Great Britain
The United Kingdom in the First World War →Tag
(967)1917
January
- 03
- Anglo-Portuguese military conventionOn 3 January 1917 Portugal and Britain signed a convention on a corps for France, to fight under British command. The first troops arrived in February.
- Fighting at Beho-Beho beginsOn 3 January 1917 Smuts's columns caught the Germans at Beho-Beho, north of the Rufiji, and Beves's brigade crossed the river. The ring began to close.
- 24
- Greece apologises to the AlliesOn 24–25 January 1917 Greece dismissed General Kallaris and formally apologised to the Entente ministers for 1 December. The flags were saluted on 29 January.
- Allied naval conference in LondonOn 23–24 January 1917 the admiralties of Britain, France and Italy met in London on defending Mediterranean shipping. Much was said of the lack of ships.
February
- 01
- Unrestricted submarine warfare beginsOn 1 February 1917 German submarines began sinking ships without warning around the British Isles. Neutral shipowners kept their ships in port.
- Petrograd ConferenceOn 1 February 1917 a conference of Russia, Britain, France and Italy met in Petrograd. It was to agree the 1917 offensives and arms deliveries to Russia.
- 25
- Start of the pursuit to BaghdadOn 25 February 1917 Maude's troops and gunboats moved up the Tigris after the Turks retreating from Kut. At Imam Mahdi a Turkish rearguard held them up.
- Raid on Margate and BroadstairsOn the night of 25 February 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders shelled seaside towns in Kent. According to the Admiralty a woman and a child were killed.
March
April
- 09
- Key eventBattle of Arras (1917) beginsOn Easter Monday, 9 April 1917, the British and Canadians attacked at Arras. In one day they advanced 5 km and took thousands of prisoners.
- Key eventAssault on Vimy RidgeOn 9 April 1917, in a snowstorm, four Canadian divisions attacked Vimy Ridge. By evening they held almost all of it except the highest point, Hill 145.
- 17
- Second Battle of Gaza beginsOn 17 April 1917 British infantry crossed the Wadi Ghazze and, at little cost, took the Sheikh Abbas and Mansura ridges, from which they were to storm Gaza.
- Sinking of the Lanfranc and DonegalOn 17 April 1917 German submarines sank two ships carrying wounded from Le Havre in the Channel. The Lanfranc also carried 167 wounded German prisoners.
- 24
- British take SamarraOn 23–24 April 1917 the British took the station and town of Samarra, railhead of the line from Baghdad. Heat ended Maude's spring campaign in Mesopotamia.
- Battle of Doiran beginsOn the evening of 24 April 1917 the British attacked Bulgarian positions west of Lake Dojran. The Bulgarians, forewarned, repelled most of the attack.
May
June
July
- 06
- Arabs capture AqabaOn 6 July 1917 the Arab rebels of Sharif Nasir, Auda Abu Tayi and Lawrence entered Aqaba from inland. The revolt gained a port near the Palestine front.
- Canadian House of Commons passes conscriptionEarly on 6 July 1917 the Canadian House of Commons passed the conscription bill at second reading, 118 votes to 55. Laurier's referendum motion failed.
- 19
- Battle of NarungombeOn 19 July 1917 the Kilwa columns assaulted the German trenches at Narungombe all day. The Germans withdrew at night, but the British lost more than 600 men.
- Carson leaves the AdmiraltyIn July 1917 Edward Carson moved from the Admiralty to the War Cabinet. The railwayman and organiser Eric Geddes became First Lord of the Admiralty.
August
September
- 04
- First Gotha night raid on LondonOn the night of 4 September 1917 Gothas bombed London after dark for the first time. A bomb hit a tram by Cleopatra's Needle. In the capital 16 people died.
- Shelling of Scarborough (1917)On the evening of 4 September 1917 the German submarine UB-21 shelled Scarborough in Yorkshire with its deck gun. Three people were killed and several wounded.
October
- 19
- Battle of Mahiwa endsOn 19 October 1917 the fighting at Mahiwa died down. The British lost about 2,700 men; the victorious Lettow-Vorbeck could not replace his losses or ammunition.
- The Silent RaidOn the night of 19 October 1917 eleven airships set out for England. A bomb fell on Piccadilly Circus, and a gale carried four of them over France.
November
- 07
- British take GazaOn 7 November 1917 the British entered Gaza, abandoned by the Turks, and broke their front at Tel esh Sheria. The pursuit northwards began.
- Rapallo ConferenceOn 5–7 November 1917 the British, French and Italian prime ministers met at Rapallo to save Italy after Caporetto and set up the Supreme War Council.
- 15
- Alsace and Lorraine a war aimOn 15 November 1917 Lord Robert Cecil assured the Commons that the return of Alsace and Lorraine to France had been a British war aim from the outset.
- Japan refuses to send battlecruisersOn 15 November 1917 Tokyo rejected a British request for two Japanese Kongō-class battlecruisers to join the Grand Fleet in the North Sea.
- 29
- Great Inter-Allied conference in ParisOn 29 November 1917 the great Inter-Allied Conference met in Paris, with the Americans taking part for the first time. Clemenceau's watchword was "to work".
- The Air Force ActOn 29 November 1917 the British Air Force Act received royal assent. It paved the way for merging the army and navy air services into the RAF.
- 30
- German counter-attack at CambraiOn 30 November 1917 the German Second Army struck the British salient at Cambrai. In the south it took Gouzeaucourt and 158 guns; at Bourlon it was repulsed.
- Allied Naval CouncilOn 29–30 November 1917 an Allied naval conference in Paris decided to set up a permanent Allied Naval Council to co-ordinate the war at sea.
December
- 03
- End of the Battle of CambraiOn 3 December 1917 the Germans took La Vacquerie and the Marcoing canal bend, and Haig ordered the Bourlon Wood salient abandoned for Flesquières Ridge.
- Allied Maritime Transport CouncilOn 3 December 1917 a conference in Paris decided that the Allies would allocate their ships jointly. This gave rise to the Allied Maritime Transport Council.
- 21
- Start of the Battle of JaffaOn the night of 20/21 December 1917 the Scottish 52nd Division crossed the Auja north of Jaffa. The surprised Turks lost all the hills above the river by dawn.
- Creation of the Air CouncilOn 21 December 1917 an Order in Council of King George V set the membership of the Air Council, which was to run an air force independent of the army and navy.
- 22
- End of the Battle of JaffaOn 22 December 1917 XXI Corps advanced past the Yarkon, pushing the Turks back to Arsuf against little resistance. Jaffa and its port were out of Turkish range.
- Changes in Haig's staffOn 22 December 1917 BEF Quartermaster-General Ronald Maxwell stood down for Travers Clarke. After Cambrai the government forced Haig to change his staff.
- 30
- End of the defence of JerusalemOn 30 December 1917 the British took Beitin north of Jerusalem, and General Chetwode halted the advance. The Palestine campaign of 1917 was over.
- Sinking of the troopship AragonOn 30 December 1917 off Alexandria UC-34 torpedoed the troopship Aragon, bound for Palestine, and the destroyer Attack rescuing survivors. About 620 died.