<– Part 179 – December 23, 1917  | Part 180 – December 30, 1917 |  Part 181 – January 6, 1918 –>

Although fighting on most fronts has been put on hiatus as the entrenched troops hunker down for the coldest of the year, an Ottoman counter-attack at Jerusalem was repulsed by British forces December 30, and the line pushed farther away from the city past Ramallah. The British enjoy a tremendous Christmas present – the occupation of Jerusalem by Christian forces – while the Ottomans suffer the humiliating loss of yet another Muslim holy site, together with Mecca and Baghdad.