Meeting
Convenes a General Staff Meeting to consider an offensive in the west
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1917 in Germany — Page 3
Explore 140 historical events and records for Germany in 1917.
Historical records for Germany in 1917
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 140 unique records.
140Unique records
3 of 4Page
30Named events on this page
18Named people on this page
9Places on this page
November
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
A surprise British tank attack.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
Orders an immediate counter-attack only to discover that reserves could not be brought forward for a further two days, at one stage he even contemplates a general withdrawal from the Cambrai front.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
20 divisions are deployed during the German counter-attack, the so-called Hutier infiltration tactics (named after the German commander who had first deployed them, Oskar von Hutier), within a week virtually all lost ground had been reclaimed
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
During the battle casualties were high, the Germans suffered losses of approximately 50,000 and the British 45,000.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
In pressing home wave after wave of German counterattacks, starting 20 November, he worked to recover all ground lost to the British. Facing the British attack is the German Second Army led by Georg von der Marwitz.
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war.
Hindenburg Line
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war
Hindenburg Line
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war
Second Army
Facing the British attack is the German Second Army led by Georg von der Marwitz
Siege of Cambrai
Within hours the lightly defended Germans are forced back 6 km to Cambrai, the three trench systems of the Hindenburg Line pierced for the first time in the war
December
Armistice
Pays host to the Russian Armistice Commission behind German lines at Dvinsk
Battle of Cambrai, 1st
A German counter-offensive wipes out British gains
Peace
German representitive at Brest Litovsk where the Russians are seeking an armistice
UFA Founded
Universum Film AG is founded, creating a major German studio structure.
Birth of Heinrich Boll
Birth of Heinrich Boll
Council of War
Ludendorfs 2nd council of war
Communist Party
Revolution breaks out across Germany, the leftists, led by Rosa Luxemburg and the Spartacist League, form the KPD
Return to Western Front Staff Duty
Jodl returns west as adjutant to an artillery commander.
Spartacist League
Revolution breaks out across Germany, the leftists, led by Rosa Luxemburg and the Spartacist League, form the KPD
Other events (month unknown)
Ambassador
Appointed Ambassador of Turkey
Army Morale Crisis
Russian commanders report declining discipline and weakening morale among troops.
Atomic Recoil Required by Photon Momentum
By assigning momentum to individual radiation quanta, Einstein concluded that atoms must recoil when they emit or absorb directed packets of light.
Captain
Appointed Captain
Chairman
Appointed co-Chairman of the SDP
Chief of Staff
Appointed Chief of the General Staff for the Turkish Army
Chief of Staff
Appointed Chief of the General Staff for the Turkish Army
Cosmological Term Added to Field Equations
To support a static cosmological solution, Einstein modified the gravitational field equations with an additional cosmological term that could counterbalance large-scale attraction.
Fourth Cavalry Division
Manstein became a senior operations officer with the German Fourth Cavalry Division in the eastern theatre. He helped organise divisional operations during a period of shifting military conditions.
General
Appointed General Governor of Belgium
German Counterstroke
German and Austro-Hungarian forces launch their counterstroke.
German Offensive Response
German forces exploit Russian weakness following the failed attack.
German Reinforcements
German units reinforce Austro-Hungarian forces during the counteroffensive.
Hungarian Artillery Battery Command
Jodl commands a battery in the 72nd Royal Hungarian Field Artillery Regiment.
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD)
The party's stance, under the leadership of Ebert and other revisionists like Scheidemann, in favour of the war eventually led to a split, with the more left wing elements in the party leaving in early 1917 to form the USPD
Iron Cross
Awarded the Iron Cross, 1st class
Kirchbach Defence
Kirchbach directs Austro-Hungarian units during defensive operations.
Light Quantum Momentum Set by Energy and Light Speed
Einstein's radiation theory assigned each emitted or absorbed light quantum a momentum equal to its energy divided by the speed of light.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.