May 1917

May

• 02

  • Zaimis prime minister of Greece once moreIn early May 1917 King Constantine dismissed the Lambros cabinet and for the third time in the war turned to Alexandros Zaimis, a friend of the Entente.
• 03

  • Key eventThird Battle of the Scarpe beginsAt 3.45 a.m. on 3 May 1917, still in darkness, three British armies struck again at Arras. They failed almost everywhere. Only the Canadians succeeded.
  • Key eventBattle of Bullecourt beginsOn 3 May 1917 the Australians broke into the Hindenburg Line east of Bullecourt. The 6th Brigade held the breach, but the British 62nd Division's attack failed.
  • Key eventStart of the French Army mutiniesOn 3 May 1917 near Soissons about 1,000 men of the 2nd Colonial Division shouted "Down with the war!". After Nivelle's defeat, mutinies swept the army.
  • April CrisisOn 3 May 1917 the papers published Milyukov's note on war to victory. Soldiers marched on the seat of government and Petrograd saw two days of demonstrations.
• 04

  • French retake CraonneOn 4 May 1917 the French 36th Division took the ruins of Craonne and broke onto the Californie plateau, one of the last successes of the Nivelle offensive.
  • Third Battle of the Scarpe endsOn 4 May 1917 the British pulled the last troops out of the failed Scarpe attack. In Paris Haig and the French agreed the time for a breakthrough had passed.
  • American destroyers at QueenstownOn 4 May 1917 six destroyers under Commander Taussig reached Queenstown in Ireland, the first US Navy ships sent to fight the U-boats off Europe.
• 05

  • Battle of the Vardar beginsOn 5 May 1917 French and Italian artillery began shelling positions in the Crna bend. On the Vardar the French and Greeks moved the front forward.
• 07

  • First night aeroplane raid on LondonOn the night of 6–7 May 1917 a lone German aeroplane bombed north London. It was the first night raid on the capital by an aeroplane. One man was killed.
• 08

  • Liberia breaks off relations with GermanyOn 8 May 1917 Liberia broke off relations with Germany. Secretary of State King withdrew the German consul's exequatur, citing submarine warfare.
• 09

  • End of the battle of DoiranOn the morning of 9 May 1917 the British renewed their attack at Lake Dojran in vain. At noon the last men left Petit Couronné and the attack was over.
• 10

  • Pershing becomes commander of the American Expeditionary ForcesOn 10 May 1917 General John Pershing arrived in Washington from Texas. Wilson and Baker chose him to command the troops the US was to send to France.
• 12

  • Start of the tenth battle of the IsonzoAt dawn on 12 May 1917 the Italian artillery opened fire from Tolmin to the Adriatic. The Tenth Battle of the Isonzo, Cadorna's largest offensive, had begun.
• 14

  • Destruction of airship L 22At dawn on 14 May 1917 a British flying boat from Great Yarmouth shot down the naval airship L 22 near Terschelling. All 21 airmen were killed.
• 15

  • Clash in the Strait of OtrantoOn 15 May 1917 Horthy's cruisers sank 14 British drifters in the Strait of Otranto. In the pursuit Novara was badly damaged and Horthy was wounded.
  • Key eventPétain becomes commander-in-chiefOn 15 May 1917 the French government removed Nivelle. Pétain became commander-in-chief of the armies of the North and North-East, Foch chief of staff.
• 17

  • End of the Battle of BullecourtOn 17 May 1917 Londoners of the 58th Division took the last of the ruins of Bullecourt. The two-week fight cost the Australians and British over 14,000 men.
  • Convoy committeeOn 17 May 1917 the Admiralty set up a committee to draw up a plan for ocean convoys. The first trial convoy from Gibraltar was then under way.
  • Honduras breaks off relations with GermanyOn 17 May 1917 Honduran President Francisco Bertrand broke off relations with Germany by decree and declared a state of siege. He offered the US co-operation.
• 18

  • Selective Service Act comes into forceOn 18 May 1917 Wilson signed the draft law and set 5 June for registering men aged 21 to 30. He also refused Roosevelt his volunteer divisions.
  • Nicaragua breaks off relations with GermanyOn 18 May 1917 Nicaragua's Congress broke off relations with Germany and let President Chamorro offer the US the country's ports and territorial waters.
  • First coalition government in RussiaOn 18 May 1917 a coalition government with six socialists was formed in Petrograd. Kerensky took the war ministry and Tereshchenko foreign affairs.
• 19

  • American division for FranceOn 19 May 1917 the newspapers announced that a division of American regular troops under General Pershing would sail for France as soon as possible.
• 22

  • Battle of the Vardar endsAt the Serbs' demand General Sarrail halted the spring offensive in Macedonia on 21 May 1917. The next day the British called off a last attack on the Struma.
• 23

  • Tisza resignsOn 23 May 1917 the Hungarian prime minister István Tisza resigned at King Charles's demand. The dispute was over widening the franchise, which Tisza opposed.
• 25

  • Raid on FolkestoneOn 25 May 1917 Gotha bombers set out for London but, because of cloud, bombed Kent. In Folkestone and Shorncliffe camp 95 people were killed and 195 wounded.
• 26

  • Sinking of the hospital ship Dover CastleOn 26 May 1917 the German UC-67 torpedoed the hospital ship Dover Castle off Algeria with over 600 patients aboard. The patients survived; 7 stokers died.
• 28

  • London conference on GreeceOn 28–29 May 1917 the British and French agreed in London that King Constantine must abdicate. A high commissioner, Charles Jonnart, was to go to Greece.
  • Resolution of the Polish CircleOn 28 May 1917 Polish deputies from Galicia meeting in Kraków declared that the nation's sole aim was an independent, united Poland with access to the sea.
• 29

  • Resignation of Vosugh od-DowlehOn 29 May 1917 Persia's pro-British premier Vosugh od-Dowleh resigned. His successor Ala al-Saltaneh's cabinet revoked recognition of the South Persia Rifles.
• 30

  • Van Deventer replaces HoskinsAt the end of May 1917 General Jacob van Deventer took over command in East Africa from General Hoskins. London demanded a swift end to the campaign.