22 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: 4 British divisions with 16 tanks engaged before St Julien, 2 more with 18 tanks south of Fortuin while 3 more with tanks battle along Menin Road (until August 23). 500-880-yd gains for heavy losses (3,000 casualties). 2 British battalions capture and hold Glencorse Wood (until August 24).
The battlefield of Ypres with abandoned British tanks: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...tanks.jpg?ssl=1
Men of the Scots Guards moving up to the trenches near Boezinge, Belgium: © IWM (Q 2755): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...941792568807426
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: French continue efforts towards Hill 304 & Samogneux.
Last German airplane raid on England by daylight (see July 7th and September 2nd).
One source says: The last daylight raid on Britain of the First World War is focused on the coastal port of Ramsgate. Several Gotha bombers are lost, with three shot down, one by Flight Sub-Lieutenant J.Drake of the Royal Naval Air Service, and two others by anti-aircraft gunfire.
While another says: Gotha bombers (total 3 lost) attack Margate, Ramsgate and Dover. 138 defence sorties, 2 bombers shot down by RNAS fighters, 1 by anti-aircraft fire (total casualties 39 including 16 servicemen).
Eduard Ritter von Dostler, German fighter ace with 26 victories, is shot down and killed over Belgium: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...653600737087488

Eastern Front
At Raggazen (Gulf of Riga) Russians retire from 3 to 8 miles, to shorten line.
Situation unchanged on Romanian front, where fighting continues.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Fierce fighting in Carso region. Italian progress on both right and left wings.

Naval and Overseas Operations
German submarine SM UC-41, credited with sinking 18 ships, is sunk by British naval trawlers with loss of all crew.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
War Office reports Turkish defeat in Hejaz.

Political, etc
Britain-Germany: Now 102,218 German PoWs to 43,000 British.
Russia: Constituent Assembly elections put back to November 12 from September 17.
United Kingdom: Artillery shells being examined at the National Shell Filling Factory in Nottinghamshire: © IWM (Q 30009): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...623405506441217
Italy: Turin strikes and riots (until August 28): Bread shortage leads to factory close down and shop sacking, 2 churches burnt down. Army uses tanks and MGs to clear barricades on August 23 and repulse worker columns. Order restored on August 24 after 50 killed (3 soldiers) and 800 arrests. Turin not imitated by rest of Italy.
United States: Japanese delegation arrives in Washing D.C. to coordinate the war against Germany: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...685158328176640
Greece: Earl Grenville appointed Minister at Athens.

23 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: South-west of Lens and north-east of Langemarck British line slightly advanced.
A British soldier standing by a grave of a fallen comrade near Pilckem during the Ypres Battle: © IWM (Q 2756): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...048708598935552
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: French troops at Verdun defeat German counterattacks. Total German prisoners taken number 6,116 men.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Battle continues. Italians take 5 mountain peaks on 12 1/2 mile front as Austrian fires and demolitions signal their retreat (night August 23/24) to new defence line.
Italian commander Cadorna and his staff at the front: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...front.jpg?ssl=1
Macedonia: Allied lengths of front British 90 miles; French and Greeks 50 miles; Serbs 34 miles; Russians 22 miles; Italians 9.3 miles.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: W T Shorthose’s NRFF column (700 soldiers) occupies Tunduru.

Political, etc
Russia: Ex-Tsarist War Minister Vladimir Sukhomlinov’s treason trial in Petrograd (until August 26), sentenced to hard labour for life.
United Kingdom: Churchill meets Cumberland miners over their anti-recruiting strike (August 6-11).
Australia: Suffragist Adela Pankhurst is arrested in Australia and sentenced to a month in prison for demonstrating against conscription.
United States: Harry Garfield made Fuel Administrator.

More great stuff. Thanks, GG! I appreciate all the work you put into this! :thumbs:

24 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British advanced line forced back from positions gained on 22 August.
German post capture near Lombartzyde (coast section).
British 12-inch railway gun at Woesten, Belgium. “Not on Strike” is printed on the barrel: © IWM (Q 2765): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...380907810562050
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: French advance 1 1/2 miles on 2,000-yards front taking Hill 304 and Camard Wood and reach south bank of Forges Brook, gains north of Mort Homme.
Upscale mood and flowers on the lunch table as French officers try to spread optimism: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...tisch.jpg?ssl=1

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Italians have advanced 6 miles on a 10-mile front, taken 20,000 PoWs (another source says 16,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers and 350 officers), and 125 guns but no water or roads for pursuit over Bainsizza plateau and over 2 million of 3.5 million medium heavy shells used. Austrian counter-attack loses 1,000 PoWs on August 28.
Battle further south dies down. Italians consolidating positions.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: Belgian troops drive Germans from river Sansa and press them against Lake Nyasa on August 27.

Political, etc
United Kingdom: British press criticizes the air service for not preventing German air raids. Manchester Guardian proposes an independent air ministry.
United States: 156 African-American soldiers in Houston, Texas mutiny & riot after encountering segregation. 4 soldiers and 12 civilians are killed.
Greece: Aftermath of the fire in Thessalonica, Greece, where 9,500 homes were lost: © IWM (HU 58897): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...652676798656512

Supplemental for 24 August 1917
 

From the Wikipedia entry at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_riot_of_1917

The Houston riot of 1917, or Camp Logan riot, was a mutiny by 156 African American soldiers of the Third Battalion of the all-black Twenty-fourth United States Infantry Regiment. It occupied most of one night, and resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and sixteen civilians. The rioting soldiers were tried at three courts-martial. A total of nineteen would be executed, and forty-one were given life sentences.

Shortly after the United States declared war on the German Empire in the spring of 1917, the War Department rushed to construct two new military installations in Harris County, Texas — Camp Logan and Ellington Field. On July 27, 1917, the Army ordered the Third Battalion of the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry Regiment to Houston to guard the Camp Logan construction site. The regiment traveled to Houston by train from their camp at Columbus, New Mexico, accompanied by seven commissioned officers.

Almost from the arrival of the Twenty-fourth Infantry in Houston, the presence of black soldiers in the segregated Texas city caused conflict. The Jim Crow laws had not been enforced when the Twenty-fourth was deployed in Columbus, New Mexico, but in Houston the soldiers encountered segregated street cars and white workers at Camp Logan who demanded separate tanks of drinking water. Soldiers from the Twenty-fourth were involved in a number of "clashes" with city police, several of which resulted in the soldiers receiving minor injuries. Around noon August 23, 1917, Lee Sparks and Rufus Daniels, two Houston police officers, broke up a craps game on a street corner in Houston's predominantly-black San Felipe district by firing warning shots. Sparks, searching for the fleeing suspects, entered the house of local resident Sara Travers. He did not find the suspect but, after exchanging words with Travers, struck her and dragged her outside in her nightgown. As Sparks and Daniels called in the arrest from an area patrol box, they were approached by Private Alonzo Edwards. Edwards offered to take custody of Travers, but was pistol-whipped repeatedly by Sparks and then arrested. Later that afternoon, Corporal Charles Baltimore approached Sparks and Daniels in the same neighborhood to inquire about the status of Edwards. Sparks struck Baltimore with his pistol and fired three shots at him as he fled into a nearby home. Sparks and Daniels pursued Baltimore, eventually finding him under a bed. They pulled him out, beat him, and placed him under arrest. A rumor reached the camp of the Twenty-fourth that Baltimore had been shot and killed. The soldiers immediately began meeting in small groups to discuss plans to march on Houston and attack the police. An officer from the Twenty-fourth retrieved an injured, but wounded, Baltimore from the police station, which seemed to calm the soldiers for the moment.

The officers of the Twenty-fourth continued to receive reports of impending trouble from the angry soldiers. Major K. S. Snow revoked all passes for the evening and ordered the guard to be increased, but later that evening he stumbled upon a group of men stealing ammunition from one of the supply tents. He ordered the men to assemble without arms and warned them that it was "utterly foolish, foolhardy, for them to think of taking the law into their own hands. " One of the men, who had smuggled his rifle into the formation, fired it and cried out that a mob was approaching the camp. At this point, order broke down completely and the soldiers mobbed the supply tents, grabbing rifles and ammunition.

