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EUROPEAN WAR DEVELOPMENTS. The French war ollice gave out an official announcement as follows: "Between the sea and tlw Lys the English have occupied a little forest west of Wytsckaete. The ground gained yesterday by our troops along the Ypres canal and to the west of liollebeke has been retained, in spite of a vigorous counter attack on the part of the enemy. From the Belgian frontier to the Somme there is nothing to report. From the Somme to the Argonne there has been intermittent cannonading. Except in the region of Crony, the artillery lighting has not been spirited. In the Argonne we have made some prog-res.s and retained the advances made by us on pri-ceding days, in the Vosges the railroad station of .St. Leonard, to the south of St. Die, has been bom harded violently by the Germans from a considerable distance. In Alsace there has been much activity on the part of the enemys artillery with the .exception of Steinbach, when: an attack by German inrantrymen coming from Ufflioltz was successful in gaining a foothold. We everywhere have retained the positions won by us." The main issue in the eastern theater of the war whether the German and Austrian armies, by the German operations in northern and central Poland and the Austrian advance across the Carpathians, will shake the Russian grip from the Przomysl and Cracow fortresses remains unchanged. The Austrians, announced that tiey have reoectipied the important point or Dukla, to tiie north of the Carpathians, on a line south of lrzehiysl and Cracow. The Germans claim a distinct gain in their position in northern Poland, although they are not believed to be as near Warsaw as the report last week indicated. On the other hand, the Russians announce a strategic realignment of their forces in that Held which strengthens their position. Russian forces that tried to reach Cracow from the southeast have been driven back nearly lify miles, according to an official statement issued at Vienna saying that they nave been pursued as far as the plain of Allenthal. The Austrians are tak-. ing many prisoners and indicting heavy losses in killed and wounded upon the enemy. "The pursuit of tlie Russians in Western Galicia Is being continued," says the statement. "It has already-reached the plain of Allenthal with alternatively mure or less important engagements. We are taking many prisoners and the Russians are losing heav! y in killed and wounded as they retreat." The Servians after a fierce battle have re-nccupicd Belgrade, according to a Nish dispatch. The Servian announcement of the reoccupation of the capital is given further weight bv the official statement of the Austrian army staff In Vienna. The statement admitted a general retirement of tile Austrian forces in SeVvia. The recent reverses of the Austrians in Servia are attributed to the withdrawal of troops from that war zone to rein force the western Galicia forces. The offensive will be resumed in Servia as soon as the Galiciau campaign is decided. Au official report given out a! German headquarters said: "The French have made weak attacks against our positions between the .Meuse and Vosges. but these were repulsed easily. There were no "important events on the west frout. Southeast of Cracow we continued our offensive. We took several German guns and machine guns and about 2.O00 prisoners. Not one man, nor one gun nor one ma-chie gun there has fallen into Russinn hands." The abandonment of Belgrade by the Austrians is acknowledged in an official statement given out at Vienna. The .statement Is as follows: "In the southern theater or war the retirement of our right wing involved a change in the military situation which made it advisable; for us to abandon Belgrade, which was evacuated without fighting. Our troops have fought long and fatiguing battles, but are in the best of spirits." Petrograd was without a water supply yesterday. There are grave fears of a possible disaster in cae of fire, and the danger of blazes lieing started insoles who may be in the Russian capital is be"-lieved to he acute. This is the first time in thirty years that Petrograd lias suffered from a lack of water. The supply has been cut off by ice blocking the conduits from the Neva from which the citys water is taken. The German official press bureau gave out a statement that the Turkish cruiser Midirli formerly the Breslau has bombarded Sebastopol and that the Sultan Selim formerly the Goeben has shelled Ba-toum, setting lire to the city. Constantinople savs a Mohammedan uprising has occurred in the Cau casus and that 50,000 armed Russian .Moslems went over to light against the Russians. Arrival of the German converted cruiser Cormoran in the harbor of Guam, an American possession in the l.adrone archipelago, was reported officially to the navy department by the commandant or the naval station there. The Cormoran was given twenty-four hours in which to leave the port or interne. She was short of coal, provisions anil water and her commander chose to have her interned. The steady advance or the allied troops in Bel-glum continues. A French contingent co-operating with the British have pushed the Germans back along the Ypres canal and to the west of liollebeke. The kaisers forces are putting up a stubborn da-fense. however, making several counter attacks, which have been repulsed. Tlie British official information bureau gave out the following statement: "A combined attack by the allies was made yesterday on the line from liollebeke to Wyteschaete. in Belgium. Several German trenches and a number of prisoners were captured and substantial progress was made." German frontal attacks on the Russian line west of Warsaw under cover of night were successfully repulsed by the Russians, according to information reaching Petrograd. At many points along the front the Russians succeeded in capturing isolated German positions. The newspaper La Belgique says that the retreat of the Germans toward prepared positions east of the Yser is continued. Masses of troops have been concentrated along a line embracing Bruges. Thielt and Courtrai, with general headquarters at Thiclt. It is reported at Tokio that tlie German armed merchantman Oxford has been captured by the British in the Indian ocean and that the German converted cruiser Cormorant has entered the harbor of Guam in the Ladrone archipelago. The Turkish army has not yet assert cd itself, nor has it engaged in any great battle, dispatches from Constantinople say. Euver Pasha has taken command of the Caucasian army and Talaat Bey lias succeeded him as minister or war. All the street lamps in Paris were extinguished. The reason Tor this precaution is said to have been the receipt or a report that two Zeppelin dirigible balloons had been sighted at Amiens proceeding in tlie direction or Paris. Tlie French parliament convened yesterday. It is expected to be a short session, dealing with war loans, and will undoubtedly express its confidence in President Poincare and tlie ministry in the conduct or the war. The French cabinet lias decided to ask parliament to appropriate 0,000,000 tor the relief of the suf-rerings of the population in the department of France recently evacuated by the Germans. The Turkish Charge dAffairs at Rome has assured the Italian Foreign Office that his government would make a satisfactory explanation of the recent attack on the Italian Consulate at Hodeida. Tlie minister of marine lias been informed that two British warships have entered the Straits of Magellan in pursuit of the German cruiser Dresdeiiy-which lias taken refuge at Punta Arenas. In addition to Russia and Turkey, France has refused to accept Pope Benedicts proposal for a truce between the belligerent powers during the Christmas season. Tlie British government has officially announced that tlie sinking of the battleship Bulwark off Sheerness, by an explosion Nov. 20, was not due li. a hostile act. Eight hundred lives were lost. It is officially denied at Vienna that Austria-Hungary attempted to conclude a separate peace with .Servia.
