March 1917

March

• 01

  • Hospital ship Glenart Castle damagedOn 1 March 1917 the hospital ship Glenart Castle, carrying over 500 wounded from France, struck a mine in the Channel. Everyone was saved and the ship survived.
• 02

  • Russians retake HamadanOn 2 March 1917 Baratov's Russians returned to Hamadan. The Turkish XIII Corps left the town without a fight, recalled to save Baghdad after the fall of Kut.
• 03

  • Zimmermann admits the telegramOn 3 March 1917 Berlin confirmed that the Zimmermann Telegram was genuine. American talk of a British forgery died down, and Germany defended its offer.
• 07

  • Crossing of the DiyalaOn 7 March 1917 the British reached the Diyala near Baghdad. Two night crossings collapsed under Turkish fire, and the river was forced only on 10 March.
• 08

  • Death of Ferdinand von ZeppelinOn 8 March 1917 Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin died in Berlin, aged 78. He created the rigid airships with which Germany bombed England and France.
  • Strikes and demonstrations in PetrogradOn 8 March 1917, Women's Day, the women workers of Petrograd took to the streets demanding bread. Within four days the protest drew in hundreds of thousands.
• 11

  • Key eventBritish take BaghdadOn 11 March 1917 Maude's troops entered Baghdad unopposed, the Turks having left it overnight. It was Britain's greatest success in the Middle East so far.
  • Start of the March offensive in MacedoniaOn 11 March 1917 the French 76th Division attacked between Lakes Ohrid and Prespa to outflank the enemy at Bitola. The attack at once bogged down in snow.
  • Russians retake KermanshahOn 11 March 1917, the day Baghdad fell, Baratov's Russians entered Kermanshah. The Turkish rearguard fell back westwards, towards the border with Iraq.
• 12

  • Key eventFebruary RevolutionOn 12 March 1917 the Petrograd garrison joined the strikers. Tsarist rule in the capital collapsed; a Duma Committee and a Soviet arose in the Tauride Palace.
  • United States arms its merchant shipsOn 12 March 1917 the State Department informed foreign governments that American ships sailing through the war zone would get guns and crews from the Navy.
  • London conference on the commandOn 12–13 March 1917 in London the British and French clarified the Calais agreement. Haig was to keep Nivelle informed but did not hand over his armies.
• 13

  • Fall of the Golitsyn governmentThe last tsarist government fell apart on the night of 12–13 March 1917. The Duma Committee took power; ministers such as Protopopov and Belyaev were arrested.
• 14

  • Main German retreat to the Hindenburg Line beginsOn 14 March 1917 the British noticed the Germans leaving their trenches in St Pierre Vaast Wood. The main retreat to the Hindenburg Line was beginning.
  • China breaks off relations with GermanyOn 14 March 1917 China broke off relations with Germany in protest against submarine warfare. The German minister Paul von Hintze was given his passports.
  • Action at MushahidaOn 14 March 1917 the British 7th Division drove the Turkish rearguard from Mushahida station on the Baghdad–Samarra line. The Black Watch lost 43% of its men.
  • Order No. 1On 14 March 1917 the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1. Soldiers were to elect committees, control weapons and obey above all the Soviet, not their officers.
  • Lyautey resignsOn 14 March 1917 the Chamber of Deputies shouted down War Minister Lyautey when he said a debate on aviation endangered national defence. He resigned at once.
• 15

  • Key eventAbdication of Nicholas IILate on 15 March 1917 at Pskov Nicholas II gave up the throne for himself and his son in favour of his brother Michael. The next day Michael declined the crown.
  • Formation of the Provisional GovernmentOn 15 March 1917 Milyukov announced the Provisional Government, led by Prince Lvov. It arose from an agreement of the Duma Committee and the Petrograd Soviet.
• 16

  • Sinking of the raider LeopardOn 16 March 1917 north of the Shetlands the cruiser Achilles and the steamer Dundee sank the raider Leopard, formerly Yarrowdale. None of over 300 men survived.
  • Baltic Fleet mutinyOn the evening of 16 March 1917 the battleship crews mutinied at Helsingfors. Baltic Fleet sailors killed dozens of officers, and the next day its commander.
• 17

