BRITISH SUCCESS IN BATTLE AT MONS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2238, 26 August 1914, Page 5

BRITISH SUCCESS IN BATTLE AT MONS

GERMS DRIVEN BACK ■ it GIGANTIC CONFLICT STILL RAGING IN BELGIUM , The following message, dated London, August 25, 3.5 a.m., was received oy the Prime Minister last evening:— ' '. Official.—The British forces have successfully reached a new position ' iigntiiig is continuous. Tho enemy have'not effectively harassed ouroperal ticns. The movoment was executed with great skill by the commanders of the Jirst and Second Army Corps. Tho casualties cannot be estimated, but they aro not heavy. Tho British were opposed .by two German Army Corps and , two cavalry divisions. The enemy suffered heavily. Tho position now occupied is well protected ilio Allies are firmly established on the original line of , SS" Jw '° French divisions suffered soverely, but tho main body is untouched. Tho German losses havo been considerable. I A cable message from Sydney gives the same details as above, which wero cabled to the Commonwealth Government by Sir George Reid, the Hiirh Commissioner. |' v ■-.'■•: • b , BATTLE EXPECTED TO LAST SEVERAL DAYS. By Telegrapli-Prce3 Association-Copyright n '■* (k • ii ,-,''- Paris, August 24. fronttr of ,oUn vi tllat % g . reat ttle ' extending from lions to the " on ,f,', el ° f > a, distance of about ninety miles, is proceeding. '' '-Jifi, ii 6 i» •♦• t <? rC6S ove O: whe ro have taken the offensive, in conjunction .with the British forces against nearly the .whole of tho Gorman array. Presumably the battle will last several days. It is stated that tho fighting began in earnest on Suiiday evening on both banks of the fcambrc river, from Maubouge to Namur. It is believed that Charleroi, the centre of the action, was taken and retaken, -c ■ mt d t> i-ii"'., , London, August 24. The Press Bureau notifies that the British forces were cngag e 3 all Sunday M held the ground in the neighbourhood, of Mons f ■ News has been received that the first lino of' defence at Namur has been taken, necessitating the withdrawal of a portion of the Mies' forces from the line on the feambre river to tho original position on the French frontier. ' ■ GERMANS,THROWN BACK TOWARDS BRUSSELS. (Rec. August 25, 9.30 p.m.) n • i, ■ ~" \ \, \ ■ London, August 24, ovoning. . It is reported that tho French wore successful at Charleroi, the Germans being thrown back on Hal, twenty-thrco miles- north-east of Mons and eicht miles from Brussels. ■ (R*c. August 25, 9.30 p.m.) (TJ'e French-War Office'has issued'tho following statement—" SUS "' ' .V the German extreme right sought to pass our left wing, and aro now being attacked by our left in conjunction witli British troops in the vicinity losse " S * A desperato bilttl ° continues. Both Aides havo sustained serious Charleroi, with a population of 30,000, is the Centre of the iron industrv in Belgium. It is couiiccted by a canal with Brussels, and from its position on the bambre enjoys lacihties for CQinmmiication by water with France ns well as Belgium. It was ceded soon after its foundation in 1666 to Franco and Vanban fortified it. During tho French'occupation the fortifications were extended, and the town-was 1 made so strong that it tivico successfully resisted' the strenuous attacks of William of Orange. In 1794 tho town a"ain fell into the hands of tho French, and they dismantled the forts. In 181G Charleroi : was refortified under Wellington's direction,, and wa.s finally . dismantled in 1859. Some portions of the old ramparts remain near the railway, station,

Mons is the capital of the Belgian province of Hainaut. It has a popii' lation of about 30,000, and does a nourishing traclo in lace, cloth, sugar rclining, etc. Tho military engineering college for the Belgian army is here, and not far away aro tho battlefields of Malplaquct (1709) and Jenhappes (1792). Several times dismantled and refortifi'odr-iions was finally converted into an open town in 1862. ■ Maubeuge is a fortress of tho fjrst-class,.-situated in France, on both banks of tho Sa'iiibre, with 22,000 inhabitants. It is about two miles from the Belgian frontier, and 142 miles from Paris on tho'direct route to Namur. As a fortress Maubeuge has an old enceinte of bastion trace, which serves as tho centre of an important entrenched camp of 18 miles perimeter, constructed for the most part after the war of 1870, but .since modernised and augmented.

