European War Developments, Daily Racing Form, 1914-12-23

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EUROPEAN "WAR DEVELOPMENTS. It is announced at German army headquarters that the French attacks near Nienport Monday were repulsed. The Germans attacked tile positions held by the English and Indian troops between Riche-l.ourg and LaHassee, storming the enemys trencher The British sulTered heavy losses and were thrown back from their position. The Germans took one lield gun, live machine guns and two mine throwers and captured 270 men, including ten officers. The trenches taken by the French near Notre Dame de Lorette were recaptured. In the region of Soua.-n northeast of Chalons the French attacked violently ami advanced until they were close to the German lines, hut there they were driven back, leaving four Officers and :!10 men in the hands of the Germane. A great number of French dead are lying in front of the German positions. In the Argonne region the Germans took an important height near Four de Paris, capturing three machine guns, one revolver gun and 275 prisoners. The desperate French attacks northwest of Verdun failed. Premier Viviani, declaring the views of the French government concerning the war to the chamber of depnties in session at Paris yesterday, said: France, acting in accord with her allies, will not sheath her anus until after taking vengeance lor outraged right; until she has united for all time ti the French fatherland the provinces ravished from her bv force; restored heroic Belgium to the fullness of her material life and her political independence and until Prussian militarism has lieeu crushed, to the end that it be ossiblo to reconstruct on a basis of justice a Europe" regenerated." The ministerial declaration, which was read by the premier, was "reeted by almost continuous cheering. References to the allies of France and to the commanding generals were applauded with particular enthusiasm. There was a remarkable demonstration when the premier declared that France and her allies were determined to carry on the war to the linish, whatever its length and severity. In Poland and Galicia battles are being fought between the Russians and the Austio-Gernian allies amid deep snow in bitter cold. The Russian and German claims continue to be directly contradictory. Tile Germans hi Poland again are making a fierce attack toward the capital and the Russians as making a stand against them on the east bank ot the Bzura river, thirty miles west of Warsaw. Grar-a Duke Nicholas army here holds a natural strateg".- line nftv miles long, running roughly north and sCath along the east bank of the Bzura -M and Rawka . rivers- The.. .Petrograd report claims lnat the German force in North Poland has retreated across the lioundary into East Prussia in a northwesterly direction. It asserts also that the Austrian advance through the Carpathian passes to the north lias been checked aud the attempts of the Przemysl garrison to break through the lines were repulsed. The following official statement was issued at Petrograd: "1 he head of the general staff says that owing to the malevolent reports widely printed in the newspapers during the last few days concerning the condition and strategic positions of our armies7, he thinks it fitting to warn the Russian pubic against the partiality and inaccuracy of these reports. The fact that our armies adopted a narrower front was the outcome of a decision arrived at after full and free consideration by the military authorities. The reason for this plan is obvious in view of the concentration in front of our army of considerable German forces. Moreover, this plan offers other advantages concerning which, unnappily, we cannot give details at present, for military reasons." An official statement issued by the Russian general headquarters asserted that the Austrian advance in Galicia lias been linally stopped. Word comes from Berlin that the Germans have restored the railways from Charleville, in the department of the Ardennes, opposite Mezieres, to Rheims, and .from llirson, in Aisne, to Mont-medy, in the department of Meiise, twenty-live miles north of Verdun, which the French destroyed when retreating early In the war. The railways to Givet, in the department of Ardennes, on the Belgian border, according to the same dispatch, will be opened shortly, while the bridges over the Meiise near Lumes, Flize and Doiichery, all southeast of Mezieres. are again open. Blocked tunnels near Montinedy and Mohon, the last-named point just south of .Mezieres, have also been put into condition to lie utilized. The repulse of German attacks and capture of German trenches are the outstanding features set forth in the latest French official statement. It says that near Perthes-Les-IIurlus the French have ca.i-tured three German works representing 1,500 yards of trenches. There is n lull in the infantry attack? in Flanders, the lighting there being confined to artillery duels. Both sides are taking the offensive at certain points on the battle front. In the Champagne district and in the Argonne around Souain the opposing forces are lighting with the bayonet. The statement admits that the Germans have made gains at some points, but Indicates that these are of no great importance. The Bulgarian minister at Petrograd announced yesterday that an agreement had been reached between Roumania and Bulgaria under which Rou-manla will restore to Bulgaria the province of Do-broges and