The soldiers began firing indiscriminately into the surrounding buildings. After several minutes of shooting, Sergeant Vida Henry ordered the men in the area – about 150 – to fill their canteens, grab extra ammunition, and fall in to march on Houston. The group marched through neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, firing at houses with outdoor lights. They fired on a car with two white occupants, but let a second car with black occupants leave unharmed. They marched nearly two and a half miles, all the way to the San Felipe district, before they encountered any police officers. Due to the disorganization of the police department, officers had only been sent out in small numbers so the first police casualties occurred when a group of six officers stumbled upon the entire column of soldiers. Two policemen (including Rufus Daniels) were killed immediately, and one later died of wounds he had sustained. The soldiers stopped a car carrying two policemen, who were disarmed and shot. A few blocks later, an open-topped car carrying a man in an olive-drab uniform approached the column. Believing this to be the uniform of a Houston mounted policeman, the soldiers opened fire only to discover later that they had killed Captain Joseph W. Mattes of the Illinois National Guard. The killing of a military officer drove home the seriousness of their actions and the pending consequences. Many soldiers began to desert the group, and Sergeant Henry led the remainder on a march to return to camp. Just outside the San Felipe district, Henry shook hands with the remaining soldiers and informed them that he planned to kill himself after they left. Henry's body was found in the area the next day. By the time the shooting had stopped, 17 people were dead (four police officers, nine civilians, and two soldiers). One soldier and a police officer later died from wounds sustained during the riot, and one soldier died from wounds sustained during his capture the next day. All of the wounds received by soldiers the night of the riot were the result of accidental shootings by fellow soldiers.

The next morning, Houston was placed under martial law. The remaining soldiers in the Twenty-fourth's camp were disarmed, and a house-to-house search discovered a number of soldiers hiding in the San Felipe district. Soldiers in local jails were turned over to the Army, and the Third Battalion was sent by rail back to New Mexico. In the ensuing Court Martial, almost two hundred witnesses testified over twenty-two days and the transcripts of the testimony covered more than two thousand pages. Author Robert V. Haynes suggests that General John Wilson Ruckman was “especially anxious for the courts-martial to begin”. Ruckman had preferred the proceedings take place in El Paso, but eventually agreed to allow them to remain in San Antonio. Haynes posits the decision was made to accommodate the witnesses who lived in Houston, plus “the countless spectators” who wanted to follow the proceedings Ruckman “urged” the War Department to select a “prestigious court”. Three brigadier generals were chosen, along with seven full colonels and three lieutenant colonels. Eight members of the court were West Point graduates. The court contained a geographic balance between northerners, southerners and westerners. The Departmental Judge Advocate General, Colonel George Dunn, reviewed the record of the first court martial (known as “the Nesbit Case. ”) and approved the sentences. He forwarded the documents materials to Gen. Ruckman on December 3. Six days later, thirteen of the prisoners (including Corporal Baltimore) were told that they would be hanged for murder, but they were not informed of the time or place. The court recommended clemency for a Private Hudson, but General Ruckman declined to grant it. Many soldiers were wrongly accused as witnesses were unable to identify or even distinguish which men had mutinied.

The condemned soldiers (one sergeant, four corporals, and eight privates) were transferred to a barracks on December 10. That evening, motor trucks carried new lumber for scaffolds to some bathhouses built for the soldiers at Camp Travis near a swimming pool in the Salado Creek. The designated place of execution was several hundred yards away. Army engineers completed their work by the light of bonfires. The thirteen condemned men were awakened at five in the morning and brought to the gallows. They were hanged simultaneously, at 7:17am, one minute before sunrise. The scaffolds were disassembled and every piece returned to Fort Sam Houston. The New York Times, commenting on the clean-up operations, observed the place of execution and place of burial were “indistinguishable. ” Only army officers and County Sheriff John Tobin had been allowed to witness the execution. Gen. Ruckman told reporters he had personally approved the death sentences and said that forty-one soldiers had been given life sentences and four received sentences of two and a half years or less. He said he was the one who chose the time and place for the executions. Military jurist Frederick Bernays Wiener has observed that Ruckman's approval and execution of the death sentences were “entirely legal” and “in complete conformity” with the 1916 Articles of War.

A second court-martial, the "Washington" case, began six days later. Fifteen men of the Lower A Division were tried and five were sentenced to death. On January 2, 1918, Ruckman approved the sentences in a public statement. But a new rule, General Orders 167 (December 29, 1917), prohibited the execution of any death sentence until the Judge Advocate General (JAG) could review the sentence(s). (The JAG Boards of Review tasked with reviewing death sentences were created by a subsequent rule, General Orders 7 (January 7, 1918). Those boards, though they had advisory power only, were the Army's first appellate courts.

While waiting for the JAG review to occur, Ruckman approved a third court-martial, the "Tillman" case, of forty more soldiers. On March 26, 1918, twenty-three of those forty soldiers were found guilty. Eleven of the twenty-three were sentenced to death and the remaining twelve to life in prison. On May 2, Ruckman approved the sentences.

On August 31, 1918, President Wilson granted clemency to ten soldiers by commuting their death sentences to life in prison. Wilson issued a rare public statement in order that the basis of his action might be “a matter of record. ” The President’s statement began by recounting the events that led to the deaths of “innocent bystanders” who were “peaceable disposed civilians of the City of Houston. ”He noted the investigations that followed were “very searching and thorough. ” In each of the three proceedings, the court was “properly constituted” and composed of “officers of experience and sobriety of judgment. ” Wilson also noted “extraordinary precautions” were taken to “insure the fairness of the trials” and, in each instance, the rights of the defendants were “surrounded at every point” by the “safeguards” of “a humane administration of the law. ” As a result, there were “no legal errors” which had “prejudiced the rights of the accused. ”

Wilson stated that he affirmed the death sentences of six soldiers because there was “plain evidence” that they “deliberately” engaged in “shocking brutality. ” On the other hand, he commuted the remaining sentences because he believed the “lesson” of the lawless riot had already been “adequately pointed. ” He desired the “splendid loyalty” of African American soldiers be recognized and expressed the hope that clemency would inspire them “to further zeal and service to the country. ”

Most importantly, from General Ruckman's standpoint, Wilson (a former law professor) wrote the actions taken by the former Commander of the Southern Department were “legal and justified by the record. ” Indeed, the President agreed that “a stern redress” of the rioters' “wrongs” was the “surest protection of society against their further recurrence”. As historian Calvin C. Smith noted in 1991, there was no proof of a "conspiracy", and many of the sentenced were not conclusively identified in the dark and rainy night as having even participated in the riot. Whites who defended Houston from the illegal actions of the rioting blacks were not charged for their actions. On September 29, 1918, five more soldiers met their deaths at daybreak. One week later, the sixth was marched to the gallows.

Very interesting write-up. I had not read or even heard of this incident.

25 August 1917
 

All Fronts
Since April, Allied forces have taken 167,780 Central Powers prisoners, excluding native African troops.
Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Battle of Bill 70 (Lens) ends (see 15th). Haig decides to transfer battle from Gough to Plumer who submits plans on August 29. BEF losses 68,010 soldiers since July 31.
Germans recapture some of positions lost on 19 August, but are driven out later in the day.
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: French advancing north of Hill 304, only 14,470 casualties since August 20, but have taken 9,100 PoWs; 30 guns; 22 mortars and over 13 Mgs.
French news-film showing their counter-offensive at Verdun: http://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/index/45418

Eastern Front
Lull on Riga and Romanian fronts, some activity on Volhynia front.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Intense fighting Bainsizza Plateau.

Political, etc
Germany: German Vice Chancellor Helfferich claims UK entered the war because it felt threatened by Germany’s increasing economic & military power.
Russia: Aleksandr Kerensky opens Moscow National Conference (until August 29); Kerensky also warns extremists of the danger of their methods. Bolsheviks boycott. Delegates from the Russian army. Some, the radicals, have torn the bands off their shoulders to show their scorn for authority: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-army.jpg?ssl=1
Russia receives another $100 million loan from the U.S. despite Russian internal instability and recent defeats.
United Kingdom: British police raid the office & home of pacifist E.D. Morel. He will be sentenced to 6 months in prison.
United States: The U.S. is currently spending $24 million (about $452 million today) daily on the war.
Poland: State Council resigns because of German policy.

Few people have. That's the primary reason I did this whole thread.