FOETEESS OF NAMUE TAKEN, ; . ' London, August 24. The Press Bureau states that Namur lias fallen. Namur, with Liege and Antwerp, is ono of the three principal fortresses of Belgium. The town, which has a population of 32,403, is picturesquely situated at tho junction of the Sambre and the' Meuse, lying on the left bank of the two rivers, while the. rocky promontory forming tho fork between them is crowned with the old citadel, no longer used for military purposes. There are two bridges across the Sambre and one across tho Meuse, the latter being the only bridge across that river in its' courso through Belgium.- Namm- has been a fortress of tho first-class ever since ,1692,: when Vatiban indeavoured to make it impregnable. In 1888, under the now scheme of Belgian defence, tho citadel and its detached works were abandoned, and in their place nine outlying forts were constructed at a distauco of from'-three, to five miles round tho town. ■ All these' forts are placed on olevated points. They are in thin order, beginning on tho left bank of the Mouso and ending on tiie right bank of the same river: (1) St. Herebert, (2) Malone, (3) Suarlee, (4) Emines, (5) Cognjee, (6) Golbresseo, (7) Maizeret, (8) Ahdoy, and (9) Dave. The whole position is correctly described as tho "tete de pont" of Namur, and in addition' to its strong bomb-proof forts it possesses great natural advantages for tho ; defence of the intervals. ', GERMAN SUCCESS CLAIMED AT NEUFCHATEAU. (Rec. August 25, 9.30 p.m.) .-/ New York, August 24. Count Bernstorff, the. German Ambassador at Washington; states that the German Army, under Grand Duke Albrecht, defeated the French Army at Neufchatean, capturing over 150 guns, also prisoners, including several generals. . A .German force also advanced west of the Meuse and defeated a force of British cavalry. Neufchateau lies in the (Belgian province of Luxemburg, thirty-five miles south-east of Givet, and twelve miles from the Franco-Belgian frontier. Duke Albrecht of Wurtemberg is a general of cavalry and an inspectorgencTal of the German Army, and is presumably the Grand Duke Albrecht referred, to. ■ . ■ . THIRTY THOUSAND GERMANS ATTACK MALINES. i •'■,„■. • ' (Rec. August 25, 11.20 p.m.) _. . ■ , , „ Ostond, August 24. ; .Thirty thousand Germans are attacking" Malines. Skirmishing is gen-eral'in-the. north-west of. Flanders'. i l ?¥'!\ es is ? , city of 60 > 000 l ,e °P lo . "' tho province- of Antwerp. lying about half-way between Antwerp and Brussels. It .is the junction for tho ■railway lino from Ghent to Louvain and-Liego, as well as that from Antwerp to Brussels and the south, and its station in time of peace is ono of the busiest in Belgium. In the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries it was 'besieged many times and captured by the French, Dutch, and English' on different occasions, The French finally removed the fortifications in 1804, since which year it has been an open town. ' / ■ j_ ' . i ■ . v _ ' BRUSSELS UNDER AMERICAN PEOTECTION. (Rec. August 25, 6.5 p.m.) ■m i, fl . » ~., \ Parls i August 24.' •n. a • . Mat lP r . publishes a message from Ypres, Belgium, which states that the American Minister, accompanied by the Burgomaster of Brussels, on tho entry of.the Germans informed them that America had taken Brussels under its protection, and would see that the laws were observed.' . _ ' ' . '. ' - London, August 24. German trains are running between Brussels and Liege, and telegraphic communication has been opened with Borlin. '«. .' ;.- Tho Gorman commissariat, except to the south of the Mouse, is improving, showing that the motor' service from the railway termuii over the Belgian frontier has been.much strengthened. Patrols are using armoured cars, each conveying eight or ten men with a quiokfirer. V •/•■>; LIEGE STILL HOLDS OUT. ' ' . „. . „ ''■", , ■ '■ " Paris, August 24. ,;',-. It is omctally .announced, that Liege still holds,out., ' _