Bolsheviks reject German peace conditions in frontline news

A correspondent on the Western front sends details of the kind of New Year“greetings”which the British artillery sent into the German lines at midnight on Monday.

First of all British batteries sent shells across in groups of 12, and then our guns”fired off”the New Year - 1-9-1-8.

The Bolshevik Petrograd Telegraph Agency says that“M Trotzky, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Soviets, in the name of the Government, unveiled in scathing terms Germany’s hypocritical peace proposal. He declared that the Government of Russia workers would not consent to such conditions.

After M Trotzky’s speech a resolution which was passed declared“that the Russian Revolution remains faithful to the policy of internationalism. Never will we recognise the justice of imposing the will of a foreign nation on any other nations whatsoever.”

There has been sharp fighting north of Jerusalem, where the Turks delivered strong attacks, which however were repulsed. The Turks had German assistance and Germans are in the list of prisoners.

During the foggy weather of December 22-23, three British destroyers were sunk off the Dutch coast, either by mine or torpedo, and 13 officers and 180 men were lost.

The weekly returns show that German U-boats sunk 18 large British merchant vessels.

The Prime Minister has made an appeal to workers on the land to do their utmost to help to grow more food; adding that“that is the way in which you can beat the Germans.”