26 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: 4 British divisions and 12 tanks fight north of St Julien; sea of mud restricts progress to 2,000 yards.
British troops attempt to free a field gun from the mud at Ypres: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...hlamm.jpg?ssl=1
A British soldier emerging from his dug-out at Oosttaverne, Belgium: © IWM (Q 5915): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...137138934325249
British capture Gerrman positions east of Hargicourt (north-west of St. Quentin) on front of over one mile to depth of 0.5 mile. Germans recapture post lost on 24 August.
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: French XXXII Corps on east bank of Meuse reaches Beaumont outskirts, repulses counter-attack on August 27.
Somme: British III Corps captures 1/2 mile of position east of Hargicourt, northwest of St Quentin.

Eastern Front
Renewed Central Powers attacks east of Czernowitz; Germans claim 1,000 prisoners.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Practically whole of Bainsizza Plateau in Italian hands; claim 23,000 prisoners to date; Italians fail at Jenelik.
Austro-Hungarian soldiers at Iwanigrad in a hillside dug-out: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...378719364902912

Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: Emperor Charles’ letter to Kaiser Wilhelm: ‘The experience of our eleventh (Isonzo) battle convinces me that the twelfth will be very hard … it is best to overcome the difficulties with an offensive’ asks for Austrian East Front divisions and German guns, ‘My entire army considers the war against Italy as “our war”.’
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Premier demands annexations of Macedonia, Dobruja, and the Aegean coast for jointing the Central Powers.
Belgium: Belgian officials protest German attempts to divide the occupied country into two between Flanders and Wallonia.

What I think is so fascinating is to read of the little things that simply aren't reported in most histories because they're of relatively minor importance. Things like Emperor Charles' letter to Kaiser Wilhelm; or the Belgian protest of German's intent to divide the occupied country. Fascinating. Thanks, gecko, for sharing al this with us. It's been great!

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British line advance 200 yards astride St. Julien-Poelcapelle road.
British officers outside of their dug-outs on the banks of the Yser Canal at Ypres: © IWM (Q 5947): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...741094001659904
A British patrol walking in the ruins of a village near Ypres: © IWM (Q 5929): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...831701617418240
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: Right bank of Meuse heavy German counter-attack repulsed.
Renewed activity on the Aisne.

Eastern Front
Central Powers gain against Russian forces where the borders of Russia, Romania, and Austria-Hungary meet, taking 1000 prisoners.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Austria-Hungary, aided by reinforcements from the east, slow down the Italian offensive on the Bainsizza (Banjšice) Plateau.
Salonika: British artillery shelling until August 30 and small raids on Lake Doiran sector.
Turkish reservists gather: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...vists.jpg?ssl=1

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: Publication of official communication regarding operations in East Africa; Germans slowly being pressed back, eight miles in Masasi district.
Belgian columns from Kilossa drive enemy to south bank Ruaha river.
Midway between Lake Nyassa and sea, considerable German force closely invested.

Political, etc
Russia: (Listed for yesterday): Russian Premier Aleksandr Kerensky at the Moscow conference warns “blood and iron” for foes within Russia.
At Russian National Conference, General Lavr Kornilov appeals for measures to restore discipline in the army.
Turkey: ‘Armenian Conspiracies’ Report published. This was one of the first attempts to justify the genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks, and honestly, there’s not much information in general on this report itself. For other denail attempts, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide_denial

28 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Heavy gale and rains hold up major military operations at the Ypres battlefield.
"Second Offensive Battle" of Verdun: Allies claim that the French positions on this front almost completely restored to those before the great attack of February 1916. In reality, several of the most significant points remained in German hands until the Ste. Mihiel offensive in 1918.
Official British casualties for the last week number 14,331 men killed, wounded, or missing.

Eastern Front
Austro-German forces attack Focsani region (Romanian front); Russian defection (of a division) in face of enemy, who advance throughout day and penetrate positions in region of Vainitza. Heavy fighting in Ocna valley, Romanians stubbornly resisting at Varnita-Muncelu (until September 3).

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Austrian counter-attacks on Bainsizza Plateau broken down.* Italians claim 1,000 prisoners.
Italian Front: 1,474 Italian sorties flown since August 19, average of 225 aircraft per day, 81 aircrew killed.

Naval and Overseas Operations
German aeroplanes drop 90 bombs on Russian shipping in Gulfs of Riga and Finland; destroyer Stroini crippled by 130lb seaplane bomb.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: 4 Royal Flying Corps aircraft from Kuntilla in Sinai (40 miles northwest of Aqaba) drop 32 bombs (4 hits) on Maan engine shed and barracks (c.100 Turkish casualties); 3 aircraft bomb Turkish Abu-el-Lisal camp and Maan again on August 29.

Political, etc
Russia: Moscow National Conference closed. CoS Lavr Kornilov appeals at Moscow National Conference for restoration of Army’s discipline and supply. Aleksandr Kerensky tells General Barter that troops will winter in trenches and regain discipline.
United States: President Wilson rejects the Pope’s peace plan, stating it will not negotiate with Germany: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=65401

29 August 1917
 

Western Front
A horse carrying a machine gun for the 1st ANZAC Corps: © IWM (E(AUS) 668): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...467150576803840

Eastern Front
Fighting continues in Focsani region.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Cadorna orders Bainsizza operations suspended except for blow north and east of Gorizia.
Italian Front: General Waldstatten submits Austrian offensive plan to General Arz for offensive with 13 divisions (including Germans) from Tolmino bridgehead north of Bainsizza Plateau towards Cividale. Hindenburg and Ludendorff eventually approve what becomes Caporetto offensive after Bavarian mountain warfare expert General Kraftt inspects front.

Political, etc
Germany: Industrialists tell Chancellor ‘they are ready to fight 10 more years’ to keep the mineral-rich Longwy-Briey basin.
Russia: General Lavr Kornilov, Russian Commander-in-Chief, warns that Russia will face ruin if domestic enemies are not dealt with.
United Kingdom: Churchill writes to union leaders on necessity for increased aircraft production.
Canada: Conscription Act signed, 5,000 demonstrate against it in Montreal.
Italy: Until the end of the war, about 200,000 women worked in the war industry in Italy: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...innen.jpg?ssl=1
United States: U.S. government orders 1,074,000 gas masks to outfit the U.S. Army for around $1.40 each, not including raw materials.

30 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Attempted German night raid on British lines south-east of Lens repulsed.
Leading American fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker with his Spad XIII in 1918. In frontline service, the US Army Air Service used exclusively French and British aircraft types: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-XIII.jpg?ssl=1

Eastern Front
An Austro-Hungarian soldier with a gas mask at Stara Iokva: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...557803340075011

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Following a long period of inactivity, British advance on front of 600 yards south-west of Gaza.

Political, etc
Germany: Papal Nuncio Pacelli in Munich sends German Chancellor Anglo-French note to Vatican on Belgium (evasive German reply on September 24).
Russia: Russian Premier Aleksandr Kerensky states the Provisional Government “will suffer no counter revolutionary attempts…”
France: Government agrees to supply US with 5,000 aircraft and 8,500 engines (Spad and Breguet).
United Kingdom: Albert Grey, the 4th Earl Grey, who was the former Governor General of Canada and established the Grey Cup, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...497355777310720

31 August 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Desultory British shelling of Menin Road Ridge defences begins. Germans capture some British advanced posts north of St Julien-Poelcapelle road.
Aisne: French gains near Hurtebise.

Eastern Front
Germany masses its forces at the Gulf of Riga and launch several aeroplane raids against Russian targets.

Southern Front
Salonika: British hospital cases c.18,000.
Italian Front: Italians claim 27,000 PoWs since August 19. Heavy fighting at key Mt San Gabriele northeast of Gorizia.
In August Italian Commando Supremo Crittografico unit first completely reads Austrian radio signals.

