World War One Diary for Thursday, August 2, 1917:

Air War

North Sea – First aircraft landing on a ship steaming: RNAS Squadron-Commander Dunning’s Sopwith Pup side-slips onto HMS Furious (repeat attempt in stronger headwind kills him on August 7).

Austria: 20 of 36 Capronis (10 damaged by anti-aircraft fire) reach Pola, drop 8t bombs on naval base (night August 2-3); 28 planes repeat it on night August 8-9.

Western Front

Ypres: Battle of Pilckem Ridge ends after maximum advance of 3,000 yards by 9 British divisions costs 31,850 casualties. Waterlogged shell holes began to appear.

Artois: Germans storm some trenches on ‘Infantry Hill’ (Monchy-Arras).

Sea War

North Sea: At Wilhelmshaven 600 men of German battleship Prinzregent Luitpold (after over 9 months idle in harbour) led by anarchist stokers Johann Beckers and Albin Kobis strike and stage mass walkout against draconian discipline and meagre rations, march back to ship. Kobis shouts ‘Down with the war! We no longer want to fight this war !’

Mutiny in German Fleet is crushed (temporarily), 18 arrested, hundreds of men with ‘bad political attitudes’ transferred to shore stations or Flanders naval infantry brigade; 5 court­-martialled for mutiny. Kobis and Seaman Reichpietsch of flagship Friedrich der Grosse sentenced to death (August 25) by firing-squad, carried out on September 5.

Pacific­: German sailing ship raider Seeadler wrecked on Lord Howe Island, having sunk 16 (6 British) ships or 30,099t in South Atlantic (45 PoWs). Captain Luckner and 5 crew captured in motor boat, Chilean schooner rescues rest.