At night the Royal Scots improved their trench & the Gordons withdrew - casualties Royal Scots 7 officers killed & wounded 120 other ranks. Gordons 7 officers killed & wounded & over 200 other ranks. It is impossible to say what were the casualties of the Germans, but not as much as that. Trenches of this description protected with wire entanglements cannot be taken except by surprise if the occupants are on the qui vive. The ground over which the attack took place was very muddy & slippery as ice - no one could go faster than a slow walk. The Germans seem to be holding their trenches as strongly as we were