Naval and Overseas Operations
North Sea: Royal Navy Air Service raids Belgian coast airfields.
Allied and neutral August shipping losses to U-boats, 186 (84 British) ships worth 509,142t (U-Boat figure 472,372t including 79,549t in Mediterranean); 5 U-boats sunk. Best month of war for Austrian U-boats’ merchant ship sinkings: 38,823t claimed, more than in 1914-16 altogether.
German submarine detains a merchant vessel at sea: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...chant.jpg?ssl=1

Political, etc
France: M. Louis Malvy, French Minister of the Interior, resigns.
United States: President Wilson exempts hospital interns and medical students from the draft.
Former President Roosevelt states pacifist Senators La Follette and William Stone should be sent to Germany, accusing them of pro-Germanism.
U.S. 27th Division marching in New York City before heading to Europe: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...920158003556353

1 September 1917
 

Western Front
Somme: German attack on Havrincourt (SW of Cambrai), at first successful, beaten back later.
Aisne: N.E. of Craonne, German counter-attack broken up.
British forces claim to have taken 10,687 German prisoners since July 31st on the Western Front.
British report that BEF divisions average 2,000 men under strength.
General John Pershing opens AEF GHQ at Chaumont on upper Marne.
In September Royal Flying Corps makes 226 bombing raids (7,886 bombs worth 135t to German 969 bombs) ranges (that is, artillery-spotting) 9539 targets, issues 930 new aircraft, only surpassed in March and May 1918; takes 14,678 photos; 214 personnel killed and missing, second worst 1917 month. During September two German night raids destroy 85 French aircraft in Verdun area. In September US air training school opens at Issoudon.

Eastern Front
Battle of Riga (also known as the Battle of Jugla) begins (see 3rd and 5th): 1159 German artillery guns fire on Russian forces defending Riga; Russia only has 66 artillery guns to answer. Subsequent German infantry attack E. of Riga; their troops enter the city.
Dvina river evacuated by Russians, and crossed by Germans at Uxkull.
Another source gives more detail: HUTIER’S GERMAN RIGA OFFENSIVE (until September 5) begins with 2-hour Bruchmueller gas shelling (116,400 gas shells inflict over 1,000 Russian casualties) causing panic. By 0840 hours 3 bridges being built and 2 islands stormed 18 miles east of Riga. 3 divisions cross Dvina in 225 pontoons covered by low-flying aircraft, carve out 7-mile bridgehead by 1035 hours but then halt. Klembovski evacuates Riga bridgehead and Riga until September 2.
Above a blown-up bridge, which has been repaired, German troops cross the Dvina: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...ssing.jpg?ssl=1

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Julian front: slight Italian advance, taking 340 prisoners.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Jutland coast: Grand Fleet’s 4th Light Cruiser Squadron and 15th Destroyer Flotilla raid Horn’s Reef; British destroyers drive four German mine-sweepers ashore, two on fire.
Britain: During September Royal Navy at last has the efficient H2 mine (copy of German Herzhorn contact mine) in volume production; 12,450 of 100,000 ordered by end 1917, sink 9, possibly up to 16, U-boats. During September 31 air stations have 190 aircraft and 50 airships for anti U-boat work.
Atlantic: 300 ships sailing weekly in convoys (inward and outward).
East Africa: Highest British ration strength since December 1, 1916 and for duration of war. 58,317 soldiers (including 22,052 whites and 16,853 Indians) with 38 guns; 140,590 porters; 16,606 animals (August 31, including 6,033 oxen).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
TE Lawrence holding a mortar bomb near Aqaba, Jordan: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...283807725465602
Palestine: EEF total ration strength 225,176 including 20,207 Anzac and 19,141 Indian soldiers with 117,449 animals (August 25) including 44,502 camels.
Egypt: During September NACB takes over 41 canteens.
Mesopotamia: Turkish railway has now only reached Nisibis. During September US Persian Famine Relief Commission arrives in Baghdad (also American oil interests).

Political, etc
Russia: Anti-government agitation continues in Petrograd, with militia having to tear down pro-Bolshevik posters and dispersing demonstrators.
The Petrograd Soviet passes a resolution protesting the reestablishment of the death penalty in the Russian army.
United Kingdom: Air fighting schools are established in Britain.
United States: (Listed for yesterday): U.S. government recognizes the Mexican Carranza government to ensure Mexican neutrality.
Poland: In German-occupied Poland, Polish judges are for the first time allowed to administer justice in the courts.

2 September 1917
 

Western Front
German Gotha bombers target Dover in the first heavy night bombing raid on Britain; one killed, six injured.
This is the first of three consecutive moonlight raids by Gotha bombers on southeast England (London on September 4), and begin 19 night raids until May 20, 1918. Total casualties 326 including 130 naval recruits killed and 88 wounded at Chatham drill hall. First operational trials of Sopwith Camel night fighters by No 44 Squdronn, commander 22-year-old Captain Murlis Green (4 1/2 Salonika victories 1916-17); 3 on nights September 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5.
Third Battle of Ypres: Germans attack unsuccessfully British advance posts near Havrincourt.
Aisne: At Hurtebise, four German attempts to recover lost positions crushed.
Belgium: British naval airmen bomb Bruges Docks (3 killed),
US Army Corps of Engineers in Boisleux-au-Mont posing inside their tent: © IWM (Q 6081): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...943116096495617
Burmese laborers reading newspapers in Contalmaison, Somme: © IWM (Q 2788): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...004763255230464

Eastern Front
Battle of Riga (aka the Battle of Jugla): Some Russian troops fall back to west of Riga; fighting on Mitau road.
Germans cross Dvina river 18 miles above town.

Southern Front
Adriatic: Pola bombed by 148 Caproni bombers and 11 flying boats; Austrians bomb Venice (September 7) which has balloon barrage defence. Gales abort RNAS attempt to attack Cattaro naval base with 6 Short torpedo seaplanes.
Italian Caproni bombers raid the Austrian port of Pola: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-pola.jpg?ssl=1

Naval and Overseas Operations
German submarine SM U-28, credited with sinking 40 ships, sinks when the munitions ship it was targeting, Olive Branch, explodes, destroying both vessels.
East Africa: British and Belgian operations drive German detachments from River Ruaha to Mahenge.

Political, etc
Germany: OHL found and fund Tirpitz’s new Fatherland Party (he addresses first meeting in Berlin September 25; 1.25 million members by July 1918).
Russia: Russian Premier Kerensky orders the arrest several military and civilian leaders on charges of a counter-revolutionary plot (The Kornilov Affair). This was was an attempted military coup d'état by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, in August 1917 (O. S. calendar) against the Russian Provisional Government headed by Aleksander Kerensky and the Petrograd Soviet of Soldiers and Workers Deputies. The affair began with Kerensky requesting that Kornilov move forces loyal to the Provisional Government into Petrograd to counter the threat of the radical (and Soviet-controlled) Petrograd army garrison. Kornilov then marched on Petrograd intent on 'purging' the Provisional Government of revolutionary elements, possibly with the intention of establishing a military dictatorship. Kerensky then countered Kornilov by eventually arming the Bolshevik-influenced Soviets, with the result that Kornilov and his closest advisers were imprisoned, and the Bolsheviks permanently armed and empowered. For more detail see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kornilov_affair , especially the section “historigraphy.”
United Kingdom: At Trades Union Congress at Blackpool, Stockholm program partly settled, but strongly opposed.

3 September 1917
 

Western Front
Six German aeroplanes bomb Sheerness, etc.; 132 killed, 96 injured, mostly naval ratings.
Third Battle of Ypres: British front slightly advanced near St. Julien.
Champagne: French raid gas tanks on Souain-Somme Py road.
Damage caused by German bombardment of Dunkirk, France: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...329412052705280
Bruges again bombed.

Eastern Front
Battle of Riga (aka the Battle of Jugla): Riga finally completely evacuated by Russians, forts and bridges blown up, etc. German 2nd Guard and 1st Reserve divisions enter Riga,
Germans claim many thousands of prisoners about 150 guns.
German troops enter Riga after the withdrawal of Russian forces: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...268997461454848
Kaiser Wilhelm and Prince Leopold of Bavaria in Riga after its capture by the Germans: © IWM (Q 23955): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...299205845508097
German troops rest in front of a church in Riga: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...roops.jpg?ssl=1
Battle of Marasesti (Rumania) ends (see August 6th): Germans gain only 5 miles on 18-mile front, taking 18,000 PoWs and 22 guns. General Morgen reports 61 Rumanian counter-attacks; they claim 65,000 German casualties since August 19.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Five Italian aeroplanes drop pamphlets over Vienna informing the people about the recent Italian victory on the Carso plateau.
Pola bombed again.

Naval and Overseas Operations
German warships break into Gulf of Riga and shell Livonian villages. Last 2 Russian destroyers leave Riga which mine gulf entrance. Russian/Soviet ships do not re-enter Riga until 1940,
Channel: Armed boarding steamer HMS Dundee sunk by U-boat.


