European War Developments, Daily Racing Form, 1914-12-06

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EUROPEAN WAR DEVELOPMENTS. There is still lacking reliable news of the battle in Poland, which continues, to monopolize interest. Both the German and Russian reports claim the advantage. The most important factor, from the allies point of view, is that the German advance on Warsaw seemingly has not succeeded in its object, nor has it had the effect of diverting the Russians from their forward movement through the Carpathians and on to ".tlie plains ,.of Hungary, or against the fortress of Cracow, .around which they are drawing a closer ring of men and artillery. Taking into .consideration;, the jense of Przem-ysl, which has held out .so. long" against the Russian attacks, military men do not look for the early fall of Cracow and are rather inclined to believe that the armies of Emperor .Nicholas will endeavor to keep the large Austrian force Vjltiside the fortress and enter Silesia from, the syutjieAff-. The ..following statement from the general Stair, of tlie Russian commander-in-chief was issued: "On the left hank of the Vistula on Dec. 3 there was some fierca fighting "on the front of Glowno-Lowicz and also on the western roads towards .Lodz ihd Piotrkow. On the other fronts there were. ,iii, essential ..modifications in the lines. The Jieaviest tighting in the vicinity of Lodz during the last two -days has occurred in the course of maneuvering pr the possession of Lask, fifteen miles southwest of Lodz. Oh the Szczerczow line, which is" fifteen, to twenty miles long, east of the AAarfa, tliejlghting" 7ippears to Indicate that the Germans have been heavily reinforced and that they are tilling the gap between, their right wing and the isolated body which has been striving to turn tlie Russian left. The official French communication given out in Paris says that north of the Lys the French troops have made perceptible progress, advancing at on a point for a distance of 500 yards. The French resisted successfully German efforts with heavy ar- tillery to drive them back. Reims again has been bombarded and the French heavy artillery has been used with success against the earth positions of the enemy. In the Argonne the lighting is being waged hotly. The text of the communication follows: "To the north of the Lys we .have made perceptible progress. Our infantry, making its attack at daybreak, .occupied in .one operation two lines of in-treiichments. The advance here was of 500 yards. A part of the hamlet of Weidendreft one kilometer northwest of Langemarck. has remained In our possession. In front of Poesele. half way between DIxmude and Ypres, we took possession, on the right bank of the canal, of a house belonging to a ferry man, the occupation of which has been disputed spiritedly for a month. The enemy endeavored, but without success, to compel us by means of a violent attack with heavy artillery to evacuate the conquered ground. In the region of Arras and in Champagne there have been intermittent cannonades from one side and the other. Reims has been bombarded with particular severity. On our part we have destroyed with our heavy artillery several earth fortifications of the enemy. In the Argonne the contest continues to be hotly waged. We have occupied several trenches and repulsed all counter-attacks. In Lorraine and Alsace there is nothing of importance to report." The sound of heavy cannonading in upper Alsace has been heard as far as Basel and other localities near the Swiss frontier. The principal struggle between the French and the Germans, according to reports reaching the Swiss, frontier, is around Alt-kirch and Damerkirch. During the last three davs there has been a slow but general movement of tno French in Alsace against the, German landwehr forces. The movement also has -begun in Lorraine. The Vosges mountains are so deep in snow that at Tete de Faux, near Col du Bbnbbmme, at an altitude of 7.CS0 feet, the advance guards of the armies are fighting in snow two feet deep. The men in the trenches in Alsace are suffering from the cold. Italys attitude in the European war has again become a source of concern, id view of Premier Salandras declaration that his country was in no way bound to light with Germany and Austria, and the intimation that if her loyalty to treaty obligations were questioned further she would disclose the text of the triple alliance agreement. The formal announcement that Prince Bernard von Buelow, former chancellor of the German empire, had been placed at the head of the German embassy at Rome while the present ambassador, Ilerr von Flotow, is to lie absent for three months on account of his health, has aroused much interested comment. Austro-Hungarian successes were reported in Vienna official dispatches which said: "In Servia the enemy, resisting with all its forces on the east of the river Calubara and Ljida, after a most obstinate tight on the whole line, was beaten. The enemy retired with considerable losses. Since the beginning of the last offensive we have captured 10000. The front in west Galicia and Russian Poland was generally quiet. On the