Skip to main content

Officers of the RNAS Russian Armoured Car Division watching for enemy aircraft, Galicia, 1 July 1917. Image courtesy Imperial War Museum © IWM (Q 109747).

  • Russian forces led by war minister Alexander Kerensky initiate a new offensive against German troops on the Eastern Front. The Summer Offensive begins with a failed attempt to recapture the city of Lemberg (Lviv) in Galicia. Germany launches a furious counter-attack; fighting continues until 18 July and results in a massive Russian loss of life and territory. The Kerensky Offensive
  • German troops on the Western Front launch violent attacks in the Cerny-Ailles sector in northern Aisne
  • The Royal Flying Corps introduces the Sopwith Camel fighter aircraft to service on the Western Front. A total of 1,325 Camels were manufactured during 1917, enabling the British to reassert their air superiority over the battlefield.