Political, etc
Russia: Boris Stürmer, former Russian Prime Minister, dies while in captivity by the Provisional Government: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...053844400885761
United Kingdom: Munitionettes get 2s 6d advance per week.
Italy: By now coal shortage (although Britain supplied 690,000t in August) has made 75% of trains idle, remainder burn wood and naval stocks; sailing coasters used to distribute goods.
United States: President Wilson’s message to the Army: “You are undertaking a great duty.”: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...359604162887681

4 September 1917
 

Western Front
England: Home-based single-seat scout aircraft operate at night for the first time, when three Sopwith Camels of No.44 Squadron fly patrols against Gotha bombers attacking Chatham. Although no interceptions are made, the sorties proved that single-seat fighters could operate safely at night.
Five of 11 Gotha bombers sent (1 lost due to anti-aircraft fire) bomb London (night September 4-5, 90 civilian casualties, Cleopatra’s Needle scarred). British think 26 raiders bombed, only 2 fighters see them.
Rescue workers survey the aftermath of a German bomber raid on London: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...aeden.jpg?ssl=1
France: First US fatal land casualties, 13 (4 killed) in air raid on British base hospital.
Verdun: Legion RMLE relieved having captured 680 PoWs, 15 guns and 13 MGs since August 20 (Petain decorates its colors on September 27).

Eastern Front
Battle of Riga (aka the Battle of Jugla): Russians fall back 30 miles along Riga-Petrograd road.
Baltic Provinces: II Siberian Corps (including women’s ‘Death’s Battalions’) counter-attack southwest in Hinzenberg area; Prussian 1st Guard Division later reaches coast, but Russians 30 miles east.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Austrian offensive in Mt Hermada seaward sector claiming 6,000 PoWs there and northeast of Gorizia. Italians inland take 1,600 PoWs pushing for Mt San Gabriele.
Salonika: 200-300 Bulgars (over 15 casualties) on rare raid into British Lake Doiran sector but soon driven out.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Allied Naval Conference (until September 5) including US Atlantic Fleet C-in-C Admiral Mayo, fixes 9 Mediterranean convoy routes and their priority.
North Sea: U-boat (30 rounds) shells Scarborough, 3 killed, 6 wounded.
Baltic: German warships in the Baltic pound Russian forces as they retreat 30 miles from Riga.
Indian Ocean: Wolf lays her last 110 mines northwest of the Andamans, not found in 1917.

Political, etc
United Kingdom: Anglo-French Conference assembles in London to discuss the question of military assistance to ltaly. (see 25th). [Not I am unsure if this is the same conference mentioned under “Naval & Overseas operations”.]
Trades Union Congress declares against Stockholm Conference by overwhelming majority.
Mr E D Morel sent to prison.
Correspondence between Kaiser and Tsar (anti-British proposals) published. For the full details, see: https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/T...Nicky_Telegrams

5 September 1917
 

Western Front
A Royal Naval Air Service Airco (de Havilland) DH4 is forced to ditch in the North Sea following an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down Zeppelin LZ-93 (Factory designation. Military designation: L-44). The airship is eventually brought down by anti-aircraft fire over France on 20 October.
Air raids over British lines kill 37 and wound 43 German prisoners. They mistakenly bomb 3 British hospitals and kill 19 and wound 26 patients in French hospital at Vadelaincourt, Meuse.
British soldiers and captured German soldiers with a dog near Reutel, Belgium: © IWM (Q 2998): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...753454626856960

Eastern Front
Battle of Riga (aka the Battle of Jugla): Battle of Riga ends (see 1st and 3rd). Germans capture line of River Dvina to Friedrichstadt.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Struggle continues north-east of Gorizia.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: Germans lose 500 men altogether from 30 August to 2 September, and particularly severely in retreat to Mahenge.
North Sea: U-88 sunk by Royal Navy Heligoland Bight mines off Terschelling, with her commander Walther Schwieger, having sunk Lusitania among 49 ships worth 183,838t.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Palestine: Falkenhayn decides to deploy Kemal’s Seventh Army for Palestine Yilderim offensive. He inspects Front September 9-10.

Political, etc
Germany: Berlin 1917: the public parks lose their flowerbeds and take on the appearance of allotments. All food is desperately scarce: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...n1917.jpg?ssl=1
Russia: Russian Premier Kerensky approves the use of force to suppress any pro-independence movement in Finland that threatens Russia.
Grand Dukes Michael and Paul arrested.
France: "Bonnet Rouge" newspaper case being investigated: treasonable intrigue; French government accused of weakness in connection.
Turkey: Army Commissariat put in command of civilian food. Farmers ordered to till c.7 acres for each yoke of oxen and work 8 hours per day (September 27). Large landowners exempted from military service.
United States: U.S State Department clarifies they do not aim to unseat the Hohenzollern Dynasty, only to target “autocracy” in Germany. [whatever that means].
In an effort to suppress labor dissent, Federal agents raid IWW offices in 23 cities (168 arrests).
687,000 draftees begin assembling by rail.

I find this whole thread to be extremely interesting. Thanks, GG, for doing this. I've learned a lot and enjoyed the reading. :thumbs:

Glad you've been enjoying it.

Rather than "Oh, no, NOT another learning experience!"

6 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British detachments pressed back near Frezenberg.
Soldiers of the East Yorkshire Regiment crossing newly captured ground at Frezenburg near Ypres: © IWM (Q 3014): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...133485618323457 (but see above)
Six Squadrons of newish German Halberstadt CL-II ground-attack aircraft decimate British division reserves crossing Somme bridges.
The rear gunner of a Halberstadt CL-II ground-attacker prepares with grenades and signal gun cartridges for a mission: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...uetze.jpg?ssl=1
Horse-drawn wagons transporting British troops near Ypres: © IWM (Q 2996): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...387631260966912

Eastern Front
12th Russian Army falls back clear of German forces.
Kaiser reviews troops in Riga.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Stubborn fighting north-east of Gorizia, Italians pushed back slightly.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: German force surrenders to British native troops at Kakera (N.N.E. of Kilossa).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Munitions explosion at Haidar Pasha Station (Constantinople-Asian rail terminus) dislocates planned Yilderim offensive.

Political, etc
Germany: Crown Prince Wilhelm and Crown Princess Cecilie of Germany have a daughter Princess Cecilie of Prussia.
Russia: Petrograd and Moscow closed to strangers. Civilian movement in & out of Petrograd is restricted, as German forces continue to pursue retreating Russians from Riga.
Provisional Government decree restores death penalty in interior and Kerensky Army Order praises officers’ role since Revolution.
Kornilov (not yet arrested) puts General Krymov in command of new ‘Detached Petrograd Army’ including Kronstadt, Baltic Fleet and XLII Corps (Finland).
France: On the anniversary of the Battle of the Marne, French Premier Ribot declares France will regain control over Alsace and Lorraine.
United Kingdom: Sir Eric Geddes appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, Great Britain (see July 19th).
Mr. Henderson on Stockholm.
“The Growth of Democracy” by Bruce Bairnsfather: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...103292312809474
Australia: Australian £80,000,000 War Loan Bill.

7 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British sentry near the ruined cathedral in Ypres: © IWM (Q 3121): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...463137213841408
France: Haig and Petain meet amicably, agree 100 French heavy guns can go to Italy.
A pool overturned by German artillery at Pontavert, France: © IWM (Q 78187): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...448029343420420

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Italians attack Monte S. Gabriele.
Three soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army on the Balkans in the summer of 1917: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...lkans.jpg?ssl=1
Albania: General Jacquemot’s mixed French division begins advance on Austrian-held Pogradec, having been joined by Essad Pasha’s 500 Albanians from Salonika on September 6.
France: Petain ordered to send 72 medium guns to Italy, they detrain on September 10 and are used near Gorizia and Plava.
Macedonia: British activity on Struma front.
Austrians bomb Venice.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: Belgian troops force river Kilimbro, attack and take Madege-Kalimoto positions (until September 16).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Health of troops in Mesopotamia reported greatly improved.

Political, etc
Russia: Russian Commander-in-Chief Kornilov orders his troops against the Petrograd Soviet. The move is interpreted as a coup by Premier Kerensky.
France: Alexandre Ribot's ministry resigns (Another sources give 2 September as date of resignation).
United Kingdom: London Underground passenger guidelines for air raids: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...478278902886403
United States: U.S.A. contemplate seizing 400,000 tons of neutral shipping in American ports.

8 September 1917
 

Western Front
Verdun: French attack on Meuse front and sieze Fosses, Caurieres and Chaume Woods and 800 prisoners.

