Jul
August
Sep
Great War events that took place on 17 August.
1914 (Monday)
| Western Front | ▶ Alsace: Renewed French advance, take Marsal and Chateau-Salins. | ▶ Sir John French takes up his headquarters at Le Cateau. |
| Eastern Front | East Prussia: Russians defeat Germans at Stallupönen; Germans fall back on Gumbinnen. | |
| Southern Front | Battle of the Jadar (between Shabats and Loznitsa) continued. | |
| Naval and Overseas Operations | Adriatic: Austrian cruiser sunk near Antivari. | |
| Political | ▶ Belgium: Government transferred from Brussels to Antwerp. | ▶ Great Britain: Enrolment of Special Constables begins. |
1915 (Tuesday)
| Home Front | Zeppelin air raid on Kent, Essex and London begins. | |||
| Western Front | ▶ French gain footing on ridge in Vosges (Sondernach crest). | ▶ Night attack on Sondernach by Germans. | ||
| Eastern Front | ▶ Novo-Georgievsk furiously attacked and outlying forts captured. Austrians approach Brest-Litovsk. | ▶ Russians driven across the Bug at Konstantinov. | ▶ Enemy approaches Byelostok-Byelsk railway and cuts Kholm-Brest-Litovsk railway. | ▶ Fall of Kovna. |
| Southern Front | Italian advance on Bacher valley (Dolomites), Vrsik crest, Sta Maria and Sta Lucia hills (Julian). | |||
| Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres | 1,200 Bunerwal rebels attack camp at Rustam (Peshawar); one officer killed. | |||
| Naval and Overseas Operations | Austrians attack Pelagosa Island (Centre Adriatic). | |||
| Political | ▶ Germans claim two million prisoners to date: 330,000 British, French and Belgian; rest Russian. | ▶ Proposals of Entente examined by Serbian cabinet. | ▶ Italian war loan totals 4 million. |
Sources: Various material contemporary with the war have been used to compile The Great War On This Day and its associated Index.
Text has been transcribed from two out-of-copyright sources: Chronology of the War (1918-1920), and History of the Great War – Principle Events 1914-1918 (1922). Spelling of place names are original to British use at the time. Some typos have been altered or corrected for consistency. Duplicate or identical events between these sources have been amalgamated; as a result the date and wording may differ to the original texts.
Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and do not come under the general licence of this site.
Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent up-to-date histories, present-day spelling of place names, or geographical boundaries. In some instances the language used may appear sexist or derogatory to the modern reader, and in rare cases, images may depict distressing scenes.
For further details and a full list of sources, click here.
Images come from scans or photographs of original sources, Wikimedia Commons, and the Imperial War Museum's online collections under the IWM Non-Commercial Licence. Attribution is given separately to the latter and do not come under the general licence of this site.
Advisory note: The information in these sources may not accurately represent up-to-date histories, present-day spelling of place names, or geographical boundaries. In some instances the language used may appear sexist or derogatory to the modern reader, and in rare cases, images may depict distressing scenes.
For further details and a full list of sources, click here.