new 5-man War Cabinet (9 December) against the danger of "sideshows". By contrast Hankey (8 December), although he thought Western Front offensives inevitable, advised sending aid to Italy and offensives in Palestine – Lloyd George filed this with the Cabinet papers and used it as the blueprint of future strategy discussions. With Murray's support, in the autumn of 1916 Robertson had resisted attempts to send as many as 4,000 men to Rabegh to help the nascent Arab Revolt, stressing that logistical support would bring the total up to 16,000 men, enough to prevent Murray's advance on El Arish. Robertson accused the ministers (8 December 1916) of "attaching as much importance to a few scallywags in Arabia as I imagine they did to the German attack on Ypres two years ago", but for the first time ministers contemplated overruling him. Encouraged by hope that the Russians might advance to Mosul, removing any Turkish threat to Mesopotamia, Robertson authorised Maude to attack in December 1916. Robertson advised against accepting Germany's offer (12 December 1916) of a negotiated peace. During renewed talk of sending more troops to Salonika, Robertson was told not to attend a meeting on 23 December 1916. CIGS: Spring 1917 January conferences Robertson was appointed Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 15 January 1917 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 24 January 1917. Following a fractious Anglo-French conference in London (26–8 December) the War Cabinet (30 December) gave Lloyd George authority to "conclude any arrangement" at the forthcoming Rome conference. On the train to the Rome Conference Robertson formed a low opinion of the new French War Minister, Hubert Lyautey, correctly predicting that he would not last long in his job. At the Rome Conference (5–6 January 1917) Lloyd George, advised by Hankey, proposed sending heavy guns to Italy with a view to defeating Austria-Hungary, possibly to be balanced by a transfer of Italian troops to Salonika. Robertson stressed that this was contrary to agreed policy and hinted that he might resign. Cadorna (Hankey suspected he had been "got at by Robertson") stressed the logistical difficulty of accepting the heavy guns, even when Lloyd George removed the precondition that they be returned to the Western Front by May, and even Albert Thomas (French Minister of Munitions) thought it unwise to remove the guns from the Western Front. Robertson wrote to Lloyd George