Eastern Front
German advance after the fall of Riga slows down as Russian resistance stiffens.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: German H.Q. at Mahenge threatened by Belgian troops from north. German positions occupied by British at Mponda's, south of Mahenge. German troops retreat towards Liwale, 120 miles south-west of Kilwa.

Political, etc
Russia: General Lavr Kornilov dismissed; General Kemborski appointed Commander-in-Chief.
General Kornilov heads “revolt” (if that’s what it was) against Russian Provisional Government and marches on Petrograd (see 10th and 13th and August 1st). Another source states: Owing to misunderstanding with M. Aleksandr Kerenski, General Kornilov marches on Petrograd.
Kornilov, the new Russian commander-in-chief, tried in vain to restore the army’s fighting strength: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...nilov.jpg?ssl=1
British postal women sorting through mail to be sent to the censorship departments: © IWM (Q 114815): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...810446434918400
France: (Repeat from the other day, may not actually have happened until this day): French Premier Ribot’s cabinet resigns due to the failure of the Nivelle Offensive and the resulting French Army mutinies: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...841916343963648
United Kingdom: British Food Controller fixes price of milk for three months after October at 8d. per quart.
United States: Secretary of State publishes three Count Luxburg messages (German diplomat to Argentina), from Argentina, one urges 2 Argentine vessels be sunk without trace.
(Listed for yesterday): President Wilson bans the exportation of gold to Mexico, Spain, and Japan.

9 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British take 600 yards of German trenches at Villeret (N.N.W. of St. Quentin).
Verdun: End of Third French offensive at Verdun. Meuse, right bank: heavy fighting, German counter-attack repulsed.
France: c.2,000 British troops mutiny at Etaples Infantry Base Depot (until September 14) due to poor conditions and Third Ypres reinforcement system, 3 sentenced to death after GHQ detachments restore order. British military police fires into an angry crowd of soldiers, killing a Scottish soldier.
Etaples was one of the Allied training camps for troops on the Western Front, which also served as recreational centers for soldiers from the front line. Strengthened discipline and attacks of the military police in Etaples resulted in unrest: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...aples.jpg?ssl=1
A British sergeant in the trenches watching German lines with a mirror attached to his bayonet at Nieuport Bains: © IWM (Q 2876): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...174093929664515
Regimental dog of the 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment, on top of a horse near Cassel, France: © IWM (Q 3060): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...204310291312642
A Belgian officer reading a paper, smoking, and fishing near Pervyse: © IWM (Q 2962): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...506259305820162
British and Belgian officers & reporters examining a German artillery shell dud at Houthem: © IWM (Q 2945): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...537718523539456

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Austrians claim 6,000 prisoners near Hermada.
Macedonia: French advance near Lake Ochrida.
Italian Front: General O Below takes command of new German Fourteenth Army for projected offensive, plans drafted by September 10; 7 German and 8 Austrian divisions with 1,000 guns (800 German) pass through Trentino onto Dravel and Sava valleys 60 miles east of Caporetto, all marches at night.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Cadiz: German submarine, UB-49, short of oil, enters, and is interned. (it escapes Spain on October 6th).

Political, etc
Russia: Kerensky sacks Kornilov and issues arms to Petrograd Soviet. Rail workers prevent Kornilov’s advance as Soviets mobilize 25,000 workers. 3,000 Kronstadt sailors reinforce capital on September 10. Revolutionaries then Cossacks seize C-in-C Western Front General Denikin.
With German forces approaching Petrograd, partial evacuations of the city begin. The official reason blames food shortages.
United Kingdom: King's special decoration for 1914 campaign announced.
United States: U.S.A. publishes disclosures re: Swedish Legation at Buenos Aires.

10 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: British take 400 yards more trench at Villeret.
French troops resting & posing for the camera on the roadside near Houthem on their way to the front: © IWM (Q 2986): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...840956309254145

Eastern Front
Russian Twelfth Army takes up position 30 miles north-east of Riga; German pursuit.
Russian “Battalions of Death” counterattack German forces 32 miles northeast of Riga and manage to halt their advance in some areas.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: ”Stormtroopers” throwing grenades on the Isonzo Front facing Italy: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...901349375373312
Albania: French troops enter Pogradec, on southwest side of Lake Ochrid (also spelled Ochrida).

Naval and Overseas Operations
North Sea: US Atlantic Fleet C-in-C Admiral Mayo visits Grand Fleet (since September 9).
British ships of the Orion class in Moray Firth, Scotland, while American ships are in the background: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...round.jpg?ssl=1
Mediterranean: German U-boats ordered not to attack unescorted Allied hospital ships (Spanish naval officer commissioners now placed aboard to ensure neutrality).
Baltic: 2 destroyers sent from Reval to protect Petrograd against Kornilov; most officers sign loyalty oath to Provisional Government but 4 shot for refusing. Revolutionary Execution created.

Political, etc
Germany: Hindenburg and Ludendorff note to Chancellor and War Minister; many exempted workers to be called up by spring without cutting munitions production.
Russia: General Kornilov approaches Petrograd.
M. Aleksandr Kerenski assumes Dictatorship of Russia (see August 6th and November 8th) and issues proclamation declaring General Kornilov a traitor (see 8th and 13th). Provisional Government resigns.
United States: State of Maine votes down women’s suffrage by a ratio of 2 to 1.

11 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Legendary French ace Georges Guynemer (54 victories) missing over Poelcapelle aged 22, first revealed in London (September 27) on a day Germans claim 6 Allied single-seaters.
French fighter ace Georges Guynemer (second from right) in front of his Morane-Saulnier Type L fighter: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-MS-L.jpg?ssl=1
British bomb south of Lille and Roulers region heavily.
British seaplanes bomb Zeebrugge mole and air sheds.

Eastern Front
Romania: Battle of Ciresoaia: (until September 12): Russo-Rumanian attack fails, last major fighting in sector.

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: After shelling of record intensity Italian 11th Division captures Mt San Gabriele with 2,000 PoWs but Austrian fire forces it 100 feet below summit; Lieutenant-Colonel Sauer of Austrian 14th Regiment ‘Who could fully describe this San Gabriele, this sort of Moloch which swallows up a regiment every three or four days …’.
Austro-Hungarian counter-attacks on Bainsizza Plateau and north-east of Gorizia heavily repulsed.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Eastern Atlantic: U-49 (Hartmann) rammed and sunk by SS British Transport west of Biscay, having claimed 38 ships worth 86,433t.

Political, etc
Russia: Despite being labeled a traitor by the Russian government, General Kornilov & his troops are 33 miles from Petrograd & closing.
Kornilov issues final Order No 900 and appeal to the people.
United Kingdom: First party of repatriated British prisoners reaches England from Switzerland (see May 13th, 1916).
Italy: British War Minister Lord Derby visits Cadorna at Udine, promises 160 British heavy guns (200 Anglo-French guns sent on September 18).

12 September 1917
 

Western Front
French headquarters estimate German losses to end of July at four millions.
Two British Mark IV tanks moving through the woods near Elverdinge, Belgium: © IWM (Q 3547): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...265080793976837

Southern Front
Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo: Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo ends (see August 17th). Italians hold on stubbornly north-east of Gorizia.
Italian losses since August 10 a record of 166,000 men (18,000 PoWs) so far. Austrians c.85,000 (29,000 PoWs).
French and Russian troops cross River Devoli (Albanian frontier), driving back Austro-Hungarian/Bulgarian forces twenty miles.
Another source gives more detail: French advance ends after 414 Austro-Bulgar PoWs and guns taken for 175 casualties in 20-mile advance; only real Allied 1917 Balkans success. Essad’s Albanians return from Skumbi valley raid with 156 Austrian PoWs on September 20.

Naval and Overseas Operations
Gulf of Riga still controlled by Russian warships; bombard German batteries on Courland shores. Germans prepare to capture Gulf of Riga Islands by amphibious operation (OHL approve on September 18); High Seas Fleet detaches 2 battle squadrons (10 ships), battlecruiser Moltke, 2nd Scouting Group (light cruisers) and 5 destroyer flotillas (47 ships). 19 German trawlers hunt Royal Navy submarine E.9 off Pomerania after latter misses 2 merchant ships (another miss on September 13).
Mediterranean: Fiction now ended that U-35, U-38 and U-39 Austrian flag warships at Austrian request.
North Atlantic: HM Submarine D.7 sinks U-45 north of Ireland.

