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EUROPEAN WAR DEVELOPMENTS. The following official communication was issued from Russian general headquarters: "During December "l tin; lighting along the lines of the Bzura ami KuwUa rivers was contlued in general lo artillery liro. Wo have repulsed with success various attacks lv tlic Germans. Along the lower course of the Nitla river we ousted, toward evening of December from the village of Wislica the Austrian wr.o had obstinately defended it and who attempted to fortify themselves on the left bank of the Nida. We then drove the-Austrians beyond that river. South of Vistula, in the region or Tarnow ialicia, on December !!.", wo drove back the Austrians from the Tuchow-Olpiny line. The enemy abandoned ten rapid-lirors. and we took forty-three oliicers and more than 2.."00 soldiers prisoners. The next day we continued the pursuit of the Austrians, who retreated in disorder. We captured eight more machine guns and about 1,000 prisoners. We occupied tin heights near Sizdlizka. on the left bank of the Ilia la river. In the direction of Dukla Carpathians there were engagements on December 23 and 2i, and the Austrians, driven from the Zmigrod-Dukla line are in full retreat.. In the latest encounters in this region the Austrians suffered enormous losses and left in our hands as prisoners more than 10,000 men." The Trench war ollice issued tile following: "In Kussia the Hermans, who resumed their march upon Mlawa have reoccupied that city, liie situation in Poland remains without notable change. The violence of the battle upon the 1", 7. lira and the Hawka has diminished. In the central Pilica region the battle on the contrary continues keen except upon the lower Xida. On the whole ialician front the struggle is developing under conditions favorable to the Russians." An olllcial report given out by the German war oliice says: "There has been no change in the situation cither in east or west Prussia. In Poland our attacks on branches of the ISznra and Itawka rivers resulted in slight progress. Southeast of Tomaszojv our offensive continued successfully. Russian at-lacks on Inowlodz from a southerly direction were repulsed with heavy losses to them." Among the Items given out for publication by the German olllcial press bureau are the following: "While Hie Germans on the ISznra and along the Pilica rivers are reported lo be advancing, the Austrians appear to be having a hard struggle to maintain their positions east of the Dunajfe river, although thi-y seem to be holding their own on its lower reaches and also lo be gaining ground steadily In the Carpathians. A report received from Copenhagen says the authorities at Warsaw have moved from that city t" Vilna." The following ollicial communication was issued by the German general staff: "The enemy made an unsuccessful advance movement at Albert, in the direction of ISoiselle. which was followed by a successful counter-attack by our troops early this morning. The French attacks in Meurissons, in the Ar-gonne and southeast of Verdun, broke down under our lire. In upper Alsace the French attacked our jMisitions fast of the Thann-Dammorkireh line, hut all these assaults were repelled. During the first hours of the night the French gained possession of .in important height east of Thann. but were thrown back after a vigorous counter-attack, and the height remains in our possession." The German ollicial statement reports that the allies made an attack by laud and sea on the town of Xicuport, at the extreme right of the German line in Belgium, but that no serious damage resulted. The Germans also reported the canture of several trenches and of a number of prisoners south of Yprcs and the repulse of French attacks in the regions of Arras, Verdun and Senheim. Petrograd reports that F.nver Pasha, the Turkish war minister, has arrived iu Armenia and will take command of the Turkish troops iu the Caucasus. Assisted by the Black Sea licet, which bombarded the shore where the Turks were concentrated, the Russian troops drove the Turkish from the Transt-chovoci district, the Russian statement asserts. Late Petrograd advices are to the effect that the investment by the Russians Of the Austrian fortress of Cracow lias again been raised. Following tlie discovery of an attempt by the Austrians to divide the Russian forces iu Galicla. the Russians retreated eastward for a distance of fifty miles. The following ollicial statement was issued by the French war otlieo: "We hold strongly the trendies captured near Puisaleins. "On the heights of the Menso we have consolidated our occupation of the ground taken near the trench of Garonne. St. Die lias been bombarded violently." The Antwerp correspondent of the" Amsterdam Uandelshlad tfates. on tin- authority of German officers, that there are .00,000 German troops in the Antwerp district and ., tjiat they have been ordered to defend the position if besieged hy the allies. . - The German government has formally notified the American State Department that American consuls in Belgium Imist be acceptable to. the German mny tarv authorities, and that it is desirable that some of the consuls be withdrawn for the present a least. V German airman who visited Kngland o:i Christmas dav dropped a bomb near Rochester, which is only eighteen miles east-southeast of fct. I a,JJJ Louden, and seven miles from Gravesend. The bomb did no damage, as it fell in the roadway. The allies are continuing their vigorous offensive warfare along the whole of the western front in Belgium and France, but their attacks and the counter attacks by the Germans have resulted in little net change in the positions held by the armies. Constantinople reports that the Turkish fleet li-is successfully engaged Russian naval forces in 1 1 Black Sea. Two Russian mine layers were sunk, tho battleship Rostislav was attacked and the Russian fleet tied to Sebastopol. The Russian government lias authorized the official news agencv t denv in the most catcgorjeal manner the statement that Russia lias ceded to Japan half the island or Sakhalin in exchange for heavy artillery. The war has now been in progress- for exactly l.fj days and its cost is figured at between three and four billions of dollars. Emperor Nicholas, who left Moscow Christmas evening, has joined Grand Duke Nicholas at the battle front.
