The following events occurred in December 1917:
December 1, 1917 (Saturday) Battle of Jerusalem – The Yildirim Army Group of the Ottoman Empire clashed with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force at Ell Burj and Nebi Samwil in Palestine but suffered heavy losses in both attacks. The British Fourth Army launched a night attack to capture Westroosebeke, Belgium from the Germans in an attempt to secure a winter line for units in Passchendaele but were ultimately repulsed by German defenses, losing 1,689 casualties. The United States Army established the 5th Infantry Division. The Royal Flying Corps established air squadrons No. 97 and No. 115. The United States Army established the 213th Aero Squadron. Chilean-American socialite Blanca Errázuriz was acquitted of the murder of her husband John de Saulles, a celebrity football player and manager turned millionaire through real estate in New York, following a sensational trial that even covered an alleged affair with rising film star Rudolph Valentino. The defense and media portrayed Errázuriz as a victim of a chauvinism during the divorce proceedings and custody battle prior to the couple's argument on August 3 that resulted in her shooting her husband. The Spanish newspaper El Sol released its first edition in Madrid. A severe cold wave in Interior Alaska produced the coldest recorded mean monthly temperatures in the United States. Fort Yukon, Alaska averaged and Eagle, Alaska . Born: Joanne Siegel, American model, wife to Jerry Siegel, inspiration for the character Lois Lane in Superman, in Cleveland (d. 2011)
December 2, 1917 (Sunday) German submarine struck a mine and sank in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight then was rammed by a Royal Navy patrol boat with the loss of either 27 of her 34 crew or 29 of her 35 crew (sources differ). German fighter ace Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp shot down and killed British ace Harry G. E. Luchford, who had 24 victories at the time of his death. Von Bülow-Bothkamp would be shot down and killed by a British ace just one month later. The Norwegian sports club Gjeilo was established in Geilo, Norway before changing to its present name the following year to Geilo. The club has sections on alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, skiing and biathlon, snowboarding, telemark skiing, football, handball and cycling. The first official handball match was played in Berlin.
December 3, 1917 (Monday) Battle of Cambrai – The German Second Army captured the village of La Vacquerie and pushed British forces back behind the St Quentin canal. Battle of Jerusalem – British forces recaptured the Palestinian village of Beit Ur el Foqa they had lost to the Ottomans five days earlier. Ottoman resistance in the Judaean Mountains began to taper off everywhere. The New Zealand Division attacked the Polderhoek Spur ridge near Ypres, Belgium but failed to complete their objective. The division held their ground against German counterattacks for a month, amassing a total 1,198 casualties by the end of December. Nikolay Dukhonin, the last commander-in-chief of the Imperial Russian Army, was lynched and murdered at a railway station in Mogilev, Belarus after surrendering to Soviet custody. Red Army officer Pavel Dybenko was alleged to have given the order to allow a mob of soldiers and sailors to bayonet Dukhonin to death, then use his corpse as target practice. The first prototype of the Beardmore aircraft was flown. The North Coast line was extended in New South Wales, Australia, with station Kempsey opened to serve the line. Born: Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer and Holocaust survivor, known for his photo work during his imprisonment at the Auschwitz concentration camp, in Żywiec, Poland (then part of Austria-Hungary) (d. 2012)