January 6, 1918 - First published dispatch, on the Italian and Palestine war scenes

Don Martin diary entry for Sunday, January 6, 1918: 

Went for quite a walk alone. Went away down to Through Mouton St. Stock Exchange. Bank of England: across Black Friars Bridge, up other side of Thames and across Waterloo Bridge to Savoy. Pleasant when I started but began to rain. Dinner at Simpson’s after I had written about 3 cols. for mailing. Went to Fleet St. office and dictated a long letter to Commodore about his circulation telegram. Returned to hotel at 11 and came to my room which I find will cost me $3.75 a day. Not so much as I expected.

Lloyd George stated England’s war aims. Will insist on France getting Alsace and Lorraine.

Weather pleasant till 2 p.m. Then rain.
Don Martin's daily room charge at the Savoy of $3.75 would be $66 today, using the ratio of the Consumer Price Index - Oct 2017/Jan 1918 = 246.7/14.0 = 17.6. 

Prime Minister David Lloyd George (1916-1922)

    Lloyd George spoke at Caxton Hall on January 5. He called for Germany to be stripped of her conquests (including colonies and Alsace-Lorraine) and democratised, and for the liberation of the subject peoples of Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Empire. He hinted at reparations and a new world order. Woodrow Wilson then considered not proceeding to announce his fourteen points for peace, but decided to go ahead on January 8.

  The  "3 cols for mailing" on the British actions in Italy and Palestine were cabled and published in the New York Herald on Monday, January 7, 1918.

CHANGED TACTICS IN ITALY HEARTEN ENTENTE ALLIES

Teutons Lose Initiative and British Make Good Progress in Palestine

[Special Cable to the Herald]

Herald Bureau, No. 130 Fleet Street, London, Sunday

     Checks to enemy attacks in France and Flanders, renewal of the initiative by the Allies in Italy, General Allenby’s continued advance in Palestine and the German fiasco at Brest-Litovsk have contributed to bring about a much more cheerful spirit here than prevailed during the closing weeks of 1917.

     There is not the slightest fear that the Allies will be unable to withstand any force the enemy can bring against them. All the week the Germans have been feeling out the Allied defences in France and Flanders for soft spots, but have found none. In the rare instance where the Germans gained any temporary advantage during the week it was at an enormous cost of life and was nullified promptly.

Great Change in Italy

     The most encouraging move of the week was the resumption of the initiative by the Allies in Italy. British and French, as well as Italians, were actively engaged. The chief honors go to the French, who stormed enemy positions Monte Tomba and captured 1,400 prisoners, sixty machine guns and seven cannon, besides establishing themselves on the positions won. Monte Tomba is between Monte Grappa and the Piave, and it is related that some of the impetuous Frenchmen, after carrying the enemy’s lines, pushed on to the river below Quero, but were ordered back, as it would have necessitated a regrouping of the defences to hold the ground covered.

     British on the Piave, southeast of the French position, have distinguished themselves by making difficult raids by boats and rafts across the river by night into the enemy’s territory, capturing prisoners and returning with only slight losses. British gunners succeeded in locating two munitions depots back of the enemy’s lines and exploding them by their fire.

     Constant Italian pressure has at last forced the Austrians to abandon the bridgehead at Zenson, on the west bank of the Piave, which they had occupied for more than a month, despite unofficial optimistic assurances some time ago that “no living uncaptured Austrian remained west of the river.” They had established themselves on the end of a tongue of land in the loop of the river, where the village is located, and had built strong concrete defences, filled with machine guns. Artillery and infantry combined ousted them from this position with very heavy losses and drove the survivors across the stream.

     Further south, about five miles below Zenson, the Austrians attempted to set up another bridgehead at Intestadura. Ten fast boats, loaded with troops and machine guns, were started from the east bank. Discovered in midstream, a withering fire was poured on them from the Italian batteries and the entire flotilla was shot to pieces. Few survivors reached their side of the river.

     On the Asiago plateau and Monte Grappa there has been comparative quiet while the Italians have been strengthening their positions. The Austro-German armies in this region are now in a very serious plight. Snow at last has fallen heavily in the Alps, filling all the passes and blocking the single railroad from Trent, which supplies the Teuton front. Zero temperatures prevail and the entire Austrian army with its German contingents is threatened with destruction from starvation and cold. Some regiments are said to have been without food for four days.

     On the other hand, there has been little snow in the plains and the allied forces with excellent railroad communications behind them need suffer from no lack of supplies. There is no longer any danger of a retreat to the Adige. Venice has been saved and the Hums have seen victory snatched from them when it was almost in their grasp.

     The British in Palestine now hold almost the entire Turkish sanjak of Jerusalem, extending from the Hedjaz on the south to the Province of Beirut on the north. The Shereef of Mecca, who as King of the Hedjaz, controls the whole of northern Arabia up to the Damascus road, prevents any flanking movement by the Turks east of the Jordan, while General Allenby is pushing up the road along the crest of the Judean hills toward Nablus, the ancient Shechem, a city of 24,000 inhabitants.

     This advance has not been made without severe fighting, to which the rough nature of the ground added difficulties of transportation. More than a thousand Turks were killed and nearly that many captured. The right wing of the British army has now passed Beitin, about thirteen miles north of Jerusalem.

     The left wing, which had advanced further north along the Mediterranean coast, is striking inland to straighten out the line and has captured Kuleh, twelve miles east of Jaffa. The troops no longer have to depend on water piped to the front, for they have obtained a plentiful supply from the springs between Bireh and Ramallah. An advance toward Beirut and Damascus is likely to be the next step in General Allenby’s programme.