Mine danger for destroyers and other vessels

Stubborn resistance was offered to the British but our troops succeeded in making progress north of Puisieux-au-Mont and east of Gommecourt.

The battlefields of northern France are covered with several inches of snow, which fell heavily throughout Sunday night and Monday. East of Bouchavesnes a raid was made on German trenches. Enemy troops seen massing for a counter-attack on the trenches, which we recently captured in that area, were dispersed by the British guns.

Sunday was a lively day in the air. Our aviators brought down six German aeroplanes and eight other enemy machines were driven down and damaged. Two of our machines were lost and five are missing. The Germans state that the Allies lost 18 machines on Sunday while only four German machines were destroyed.

The Germans have once again been active at Verdun. At one point they succeeded in driving back the French but the offensive was for the most part a failure and cost the Germans heavy losses.

One of His Majesty’s destroyers was sunk in the North Sea as the result of striking a mine. Next of kin have been informed. The French destroyer Cassini was torpedoed in the Mediterranean. The magazine blew up and the vessel sank in six minutes. The commander, six officers and 100 men perished.

British shipping losses for the week show that 23 vessels were sunk by submarines or mines as compared with 21 the previous week.