Kieff is occupied by the Germans; the German military operations in Russia now cease. Palestine:--General Allenby advances on a front of 12 miles to a depth of 3000 yards between Jerusalem and Shechem. Mar. 5 (Tues.) The preliminaries of a treaty of peace are signed between the Central Powers and Roumania. German forces occupy the Aland Islands at the request of the Government of Finland. Mar. 6 (Wed.) Death of Mr. John Redmond, the leader of the Irish National Party. Mar. 7 (Thur.) A treaty of peace is signed between Germany and Finland. Palestine:--General Allenby advances on a front of 18 miles to a depth of 3 miles across the Jerusalem-Shechem road. A raid on a moonless night by German aeroplanes on London (20 killed); one raider is destroyed. Mar. 8 (Fri.) A German aeroplane raid on Paris (13 killed): one raider is destroyed. Mar. 9 (Sat.) Palestine:--A further advance by the British, who force the passage of the River Auja. Mesopotamia:--Hit, on the Euphrates, is occupied by the British under General Marshall. Mar. 10 (Sun.) The British hospital ship _Guildford Castle_ is torpedoed in the Bristol Channel but succeeds in making port. Mar. 11 (Mon.) The Germans raid the Western Front at a number of points. Palestine:--A further advance by the British astride the Jerusalem-Shechem road. Caucasus:--Erzerum is reoccupied by the Turks (see Feb. 16, 1916.) Paris is attacked by 60 German aeroplanes; four of the raiders are destroyed. Mar. 12 (Tues.) German forces land at Abo in Finland. Palestine:--The British advance near the coast. A Zeppelin raid on the Yorkshire coast (one killed). Mar. 13 (Wed.) The Germans occupy Odessa. A Zeppelin raid on Hartlepool (eight killed). Mar. 14 (Thur.) Palestine:--The British gain important positions commanding the Nablus road. Mar. 15 (Fri.) Prince Lichnowsky's memoir, dealing with the causes that led to the war, is published in Sweden. Mar. 17 (Sun.) Nikolaief, the Russian naval yard on the Black Sea, is occupied by the Germans. Mar. 18 (Mon.) The Germans bombard the Belgian Front and make a number of attacks there which are repulsed. A British air-raid on Mannheim. Mar. 19 (Tues.) Great Britain:--Lord Pirrie is appointed Controller-General of Merchant Shipbuilding. Mar. 21 (Thur.) The great German offensive on the Western Front begins (the second Battle of the Somme; see April 5): the Germans attack, with immense weight of troops, the British Third and Fifth Armies on a fifty-mile front between the Scarpe and the Oise; they carry the British front-line positions over large sectors and penetrate more deeply at certain points. Eighteen German destroyers raid Dunkirk. They are met by an Anglo-French flotilla consisting of two British destroyers (_Botha_ and _Morris_) and three French destroyers, under the command of H.M.S. _Botha_. Three German destroyers are sunk and one disabled. British monitors bombard Ostend. Mar. 22 (Fri.)