Introduction to World War I in 1917
In early 1917 the United States was finally pushed into the war. On January 31, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, in an attempt to halt the imports of food and supplies into Britain. Germany knew that this act was likely to bring the United States into the war. However, the Germans concluded that the effects of the submarine campaign would cause the British to capitulate before United States military aid could have an impact on the course of the war.
After the loss of several United States ships to German submarine attacks and the disclosure of the Zimmerman Note (a note to the German ambassador to Mexico informing him of a plan to forge an alliance with Mexico against the United States), the Wilson administration decided on March 30 that there was no alternative to war with Germany. A special session of Congress convened April 2 and Wilson asked that war be declared. The Senate passed the war resolution on April 4, the House on April 6. Wilson promptly signed the resolution and the United States was in the war.
Preparations were made for raising and equipping a United States army as strong as the armies of the European powers. Wilson selected General John J. Pershing to head the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) and on May 18 ordered an army division sent to France. Pershing and his staff arrived in London June 8.
Congress passed the Selective Service (draft) Act on May 18, requiring registration of all men aged 21 through 30. Cantonments (training camps) and airfields were established and by September some 600,000 draftees were in training. Before the end of the year, the United States was prepared to send more troops to France than the supply transports could carry. By October, the first troops were ready to take positions at the front.
The Western Front, 1917
The year 1917 was marked by hard fighting on the Western Front. Both sides suffered enormous casualties and, once again, gained little of military importance.
Hindenburg LineThe Germans, stunned by the appalling casualties at Verdun, returned to their 1915 defensive strategy of entrenching themselves in strong positions and allowing the Allies to wear themselves out in fruitless assaults. Their most notable achievement was the establishment of a new fortified line called the Hindenburg Line by the Allies and the Siegfried, Stellung, or Siegfried Line, by the Germans. The line began near Arras and ran southward to the Aisne River near Soissons, where it merged with the old trench system. Measuring about 70 miles (110 km) in length, it was 15 miles (24 km) shorter than the old line. It was the strongest system of defenses built in the war.
At the beginning of March, the Germans began to withdraw their heavy guns and supplies to the new line. On March 10 the Allies noticed the withdrawal and began pressing forward on a 45-mile (72-km) front. The Germans retreated skillfully with small losses. They gave up an area of 600 square miles (1,550 km 2), 18 miles (29 km) wide at the broadest point. In retreating the Germans destroyed anything that could be of value to the Allies—roads, defensive fortifications, rail lines, and even trees.
The new French commander, General Nivelle, planned a coordinated Allied attack on each end of the Hindenburg Line. His plan called for the same tactics that had failed in the past. However, Nivelle was an inspiring leader whose positive attitude raised morale. Confident of victory, French troops marched into battle with vigor reminiscent of August, 1914.
Battle of ArrasThe primary goal of the attack at Arras was to divert German resources from Nivelle's Aisne offensive. From April 9 to May 15, the British advanced up to 4 miles (6 km) on a front 22 miles (14 km) long. During the first days of the fighting, the Canadians took Vimy Ridge. On May 3, Australian troops broke through and held a section of the Hindenburg Line. A counterattack by German reserve units recaptured the territory that had been lost to the Allies. When the battle ended, the British had lost 158,000 men, and the Germans 160,000.
Second Battle of the AisneNivelle planned an attack intended to break the German line and carry his troops through to Laon. The attack began April 16, after a 10-day bombardment. Advances were made at a few places on a 50-mile (80-km) front, but foul weather and the treacherous terrain slowed the assault. The German line held. When the battle ended April 20 the French had accomplished nothing and had lost 187,000 men.
The French army had been so confident of victory that this defeat proved to be one of the most morally devastating of the war. The ranks broke into open rebellion. Some soldiers refused orders to go to the front lines, while others deserted. It was estimated that during this crisis, only 20 percent of the army would have been reliable in the event of an enemy attack.
In May, Nivelle was replaced by General Pétain. He weeded out and punished the most rebellious troops. In order to raise morale, the French government promised more furloughs, better food, and additional financial support for the soldiers' dependents. In addition, Pétain planned not to initiate major offensives for the remainder of the year.
Battle of Passchendaele,or Third Battle of Ypres . With the French temporarily incapacitated, the offensive burden in the west fell on the British. General Haig planned another attack in the Ypres sector, supported by an amphibious landing at Ostend. His goal was to attack the end of the German line and capture the enemy submarine bases on the Belgian coast.
Before Haig could launch this attack, the well-defended German salient on the Witschaete-Messines Ridge had to be destroyed. General H. C. O. Plumer, commanding the British Second Army, made extensive preparations for the attack. As early as July, 1915, he had started construction of mines (chambers to be filled with explosives) under the German positions. Of the 24 mines constructed, 20 were in the zone in which the attack was finally launched. The Germans destroyed one, but 19, filled with more than a million pounds (454,000 kg) of explosives, were ready for the attack.
Messines Ridge was bombarded for several days by the British before they detonated the mines on June 7. The explosion could be heard as far away as London. Most of the defenders were killed, and the few that were left fled. The British had occupied the entire ridge by June 14.
On July 31, Haig's offensive was launched. It soon proved to be a disaster. The two earlier battles at Ypres had devastated the landscape and incessant rain turned the terrain into an impassable, muddy swamp. Soldiers, supplies, and artillery could not advance. The commanders in the rear had no idea how miserable the conditions were and kept pressing the offensive. On November 20, however, they finally gave up. Haig's offensive cost the British 400,000 casualties.
