December 1917

[December 1], 1917 (Saturday)

• Battle of Jerusalem - The Yildirim Army Group of the Ottoman Empire clashed with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force at Ell Burj and Nebi Samwil in Palestine but suffered heavy losses in both attacks.
• The British Fourth Army launched a night attack to capture Westroosebeke, Belgium from the Germans in an attempt to secure a winter line for units in Passchendaele but were ultimately repulsed by German defenses, losing 1,689 casualties.
• The United States Army established the 5th Infantry Division.
• The Royal Flying Corps established air squadrons No. 97 and No. 115.
• The United States Army established the 213th Aero Squadron.
• Chilean-American socialite Blanca Errázuriz was acquitted of the murder of her husband John de Saulles, a celebrity football player and manager turned millionaire through real estate in New York, following a sensational trial that even covered an alleged affair with rising film star Rudolph Valentino. The defense and media portrayed Errázuriz as a victim of a chauvinism during the divorce proceedings and custody battle prior to the couple's argument on August 3 that resulted in her shooting her husband.
• The Spanish newspaper El Sol released its first edition in Madrid.
• A severe cold wave in Interior Alaska produced the coldest recorded mean monthly temperatures in the United States. Fort Yukon, Alaska averaged and Eagle, Alaska.
• Born:
• * Joanne Siegel, American model, wife to Jerry Siegel, inspiration for the character Lois Lane in Superman; as Jolan Kovacs, in Cleveland, United States
• * Eladio Dieste, Uruguayan architect, best known for his designs for Montevideo Shopping and Christ the Worker Church in Estación Atlántida; in Artigas, Uruguay

  [December 2], 1917 (Sunday)

• German submarine struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight then was rammed by a Royal Navy patrol boat with the loss of either 27 of her 34 crew or 29 of her 35 crew.
• German fighter ace Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp shot down and killed British ace Harry G. E. Luchford, who had 24 victories at the time of his death. Von Bülow-Bothkamp would be shot down and killed by a British ace just one month later.
• The Norwegian sports club Gjeilo was established in Geilo, Norway before changing to its present name the following year to Geilo. The club has sections on alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, skiing and biathlon, snowboarding, telemark skiing, football, handball and cycling.
• The first official handball match was played in Berlin.

  [December 3], 1917 (Monday)

• Battle of Cambrai - The German Second Army captured the village of La Vacquerie and pushed British forces back behind the St Quentin canal.
• Battle of Jerusalem - British forces recaptured the Palestinian village of Beit Ur el Foqa they had lost to the Ottomans five days earlier. Ottoman resistance in the Judaean Mountains began to taper off everywhere.
• The New Zealand Division attacked the Polderhoek Spur ridge near Ypres, Belgium but failed to complete their objective. The division held their ground against German counterattacks for a month, amassing a total 1,198 casualties by the end of December.
• Nikolay Dukhonin, the last commander-in-chief of the Imperial Russian Army, was lynched and murdered at a railway station in Mogilev, Belarus after surrendering to Soviet custody. Red Army officer Pavel Dybenko was alleged to have given the order to allow a mob of soldiers and sailors to bayonet Dukhonin to death, then use his corpse as target practice.
• The first prototype of the Beardmore aircraft was flown.
• The North Coast line was extended in New South Wales, Australia, with station Kempsey opened to serve the line.
• Born: Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer and Holocaust survivor, known for his photo work during his imprisonment at the Auschwitz concentration camp; in Żywiec, Austria-Hungary

  [December 4], 1917 (Tuesday)

• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his State of the Union Address to the 65th United States Congress, which focused on the United States' entry into World War I: "I shall not go back to debate the causes of the war. The intolerable wrongs done and planned against us by the sinister masters of Germany have long since become too grossly obvious and odious to every true American to need to be rehearsed."
• Sfatul Țării, governing council for Bessarabia within the crumbling Russian Empire, held its first session.
• Battle of Jerusalem - British troops found no further resistance on the main road between Hebron and Jerusalem.
• The Philippine Red Cross formed as a chapter of the American Red Cross. It would becomes its own independent organization in 1934.
• Born: Alexander Baron, British writer, author of From the City from the Plough and The Lowlife; as Joseph Alexander Bernstein, in Maidenhead, England
• Died: Scott Shipp, 78, American army officer, commander of the Virginia Military Institute cadet battalion at the Battle of New Market during the American Civil War

