PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2986, 25 January 1917, Page 4

PROGRESS OF THE WAR

« According to a Press Association extraordinary message, which arrived yesterday afternoon, ten British destroyers met and engaged twelve German destroyers, and seven of the enemy ships arc reported to have been sunk. At time of writing this report is not confirmed, but more detailed messages tell of destroyer engagements off the Dutch and Belgian coasts, in which one German ship was certainly sunk, and possibly others, and one British destroyer was lost. Two distinct engagements are mentioned in a British Admiralty report—the only official report in hand at the moment of writing. In one, British light forces patrolling the North Sea. met an enemy destroyer division near tho Dutch coast. After a short engagement one enemy ship was sunk and tho rest wcro considerably punished and scattered. At this point the account stops for the time being, except that it is rcmarkod that darkness made it impossible to observe the full results of the .action. Tbo other engagement, which occurred during tho night, was also fought off tho Dutch coast. British and German flotillas mot in the region of the Schouwen bank, not far from tho mouth of the Meuse. On this occasion a British destroyer was torpedoed. Thrco officers and 44 men of her complement wore killed, and after the survivors of her crew had been taken off, sho was sunk by her consorts. It is evident that the official report is incomplete and quite probably the full story may show an increase in* tho enemy losses. But the only supplementary rojpbrls at present in hand are unofficial.

These unofficial messages are in .conflict. They contain a certain amount of information, but in the main are merely attempts to- explain events about which no certain information was available when they were written. Renter's correspondent at Ymuiden, which is a small Dutch port about 65 miles north-east of the Schouwen Bank,' states that the German destroyers .which were engagod wore attempting to leave Zcebrugge (on the Belgium coast) to avoid tho ice which is now very thick in that harbour. He convoys one dofinite piece of information—that a German destroyer which he calls the U69 has taken refuge in Ymuiden harbour, badly damaged. Mention of U69 is an obvious mistako, probably in telegraphing. Only German submarines are lettered ."U." German dcstroyors are distinguished by other letters _ preceding their numbers. There is no reason to doubt that an onoroy ' destroyer has entered Ymuiden, in tho battered condition desonbed. If she leaves she will no doubt be picked up by waiting British patrols, but, damaged as she is, sho is not unlikely to bo interned. The correspondent mentions also that another German boat was sighted from Ymuiden, runnine north at full speed. / * » * . * As against the.theory that the enemy destroyers wero attempting to get away from Zcebrugge, which would mean that they were making tor Heligoland or some other German base, the Dutch newspaper Tijd supplies a totally different explanation. It states that they apparently intended a raid, but were discovered and the greater number of them driven hack .to their base, while a portion of the squadron was forced, against tho Flemish coast Ifc is added that there aro reports of warships being sunk and that some damaged Gc-rmaa vessels have taken refuge m^Zeebruggo.. In the existing state of information it is not possible to decide definitely between the conflicting theories advanced, but it is at least as like y that the Germans wl» detected and defeated in an at tempted raid on the Channel communications as that they were merely trying to get a flotilla of destroyers away from Zeebrugge )W ff at t h l map > ifi will •* seen that the Schouwen Bank, near which the second engagement mentioned in the Admiralty report was fought, is situated about a dozen miles outside the islands in the «. tuaries of the Scheldt and UnZ Zeebrugge is about thirty rail es south-west of the Schouwen Bank and Ymuiden is about 65 miles away to the north-east. From Heligoland to the Schouwen Bank is a seapassage of about 260 miles Tho circumstances upon which the Router correspondent apparently relies as showing that the German destroyers set out from Zcebrugge in the hope of reaching-the German bases to the north-east give equal support to the theory of a raid from Heligoland directed against tho Ohannel communications. The fact that an engagement was fought during tho night as far south as the Schouwen Bank, after tho onomv flotilla had been defeated and scattered some hours earlier, finds an explanation in the statement that some of the enemy ships were separated from the main body and forced upon tho Flemish coast. At all events ifc is evident that if a raid on the Channel communications was attempted it completely failed. If, on tho other hand, Gorman destroyers based on Zeebruggo wero trying to get away to the north, some of them at least, if ! Dutch reports arc to he trusted failed in the attempt and wore" driven back to their starting point. A great deal remains to be Drought out in later reports, but it is already fairly clear that the British 'flotillas had distinctly the best of the contest. LA. lato message states that the ■ e Vvh lojegrafih/a'-i poriesfiflndont.

at Rotterdam, is certain that seven German ships were sunk.] At the moment of writing there is no news of events of any importance in tho war theatres. Thera. are some suggestions that Hindenburg may be concerting measures for an offensive against Italy, but judging by tho remarks of General Corsi these suggestions are not very seriously regarded.