SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN RIGHT WING

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2257, 17 September 1914, Page 5

SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN RIGHT WING

v . A SENSATIONAL REPORT i 1 ... GERMAN CENTRE HARD PRESSED ' mu « , ~, .• , , „ London, September 15. Central News Agency reports that General .von KJuck, commanding J Ug S nOTt h-west, with three army .corps, has surrendered with fourteen thousand prisoners. Another report states that 25.000 prisoners were taken; also many guns. . „ $2 Nl Vt °°? res P<? n aent at Dieppe wires that it is reported that i , 6xtrcm ® lefi > advancing through Roye and Ham after junctioning ■ .with fresh troops'from Boulogne, encircled General von Kluck. 'a n n * Paris, September l ls. i, German General and his Staff, with ten officers and three hundred men, nave arrived as French prisoners at Noisy-le-Sec (a suburb of Paris). wo =f H ( m c'l iS n hirt ?" sk - mil! ?- e \ of Amiens, and twelve miles southwest of St. Quentin, in a direct line between Amiens and La Fere Rove is twelve m'Jes west-south-west of Ham. re - Jxoye is ENERGETIC PURSUIT OF RETREATING ENEMY. .' a - , , ... Paris, September 15. A communique states:—"On our left wing we have everywhere regained tonch with the enemy's rearguards, and even the main force of the enemy appear to be making a stand on the front marked by .the River Aisne. In the centre also they seem to intend to offer- resistance in the heights northwest and north of Reims. They continue to retire between - the Argonne district and the Meuse. On the right wing, in the Woeuvre district, we relieved tort lroyon, which had been fiercely attacked during the last few days. In Lorraine our pursuing detachments, as everywhere, also maintain contact withthe enemy, lhe morale and .health of our armies are excellent,". , . ~ September 16. The official communique adds: On the left the armies are in contact with the enemy, whose whole front is marked by the heights to the north of the Aisne and the west and north by Reims. There is no truth in the German statement that the Crown Prince-was besieging Verdun, which has never been attacked, except <rt Fort Troyon, which is really part of the-defences of tho •Meuse. CROWN PRINCE HEMMED IN BY THE ALLIES. rn, -d r> ' London, September 15. ine Press Bureau reports that the Germans are still occupying a strong position north of the Aisne, and'that fighting is proooeding along the whole ime. The Crown Prince has been driven further back along the lino of .varennes, Consenvoye, and the Orne River. The Allies have occupied Reims. Six hundred prisoners and .twelve guns cave been captured by a French corps on the right of the British. Ram is making the roads heavy and'increasing the difficulties of the German retreat. _ Paris, September 15. The fate of the Crown Prince's army in Argonne ! still hangs in the bal'ance. An attempt to find an exit through the chain v of forts between Verdun and Toul failed, when tho bombardment of Fort Troyon was abandoned. (Reo. September 16, 7.30 p.m.) 1 , Paris, September 15. Official.—The Germans facing the Allies' left made a stand on Monday, florth of tho Aisne, on a line from Galomio to Gracune. Their centre resisted the Allies on a line north of Reims from Champ-de-Chalons to Viehne-la-Ville. The forces in the Southern Argonne have further fallen back. On the 'Allies' right they have fallen back to Etain, Mctz, Dolme, and Chateau-Salins The situation in the Vosges and Alsace is unchanged. Fort Troyon is one of the forts in the "Meuse Line," of which Verdun and Toul are the north and south ends' respectively. In order from north to

south, the main forts in the line are GenicouTfc, Troyon, St. Mihiel, Liouville, and Gironville. Tliey stand on the right or east bank of'the Me use, defending crossings at Genicourt, Troyon, St. Mihiel, and Commercy. Owing to the configuration of the ground, which gives the forts command from the edge of a. plateau which forms a great natural rampart, they are extremely strong. The German line of defence in the -vicinity of Verdun is stated to extend from Varennes, 15 miles west, north-west of Verdun to Conscnvoye, on the right bank of the Meuse, 10 miles north of Verdun, and thence along the Orres River to Etain, 15 miles north-east of Verdun, and on to Metz. Delme is 20 miles south-south-east of Metz, and Chateau-Salins seven mile's further on in the same direction. Galonne and Gracuno are behind the line of the Aisne, but the maps at our disposal do not show their location, nor can Champ-de-Chalons and Tienne-la-Ville be traced, but they are respectively a few miles north and north-west of Reims. GERMAN RETREAT IMPEDED BY THE RAINS. ' Paris, September 16. A hurricane in northern France on Sunday is seriously impeding the German retreat, torrential rains swelling the rivulets into cataracts, an<l the rivers into turbid torrents, making the crossing of rivers of which the bridges are broken very difficult. -The wheels of the great German siege guns sink in the roadway, making it impossible for thirty-two horses to move them. Again and again the Germans, in despair, cut the traces and liberated the horses. Owing ,to the network of railways the Allies "are able to send trainload after trainload of troops to weak points, also to readily replace food, munitions, pontoons, and guns. GERMAN LINE STILL INTACT, BUT RETREATING FAST. (Rec. September 16, 11.5 p.m.) i London, September 15. 'A message from Paris says that the whole German line is intact, and in a fast but 'orderly retreat. The strength of its resistance is problematic. The battle now m progress 'is probably only a rearguard action to cover the main retirement to the Meuse. Paris, September 16, 2.40 a.m. Official—The Allies'- left is olosely iln contact with the Germans; the centre advance continues, and the right is unchanged. "SCURRYING THROUGH THE ONLY LOOPHOLE."(Rec. September 17, 0.35 a.m.) , Paris, September 16." ' The German Crown Prince, after frantic but unsuccessful attacks on the Frenoh line of forts between Toul and Verdun, is scurrying in retreat through the only available loophole in the gap between the Argonne district and the Meuse. ' x