An Illustrated History of the Fourth Year of the Great War 1917 (Britain At War Special).pdf

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THE FOURTH YEAR OF
he year of 1916 had been the bloodiest twelve months the Allies had so far experienced.
British troops had marched to their deaths across No Man’s Land on the Somme, and the
French had been engulfed in unremitting slaughter at Verdun which lasted for almost
ten months and saw casualty figures rise beyond half a million.
Yet both the battles of the Somme and Verdun were Allied successes. On both fronts the Germans
had been beaten, losing at least as many men as their dogged enemies. That Germany was teetering
on the brink of defeat was confirmed when the Kaiser indicated that he was willing to discuss
peace terms in December – an offer that was rejected by the Allies who scented victory.
There could, therefore, be no relaxation of effort. The war of attrition that had seen the
incremental weakening of the German Army, and the German nation, had to be maintained,
even accelerated, throughout 1917. By the summer of that year, Field Marshal Haig’s plans for a
new offensive in Flanders were complete, with the initial attack being made against the German
positions on Pilckem Ridge outside Ypres. It marked the start of the Third Battle of Ypres – better
known as the Battle of Passchendaele.
The fourth year of the war also saw the reintroduction of unrestricted submarine warfare by the
Germans, the Allied capture of Baghdad, the battles of Arras, Bullecourt and Messines, Canadian
success at Vimy Ridge, the start of the Gotha bomber raids on London and the territory of German
East Africa overrun.
Away from the battlefields, great events were to shape the future course of the war. Revolution
in Russia ended its involvement in the fighting, but in to its place stepped the United States of
America which was finally provoked into declaring war on Germany. These, and a catalogue of
other events examined in the following pages, and which involved or had a direct impact upon the
British and Commonwealth nations, tell the story of 1917.
Editor:
John Grehan
Group Editor:
Nigel Price
Assistant Editor:
Martin Mace
Designer:
Mike Carr
Executive Chairman:
Richard Cox
Managing Director/Publisher:
Adrian Cox
Commercial Director:
Ann Saundry
Production Manager:
Janet Watkins
Marketing Manager:
Martin Steele
Contacts
Key Publishing Ltd
PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XQ
E-mail: enquiries@keypublishing.com
www.keypublishing.com
Distribution:
Seymour Distribution Ltd.
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7429 4000
Printed by Warners (Midlands) Plc, Bourne, Lincs.
The entire contents of this special edition
is copyright © 2016. No part of it may be
reproduced in any form or stored in any form of
retrieval system without the prior permission of
the publisher.
Published by Key Publishing Ltd
www.britain-at-war-magazine.com
THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE GREAT WAR:
1917
THE GREAT WAR: 1917
T
John Grehan
Editor
MAIN IMAGE:
A stranded British tank on the
Passchendaele battlefield.
(COURTESY OF PEN &
SWORD BOOKS; WWW.PEN-AND-SWORD.CO.UK)
1917:
THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE GREAT WAR
3
CONTENTS
THE EVENTS OF 1917
JANUARY
23
A State of the Nation Speech
24
23
First Night Bomber Squadron Formed
26
24
Kut El Amara Recaptured
27
6
18
20
21
22
25
25
1
7
9
19
19
25
New Year’s Honours
10
Mottershead VC
11
The Loss of HMS
Cornwallis
12
The Silvertown Disaster
13
The Zimmermann Telegram
16
The Loss of the SS
Laurentic
18
MARCH
9
Operation Alberich
20
19
Merchant Submarine Requisitioned
21
21
The Mendi Disaster
23
FEBRUARY
Caring for the Wounded
28
British Troops Enter Péronne
29
Australia’s Only WW1 Aerial VC
31
First Imperial War Conference
32
SMS
Möwe
Returns to Port
33
Bapaume Booby Trap
34
The First Battle of Gaza
36
4
18
18
21
MAY
US Destroyers Arrive
46
Albert Ball Listed as Missing
47
Trial Convoy Arrives
48
The Formation of the Imperial War
Graves Commission
49
25
First Large-Scale Daylight Raid on
Britain
51
Mass Investiture at Hyde Park
52
OBE Established
54
The Capture of Messines
55
Worst Air Raid on London
57
Ashton-under-Lyne Explosion
60
Zeppelin
L.48
Shot Down
61
6
9
9
11
20
APRIL
The US Declares War
37
The Battle of Arras
38
The Battle at Vimy Ridge
40
Offensive at Bullecourt
42
Battle in the Channel
44
2
4
7
13
13
17
JUNE
4
CONTENTS
THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE GREAT WAR:
1917
The Events of 1917
THE EVENTS OF 1917
CONTENTS
3
9
17
28
31
JULY
Royal Visit to the Western Front
63
The
Vanguard
Explosion
65
Royal Name Change
66
Tank Corps Formed
67
The Third Battle of Ypres
68
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
4
First Night Blitz on London
76
20
The Battle of Menin Road
77
4
9
11
19
31
Broodseinde Ridge
78
Battle of Poelcappelle
79
No.41 Wing Formed
80
The Silent Raid
81
Beersheba Captured
82
1
6
9
12
17
DECEMBER
Russia’s Peace Plan
92
Halifax Explosion
93
The Fall of Jerusalem
94
The ‘Hero Land’ Bazaar
96
Rationing Begins
97
1
2
15
16
17
22
AUGUST
The Pope’s Peace Note
70
First Landing on a Moving Ship
71
US Troops Parade in London
72
The Fight for Langemarck
73
The Smuts Report
74
Last Daylight Raid
75
The End of the Fourth Year of the Great
War
98
BELOW:
A typical view of the Passchendaele
battlefield during 1917.
(COURTESY OF PEN &
SWORD BOOKS; WWW.PEN-AND-SWORD.CO.UK)
2
9
10
15
20
NOVEMBER
The Balfour Declaration
85
The First Tank Bank
86
Passchendaele Ends
88
Statement in Parliament
89
The Battle of Cambrai
90
1917:
THE FOURTH YEAR OF THE GREAT WAR
5

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