most of the other territory which she acquired from Bulgaria as a result of the second Balkan war. "This agreement has been reached without pressure from either Germany or the allies." said an official connected with the Bulgarian ministry. "We shall continue to be neutral and believe that Roumania. although she has no cause to fear us. also will remain neutral." Petrograd reports that the heavy German eolumi driven across the east Prussian frontier from Mlawa, Russian Poland, by the Russians, Is spreading out lo the east and west. The purpose of the German movement Is to debouch to the right of the intrenched Mazur lawes position and to reinforce the troops in the vicinity of Thorn for protection .against the continued Russian advance on the Thorn-Allensteiii-Interburg railroad, which is the main .strategic line parallelling the north Poland frontier. German troops made four successive assaults on the allies line in front of Llhous in a determined effort lo recapture trenches that had been wrested from them. All these deadly attacks were repulsed, says the report of the French war office, which discloses also that the British recaptured most of the trenches previously taken from them anil that the French gained a foothold in the German trenches south of Noyon and made progress else- where. "Although our army at the front now is scarcely ono-slxth the size of the French army, our monthly war expenditure is 25,000,000. which is a larger amount than Frances total." Is the statement of David Lloyd George. In addition to the enormou-; resources which we shall command through the nw income tax we are turning into the war treasury . new loan amounting to the colossal sum of .-200,000,000." The British cruisers Lancaster and Suffolk anil the Canadian battleship Gloria, which had not been htard from for several weeks, appeared off the entrance of New York harbor yesterday. During the early part of the war they maintained, with other British ships, a regular patrol of New York harbor. The three warships steamed within live miles of the Sandy Hook lightship and then southeast. It can he stated positively that no definite agreement has lieen reached whereby England will refrain from searching ships which leave American ports with statements from English consuls that they are carrying no contraband. England is willing to accept such statements only in cases in which there is no reason to believe that the cargoes may have been augmented at sea. It is announced that British warships have captured near the Falkland Islands two German-owned steamers, which were acting as store-ships to the German ships. They were the Baden and Santa Isabel, both Hying the Hag of the Hamburg-American Line. Three German merchantmen were captured and sunk off Terra del Fuego earlier in the month. It Is stated from an authoritative source that the pope will give a solemn audience to the sacred college on Christmas eve, when he will deliver a most important allocution about the war aud ills efforts to hasten peace. The pontiff will announce that he intends to make another appeal to the sovereigns and chiefs of state in favor of peace. The following official communication was issue! at Vienna: "In the Carpathians our attacks in the district of Upper Latorcza are progressing well. To the northeast of Lupkow pass, on the front north of Krosno and Tuchow and on the lower Dunajee river severe lighting continues. The situation In North Poland is unchanged." It is reported at the French ministry of marine that a German submarine attempting to attack a British troop transport off Havre has been sunk. No official announcement has been made, but the unofficial rumors state that the submarine was sunk by destroyers after it. had dispatched a torpedo at the transport. Rioting has broken out at Jaffa and the United States cruiser Tennessee is rushing there at full speed, according to advices from Alexandria. The outbreak of the Turks has thus far been confined to attacks on Jews, but it is feared that they will vent their rage on all foreigners. After a searching investigation of the activities of the German Heet in the southern Pacific recently, the government of Chile has made formal protest to Germany against alleged violations of neutrality by the German navy in Chilean waters. The Hague hears that Germany is building forty nOD-ton submarines. They will bring her known fleet of such crafts up to ninety-live. The new vessels are of the latest design, embodying some novu departures from former types. The German emperor, accompanied by the Imiverial chancellor, Dr. von Bethmanu-llollweg: the ministers of war and marine, and a numerous suite, has gone to the western front, according to advices from Copenhagen. The British squadron engaged in a violent bombardment of Zeebrugge, where the Germans are attempting to make repairs and establish a naval base. The ships also bombarded Hoyst. The London Daily Chronicle quotes Lloyd-George as saying: "Before the spring 500,000 new soldiers, superb, magnificently trained and full of enthusiasm, will have joined those in France." London reports that two more of the smaller na-tious of Europe Greece and Roumania are expected to enter the great war on the side of the triple entente immediately. The Norwegian steamer Boston, bound from Oran to London with a cargo of timber, struck a mine off Scarborough and was beached near Filey, where eight of her crew landed.


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