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Show PROGRESS OF THE WAIL First reports of two battles off the : Dutch coast between the mosquito : squadrons indicated an engagement of some magnitude, but later re porta seem to show that the action was of a minor character, although the fighting was severe, A flotilla of German torpedo boat de- stroyers left Zecbruggo, Belgium, when ice began to close tho river, and sailed along the Holland coast, probably with tho intention of reaching a German Lane. Jn tho first engagement, according accord-ing to the Knglish report, the enemy flotilla was scattered after one veshel had boon sunk. In the second engagement engage-ment tho German destroyer V-09 was so badly damaged by gunfire that it was compelled to seek refuge at Ymui-den, Ymui-den, Holland. The destroyer, however, ' worked havoc among the English before be-fore fleeing. The battle with the V-69 and its consorts con-sorts took place in profound darkness at close range. Evidently the two squadrons ran across each other somewhat some-what unexpectedly. The V-69, which was flagship of tho flotilla, had on board Captain Schultz, commander of the flotilla, and Lieutenant Bochm, commander of the ship. The vessel was subjected to a heavy gunfire, which carried away tho bridge ad smokestack smoke-stack and filled the forward part of the vessel with holos. Captain Schultz was mortally wounded when a shell carried away his legs. He died on the way to Tmuiden. The V-69 discharged one torpedo which struck an English destroyer, disabling dis-abling it and killing three officers and forty-four members of tho crew. As tho vessel could not bo taken to port tho English sank it. How the V-69 managed to escape has not been explained, but this probably was due to the darkness. It was towed into Ymuiden by another destroyer. Twenty dead and sixteen wounded were taken ashore at this port. So cold was the night that two of the corpses had frozen to the deck and were cut away with axes. Inasmuch as the ship had been so badly battered bat-tered that it could not be repaired within twenty-four hours, it was abandoned aban-doned and probably has been interned. The German roport declares that two English vessels were sunk, but tho English Eng-lish report admits but one. The English Eng-lish report claims that one German destroyer de-stroyer was sunk in the first battle, but the German report admits only that the V-69 was forced, because of its damaged dam-aged condition, to enter a Dutch port. For several weeks there has been severe se-vere fighting west of Riga, on the Aa river and in tho vicinity of the Tirul marsh, which had been frozen oyer. Tho Russians took the offensive and pressed forward toward tho village of Kalnzem. For several days the Russians Rus-sians held the captured gTOund and made gains here and there. The Germans, Ger-mans, having called up their reserves, began a counter offensive, but were checked. Tho battlo continued every day with more or less severity, but the Germans made no progress until the middle of last week. Then they began to pusli back the enemy, first at one point and then at another, taking 2500 or 3000 prisoners in the course of two or three days. Berlin says that practically prac-tically all the ground captured by the Russians now has been recaptured. Tho Teutons have been active at other points on the Russian front, notably near Kovel, where there was so much obstinate fighting in the spring. Tho Germans appear to have made a slight gain. On the Rumanian front the Germans gained in the region of Galatz, but tho Bulgarians, who crossed the southern branch of the Danube north of Tultcha, were badly worsted. They succeeded in establishing themselves on the north side of the river, but evidently fell into a Muscovite trap. Out of a battalion of about 1000 men a majority were killed, wounded or taken prisoners in a surprise attack. Berlin says the battalion bat-talion was withdrawn, while Petrograd reports that it was practically annihilated. annihi-lated. The English have met with further success in East Africa, where the Germans, Ger-mans, who have been fighting since the beginning of the war, seem to bo at their last gasp. In Mesopotamia the English have had the better of engagements engage-ments with the Turks near Kut. On the west bank of the Tigris they have seized 1000 yards of enemy trenches and consolidated them.' . On the west bank of the Shat-el-Hai river, not far away, they were not so fortunate. Here the Turks assumed the offensive and made four attacks. The first and third were repulsed with heavy losses. The second and fourth took the Moslems J into tho English trenches, but counter i attacks expelled them from most of the captured ground. In the Black sea the Russians are using submarines with good effect. These probably are subsea boats built since the outbreak of the war. On one dav a Russian submarine sank nine vessels ves-sels near tho mouth of the Bosphorns laden with supplies for the Turkish armies; on another day a submarine sent four Turkish vessels to the bottom. In France the English and Germans have made fierce raids on each other's trenches at Loos and Vermelles. The onlv pitched battles have been in the region of Verdun, both east and west 'of the Meuse. On Hill 34 the Germans Ger-mans launched a big attack, after thev had made a fierce demonstration on the east bank of Out rier. The assault as-sault carried them into the French trench systems. Tho French made counter attacks which failed, but later they retook ! most of the lost trenches. A great explosion occurred in London, Lon-don, presumably at the Woolwich arsenal. ar-senal. One of the factories for the refining re-fining of explosives was destroyed when flames came in contact with the explosives. The factory and many neighboring houses of workingraen were destroyed. More than seventy were killed and several hundred injured. The French have taken prisoner a German soldier who had with him a letter telling of an explosion in the arsenal ar-senal at Dresden. The letter said that the arsenal had been blown up and 1000 women and young girls killed. The writer does not give the date of the explosion, ex-plosion, but the letter itself is dated December 30. |