The Great War Diary, Wednesday, 29th August 1917 Pictured: Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig reviewing the 5th Australian Division at Ebblinghem. The Australian flag (Australian Blue Ensign) can be seen on the right, with the Union Jack in the background. 29th August 1917 WESTERN FRONT: The Third Ypres Situation Report. On the 27th August, Haig called a halt to operations until the weather improved, he also handed command of the Battle over to Plumer. The next operation will be 'The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge', which will begin on the 20th September 1917 and will last for six days. During the pause in British and French general attacks between late August and 20 September, the British will change some of the infantry tactics, adopting the leap-frog method of advance, where waves of infantry will stop once they reached their objective and consolidated the ground, while other waves will pass through the objective to attack the next one and the earlier waves will became the tactical reserve. General adoption of the method will be made possible when more artillery is brought into the salient. In the air new tactics will also be used, there will be an increase in the number of aircraft involved in close air support and by specialising the tasks of air defence, contact-patrol, counter-attack patrol, artillery observation and ground-attack. EASTERN FRONT: Fighting continues in Focsani region. ITALIAN FRONT: Isonzo: Cadorna orders Bainsizza operations suspended except north and east of Gorizia. General Waldstatten submits Austrian offensive plan to General Arz for an offensive involving 13 divisions (including Germans) from the Tolmino bridgehead north of Bainsizza Plateau towards Cividale. Hindenburg and Ludendorff eventually approve what will become the Caporetto offensive after the Bavarian mountain warfare expert, General Kraftt inspects the front. WAR AT SEA: German submarines sink, 4 British, 1 Italian and 1 American cargo ships with the loss of 10 lives, all British merchant seaman. POLITICS: Canada introduces conscription: After visiting Britain for a meeting of First Ministers in May 1917, Borden announced that he would introduce the Military Service Act on August 29, 1917. The Act was passed: allowing the government to conscript men across the country if the Prime Minister felt that it was necessary. After the Military Service Act was passed, tensions ran high throughout Canada. The majority of Canadians were not as enthusiastic about joining the war effort as the first Canadian volunteers had been. In fact many people objected to the idea of war completely. 5,000 demonstrate against it in Montreal. Britain: Churchill writes to union leaders on necessity for increased aircraft produc­tion. Germany: Industrialists tell Chancellor ‘they are ready to fight 10 more years’ to keep the mineral-rich Longwy-Briey basin. Polish State Council resigns. Sources: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/military-service-act/ The Times History of the War (complete in 22 vols; 1914-1921) NAVAL OPERATIONS, Volume 5, April 1917 to November 1918 (Part 1 of 4) by Henry Newbolt. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence: Military Operations France and Belgium: in multiple volumes for each year of the war: 1914 volume 1, 1922; 1914 volume 2, 1925; 1915 volume 1, 1927; 1915 volume 2, 1928; 1916 volume 1, 1932; 1916 volume 2, 1938; 1916 appendices volume, 1938; 1917 volume 1, 1940; 1917 volume 2, 1948; 1917 volume 3, 1948; 1918 volume 1, 1935; 1918 volume 2, 1937; 1918 volume 3, 1939; 1918 volume 4, 1947; 1918 volume 5, 1947; 1918 appendices volume, 1935. all published in London by Macmillan except 1917 volumes 2 & 3 and 1918 volumes 4 & 5, all by HMSO. The German Army in World War I" by Nigel Thomas http://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/3846.html http://www.naval-history.net/WW1LossesBrRNA-L.htm

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