Bisbee daily review., 1916-03-04
OYER 3,O00 LOST WHEN PROVENCE
 SINKS
French Troops Victims When Auxiliary Cruiser is Lost in Mediterranean; No Subma- rine Sighted.
VERDUN BATTLE
 IS MORE FURIOUS
Germans Hold Douaumont - Extend Lines West and South; French Are Recov- ering Lost Ground.

LONDON March 3.-The sinking in the Mediterranean recently of the French auxiliary cruiser Provence II is believed to have been the greatest marine disaster in the worlds his tory, so far as loss of life is concern ed. The French admiralty reports nearly 400 were on board and up to date it has only accounted for SIS Seemingly more than three thousand perished when the former transAt- lantic liner sunk. The staff of the third Colonial infantry was aboard
 Around the village of Douaumont, which is in the hands of the Germans is raging a battle of great intensity Having captured the Fort and ex- tended their lines west and south, the Germans were forced to give ground by vicious infantry attacks of the French who regained part of the terri tory lost Fighting is proceeding fur iously from the region from Melan- court west of the Mouse to the Woe vre region, east of Verdun and bonn bardments are violent The Germans are endeavoring to force closer to the fortress of Verdun with the French bitterly resisting.
 Considerable artillery activity is re- ported in the Argonne forest and up- per Alsace. Comparative quiet pre- vails on the Russian front Along the line of the Alps and along the Isonzo river sectors the Austrians and Ital- ians continue bombardments and in- fantry attacks without materially changing their positions. The Rus sians have captured the important town of Bitlis in the Lake Van region of Turkish Armenia. Elsewhere in the Caucasus region and Persia they are keeping up vigorous offensive against the Ottomans.
 The German seaplane captured of the Belgian coast while returning from England is thought to be the one recently engaged in bombarding the southeast coast and killing a lit tie child
 The official statement announcing the sinking of the Provence said: The French auxiliary Provence engaged in transporting troops to Saloniki was sunk in the Mediterranean on February 29. 296 passenger survivors were brought to Malta and about 400 to Melos by French and British patrol vessels. No signs of a submarine were noticed, either before or after the sinking. The Provence was armed with five cannon of fourteen centimeters and six smaller pieces.
 PARIS. March 3.-The big battle at Verdun has been resumed. The Ger mans worked up their preliminary bombardment throughout Wednesday night and Thursday until the after noon of Thursday when it reached great intensity. Special attention was directed to the French works west of the Mouse between Forges and MelancOurt. as we'll as the famous Pepper Hill and Douamont positions. from which it is inferred the Germans iAAltAN iO ihdht lutlI SeCOlu eIlOTI over a wider area than the six kilo- meter front of the first phases of the struggle, with the idea that if it fails to break the line on the north it may sever it on the northwest. With ex- ception of violent assaults on Pepper Hill and Douamont the German infan- try was not engaged
 The command of French troops did not let grass grow under their feet, as they profited by the Hull proceeding the fresh attack by concentrating vast stocks of ammunition, filling gaps in their ranks and strengthen ing the vital points of the defense They await the outcome of the battle with fullest confidence.