November 1917
The following events occurred in November 1917: Thursday, November 1, 1917 Third Battle of Gaza – The British 21st Corps of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force attacked and captured Umbrella hill, a massive sand dune defense held by the Ottomans west of Gaza. Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe – The British Desert Mounted Corps began attacking Ottoman positions on the north of Beersheba, Palestine towards Hebron and Jerusalem. The Australian Corps was established to replace the First ANZAC Corps while Second ANZAC became part of the British 22nd Corps. British submarine torpedoed and sunk German submarine in the English Channel with all 26 crew lost. The Royal Flying Corps established air squadron No. 110. The Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps) of the Italian Army established its first naval air squadron 260a Squadriglia to defend the shipping lanes in the Adriatic Sea. Takatoku station, now known as Shin-Takatoku Station on Tobu Railway's Tobu Kinugawa Line, opened in Nikkō, Japan. Born: Huelet Benner, American sharpshooter, gold medalist at the 1952 Summer Olympics, in Paragould, Arkansas (d. 1999); Kaisyn Kuliev, Soviet poet, known for his poetry collections including The Wounded Stone and A Beauty of the Earth, in Upper Chegem, Russian Empire (d. 1985); R. W. B. Lewis, American literary critic, recipient of the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for the biography of Edith Wharton, in Chicago (d. 2002); Clarence E. Miller, American politician, U.S. Representative of Ohio from 1967 to 1993, in Lancaster, Ohio (d. 2011); Erich Rudorffer, German fighter pilot, member of the Luftwaffe during World War II with 222 victories claimed, ranking him the 7th most successful fighter pilot ever in air warfare, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, in Zwochau, Germany (d. 2016) Died: Leslie Maygar, Australian army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross for action during the Second Boer War (died from wounds sustained at the Battle of Beersheba) (b. 1868) Friday, November 2, 1917 British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour made the Balfour Declaration, proclaiming British support for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people..., it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities". The Lansing–Ishii Agreement was signed between Japan and the United States, with the U.S. recognizing Japan had special interests in mainland China. Battle of Caporetto – The Italian Second Army completed its retreat to Tagliamento river, which allowed German forces to establish a bridgehead. Third Battle of Gaza – British overran Ottoman trenches around the El Arish and Jafa Redoubts south of Gaza, while suffering 350 killed, 350 missing and over 2,000 wounded. Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe – British forces advanced in Palestine to establish a new front line stretching from Dayr al-Hawa in the south to Beit Liqya in the north. United States Army Colonel Brice Disque introduced his plan to put the entire Pacific Northwest lumber industry under military control for the duration of World War I, leading to the creation of the