Western Front
Aisne: Heavy fighting on the Aisne; German attacks repulsed. Germany launch 4 attacks against French lines in the Aisne, but only gain some first line trenches.
Verdun: French forces take 3 points near Verdun.
Unveiling of the 1st Australian Division memorial at Pozieres: © IWM (Q 2598):
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...660724295356416
Eastern Front
Galicia: “Kerensky” Or “Second Brusilov (Summer)” Offensive: Austro-Hungarian front broken west of Stanislau by General Kornilov; 7,000 prisoners taken, cavalry pursue enemy, rout stemmed by German reserves. Russian forces claim the capture of 7000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners. The resulting gap in the Austrian lines was large enough that, for one of the few times in the war, the cavalry prepared to exploit a breakthrough could actually be used to great effect. Two entire cavalry divisions pushed through and reached as far as Kalusz, over 15 miles distant, by July 11. However, with the Seventh and Eleventh Armies to his north unwilling to renew their offensive, this left the Eighth Army’s rapidly advancing flank increasingly exposed; and the German reserves, as related above, were able to force back the Russian advance.
Naval and Overseas Operations
(Reported for yesterday): German submarine SM
U-99 is sunk by the Royal Navy submarine HMS
J2.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
Persia: Russian forces begin withdrawal from Western Persia; Qasr-i-Shirin evacuated (see May 7th, 1916, March 25th, 1917 and January 8th, 1918).
Mesopotamia: British occupy Dhibban on Euphrates during hottest summer in memory (122°F in shade at Baghdad).
Under 50°C heat (123°F), British troops begin advancing on Ottoman lines defending Ramadi (Iraq).
Cigarette card illustration of a Middlesex Regiment Territorial at Baghdad:
https://i1.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...gdadh.jpg?ssl=1
Political, etc
Russia: The
1st Russian Women’s Battalion of Death, under Maria Bochkareva, head to the front to participate in the Kerensky Offensive:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...343678491832322
Women's Battalions were all-female combat units formed after the February Revolution by the Russian Provisional Government in a last-ditch effort to inspire the mass of war-weary soldiers to continue fighting in World War I. Fifteen formations were created in 1917, including the
1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, a separate unit called the
1st Petrograd Women's Battalion formed a few weeks later in Petrograd, the
2nd Moscow Women's Battalion of Death created in Moscow, and the
3rd Kuban Women's Shock Battalion organized in Ekaterinodar. Four communications detachments were created in Moscow and Petrograd. Seven additional communications units were created in Kiev and Saratov, again employing privately organized women's units already existing in those cities. Additional unsanctioned battalions sprang in cities across Russia. An all-female naval unit was created in Oranienbaum, the
1st Women's Naval Detachment, as part of the Naval Infantry Training Detachment.
Canada: Tom Thomson, influential Canadian artist, dies under mysterious circumstances. His “The Jack Pine”:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...690928896192517
United States: America declares an embargo on exportation of foods, metal and coal.
Women workers at a flag factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...328562106970113