Political, etc
Germany: Kaiser Wilhelm returns from the Riga battlefields to Potsdam with a severe cold.
Russia: Russia on point of civil war.
France: M. Paul Painlevé succeeds M. Alexandre Ribot as French Premier (see 9th and November 14th).
M. Alexandre Ribot reappointed French Foreign Minister (see 9th, and October 23rd).
Bulgaria: Tsaritsa Eleonore Reuss of Köstritz, the wife of Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria, passed away: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...536852252598272
Poland: Central Powers proclaim grant of temporary Constitution to Poland, (see April 5th and October 15th, 1917 and January 10th, 1918). Polish Regency Council created. (courts already transferred on September 1).
Argentina: Argentina hands passports to Count Luxburg. Argentine Parliament votes to sever relations (September 19 and 25) despite German apology (September 17) but President disagrees.

13 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: German “attack” near Langemarck repulsed.
German raids west of Craonne.
Germans penetrate French advanced line north of Caurieres Wood (Meuse).
British officers buying food from children at a marketplace in Cassel, France: © IWM (Q 2880): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...29807363British machine gunners hauling a large barrel of beer for their commanding officer’s birthday in Winnezeele, France: © IWM (Q 2881): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...658838966501376
Horatio Bottomley and his secretary wearing gas masks in a trench during his visit to the front: © IWM (Q 2809): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...924353127469057

Eastern Front
Odessa and Black Sea tranquil; population sympathise with Provisional Government.
Galicia: Germans evacuate Gusiatyn on border.
In Russia, the war blinds demonstrate for the continuation of the war: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...tzung.jpg?ssl=1

Political, etc
Germany: Hoffmann diary ‘A German advance on Petersburg now would bring about the complete collapse of Russia’.
Russia: General Lavr Kornilov's revolt collapses (see 8th, 10th and 14th). General Alexeiev treats with General Kornilov. When the latter's revolt fails; his commander, General Krimov, kills himself. Kornilov surrenders to Alexeiev at Mogilev and is moved to Bykhov monastery. General Kaledin and Cossacks revolt. Russian Premier Kerensky also becomes Commander in Chief & mobilizes forces, including the Bolsheviks, in Petrograd to cement his rule. Soviets ban Cadets.
France: New French Cabinet announced.
United States: US Secret Service raid the home of Professor Scott Nearing, a pacifist and socialist activist, to find evidence of sedition. {nevertheless, he was later prosecuted, and after the war the organization he founded was found guilty of sedition. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott...First_World_War)
The “Gulf Between,” the first film to be shot in technicolor in the US, is released (the film is mostly lost today): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...954566205001734

14 September 1917
 

Western Front
Verdun: French drive Germans out of Caurieres Wood.

Eastern Front
Central Powers approach trenches near Focsani; repulsed everywhere by Romanians.

Political, etc
Austria-Hungary: Austrians close Swiss frontier, but Italians warned from Berne of imminent attack, possibly on Middle Isonzo.
Germany: Kaiser Wilhelm and the Crown Prince meet in Berlin to discuss the Pope’s proposal for peace.
Russia: General Kornilov surrenders to the Provisional Government (see 13th).
Kerensky proclaims Republic and Council of Five, but power really passing to Petrograd Soviet.
General Aleksandr Krymov, who commited suicide due to his part in the coup: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...014975096147968
Canada: War-Times Election Act enfranchises close women relatives of servicemen for duration of war and demobilization.
New Zealand: Sir J. Allen on New Zealand spirit.
Italy: British conference aims to supply Italy with 700,000t coal pm (including 60,000-70,000t US) on Gibraltar-Genoa route if Italy spares 11 destroyers for escort (conditionally accepted after long wrangle and Caporetto disaster on November 23).
United States: $2 billion naval spending in last year.
Elihu Root, former US Secretary of War and Secretary of State, says anyone who opposes the war are traitors.

15 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: London troops capture strong point north of Inverness Copse.
Germans repulsed by Portuguese at Neuve Chapelle.
Seaplanes successfully attack shipping between Blankenberghe and Ostend.
Aisne: Petain adopts plan for limited attack.
A German messenger dog in ‘flight’ as it races to the rear to deliver a message: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...r-dog.jpg?ssl=1
Two French veterans learning braille after being blinded at the front: © IWM (Q 53979): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...378626453852160

Southern Front
Four successive Austro-Hungarian counter-attacks on Bainsizza Plateau fail; Italians gain ground to south-east. Sassari Brigade captures Hills 895 and 862 on its eastern edge. General Below and his CoS Krafft visit Archduke Eugene to concert offensive plans.
destroyed Austro-Hungarian graveyard on the Isonzo front facing Italy: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...288029374197760

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Hottest season on record at Baghdad.
Troops' health and spirits “excellent”.

Political, etc
Germany: Last battlecruiser Graf Spee launched at Danzig by Schichau but never completed despite 1,500 workers’ efforts.
Russia: Provisional Council of 5 declares Russia a Republic under M. Kerenski; new War Cabinet formed.
United States: A “tobacco parade” organized in New York City to raise money for tobacco for soldiers overseas: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...318235342372864
[ed note: Now, *THERE'S* a sign that times have changed.]

16 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: The cathedral at Ypres in ruins: © IWM (Q 2829: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...741029389570048
A barbed wire “gate” inside a British trench to close off access during raids: © IWM (Q 6021): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...992626040475648
German attack on Apremont Forest (St. Mihiel) fails.
Stuttgart, Colmar, Thionville and Saarburg bombed by French
Britain: Haig approves Byng’s Cambrai tank attack scheme.
Meuse: French repulse attack on Apremont Forest (St Mihiel).
France: The La Courtine Massacre: Loyal Russian troops (3rd Brigade) with 75mm mle 1897 battery storm La Courtine internment camp to suppress mutinous Bolshevik 1st Brigade (Globa), 200 miles south of Paris.
Two British officers enjoying beer at an officer’s club in Abbeville in the Somme: © IWM (Q 5960): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...710828651810816

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: German position at Kalimoto (north of Mahenge) captured.
Belgian troops (Colonel Huyghe) pursue.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Arabia: Lawrence leads 100 Arabs against Mudauwara Station on Hejaz Railway, blows up and captures Turkish train (over 180 casualties including Austrian gunners) to south on September 19 and returns to Aqaba on September 21. ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ in British uniform: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...abien.jpg?ssl=1
Palestine: Major-General Bols succeeds Lynden-Bell (appointed October 27, 1915) as Allenby’s EEF CoS.

Political, etc
Russia: General Kaledin, Hetman of Don Cossacks, declares loyalty to Government.
United States: Entire sugar industry in the United States is put under federal control to stabilize supply and prices.

17 September 1917
 

Eastern Front
Riga: fighting between advanced posts continues.

Southern Front
Austro-Hungarian infantry marching through the snow in the Alps: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...022824458801152

Naval and Overseas Operations
British submarine G.9 is sunk when the HMS Pasley mistakes it for a German U-boat and rams it. 30 men are killed:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...113424264785920

Political, etc
Germany: Government asks 15-year-olds to volunteer for Army.
The second ever “summer time” ended last night in Germany, the Netherlands, and in Great Britain, as clocks are moved back.
Russia: Leon Trotsky released from Kresty prison.
France: Churchill meets French Munitions Minister Loucheur in Paris, latter urges Allied Munitions Council.
France will send 140 of its officers to the United States to train the U.S. Army.
United Kingdom: 9d loaf order in operation.
"Summer Time" ends at 2 am.
Coalminers flat wage up 1s 6d per day. Women as workers in a coal mine in England: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...emine.jpg?ssl=1
King George V visiting a factory and observing a woman worker using a flame cutter: © IWM (Q 54821): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...083233601622017
King George V launching a ship at the dockyard in Greenock, Scotland: © IWM (Q 54817): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...385212349571072
Argentina: Germany apologizes to Argentina over the Luxburg Affair, where a German diplomat asked U-boats to target neutral Argentine ships.

18 September 1917
 

Western Front
Heavy artillery and aerial activity continues around Ypres, as Britain prepares for another offensive in the area.

