April 1917

April

• 02

  • Wilson asks Congress to declare warOn 2 April 1917 Wilson asked Congress to recognise that Germany was in fact waging war on the USA. He said the world must be made safe for democracy.
• 03

  • Sinking of HMS JasonOn 3 April 1917 the minesweeper HMS Jason struck a mine laid by U-78 off the island of Coll and sank within minutes. Twenty-five sailors were killed.
• 04

  • Russians take KhanaqinIn early April 1917 Radatz's Cossacks entered Khanaqin on the Diyala. The Turks escaped across the river; the corps, unravelling after the revolution, stopped.
• 05

  • End of the retreat to the Hindenburg LineOn 5 April 1917 the British took Ronssoy and Lempire, the last villages before the Hindenburg Line. The British official history ends the German retreat there.
  • Britain supports Polish independenceOn 5 April 1917 London assured the Provisional Government of its full support for an independent, united Poland. France and Italy sent similar notes.
• 06

  • Key eventUnited States declares war on GermanyOn 6 April 1917 the House of Representatives passed the war resolution and Wilson signed it. The United States was at war with Germany.
  • Provisional Council of State replies to the Provisional GovernmentOn 6 April 1917 the Provisional Council of State welcomed Russia's recognition of Polish independence but rejected a military union and borders set by Russia.
• 07

  • Key eventCuba and Panama declare war on GermanyOn 7 April 1917, a day after the USA, Cuba and Panama declared war on Germany. The Cuban Congress voted unanimously; in Panama the president decided.
• 08

  • Austria-Hungary breaks off relations with the USOn 8 April 1917 in Vienna Czernin handed the American chargé d'affaires his passports. As Germany's ally, Austria-Hungary broke off relations with the US.
• 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.
  • Admiral Sims arrives in EnglandOn 9 April 1917 Rear-Admiral William Sims arrived in Liverpool in civilian clothes. In London Jellicoe showed him the true tonnage losses.
  • Provisional Government on war aimsOn 9 April 1917 the Provisional Government declared that free Russia's aim was not conquest but a lasting peace. It was a compromise with the Petrograd Soviet.
• 10

  • Sinking of the hospital ship SaltaOn 10 April 1917 the hospital ship Salta struck a mine laid by UC-26 off Le Havre and sank within minutes. Between 86 and 130 died, among them 9 nurses.
• 11

  • Brazil breaks off relations with GermanyOn 11 April 1917 Brazil broke off diplomatic and commercial relations with Germany after the steamer Paraná was sunk without warning off Normandy.
• 13

  • Bolivia breaks off relations with GermanyOn 13 April 1917 Bolivia gave the German minister his passports and broke off relations, citing submarine warfare and the torpedoing of the Tubantia.
  • Japanese destroyers in the MediterraneanOn 13 April 1917 Rear Admiral Satō's Japanese 2nd Special Squadron, the cruiser Akashi and eight destroyers, reached Malta to escort transports.
• 14

  • First Battle of the Scarpe endsOn 14 April 1917 at Arras a German counter-attack shattered two battalions east of Monchy. The British halted, ending the first stage of the battle.
• 16

  • Key eventNivelle offensive beginsAt 6 a.m. on 16 April 1917 the French attacked on the Chemin des Dames. Meant to break through in two days, by evening they were stuck below the ridge.
  • Lenin returns to PetrogradOn 16 April 1917 Lenin arrived at the Finland Station in Petrograd. He had crossed Germany with Berlin's consent in a carriage called "sealed".
• 17

  • Key eventBattle of the Hills beginsOn 17 April 1917 the French 4th Army attacked the Moronvilliers hills east of Reims. Zouaves took Mont Sans Nom, but Cornillet held out.
  • 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.
• 19

  • End of the Second Battle of GazaOn 19 April 1917 the British assault on Gaza, despite tanks and gas, broke on the Turkish redoubts. The British lost over 6,000 men and failed to take the town.
  • Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne conferenceOn 19 April 1917 the prime ministers of Britain, France and Italy agreed an Italian zone in Asia Minor. Sonnino rejected a separate peace with Austria.
• 20

  • Collapse of the Nivelle offensiveAround 20 April 1917 the French gave up hope of a breakthrough on the Aisne. They had 20,000 prisoners and huge losses; the Chemin des Dames fighting went on.
  • Clash of Swift and BrokeOn the night of 20/21 April 1917 the British leaders Swift and Broke caught German torpedo boats in the Dover Strait and sank two of them, G 42 and G 85.
  • Turkey breaks off relations with the USOn 20 April 1917 the Ottoman Empire, as Germany's ally, broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. Ambassador Elkus was then ill with typhus.
• 22

  • Battle of IstabulatOn 21–22 April 1917 Cobbe's I Corps, in heat and a sandstorm, drove the Turkish XVIII Corps from Istabulat on the Tigris. The road to Samarra lay open.
• 23

  • Key eventSecond Battle of the Scarpe beginsOn 23 April 1917, St George's Day, the British struck again at Arras. They took Gavrelle and Guémappe, but at Rœux and Monchy the fighting was indecisive.
• 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.
• 25

  • Afonso Costa prime minister for the third timeOn 25 April 1917 Afonso Costa became head of the Portuguese government for the third time, replacing Almeida's "Sacred Union" with a cabinet of Democrats only.
• 26

  • Second raid on RamsgateIn the night of 26–27 April 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders shelled Ramsgate. Two people were killed and more than 20 houses were damaged.
• 27

  • Guatemala breaks off relations with GermanyOn 27 April 1917 Guatemala broke off relations with Germany and placed its waters, ports and railways at the disposal of the United States.
• 28

  • Key eventCanadians capture ArleuxOn 28 April 1917 the Canadian 2nd Brigade took Arleux-en-Gohelle, the day's only success, as British attacks at Rœux, Gavrelle and Oppy failed.
  • Congress passes conscriptionOn 28 April 1917 both houses of Congress passed bills to enlarge the army by conscription. The House voted 397 to 24, the Senate 81 to 8.
• 29

  • Pétain becomes chief of the general staffOn 29 April 1917, after the Aisne offensive failed, France made Pétain chief of the general staff and its military adviser. Nivelle got a supervisor.
• 30

  • Turks retake MuşOn 30 April 1917 Ottoman troops entered Muş, abandoned by the Russians. It was the first important town that the disintegrating Russian army gave up in Armenia.
  • Bloody AprilIn April 1917 over Arras German fighter squadrons shot down more than 240 British aircraft. RFC airmen called the month "Bloody April".