BRITISH GAINING GROUND IN WEST FLANDERS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2333, 15 December 1914, Page 5

BRITISH GAINING GROUND IN WEST FLANDERS

GERMAN POSITION IMPERILLED, FRENCH SUCCESSES IN UPPER ALSACE , .BjrTeksMphr-Prasj Assooltttfcn-CisjTlsM mi. D -j. ■ I i j l t- Amsterdam, December 13 The British are reported to be earning ground northwards of Passchendaele (about eight miles east by nort| of Ypres), imperilling the German po^ &dr man • aenera ' Sfcaff *m Xd From Many GermanUroops,. with numerous cannon and machine guns and ttst^" 0^ Sebaete <*« -Sff-S ' OPERATIONS IN UPPER ALSACE, After am eight-hour-desperate hand-to-hand fieht, the French «™*..™«, i ££ were Sfffi p captured aU the strategical German' positions from Belfort to Reez, despite heavy shelling, inflicting'serious casualties . . FRENCH COMMUNIQUE AND A GERMAN "OFFICIAL.''. oas t' A nf C °Y mUniai l e sta A 6S: , " We impulsed three vibtent'Su^rttaSs 1 Wdl^^Sje*^ 8 n ° rtll ' WeSt ° f Senones - We y S °pro. • (Reo. December 14,7.45 p.m!) . Official -A Gennan attack north-east of Ypres, '«■« railway station at Aspach (in Alsace), have been repulsed. ' g e r>m ■i j r> ,• ~m , Amstßrdnm, December 13 •Pn.t° ffi M al fr ° m T , he Germans .midway between St. MMd'and Pont-a-Mousson repulsed a frontal attack. The French casualties w«t heavy, and sis hundred were; taken prisoners. casualties were Berlin admits the following losses: -Killed, men.— limes" and Sydney "Sun" sorvices. .""jwu

ALLIES BATTLE-FRONT IN FLANDERS CORRESPONDENT'S REVIEW OF THE SITUATION. (Rec. December 14, 9.20 p.m.)

. The "Daily TelegraphV> correspondent at Calais rZWaX Allies ar* vigorously-and successfully pushing their offensive rn Flanders The superiority of their artilfery is .incontestable, giving them marked ad™, tages. One ot the initial causes of ru«ess is khffiXtkvhLiSSi a zig-zag from near Ostend to the Lys, along which the Allies are c"aTv advancing. They also ho da strong position north-east of TrmVntifra The inundations stretch for several miles, from south of MenSo south of Dixmude. As the Germans are clearly incapable of taking a orious offensive, their renewed bombardment, relatively of unimportant localities Mke }pres, Nieuport, and Pervyse, is interpreted as a ruse to mislead the Allies DESPERATE ATTACK ON BRITISH WING BRITISH TERRITORIALS' SPLENDID STAND. (Rec. December 14, 10.50 p.ni ) The "Daily Chronicle's" Galai, correspondent, between Ypres and La Bassee, states that the Anglo-French troops havoboiV the brunt of repeated assaults; on their trenches. Fighting began simuE ously on the IVfrm (?Kenm)-Warneton li„e, which formeS one wing the Armenieres-La Basseo lino the other wing, precluding the capture of La. Basseo itself. Ihe Germans northern wing, suddenly abandoning their defensive tactics,.made a wild onslaught with the bayonet. They suffered "They came on in loose order, at a steady, brisk walk, every man firing at random, and often advancing regaidless of casualties. They succeeded in ' ■ driving back the first line of thq Allies' trenches, but their triumph was sliort lived. The Allies' supporting trenches, one hundred yards in the rear, poured a jdeadly volley on the contused runlw, and eventually pursued the Cet> , mans with the bao-wmt to then' own trenches, ■ '

' A more sanguinary encounter, followed northward in a forest, where the British position had been made almost impregnable by means of felled trees and barbed-wire entanglements. The Germans shelled the obstructions with smashing effect, our guus responding.. Waves upon waves of the enemy pushed upon the entanglements, courting speedy destruction, as the Allies', positions bristled with artillery. The Germans, by sheer weight of numbers, removed the obstructions, although mauled and mowed down in the act, several finding our trenches. .- The attacks ended abruptly, and they were flung back with sickening losses.' ' , . "A regiment of "Uhlans, charging a battalion of the British which was pursuing a broken infantry detachment, bacame entangled in the under wood. Their horses were shot, and some of them fought on foot; others lied with the infantry. "Severa"! battalions of British Territorials participated in the action. The Sixth Battalion of the Welsh Territorials held the .trench as unflinchingly as any line regiment, and the regulars did not conceal their admiration for the Territorials." ■ , ... — i . . ■ The scene of these encounters is a linla running north-west, the left flank lying a few miles south-west of Ypres, and the right on the Lys The Annan? tieres-La-Bassee line continues on the other side of the Lys, the whole line making a rough parallel with the Ypres -Lille, line. .