British. Roye and Lassigny are occupied by the French.
18
War at sea: U.S. ships City of Memphis, Illinois, and Vigilancia, sunk by German submarines.
Western Front: Peronne, Chaulnes, Nesle and Noyon evacuated by Germans, who retire on an 85-mile front.
19
War at sea: In the Mediterranean the French battleship Danton is torpedoed: 296 lost.
20
Politics: In France Alexander Ribot becomes French premier, succeeding Briand.
United States: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s war cabinet votes unanimously in favor of declaring war on Germany.
21
War at sea: U.S. ship Healdton bound from Philadelphia to Rotterdam, is sunk without warning: 21 men lost.
25
Mesopotamia: Battle of Jebel Hamrin starts with an Anglo-Russian move to encircle 15,000 Turkish soldiers. The attempt failed.
Demonstration in Nevsky Prospect, Petrograd, after the February Revolution of 1917. The banner reads ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’.
The 6in howitzer gave the British artillery superiority in Mesopotamia once the problems of climate and terrain were overcome by Sir Stanley Maude.
The Tigris between Amara and Baghdad.
26
Middle East: In Palestine the First Battle of Gaza begins. British cavalry troops retreat after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
Western Front: British start to advance on Cambrai.
29
Middle East: In Palestine British forces defeat 20,000 Turks.
United States: U.S. War College Division issues report on possible U.S. involvement in the war. States they would need a large trained force of between 500,000 and 1,000,000 men and (optimistically) estimate that at least ten months are needed to ship a force of 500,000 to Europe after recruiting and training. This puts earliest possible U.S. involvement to mid- to late-1918. They repeat that it is ridiculous to send an untrained American army overseas. President Wilson publicly calls for a national army to be ‘raised and maintained exclusively by selective draft.’.
31
Politics: The Danish West Indies become the Virgin Islands when Denmark transfers control over the islands to the U.S. after the purchase of the islands on 25 January for $25 million.
United States: Two British ships, Crispin and Snowdon Range, are torpedoed by U-boats: American passengers are killed.
Sir Stanley Maude entering Baghdad at the head of his troops after a three month campaign against the Turks. 11 March 1917.
Tsar Nicholas under guard at Tsarskoe Selo in the palace grounds. After the Tsar abduction on 15 March 1917, he was arrested and kept in the imperial palace at Tsarskoe Selo before being moved to Tobolsk in August.
APRIL
United States declares war on Germany
April 1917
In April the German submarine campaign exacts the heaviest damage of the war: 881,027 gross tons, 500,000 of which are British. In the skies the first week became known as ‘Bloody April.’ The RFC lost 75 aircraft in action and the average life expectancy of a pilot in France was two months. By the end of the month the RFC had lost a total of 150 aircraft and 316 aircrew, the French and Belgians 200 aircraft, and the Germans 370. Between April and August mutinies began to rumble in the French armies. The United States moves onto a war footing.
Limbers and lorries moving up a sunken road towards the front. German prisoners are helping to lay wounded men beside the road.
Curious as to how well the new British weapon manoeuvres, this captured tank is being tested for its climbing capability. It has already been painted in German livery.
Some of the first mobilized American troops marching through the streets of New York in April 1917.
1
War at sea: American armed ship, Aztec is sunk in the submarine zone.
2
United States: President Woodrow Wilson addresses Congress at 8:32pm. He cites: the damaging U-boat activity, the threat proposed by the Zimmerman telegram, the British need help, and – ‘The world must be made safe for democracy.’ He asks Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
4
United States: Wilson’s resolution is passed by by the Senate 82-6.
5
War at sea: American steamer Missourian is sunk in the Mediterranean by a German submarine.
6
United States: The United States declares war on Germany after being passed by the House 373-50 and signed by President Wilson. U.S. mobilization begins. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps possessed 54 aircraft, 48 officers and 239 enlisted men. The U.S. Army Aviation Section had less than 300 aircraft, none of them combat types, and only 35 qualified pilots. General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing is chosen to command the American Expeditionary Force.
7
Politics: Cuba and Panama declare war against Germany.
8
Politics: Austria-Hungary breaks diplomatic relations with the United States.
Russian Revolution: Lenin and other Bolshevik revolutionaries start their journey back to Russia.
German submariners rescue some of the crew of a merchant vessel they sunk only minutes before.
Infantry pass beside a captured communication trench; a battery of 18-pounder field guns is in action; in the far distance a squadron of cavalry moves up.
Struck by a floating mine, this merchant ship was an easy target, and in all probability sunk within minutes.
9
Politics: Brazil severs diplomatic relations with Germany.
Politics: Bolivia severs diplomatic relations with Germany.
Western Front: Start of the Nivelle Offensive starts with a British attack around Arras and ultimately ends in failure. The Arras offensive takes place on a 12-mile front from Hénin-sur-Cojeul to Givenchy-en-Gohelle.
Battle of Vimy Ridge. Capture of Vimy Ridge and the surrounding area, Givenchy, Bailleul and positions about Lens by Canadian troops: they take 6,000 prisoners.
14
United States: U.S. George Creel’s Committee for Public Information is set up to help sway U.S. public opinion on the side of the war.
16
Russian Revolution: Lenin arrives in Russia at Petrograd (St Petersburg) having been transported by the Germans.
Western Front: Start of the French part of the Nivelle Offensive – aka Second Battle of the Aisne – against German positions on the Chemin des Dames ridge. This plan of assault fails, destroying French morale. Casualties reach 150,000 by May 5 and will spark off mutinies in the French army. Nivelle is dismissed for his incompetence.
On Easter Day, 9 April 1917 where others had failed, the Canadians finally managed to capture Vimy Ridge.
17
Western Front: French tanks used for the first time in battle.
19
Middle East: Second Battle of Gaza. Attempt by British forces to breach the Turkish defensive line.
20
Politics:
Turkey breaks diplomatic relations with United States.
23
Mesopotamia: British forces occupy Samarrah, some 60 miles north of Baghdad and take 937 prisoners.
United States: The U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Turkey.
Western Front: Second phase of the Battle of Arras begins as the British attack north and south of the River Scarpe.
27
Politics: Guatemala breaks diplomatic relations with Germany.
War at sea: Submarine attacks force the Allies to divert shipping from the Suez Canal.
28
United States: U.S. Congress passes the Army Bill allowing conscription of American citizens.
29
Western Front: Serious outbreak of mutiny in the French Army – lasts until mid-June. They defend their lines but refuse to mount new assaults.
Canadian troops resting after capturing a German battery of high velocity guns. However, this gun was put out of action before the defenders fled.