front before Przemysl the enemy trying to approach from the north of the fortress was repulsed by a counter attack of the garrison. An attack of the Russians near Wolbrom was repulsed. Otherwise calm." Progress of the German forces in the west is reported in an otlicial statement given out at Berlin headquarters. The statement follows: "French attacks in Flanders and south of Metz were repulsed. We made progress at La Bassee, in the forest of tlie Argonne and in the region southwest of Alt-kirch. In the lighting to the east of the Mazurian lakes the situation is favorable for us and in minor operations there we took 1,200 prisoners." The German troops in Flanders, like tlie Belgians, are suffering from a typhoid fever epidemic, according to Dutch newspapers. They say that the disease is particularly prevalent along the Yffer, owing to insanitary conditions there, and that there are many cases among, the naval forces at Cnrtrai. A son of the king of AVncrttemberg is among those serioutdy ill with typhoid at the German headquarters at Thelt. The Austrian army which invaded Northern Servia and occupied Belgrade has begun to push southward. The otlicial announcement follows: "There has been a further advance of the Austrian annv of invasion in Northern Servia. The Servians are not making any resistance. AVe took 300 prisoners without any lishting. To the west and southwest of Arandjclo Plain the Servians are making fierce attacks." AVith the British, French, and Belgian troops holding firm on the left wing the French have begun what they hope will be a continued forward movement on the. right wing. The movement has been started at two points, according to a dispatch from Nancy to the London Times. These movements have taken place lately near Pont-a-Monssen and Cirey. A dispatch from Lisbon says that all the member. of the Portuguese cabinet have resigned. The resignation of the Portuguese cabinet was not altogether unexpected by observers of the European situation, because of the knowledge that the new republic has been torn with strife ever since the outbreak of the war over the question of neutrality. A dispatch from Athens says the porte demanded that the Greek minister at Constantinople surrender wireless apparatus which . is alleged to have been installed at the Greek legation and to allow the building to be examined. The minister protested against the demands. Greece supports the position taken by the minister. A British submarine yesterday tried to force a passage through the Dardafielles, according to a dispatch from Constantinople. The submarines presence was discovered and apparently it was hit by shots fired by the Turkish forts. Another official report says the cruiser Australia is missing. The three hundred thousand youths of 18 years in Franc.e who normally would; begin service in the army "In October-of 1910,- avo iy; -govexuinent.de!. cree to be called to present themselves" for exatnina tijTtieginning Dec. 20. These youths probably will be sent to the fighting line next July. The ninety-first official German casualty list, brings the Prussian losses in killed, wounded, aiid missing up to G5S.483. This does not include the Sixty-niuth AAurteniburg, Sixty-seventh Saxori, and Eighty-eighth Bavariau lists. Gens. Henning, Aon Oswald, and Aron Grumbkow were among the killed. An official statement issued at Constantinople says: "In the neighborhood of the river Tschorok and Adschara we are advancing successfully northward. Our forces have reached East Batoura. AVe are proceeding eastward iu the neighborhood of Ar-dagau, where the Russians are retreating." The great tunnel near Tychjetchar Tekija has been blown up by dynamite, thus, severing communication between Servia and Roumania, according to advices from Nish, Servia. The passage of Russian transports along the Danube, the dispatch states, has therefore become impossible. Berlin says that foreign airmen are showing great activity over the southwestern border of Germany. The commandant at Muclhausen reports that aeroplanes, believed to be the French, sailed over Freiburg Im Breisgau, a city of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and dropped four bombs. General Joffre is reported to have given, the order for an offensive movement along tlie entire battle line in France and Belgium. Reinforced by 400,000 British and many French troops, his army now equals in numbers that of the Germans. The Austrian government has confiscated the entire output of oil iu Austria-Hungary. Refiners have been forbidden to supply oil to the trade. The stocks in the hands of dealers will be exhausted within ten days, it is said. The British cruiser A"enus ran ashore in the storm that is sweeping the British coasts. The warship was running for a port iu the south of England when the storm broke. A dispatch from Amsterdam says the German military commander at Antwerp has issued orders that no one be allowed to enter and leave the town during the next eight days. The Germans are again transporting submarines in sectipns to their base at Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast.


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