Western Front
Cambrai: Germans capture small salient between Bullecourt and Queant.
Gotha
Bogohl 3 unit loses Commander Captain R Kleine shot down and killed in daylight attack on Allied troops, Lieutenant R Walter replaces.
Eastern Front
Fighting between Cossacks and Bolsheviks at Rostov (River Don), occupy it on December 14. General Kaledin retakes it on December 15 with Alexeiev’s Volunteer Army forcing local Reds to flee to Black Sea Fleet.
Southern Front
First Battle of the Piave (until December 30): Battle on Monte Grappa front between Brenta and Piave; heavy Austro-Hungarian attacks.
Naval and Overseas Operations
North Sea: German destroyers raid British convoy in the North Sea and sink H.M.S.
Partridge (see October 17th), and 3 other vessels. Another source says:
4 German destroyers annihilate British Norwegian convoy, sink destroyer
Partridge, damage consort
Pellew, 6 merchant ships and 4 trawlers in 45 minutes (75 PoWs); 3 covering British cruisers arrive too late. 4 other German destroyers sink 3 convoy stragglers off the Tyne. Admiralty sails Norwegian convoys at longer intervals with stronger escorts.
Asiatic and Egyptian Theaters
British claim to have taken 562 officers and 11,474 men prisoners in Palestine to date.
Political, etc
Germany: General Oskar von Hutier is one of the founders of the successful German stormtroopers tactics:
https://i0.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...utier.jpg?ssl=1
Russia: Estonian nobility appeal for German help. General Count Kirchbach takes over German Eighth Army (Hutier to Western Front).
Vladimir Lenin proposes Joseph Stalin, Grigori Sokolnikov and leon Trotsky for Pravda editorial board.
France: French Government decides to bring M. Joseph Caillaux before Court Martial, for “treason”, based on his peace efforts.
Worst civil railway disaster in history, 543 killed at Modane when train jumps tracks.
U.S. troops in France donate $4000 for Christmas gifts to French refugee children settled in their sector.
United Kingdom: Enquiry into the reverse at Cambrai ordered by Government. The Times calls it ‘One of the most ghastly stories in English history’.
Commons votes £550 millions war credit (1917-18 total £ 2,450 millions).
Turkey: Djemal Pasha resigns as Gouverneur-General of Syria and Arabia and as C-in-C Fourth Army, returns to Constantinople.
Minor Allies: Cuba declares war on Austria-Hungary.