The Great War – May 1917

Western Front

7^th May                        British fighter pilot Albert Ball VC Killed in action

3^rd May                      French mutinies begin

9^th May                         Nivelle Offensive ends

15^th May                       Philippe Pétain replaces Robert Nivelle in the French army

15^th May                     Foch succeeds Pétain as Chief of General Staff

3^rd/4^th May                 Third Battle of the Scarpe

3^rd/15^th May              Second Battle of Bullecourt

16^th May                     Arras offensive ended

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Various Campaigns

2^nd May                         1^st USA destroyer flotilla arrived in Ireland

10^th May                    Pershing appointed to take command of the American Expeditionary Force

18^th May                      Compulsory Service Act in USA

5^th May                       Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes wins enlarged majority

12^th May                       Tenth Battle of Isonzo

25^th May                       Massed German air raid on SE England

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The Eastern Front

16^th May                      Kerensky becomes Russian war minister.

May                               Kerensky persuaded to accept the Women’s Battalion of Death

May                             General Brusilov appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army

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The Balkans

5^th to 9^th May              Second Battle of the Crna Bend

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