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EUROPEAN WAR DEVELOPMENTS. The French official communication given out iu Paris reads as follows: "There has been nothing of Importance to report between the sea and the Olse. In the region of the Aisne to the northwest of Soupir, the enemy violently bombarded our in-trenclnuents. We replied and demolished his positions. There were no infantry attacks from one side or the other. Our artillery destroyed an important field work of the enemy iu the vicinity of Allies. In the Argonne. at the forest of La Grurie, we have ninde slight progress by the use of mines. There were no attacks trom the enemy. On the heights of the Meuse there has been violent can-nonnadiug. Batteries of the enemy would appear to have been moved to positions farther north. In the Woevre district, after havlug occupied a line of intrenchments along a front of 500 yards in the forest of Montmare, our troops repulsed two violent counter attacks. In Alsace our advance has brought our front to a line that passes 425 yards to the north of Steinbach, thence to Pont DAspach, and thence to Pont de Brinighoefen, 1,000 yards to the west of Eglingen. The following official communication was issued at Vienna: "In west Galicia the south wing of the Russian army was defeated at Limauovo and compelled to retreat. We are pursuing the enemy. All attacks along the rest of our battle front failed, as did tlui previous ones. Our forces which crossed the Carpathians after numerous battles again continue an energetic pursuit. In the afternoon we took New Sandec. Our troops again have entered Grylxiw. Garlice, and Zmlgrod. The enemy has completely evacuated the Zeinplin country. In the cast Carpathian woods, which is some distance from the main zone of operations, the enemy was nowhere able to gain important ground. In general our troops hold the passes in Bukowiua, along the line of Suczawa valley. Iu South Poland there was no fighting. North of Lowicz our allies made a successful attack against a strongly fortified Rus siau position." The official communication issued yesterday at Berlin announces that several Russian positions in North Poland were stormed and 11.000 prisoners taken and that an attack made by the French troops over a wide area iu France Sunday was repulsed by the Germans. The statement reads: Following their unsuccessful attack on Apremont December 11, the French again attacked over a large front by way Of- Flirey Circy. The attack ended in the loss to the enemy of GOO prisoners aud a large number of men killed and Injured. Our losses in this engagement amounted to about seventy wounded. The rest of the day passed quietly in the westen theater. In northern Poland we captured a number of the enemys positions, taking 11,000 prisoners aud forty-three machine guns. There is no news from East Prussia or from southern Poland." Both sides claim successes in Poland, Gennauy, in an official statement, announces the capture of a number of the enemys positions, together with 11,000 prisoners and forty-three machine guns. Russia, on the other hand, announces that the offensive in the .Mlawii region has been brought to a successful conclusion on the whole of the front. The statement adds that a Geman positioji in tw region of Przesnysz was captured Saturday, the enemy being in retreat toward his frontier. Heavy losses have been inflicted on tlie Germans, the announcement says. Tlie situation to the south of Cracow is unchanged, according to the report. All eyes in France are now turned in the direction of Metz. The French official bulletin reports that further progress has been made in the Le Pretre wood, which is situated to the north of Pont-a-Mousson, near the Lorraine frontier. The logical conclusion is that the French, are fighting then-way to the Metz forts, which indeed have already been bombarded intermittently. Further south, between Pont-a-Mousson and Luneville, the French are reported to have regained possession of the frontier for an unbroken length of forty miles. The report shows that Gen. Joffres men have reached a point midway between St. Mihiel and Pont-a-Mousson, so they must have got across the German line of communication. The French claim to have made substantial progress at other places in the same region. Doth German and French reports contain evidence that the allies offensive movement is beginning to gather impetus in the i Belgian field also, and is meeting with stubborn resistance from the German troops who have been left to hold the western line. Italy has reiterated her urgent demand for satisfaction to the sublime porte for the forcible removal of G. A. Richardson, the Britisli consul at Hodelda, from the Italian consulate, wliere be had taken refuge, and for his immediate liberation. It is understood that Germany has advised the Constantinople government to satisfy Italys demand-and thus avoid complications. The foreign minister also has asked the Ottoman government to give pub-lie satisfaction to Italy for the violation of the consulate. A Buenos Aires dispatch says that it is officially announced by the German consul at Punta Arenas that the Dresden lias arrived there. The commander of the German cruiser, which now appears to have escaped Admiral Sturdees British tieet, declared that the German squadron, of which four ships were sunk in the battle off Falkland Islands, was engaged by two -British siiperdreadnoughts and six British cruisers. The consul states the Dresden was undamaged. The ISritish submarine 15-11, attached to the international war fleet, which has been bombarding the Turkish forts at the western entrance of the Dardanelles, forced a passage of that water way by-diving beneath the mine fields with which itr is infested, and torpedoed the Turkish battleship Mes-sudlyeh. The Messudiyoh was .sinking rapidly by the stern when the daring submarine withdrew, according to an official announcement at London. A Berlin dispatch says that Brussels and suburbs have decided to pay the war lien of 1,250,000 imposed by Germany by means of special taxes payable up to June 15, 1915. For the pavinent of the remaining 50,250,000 of the first war contribution, arrangements have been reached witii a group of Belgian banks whereby this obligation will be met in ten installments. An official statement given out iu Berlin declares that the French lost heavily in an attack on Fliery Pierry. This statement, meager as it is. indicates that the French have made important gains in the Woevre region, where they have been trying to cut off the German force which projects like an arrow head to St. Mihiel on the Meuse. An official communication issued by the Russian army staff of the Caucasus says: "In fighting on the front extending through the villages of Pyrusk. Asmer. and Tutak southeast of Erzerum the enemy was everywhere repulsed and pursued beyond the Euphrates with severe losses." It is officially announced at Constantinople th.it the Turkish warship Jawas-Selim, formerly the German cruiser Goeben, bombarded and set fire to the Russian port of Batoum. last Friday. Russian land batteries replied to the bombardment, but were ineffective. Through great snowdrifts in the region west ot Warsaw the Germans are hurling 500,010 men upon the Russian line from How to Glowno in tlie greatest attempt that they have yet made to open the way to the capital of Poland. Paris thinks that the evacuation of St. Mihiel by the Germans is imminent as a result of tlie progress of the French In the forest of La Pretre. wliere they are menacing the invaders line oC communication with Metz. An official communication issued at Nish claims that all attempts by the Austrian to halt their retreat have failed, and that the Servians are con-inuing to sweep the country clear of the defeated Austrians. Emperor Williams condition continues to improve, according to an official announcement issued yesterday. The catarrhal symptoms have wholly disappeared and his temperature is normal. The latest report shows that since the beginning of hostilities MM British officers have been killed and 1,JIS wounded, while 582 have been reported missing. , A German Zeppelin airship trying to reach Dunkirk was fired upon by the aerial guns of the allies at Nienport and forced to abandon its flight.
