The War News.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 6 November 1914, Page 5

The War News.

THE WEEK'S SUMMARY.

SATURDAY

The allies have advanced to~ wards Ostend, the British carry- j ing two German positions at the bayonet's point. Heavy guns have been tried by the Germans against the British naval flotilla off the coast of Belgium, but have failed. A fewdays ago a Berlin message said the German artillery had forced the British warships eight miles off shore, and that three vessels had been hit. The admiralty now announces that the vessels received trifling structural damage, that the bombardment corr \ tinnes, and that firing from the has practically ceased. _ > _^~ A Bavarian battalion has reto fight, and surrendered to tallies. r^The Germans admit that they have had greater losses in the fighting on the Yser, in the attempt to reach Calais, than at any previous stage of the war. A Turkish warship, supposed be the German cruiser Goeben which sheltered from the British fleet in Turkish waters, has bombarded the Russian port of Theodosia, in the Black sea. A Vienna report says the Austrians are engaged in a desperate battle with a superior force of Russians southward of Ivangorod, in Poland. MONDAY The Germans are evacuating Poland, abandoning many Russian prisoners. It is stated that the entire army appears to be demoralised. Three million Russians are pursuing them. It is reported that the German army attempting to reach Calais has retired in shattered disorder. The allies now occupy an advanced position three miles from Ostend. Though the fighting mjßelgium and the north of France has been indecisive, the allies are steadily gaining ground. The French and British continue to advance, despite the violence of the German attacks. The announcement made on Saturday that Turkish warships had taken hostile action against Russia in the Black Sea has been confirmed. The Breslau bombarded Theodosia, the Hamidieh .demanded the surrender of Novorossiysk, destroyers shelled Odessa Harbour, the Goeben has been laying mines, and two Russian torpedo boats have been sunk by unnamed Turkish warships. It is also stated that half-a-million trained Turks have been mobilised. " Meantime, Russia is fully prepared to deal with Turkey. A volunteer corps has been organised among the Armenians and Mahommedans to strengthen the regular army in the Caucasus, and wealthy Armenians are contributing large sums to equip them.. L... j • The British light cruiser Hermes has been sunk in the Straits of Dover by a German submarine. Most of the crew were saved. The Emden has torpedoed and sunk a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. When she attacked the Russian cruiser she was disguised. The British Embassy at Tokio has been informed that she flew the Japanese flag, TUESDAY The naval bombardment of the German-jforces on the Belgium coast continues. More shells have been .fired between the sea and Dixmunde during the past week than during the whole two and a-half years of the Boer war. There has been fierce fighting round Ypres and along the whole front southwards. As indicating the losses the German army has sustained in Belgium, it is stated •^.ijjhat in a little over a week the -'French Army Service Corps buried 25,000 German dead in the Ypres district. In the Dixmunde district the dead in some places were piled a yard high. During the week from October 14th to 20th, the allies took 7683 prisoners. There remains no doubt regarding the attitude of Turkey, The British Foreign Office has issued a statement on the subject showing that German officers, by lavish bribes and an -antiBritish propaganda, in which they were > assisted by the proGerman War Minister, have coerced the Government into a policy of aggression. Turkish troops have been sent south preparatory tq' an invasion of Egypt and the Suez Canal, and some Bedouin Arabs have crossed ■ the Sinai frontier. Transport has been collected, and toads prepared, up to, the frontier of ' Egypt, and mines have been despatched to be laid in the Gulf of Akaha.

WEDNESDAY

The Germans in Belgium are continuing their desperate efforts to take Ypres. There has been fierce fighting in that district, in which British troops have taken a great -part, resisting fierce.bayonet charges by overwhelming numbers of Germans. Germans continue to surrender to the allies. They are hungry and tired. Owing to indiscriminate minelaying by the Germans, the British Admiralty has closed the North Sea. A Capetown cablegram says there is a general feeling that the crisis in South Africa is over, although the danger will not be ended until De Wet's commando is dispersed. Reuters Agency states that the Turkish Grand Vizier has apologised to the Powers for the recent events in the Black Sea. A message from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, states that Sir Louis Mallet, the British Ambassador to Turkey, interviewed the Grand Vizier, who was in the • greatest distress. He pleaded his innocence, and appealed to the Powers not to take irremediable steps. THURSDAY The allies have bombarded the Dardanelles. One of the forts has been blown up. A German squadron fired at the British gunboat Halcyon and then retreated, pursued by British light cruisers. The British warships were unable to bring the Germans to action before dark. The rearguard of the retreating German cruisers scattered mines and the British submarine D 5 was blow up. In Belgium and the North of France the allied forces continue to make progress. The German attacks have become less violent. They have abandoned the left bank of the Yser, below Dixmunde, and the allies have occupied the river passages. It is stated that the Kaiser witnessed the failure of the German attempt to capture Ypres. At one stage the invaders believed they had achieved their purpose, but the fearless fighting of the London Scottish turned the scale in the allies' favour. FRIDAY The position of the allies has been strengthened. Reinforcements of every description have been sent to meet threatened attacks. The latest cablegrams from Belgium show that the Germans are still retreating from the coast They hold only one position between Dixmunde and Nieuport. The Admiralty has received rumours of a naval engagement off Valparaiso. Further details of the attack on the British torpedo gunboat Halcyon show that a German spuadron reached within a few miles of the English- coast. A heavy cannonade was heard at Lowestoft and Yarmouth, and shells fell a couple of miles off shore. Fishermen at sea who witnessed the attack state that they saw seven German vessels steaming in a line some of which flew the White Ensign. ' The squadron subsequently steamed eastward, the last cruiser dropping mines, by one of which the British submarine D 5 was blown up. It is suspected that the German fleet was in possession of a copy of the Admiralty's new special charts of the North Sea, which enabled them to traverse • savely the extensively mined area. The Russians have repulsed the Turkish outposts in Russian territory and have crossed the Turkish frontier, ca pouring sev^en villages. In consequence of the concentration of Turkish forces on the Egyptian frontier, martial lawhas been proclaimed in, Egypt. Several members of the Turkish Cabinet have resigned.