  • British take BapaumeOn 17 March 1917 the Australians entered burning Bapaume, goal of the Somme battle. The Germans gave it up without a fight, falling back to the Hindenburg Line.
  • French take RoyeOn 17 March 1917 the French advance guard entered Roye, ruined by the Germans. About 800 inhabitants whom the occupiers had not deported awaited the troops.
  • Fall of the Briand governmentOn 17 March 1917 Aristide Briand, French prime minister since October 1915, resigned with his cabinet. After Lyautey left he found no new war minister.
  • Airship L 39 destroyedAt dawn on 17 March 1917, after a failed raid on England, French anti-aircraft guns shot down the airship L 39 over Compiègne. The whole crew was killed.
  • Russians take KerendIn mid-March 1917 Baratov's Russians reached Kerend on the road from Kermanshah to Baghdad. Ahead lay the Pa Tak pass, where the Turks were waiting.
• 18

  • Péronne and Noyon takenOn 18 March 1917 the British entered the ruined town of Péronne and the French entered Noyon, the German-held town closest to Paris.
  • Raid on Ramsgate and BroadstairsOn the night of 17/18 March 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders sank the destroyer Paragon in the Strait of Dover, then shelled Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
  • Sinking of three American shipsBetween 16 and 18 March 1917 German submarines sank the ships Vigilancia, City of Memphis and Illinois. Fifteen men died on the Vigilancia.
• 19

  • Sinking of the battleship DantonOn 19 March 1917 the German U-64 torpedoed the French battleship Danton off Sardinia. 296 sailors died and over 800 were rescued.
• 20

  • Ribot governmentOn 20 March 1917 France had a new government. Alexandre Ribot became premier and foreign minister, and Paul Painlevé, a sceptic of Nivelle's plan, war minister.
  • First meeting of the Imperial War CabinetOn 20 March 1917 the Dominion premiers and India's representatives sat in London with the British War Cabinet. The Imperial War Conference began next day.
• 21

  • Torpedoing of the hospital ship AsturiasOn the night of 20–21 March 1917 the German UC-66 torpedoed the lit hospital ship Asturias off Start Point. Over 30 people died; the ship was beached.
  • Wilson summons CongressOn 21 March 1917 Wilson summoned Congress for 2 April, two weeks earlier than planned. The day before, his whole cabinet had come out for war with Germany.
• 22

  • Recognition of the Provisional GovernmentOn 22 March 1917 the United States became the first to officially recognise Russia's Provisional Government. Britain, France and Italy followed two days later.
  • Möwe returns from her second cruiseOn 22 March 1917 the raider Möwe returned to Kiel after four months in the Atlantic. On the way home she fought a fierce action with the New Zealand ship Otaki.
• 23

  • End of the March offensive in MacedoniaAt the end of March 1917 the French attacks at Bitola died down. They took Hill 1248 and about 2,000 prisoners, but the town was still within enemy gun range.
• 24

  • British offensive in Palestine beginsOn 24 March 1917 General Dobell's Eastern Force moved from Rafah towards the Wadi Ghazze. The plan was to take Gaza in a single swift blow.
• 26

  • First Battle of Gaza beginsOn 26 March 1917 mounted troops surrounded Gaza and Welsh infantry took Ali Muntar. At dusk, with the garrison close to surrender, the British broke off.
• 27

  • End of the First Battle of GazaOn 27 March 1917 the Turks retook Ali Muntar hill and General Dobell withdrew his troops behind the Wadi Ghuzzee. The British lost nearly 4,000 men.
  • Petrograd Soviet appeal to the PolesOn 27 March 1917 the Petrograd Soviet's appeal "To the Polish nation" recognised Poland's right to full independence. It was the first such act in Russia.
• 30

  • Key eventProvisional Government proclamation to the PolesOn 30 March 1917 the Russian Provisional Government's proclamation recognised the Poles' right to an independent state, bound to Russia by a military alliance.
  • Torpedoing of the hospital ship Gloucester CastleOn the night of 30–31 March 1917 the German UB-32 torpedoed the hospital ship Gloucester Castle in the Channel with wounded aboard. She survived; 3 people died.
• 31

  • Emperor Charles's letter to Prince SixtusOn 31 March 1917 Prince Sixtus showed Poincaré a secret letter from Emperor Charles I promising to support France's "just claims" to Alsace-Lorraine.
  • Russians retake Qasr-e ShirinOn 31 March 1917 Radatz's Cossacks entered Qasr-e Shirin near the Iraqi border. The Turks, holding them at Pa Tak, had already escaped behind the Diyala.