  [December 5], 1917 (Wednesday)

• The Supreme Soviet of the National Economy, or Vesenkha, was established by decree of the Council of People's Commissars and All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets, for the stated purpose to "plan for the organization of the economic life of the country and the financial resources of the government".
• A military junta led by Sidónio Pais pushed to overthrow the Afonso Costa administration in Portugal.
• After weeks of unfavorable weather, the Luftstreitkräfte made its first heavier-than-air raid against United Kingdom since October. Nineteen Gotha and two Riesenflugzeug bombers attacked in several waves, causing £100,000 in damage around the London area but inflicting few casualties. British anti-aircraft guns shot down two Gotha bombers and their crews were captured while a third bomber went missing.
• The Ukrainian State Academy of Arts, the first art academy for Ukraine, was established in Kiev with Fedir Krychevsky as the first rector.
• The Finnish daily newspaper Keskipohjanmaa published its first edition.
• Born: Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress, known for stage and film roles including The Master and His Servants and The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix; as Eva Wenche Steenfeldt-Foss, in Kristiania, Norway
• Died: Edmund Reid, 71, British law enforcer, head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police of London during the Jack the Ripper murders

  [December 6], 1917 (Thursday)

• Halifax Explosion - French cargo ship, loaded with explosive material, collided with Norwegian ship in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia. The collision caused a fire that ignited the explosive material on Mont-Blanc, causing the biggest man-made explosion in recorded history until the Trinity nuclear test in 1945. The massive blast destroyed part of Halifax, killed at least 1,963 people and injured 9,000 more.
• * Vince Coleman, a train dispatcher for Canadian Government Railways in Halifax, stayed at his telegraph office after the collision between and to send a stop order on an overnight train from Saint John, New Brunswick that was carrying over 300 passengers from entering the city, saving hundreds of lives. His last telegraph decoded from Morse code was said to have read: "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." He was killed along with thousands of others in the ensuing blast.
• The Senate of Finland officially declared the country's independence from Russia, with the date continually observed as Independence Day.
• U.S. Navy destroyer was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the British Isles by German submarine, killing 66 crew in the first significant American naval loss of World War I and first ever U.S. destroyer loss to an enemy. Survivors were rescued by British craft.
• German submarines and collided off the coast of France, killing 11 of the crew on board UC-69.
• The United States Army established the 7th Infantry Division.
• The first Viru Infantry Battalion was established as part of the Estonian Army.
• The Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army, established air squadron Jagdstaffel 43.
• Chikuhei Nakajima and Seibi Kawanishi founded the Japan Aeroplane Manufacturing Work Company Ltd, the first aircraft manufacturing company in Japan.
• Born:
• * Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese politician, co-founder and leader of the Lebanese National Movement; in Deir al-Qamar, Ottoman Empire
• * Irv Robbins, Canadian-born American entrepreneur, co-founder of the ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins; as Irvine Isaac Robbins, in Winnipeg, Canada
• * Eliane Plewman, French spy, member of the Special Operations Executive; as Eliane Sophie Browne-Bartroli, in Marseille, France

  [December 7], 1917 (Friday)

• The United States declared war on Austria-Hungary.
• The Battle of Cambrai - The British gave up further positions to the Germans before the general operation was called off.
• * German casualties were estimated between to casualties. British casualties were recorded as 47,596, including 9,000 men taken prisoner.
• * German command credited the use of ten ground-attack air squadrons in providing close air support to ground forces during the 17-day battle, for playing a key role in halting the British advance and convincing the Luftstreitkräfte of the need for a permanent ground-attack force.
• Canadian naval vessel foundered and sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with a loss of 44 crew.
• The province of Romblon was re-established in the Philippines.
• Japanese food manufacturer Kikkoman, most noted for its soy and seasoning products, was founded in Noda, Chiba, Japan through the merging of eight businesses owned and operated by the Mogi and Takanashi families.
• Born: Hurd Hatfield, American actor, best known for the lead title role in The Picture of Dorian Gray; as William Rukard Hurd Hatfield, in New York City, United States
• Died:
• * Ludwig Minkus, 91, Austrian composer, best known for ballet compositions La source, Don Quixote and La Bayadère
• * Ann Eliza Young, 73, American activist, former wife of Brigham Young and early advocate for women's rights