Southern Front
Luigi Cadorna cancels 12th Isonzo offensive and starts defensive preparations, tells Allies this on September 20 who halt guns for the Italians on September 25.
Trentino: Italian battalions take 200 PoWs in Val Sugana but fail in dash for Trento inspired by Czech officer deserters (night September 18-19) at Carzano.
Italian soldiers in the trench. The defense facilities in the Isonzo area are not strengthened, as the local authorities consider the site to be too difficult for the expected German-Austrian-Hungarian offensive: https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...raben.jpg?ssl=1

Naval and Overseas Operations
Channel: U-boat sinks destroyer HMS Contest (50 survivors).
Mediterranean: British patrol instructions advise limit of 12 ships per convoy with 4 escorts.

Political, etc
France: Painleve redefines French war aims as Alsace-Lorraine and reparations.
United Kingdom: King George awards 21-year-old factory worker Lizze Robinson the Order of the British Empire; the 1st woman to receive it: © IWM (Q 54481): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...743852914962432
Turkey: Count Johann von Bernstorff, former German ambassador to the U.S., arrives in Constantinople as the new ambassador to the Ottoman Empire: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...462016561119233
United States: More than 25,000 workmen in San Francisco shipyards go on strike in one of the biggest strikes in West Coast history.

19 September 1917
 

Western Front
Ypres: Sopwith Camel fighter first used as light bombers with four 20lb or 25lb bombs.

Eastern Front
German infantry attack Lemburg (east of Riga) repulsed with loss by Letts.

Southern Front
Fighting dying down on Italian front.
An Austro-Hungarian officer taking a field bath near the Isonzo front: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...835718310158336

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: Kilwa Force action at Mihambia (until September 20) costs 145 casualties and fails to cut off over 1,100 German troops retreat behind burning grass. British advance resumes on September 24 after thirst quenched.
British infantrymen in East Africa: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...-1917.jpg?ssl=1
Baltic: 20 Russian warships at Helsinki raise Red Flag.

Political, etc
Russia: M. Kerenski tries to limit powers of Extremists.
France: Vote of Confidence in French Government.
United States: 343,500 U.S.A. conscripts joined to date.
National Equal Rights League meets in New York City to urge equal rights for African American workers and soldiers.

20 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: Battle of the Menin Road Ridge begins (see 25th): British advance east of Ypres and take Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Veldhoek and part of Polygon Wood and 2,000 prisoners.
Australian soldiers run across the field while being targeted by artillery during the Battle of Menin Road: © IWM (E(AUS) 737): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...454775271043072
Third Allied attack of ‘Third Ypres’, directed by Plumer begun in mist. Main weight of attack with 11 divisions and 52 tanks thrusts against Passchendaele-Gheluvelt line in attempt to win high ground between Ypres and Roulers-Menin railway. Under unprecedented fire-layered 8-hour creeping barrage with gun to every 5.2 yards, British capture Inverness Copse, Glencorse Wood, Veld hoek, Hollebeke and part of Polygon Wood in average 1,500 yard advance despite 11 counter-attacks. Sergant W Burman of 16th Rifle Brigade uses his sword to kill 11 Germans in an MG post, wins Victoria Cross. GOC 19th Division T Bridges severely wounded, loses a leg. Letter from Captain Patton, US Cavalry, to wife: ‘The Germans shoot a gas which makes people vomit [note: this is ‘mustard gas’, known to the Germans as ‘Yperite’] and when they take off the masks to spit they shoot the deadly gas at them. It is a smart idea is it not ?’.
Royal Flying Corps RE8s plus balloons report or direct fire at 208 German batteries. 112 air combats, 11 British and 7 German aircraft lost.
British soldiers attempt to identify dead during the Third Battle of Ypres: https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...lacht.jpg?ssl=1
A damaged German memorial at a war cemetery captured by the French: © IWM (Q 78160): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...213193372504070
Australian troops trying to rescue an officer whose parachute became entangled in a tree after he jumped from a balloon: © IWM (Q 5983): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...484989556477958

Eastern Front
The Central Powers attack thrice in Susitza Valley (Moldavia); repulsed by Romanians.

Southern Front
French and Albanian troops raid Austrians in Skumbi valley (Albania); 400 prisoners.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
General Cassini's column defeat Nuri Pasha at Zanzur (west of Tripoli City); Libyan rebel losses 1,600 etc.
Trans-Caucasia declares itself a Republic.
Russians defeat Turks near Ortobo (Bitlis, September 25).

Political, etc
Germany: Germany opens its 7th war loan to raise 50 million Marks for the war effort, urging the public to buy bonds.
Russia: General Mikhail Alexeiev resigns, Nikolai Dukhonin becomes effective C-in-C.
Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet resigns due to continued divisions within the fledgling Russian government.
United Kingdom: Sir A. Yapp, Food Controller.
Chambers of Commerce meets for better understanding of British war aims; addressed by Lord Northcliffe.
United States: Nation War Convention of U.S.A.
300,000 more conscripted Americans head to U.S. Army Camps to train for the war.
Argentina: Argentine Senate votes 23 to 1 to break off diplomatic relations with Germany.

21 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: German attacks on Tower Hamlets' ridge repulsed. Prisoners now exceed 3,000. (Another source specifies 3,243 ).
Royal Flying Corps Nos 100 and 101 Squadrons continue night bombing of Menin and Roulers against arriving German troops, using parachute flares (repeated September 25-26 and 26-27).
German PoWs in a British collection center. https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...ngene.jpg?ssl=1
Men of the 13th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, prepare to advance during the Battle of Menin Road: © IWM (Q 5970): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...545407629021184
"The Menin Road,” by Paul Nash in 1919, depicting the battlefield near Gheluvelt at Ypres: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...575588305498112

Eastern Front
After holding enemy here for 18 months, Russians retire north from Jakobstadt (River Dvina).
Courland proclaims independence and requests German protection.

Southern Front
Second phase of Isonzo battle closed; neither side can hold Mte. S. Gabriele.

Naval and Overseas Operations
East Africa: German groups broken up west of Kilwa and Lindi; flee south to River Mbemkuru.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
British bomb and cause surrender of Diwaniya (Euphrates).

Political, etc
United Kingdom: Publication of Count Bernstorff's correspondence with Berlin re: bribing Congress.
Canada: Canada passes the Wartime Elections Act, which gives the vote to women in the military and to wives, mothers, & sisters of serving soldiers.
Italy: Central Powers' reply to Papal Note.
Minor Allies: Costa Rica severs diplomatic relations with Germany (see May 23rd, 1918).

From all the activity going on ... it seems almost hard to imagine that in barely more than a year, the Great War will end ... to be followed by long and drawn out peace negotiations (although the negotiations seemed to be more between the allies than with Germany. :shrug:

22 September 1917
 

Western Front
Third Battle of Ypres: German forces again attempt to retake British gains at Ypres, but only gain south of the Menin Road with heavy losses.
“South African Scottish” troops carry a captured wounded German soldier during the Battle of Menin Road: © IWM (Q 2870): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...909007266709504
Stuttgart, Treves, Coblenz and Frankfurt bombed by French.
Ralph Curtis (pictured), British aerial ace with 15 victories, is killed in action in a dogfight with German pilot Hermann Göring: https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...939226392457216

Eastern Front
Jakobstadt (Baltic) stormed by German forces (21st/22nd).
German forces capture the city of Jakobstadt (Jēkabpils, Latvia) from the Russians: © IWM (Q 29937): https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...848619460333568

Southern Front
Slight Italian push in Marmolada region (Carnic).

Naval and Overseas Operations
North Sea: Only British air kill of a U-boat: Royal Navy Air Service H12 America flying boat (Flt Sub-lt N Magor) bombs coastal submarine UB-32.
The large Curtiss H12 America flying boat: https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...gboat.jpg?ssl=1
Channel: Ostend attacked by British coast patrol. Dover Patrol monitor Terror shells Ostend (35 shells), sinks floating dock.
3 Royal Navy Air Service Sopwith Camel fighters over Dover Patrol destroy, force down or capture 4 German seaplanes from Ostend and Zeebrugge.
Atlantic: Convoys from Dakar start
East Africa: Battle of Bweho Chini: over 1,100 German troops and over 20 MGs (estimate over 340 casualties) just fail to storm surrounded Nigerian Brigade camp (134 casualties). Kilwa Force reunited on September 24. Belgians fight at Hyka on river M’kaha.

Political, etc
Italy: Germany and Austria-Hungary accept Pope Benedict’s proposal for an immediate armistice in the war. The Allies had already rejected it.
Argentina: Relations much strained between Germany and Argentina.