While the Battle of Passchendaele was going on, General Pétain planned two minor engagements aimed at restoring the confidence of the army. The French were victorious in both. The first was at Verdun, where the French pushed the Germans back to where they had stood before the great Battle of Verdun of 1916. The second was on the Heights of the Aisne, which the French captured late in October.
Battle of CambraiThe final battle on the Western Front in 1917 was fought near Cambrai, November 20-December 3. The engagement demonstrated the tactical value of the tank. The British, under General J. H. G. Byng, broke through the Hindenburg Line with a surprise attack led by 380 tanks. In the first six hours, the British took 8,000 prisoners and 60 square miles (150 km 2)of territory. General Haig, however, showed little interest in the offensive and did not provide any reserves. By the end of the first day many of the tanks broke down and the advance halted. After a strong German counterattack the British were forced to retire. The battle ended with the British lines about 2 1/2 miles (4 km) nearer Cambrai than they had been.
The Eastern Front, 1917
By 1917 internal conditions in Russia were in disarray. Strikes, riots, and mutinies in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) led to the March Revolution and the abdication of Czar Nicholas II (March 15). A provisional government was formed, headed first by Prince George Lvov and later by Alexander Kerensky. In the hope of again establishing discipline and fighting spirit, Kerensky decided to launch an offensive on the Galician front.
The offensive began July 1. It was successful at first, but by July 20 discipline had almost completely disappeared. When the Germans and Austrians counterattacked, the Russian forces along the entire front in Galicia fell back in disorderly retreat. By August all that Brusilov had won in 1916 was lost. In September the Germans easily captured Riga. Shortly afterward, a German fleet entered the Gulf of Riga and the Germans gained a foothold in Estonia and Livonia. The Germans were now within striking distance of Petrograd.
Meanwhile, the Germans had allowed V. I. Lenin to pass from Switzerland through Germany to Russia, hoping that the Bolshevik leader would stir up trouble for the provisional government. Lenin's forces overthrew the government November 7. The Bolsheviks began peace negotiations in December. However, these talks failed and a new German drive into Russia (February, 1918) forced the Russians to accept Germany's terms. The Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. The Germans were free to concentrate all of their efforts on the Western Front.
The Italian Campaign, 1917
Isonzo OffensivesOn May 12 the Italians began an offensive along the entire Isonzo line. Although the offensive claimed 100,000 German and Austrian casualties, it did not bring the Italians any closer to their objective of Trieste.
Internal unrest in Italy, caused by the strain of war on the economy, made a speedy victory by Italian forces desirable. A new offensive, which resulted in the 11th and last Battle of the Isonzo, was launched August 18. The first rush on August 19 carried the Italians into the Austrian front-line trenches along the entire 23-mile (37-km) front from Plava to the sea. For two weeks fierce fighting raged around Monte San Gabriele and on the Bainsizza Plateau. The Italians took San Gabriele September 4. The Austrian position was shattered, and the Austrians were saved only by the fact that the Italian troops outran their artillery support and supply lines. The fighting died down by September 12.
CaporettoBy this time, Ludendorff had become the real power in the German high command. Realizing the potentially disastrous situation on the Isonzo, Ludendorff sent six German divisions, under the command of General Otto von Below, to reinforce the Austrians and attack the Italians. On October 24, the German and Austrian forces struck near Caporetto, a village on the Isonzo. After a short, intense bombardment, German infantry came pouring down on the Italians and routed them. At Tolmino, farther south, the Austrians swept through the Italian lines on the first rush. The whole 16-mile (26-km) sector collapsed within a day.
General Armando Diaz became the Italian commander on November 7, replacing General Cadorna. By November 10 Italian troops, reinforced by French and British units from France, regrouped and entrenched themselves on the Piave River, 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Caporetto. During the fighting at Caporetto, the German and Austrian forces captured 2,300 guns and took almost a quarter of a million prisoners. In addition, an estimated 300,000 Italians deserted.
The Balkan Front, 1917
The most important developments in the Balkans in 1917 were political rather than military. The Allies had been pressuring King Constantine of Greece to give up his throne. He abdicated on June 12 in favor of his son Alexander. On June 25, the new king made Venizelos premier, uniting the country. On June 27, the new government declared war on the Central Powers.
In July, 1917, a new nation was established, on paper at least, at a conference of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in Corfu. This nation became the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia).
In August, the Germans and Austrians began an attack against Romanian forces in Moldavia. Romania asked for a truce in December and made peace with the Central Powers on May 7, 1918, by signing the Treaty of Bucharest.
The Turkish Front, 1917
General Sir Edmund Allenby took command of British forces in Palestine in the spring. He spent the summer preparing his troops for an offensive against the Turks, which was launched on October 31. He captured Gaza on November 6 and conquered Jerusalem on December 9. During this campaign, Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") won fame for leading the Arabs in guerrilla warfare against the Turks.
In Mesopotamia, the British recaptured Kut-el-Amara February 23, 1917. They then advanced up the Tigris River and captured Baghdad March 11, forcing the Turks to retreat from Persia. Russian forces began to advance into western Persia in March but withdrew in July because of the Russian Revolution.
Naval Operations, 1917
The most significant development in naval operations in 1917 was Germany's return to unrestricted submarine warfare. By 1917, Germany had developed its U-boats to the point where they had a cruising radius of 10,000 miles (16,000 km) and a surface speed of 25 knots. In April, 1917, U-boats had sunk nearly 900,000 tons. A few more months of losses at that rate would have forced Great Britain out of the war.
In May, however, the Allies instituted the convoy system and the danger began to decrease. From June, 1917, to November 1918, more than 2,000,000 troops from the United States were safely transported to France despite the German submarines.