An evening raid by German aeroplanes on Essex, Kent, and London (10 killed); one raider is brought down. Dec. 19 (Wed.) The Ukraine Government demands recognition by the Bolshevist Government. The Italians recapture part of Monte Asolone. Dec. 21 (Fri.) The Italians complete the recapture of Monte Asolone. Palestine:--General Allenby advances northward. Dec. 22 (Sat.) Peace negotiations are opened at Brest-Litovsk between the German Government and the Russian Bolshevist Government; Herr von Kühlmann presides. A German aeroplane raid on the Kentish coast; one machine is forced to land and its crew is captured. Dec. 23 (Sun.) Italy:--The Austro-Germans capture Val Bella and the Col del Rosso in the Frenzela Valley; they claim 9000 prisoners. Three British destroyers, the _Surprise_, _Tornado_, and _Torrent_, are sunk by mines off the Dutch coast with considerable loss of life. Dec. 24 (Mon.) A British air-raid on Mannheim. Dec. 26 (Wed.) Vice-Admiral Sir Rosslyn Wemyss succeeds Admiral Sir John Jellicoe as First Sea Lord (see Nov. 29, 1916). Dec. 27 (Thur.) Palestine:--Turkish attacks north of Jerusalem are shattered and a British offensive is launched subsequently against the defeated enemy. Dec. 28 (Fri.) The Labour Memorandum on War Aims is adopted at a special British Labour Conference. Palestine:--The British advance on a nine-mile front: they capture Ramah and Beitunia. Dec. 29 (Sat.) Palestine:--The British capture Bireh (on the Shechem road, nine miles north of Jerusalem). Dec. 30 (Sun.) The Germans attack Welsh Ridge on the Cambrai Front, and gain ground. Palestine:--The British continue to advance; they capture Bethel and other villages. The British destroyer _Attack_ is sunk by a mine off Alexandria. 1918 Jan. 1 (Tues.) Italy:--The Austrians are driven from Zenson, west of the Piave. Jan. 2 (Wed.) The German peace conditions are denounced by the Bolshevists as a policy of annexation. Jan. 4 (Fri.) The British hospital ship _Rewa_ is sunk by a submarine in the Bristol Channel (three lives lost). Jan. 5 (Sat.) Mr. Lloyd George makes a declaration of 'War Aims' after consultation with Mr. Asquith, Lord Grey, and the leaders of the Labour Party. Jan. 8 (Tues.) President Wilson in an address to Congress lays down the 'fourteen points' on which, in his opinion, peace should be based. (Appendix V.) Jan. 9 (Wed.) H.M.S. _Racoon_ (destroyer) is lost, with all hands, in a storm off the coast of Ireland. Jan. 10 (Thur.) In the peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk the independence of the Ukraine Republic is accepted both by the Central Powers and the Bolshevists. Jan. 12 (Sat.) Verdun Front:--A German attack at Chaume Wood is repulsed. British forces are disembarked at Port Amelia in Portuguese East Africa. Two British destroyers are wrecked off the coast of Scotland (all lives lost except one). Jan. 14 (Mon.)