August 1917

August

• 01

  • End of the Battle of MărăștiOn 1 August 1917 Averescu called off the failed assaults on Măgura Cașinului. The Battle of Mărăști was over, and the Romanians prepared for defence.
  • Benedict XV's peace noteIn a note dated 1 August 1917 Benedict XV proposed disarmament, arbitration and the return of occupied lands. He called the war a "useless slaughter".
• 02

  • End of the Battle of Pilckem RidgeOn 2 August 1917 downpours halted the first attack at Ypres. Gough postponed further attacks, and British losses exceeded 30,000 men.
  • Seeadler wreckedOn 2 August 1917 the German sailing ship Seeadler was wrecked on the reef of Mopelia atoll in Polynesia, ending the cruise of Felix von Luckner's raider.
  • Mutiny in the German fleetOn 2 August 1917 about 600 sailors of the battleship Prinzregent Luitpold went ashore without leave at Wilhelmshaven, demanding the release of arrested men.
• 03

  • Russians lose Czernowitz for goodOn 3 August 1917 Austro-Hungarian and German troops entered Czernowitz. The Russians lost the capital of Bukovina for the third and last time in the war.
• 04

  • Key eventLiberia declares war on GermanyOn 4 August 1917 the Liberian Congress unanimously declared war on Germany. The same day the Germans in Monrovia were taken aboard the French cruiser Desaix.
  • Broqueville becomes foreign ministerOn 4 August 1917 Belgian Prime Minister Charles de Broqueville handed the War Ministry to General De Ceuninck and took over foreign affairs from Baron Beyens.
• 05

  • Zimmermann resignsOn 5 August 1917 Arthur Zimmermann, author of the telegram to Mexico, formally left the Foreign Office. He was succeeded by Richard von Kühlmann.
• 06

  • Start of the Battle of MărășeștiOn 6 August 1917 the German Ninth Army broke the Russian Fourth Army's front on the Putna. The Romanian 5th Division, rushed over the Siret, closed the gap.
  • Second coalition government in RussiaOn 6 August 1917, after three weeks of bargaining and Kerensky's resignation, a second coalition of socialists and Kadets was formed in Petrograd.
  • Dowbor-Muśnicki takes command of the I Polish CorpsOn 6 August 1917 Gen. Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki took command of the I Polish Corps, formed in Russia on the Naczpol's initiative from Poles in the Russian army.
• 08

  • Third Battle of OituzOn 8 August 1917 Gerok's troops hit the Romanian 2nd Army in the Oituz valley. They were to reach the Trotuș valley and close the pincer with Mackensen's army.
• 10

  • Labour backs the Stockholm conferenceOn 10 August 1917 a special Labour Party conference voted to send delegates to the socialist gathering in Stockholm. Henderson left the War Cabinet.
• 13

  • Passports refused for the Stockholm conferenceOn 13 August 1917 Bonar Law told the Commons that Britons would get no passports for the socialist congress in Stockholm. The conference never met.
• 14

  • Key eventChina declares war on Germany and Austria-HungaryAt 10 a.m. on 14 August 1917 China proclaimed a state of war with Germany and Austria-Hungary. The proclamation was signed by President Feng Guozhang.
• 15

  • Key eventBattle of Hill 70 beginsAt dawn on 15 August 1917 the Canadian Corps took Hill 70 above Lens and then broke a series of German counter-attacks with artillery fire.
  • Polish National Committee foundedOn 15 August 1917 the Polish National Committee was founded in Lausanne under Roman Dmowski. It soon moved to Paris and sought recognition from the Entente.
• 16

  • Key eventBattle of Langemarck (1917) beginsOn 16 August 1917 the British took the ruins of Langemarck near Ypres, but the Irish divisions bled at Frezenberg and the Gheluvelt plateau held out again.
• 17

  • Start of the eleventh battle of the IsonzoOn 17 August 1917 Italian batteries on the Isonzo were firing almost as in a barrage. The Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo, Italy's largest offensive, began.
  • Métin becomes under-secretary for the blockadeOn 17 August 1917 the Radical Albert Métin replaced the Catholic Denys Cochin as head of the French blockade, a crack in the "Sacred Union".
• 18

  • End of the Battle of Langemarck (1917)On 18 August 1917 the Battle of Langemarck ended. The British broke into Inverness Copse, and Gough sought culprits for the failure, the Irish among them.
  • Agreement on Asia MinorOn 18 August 1917 Italy and Britain exchanged notes approving the Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne agreement. It was conditional on Russia's consent, never given.
• 19

  • Esterházy resignsOn 19 August 1917 the Hungarian Prime Minister Móric Esterházy resigned after two months in office. His electoral reform had stalled in Tisza's parliament.
• 20

  • The Second Offensive Battle of Verdun beginsAt dawn on 20 August 1917 the French attacked on both banks of the Meuse at Verdun, retook Mort-Homme, Talou and Hill 344 and took thousands of prisoners.
• 21

  • Wekerle becomes prime minister of HungaryIn August 1917 Sándor Wekerle, 68, became Hungary's prime minister for the third time. He kept Esterházy's ministers and his promise of electoral reform.
  • Destruction of airship L 23On 21 August 1917 off Denmark a Sopwith Pup flown off the cruiser HMS Yarmouth shot down the airship L 23. The whole crew was killed.
  • Ministry of ReconstructionOn 21 August 1917 the King approved the act creating the Ministry of Reconstruction. Christopher Addison was to prepare for the problems peace would bring.
• 22

  • Last daylight raid on EnglandOn 22 August 1917 Gothas bombed Margate, Ramsgate and Dover. The defences shot down three of them, and the Germans gave up daylight raids on England.
• 25

  • End of the Battle of Hill 70On 25 August 1917 the Canadians took Aloof Trench near Lens, ending the Battle of Hill 70. They held the hill, but the attacks on Lens itself failed.
  • Moscow State ConferenceOn 25–28 August 1917 the State Conference met in Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. Instead of uniting Russia around Kerensky, it laid bare the country's split.