PROGRESS ON FRANCO:BELGIAN FRONTIER

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2339, 22 December 1914, Page 5

PROGRESS ON FRANCO:BELGIAN FRONTIER

GROUND GAINED BEFORE NIEUPORT ENEMY'S CONCENTRATION DISPERSED By Telegraph.—Frees 'Awo'otatloa—Coryilnht _ Paris, December 20. A communique states':—"We gained a little ground before Nieuport and St. Georges, and progressed slightly oast and south of Ypres, < where tko enemy are reinforcing their defence. "We captured a portion' of the enemy's first line of trenches between Richebourg and La Bassee, and recaptured the trench north of Maricourt. "We repulsed very violent efforts to recapture trenches at Lihons'(f) and maintained the superiority of our artillery in the Argonne, where we silenced the guns and destroyed machine-gun shelters and observation posts and dispersed the enemy's concentration. ' INDIANS ADVANCE TOWARDS RIOHEBOURG. . . London, December 19. A midnight communique states: — The British lost some trenches towards Neuvechapelle which they captured on Friday. The Indians advanced soin© hundreds of metres towards Richebourg. THE STUBBORN NATURE OF. THE FIGHTING. .. Mr ; London, December 20. An eye-witness, detailing the forward movement begum in Belgium on December 13, emphasises the stubborn nature of the fighting and the necessarily sjow progress. The enemy holds a practically continuous defensive zone consisting in places of several lines of cunningly-sited and carefully constructed works, amounting to a maze of fire tranches, fortified with every known obstacle, incjuding_ many varieties of entanglements. Advance involves constant sapping, with a view to capturing them. A hill, a village, a wood -a building, or trenches, or even a fow yards of ground all serve to facilitate further progress. Even siege methods of approach do not obviate surprises when the enemy's trenches are gained, the only certain method of advance is to demolish the trenches'with mines, and the machine guns by prolonged bombardment, or to mine underneath them and blow them up. GERMANS CONCENTRATING ALONG DUTCH FRONTIER. n r . ~ t , Amsterdam, Decembor 20. Kelugees report that the Germans have posted eight 15-centimetre (6-inch) Runs and-several machine guns in the sand dunes between Duinsergen and Heyst. . ' German troops are concentrating along the Dutch frontier between Oostham and Meerhout. ■ .> ' The "Telegraaf" states that fierce gun-fire took place on the coast on Saturday, assisted by warships. Trains of wounded havo arrived at Bni-rp, w most were sent further eastward. ° ' [Heyst is a small seasido town in Belgium, about six miles from the Dutch frontier. Meerhout is ten miles from tllo Dutch border, thirty milos eastward of Antwerp, and fifteen milos south-east of Turnhout.] SHATTERING BLOW ON GERMAN FRONT LINES. _ , • p i i i t , ar ' s i December 20. French artillery, comprising five hundred guns, dealt a shattering blow on tho German front lines on the north-eastern side of Arras on Thursday. The Germans abandoned their trenches before tho devastating fire and retired to Biang.y and Saint Laurent, where snipers have taken up positions in tho windows and on the housetops. ' Tho Allies are strongly entrenched on the outskirts, GERMAN NAVAL GUN MOUNTED ON SHORE. . ... |j. , i i London, December 20. A seaman who participated in the bombardment of Nieuport and Middel-kerko-states Hiat the Germans, at on» point, replied with s naval 12.i»?h gun mountod on l.kn shoro.

A BRIEF MESSAGE. BUT SATISFACTORY. , (Rec. December 21, 8.15 p.m.) , , Paris, December 21. Official.—Tho situation is unchanged. FURIOUS AND IRRESISTIBLE ATTACKS GERMANS EVACUATE FORTIFIED TRENCHES. (Reo. December 21, 11.50 p.m.) Amsterdam, December 21. The correspondent of "De Tijd" says the English and Belgians carried out furious and irresistible attacks in West Flanders. The Flemings, singing their National Anthem, dashed down upon the Germans at the Distil ude bridgehead, which was captured by a bayonet attack, supported by artillery, and an advance was made to the northward of Dixmude. The Germans evacuated strongly fortified trenches at Nieuport, leaving many dead. After hand-to-hand fights at Saint Georges the French cavalry made splendid charges, but tho Germans, despite great losses, were fighting with tough tenacity. FIERCE ARTILLERY DUELS NEAR ARRAS SEVEN OF THE ENEMY'S TRENCHES CAPTURED. / (Reo. December 21, 11.60 p.m.) Dunkirk, December 21. A fierce artillery duel preceded the Allies' offensive near Arras. The Germans tried to destroy the French advanced works with trench mortars, while aviators dropped bombs. The French shrapnel silenced the mortars within two hours. The engineers mined the enemy's entanglements, which were blown up as the French infantry advanced over muddy fields, rushed the gaps pell-mell, and hurled the Germans frcm their dugouts. There was a great fight Tound one machine gun, where a hup French cuirassier sabred and killed those trying to remove the gun. The Allies captured trenches oil a frontal of two kilometres. As the result of Tecent Allies' bayonet charges, seven of the enemy, s trenches were captured. The trenches were flooded and the Allies, waist-deep in the water, repelled desperate counter-attacks, and many prisoners were taken. On the Yser, hunger-stricken numbers surrendered without resisting the Franco-Belgian bayonet charges.