SIGNIFICANT NEWS FROM-POLAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2329, 10 December 1914, Page 5

SIGNIFICANT NEWS FROM-POLAND

WITHDRAWAL FROM LODZ ■,-■•. RUSSIANS RE-FORMING THEIR BATTLE-LINE \', • London, December S. ■ , ■v A Petrograd official messagestates;— "For tie latter half of November Lodz w'ae of great military importance, but its defence was' not "urgent after ' the failure of the German dffensive on tie Lodz-Lbwicz line. It also made our .front abnormal, the control of whioh ie embarrassing tie communications. It is'probable that our, line in the region, of Lodz will be reformed." Some.newepapers interpret the above message ag meaning evacuation. : It is stated that fifteen German army corps were engaged in the assault on Lodz, with..the object'of getting control of the region as a central stronghold from whioh to extend the whole battle-line.—"Times" and Sydney "Sun 5, .Services., : ;.•■■■•..■,■' •' ''■■." '; ' ' . The Prime Minister (Mr. W. F. Ma ssey) has received the'following message (dated London, Decemberlß) from the High Commissioner:— ■ Russian official mossages neither confirm nor the German cap. ture of Lodz. They state that the defence of Lodz is no longer an urgent military necessity, as the holding of it has embarrassed the Russians, who have withdrawn to reyise their offensive. ' ' • FIRST STAGE OF THlf BATTLE HAS.ENDED. ' ■ . ; (Rec. December 10, 0:30 a.m.) ' '...-•' Petrpgrad, December 9., The first stage of the battle has ended. The Germans were thrown back from Lowicz and Lask, and are now threatening Lodz and Parakow, hoping to save East Prussia and hamper the Russian operations in Cracow by pouring in reinforcements whioh may oblige the Grand Duke Nicholas to concentrate the greater part of his forces between the Vistula and the Warta. - The, latest German attack from Kalisz has- spent itself. Thus far Grand' Duke Nicholas has not been obliged to- relax the attack on .Cracow, though a new Austro-German counter-attack is developing southwards of Cracow. ■ ~-... ; . .' ' CAUGHT IN A RUSSIAN DEATH-TRAP HOW TWO GERMAN ARMY CORPS WERE CUT- TO. PIECES. (Rec. December 9, 8 p.m.) ■ ■ m "'.,' . London, December 9. The"Daily Chronicle"' Petrograd correspondent, writing on Friday laef, gives details of the disaster to two of General Mackensen's Army Corps when the Twenty-fifth and the Third Corps of the Guards were cut off south ;of Lodz. "Mackensen's other troops were bombarding Lodz from the West, and these two Army Corps were unable to.retire. They attempted to cut their way out : via Breziny (12 milos cast of Lodz). The road lay through a hollow, in wooded (country. . ' , • . ■ ' Hard Pressed In Rear. - "Hard pressed in their rear, the two Army corps fought desperately for four days,' though short, of ammunition. On the fifth day they made a final ; attempt at Breziny, where the troops which held Ivangorod in October were ; stationed. The Russian Commander, after shelling Breziny for nine hours, '.until only half the town was standing, then ordered a general assault. By ■nightfall only the soattered remnants of 80,0Q0 troops remained, 20,000 Germans surrendering, while 80 per cent, of the remainder were either killed or wounded. Thei rest of the fugitives hid in the woods. .' The horrore of the 'debacle were accentuated by the confined area of the carnage. The dead lay in great heaps in Breziny, while occasional heaps of dead dotted the countryside for miles. . Tha Climax. "Tho first three days of December saw the climax of the German attempt to oapture Lodz, where the Russian defenders were almost surrounded.. 'The Germans reached Rokier, within four miles of the south end of the soven■mile street_ which makes up the city of Lodz. Their heavy guns wero mean•j while shelling the north of tho city from Zgierz (six miles away), killing several hundreds of civilians. The Russian artillery was unable to locate the .German batteries until lan aeroplane, ■ on December 8, reported their approximate position. A RnJsian Colonel of Artillery, with a few assistants, then 'draggeda field telephone at night within half a mile of tho enemy's position, and despite the searchlights, lay on tho ground and directed the Russian fire until the was silenced. He then returned, uninjured. During the night of December 3, there wore seven hundred guns in action at Lodz, and the sound of the cannonading was faintly heard at Warsaw, sixty miles 'away. . . ■ Enormous tosses. . "The German assault followed. Masses of men dashed into tho glare of •-the searchlights, regardless of the inforno of bullets. The Siberians allowed ; the Germans to advance within fifty feoo of their'lino'before they fired their rifles and machine-guns. The assault was an utter failure. .The Russian casualties, relatively, were light compared to.the German losses. Over 100,000 wore killed in the Lodz district. It is impossible to estimate tho wounded; scores .of trains continue to pass Tralisc'h. • "There are many German epics in the district. On December 1 a Russian Council of War decided on the evacuation of Lodz, bub cancelled the order on the following day, while the convoys had commenced to move, The Germans knowing of the order to evacuate,' but icnornut of tM TOUcelUtlo l^

thought that only a Russian rearguard was protecting Lodz, and swooped down on the city. They were promply driven back losing four thousand men. ."The ! Novoe Vreniya' states that when tho German Army corps were surrounded thoy marched in every direction, seeking an outlet, but_ always came up against the wall of tho Russian bayonets. They then buried their guns and ammunition, abandoned their transports, left tho high roads, and marched through the fields to avoid thg Russian fire. Finally thoy took refuge in houses at Breziny which proved to be a death-trap; they were relentlessly exterminated with tho bayonet." POLISH SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS EXPELLED PROM CRACOW . • , ■ (Roc. December 10, 0.30 a.m.) Rome, December 9. The Anstriana have withdrawn all their Polish regiments from Cracow, and have expelledthe Polish inhabitants, owing to the discovery of a plot to surrender the city to the Russians. •' GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORT: PURSUIT OF . THE RUSSIANS. ■ (Rec. December 9, 9.40 p r m.) Paris, December 9. 'An. official message from Berlin states that the Germans, east and southeast of Lodz are pursuing the Tapidly retreating Russians, and that the latter have lost five thousand taken prisoners, sixteen guns, and- ammunition wagons. . • GREAT REJOICINGS IN BERLIN: (Rec. December 10, 0.30 a.m.) Berlin, December 9. The capture of Lodz was celebrated with a universal display of flags and demonstrations in the streets. • . Herr Basserman, addressing the National Liberals in the Reichstag, said: '•'We shall hold fast all the time to these countries, fertilised with German blood by this bloody war. 'To a splendid victoryl , that , is our ootto at this great time." SERVIANS DEFEAT THE AUSTRIANS LAST WEEK'S SUCCESSFUL OFFENSIVE. (Rec. December 9, 6.15 p.m.) London, December 8. An official report from Nish states that the Servian operations have been victorious along the entire front. "We captured on December 1 520 prisoners: on December 3, 2500; on December 4. 2500, and also complete batteries of artillery.— "Tiines" and Sydney "Sun"- services. (Rec December 10, 0.30 a.m.) ■ Nish, December 9. It is stated tHat tlie Servian casualties already, total a hundred thousand. ■ . .. ■ •