1 JANUARY 1916, Page 9

The only point in which the Germans can claim advantage

over us is in the nature of the ground occupied. Owing largely to accident, their trenches tend to be a little above ours, and therefore are rather easier to drain and keep dry. In addition to our moral preponderance in trench warfare, the French have of late done something more than keep the Germans under in the Vosges. On Tuesday they captured a series of German works and some trenches, and the total number of prisoners during recent fighting in this region is over sixteen hundred, or the equivalent of nearly two battalions. That is an excellent form of " nibbling."