The War News.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 20 January 1916, Page 3

The War News.

THE WEEK'S SUMMARY.

FRIDAY The Compulsion Bill — Miners Threaten a Strike — Fall of Montenegrin Fortress — Servian ~; Army on Greek Island _ The Military Compulsion Bill •has passed its second reading in .. the House of Commons. Only 39 members voted for-its rejection. The three Labour members who resigned from the Ministry in consequence of the Labour Congress voting against the Bill, have withdrawn their resignations. The^Miners' Federation, by 162 votes) to 83, decided in favour qj a national strike in the event ofcompulsory service being enfor^B ■*"■■"■• Th^Klies have notified Greec^ "that ipForder to save the Servian' ar'^ from starvation, it is being sei,o to Corfu. This is not to be ■ regarded as an occupation of the island. The fall of the Montenegrin mountain fortress of Mount Lovtchen is confirmed. Its fall makes Cettinge untenable, and Podgortiza, 17 miles north-east has been selected as the new capital.

The British force advancing to relieve General Townsend, who is surrounded by the Turks at • Kut-el-Amara, in Mesopotamia,is still progressing, despite stub- ! born resistance by the Turks. SATURDAY Montenegro's Plight—Heroic Fight for Mt. Lovtchen — Attack on Salonika Imminent The Montenegrins offered an epic defence of their mountain fortress of Mount Lovtchen, but the Austrian fleet and army rained projectiles on it. Cettinge the capital of Montenegro, is, untenable, and the Montenegrins are preparing to defend Rieka, to the southward. .Athens reports state that the enemy is converging on three sides for an attack on Salonika. The enemy forces available are estimated at 360,000, including 130,000 Bulgarians. The French have destroyed railway bridges north and north-east of Salonika "as part of their defensive measures. A war correspondent-predicts . simultaneous enemy attacks on Mesopotamia and Egypt, with a diversion in .Macedonia. ' Mr H. Belloc giy: s it as his opinion that the attack on Egypt will not take place till the summer. A new railway is being constructed Rhrough Palestine and Beersheba a the south of the Holy Land, fill be used as a base for an ,ttack on Egypt. MONDAY Aid to Montenegro—ltaly may send l. Help—More Men for SalonikaAustrian Cruiser Sunk—Another Submarine Outrage The King of Italy has returned to Rome to confer on the question *~; of sending help to Montenegro Vajid Servia. The Austrians announce the fall of Cettinge, the capital of Montenegro. Italian newspapers publish : conflicting accounts of the Macedonian situation, one stat- —- ing that an attack on Salonika is imminent, another that it is not. The allies will have 350,000 men in Macedonia within a fortnight and 50 aeroplanes. A French submarine off Cattaro torpedoed an Austrian warship ■oi s the new type, known as a' tofpedo-cruiser. The shin sunk was of 3500 tons displacement and at speed of 27 knots. . ~v^-~-Fiftjy, lives were lost through the ta/rpedoing of the Glasgow steamed an McFarlane. When the cflnwjiander of the submarine had AMk^e vessel sink, and had * askecln^a to her nationality, he left 74 '|p^- tf- face mountainous <--•- seas. 4Mk' c 01 the boats were lost, an* the survivors were utterly exhausted when picked up eight days later. The German secret police at Constantinople discovered a vast revolutionary plot in which many "' Turkish officers were compromised. Many arrests have been made. The cold-blooded murder is described of 1500 Sasun Armenians, who surrendered to the I authorities under the protection of an amnesty. TUESDAY ■ Fighting in Egypt — fN'o British i Casualties -Recent Russian Gains — Success In Mesopotamia : A British column dispersed 400 '*~* Arabs 40 miles from Mersa Matruh, the Egyptian port on the Mediterranean which was recent-.-L]y the scene of the New Zeal ancrs' fight. The reason given for the termination of the successful Russian -offensive in Bukovina and Galicia

is that a thaw set in, making the transport of artillery impossible. The way was prepared for the Russian infantry by a concentrated bombardment of unprecedented fury, under which many Austrians lost their hearing or their reason. The enemj'- losses are estimated at 200,000.

The greater portion of the Servian army is being transferred to Salonika, as the Italians and Essad Pasha, fche ruler of Albania have the Albanian situation in hand.

The destruction by the French force of the. railway bridge at Penirhissar, in Greece, has created a sensation, " it has almost cut off communication between Eastern Macedonia and the lest of Greece.

:... A calculation made by the .Greiieva Red Cross places the total Gorman losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners up to June of last year at 4,300,000 and the" Austrian losses at slightly more.

WEDNESDAY

Montenegro's Plight — Forced to Lay Down Arms—Battle in Mesopotamia — Turks Again Suffer Defeat —Ireland and Compulsion

A German wireless message claims that the Montenegrins have laid down their arms and asked for peace. .The reason suggested for Italy not sending help to Montenegro is the need for her conserving her resources in men and material to take part in the general allied - offensive when the time comes.

A violent snowstorm is raging in Macedonia, and has interrupted the Bulgarian and German concentration on the Greek frontier.' The enemy forces on the frontier are estimated at 250,000. The British are continuously landing reinforce-

ments

General Sir Charles Monro has returned from the Near East to take over his new command in France. His successor, General Sir Archibald Murray, holds the whole Mediterranean command, including Egypt.

The Turks have again suffered defeat in Mesopotamia at the hands of the British force which is advancing to relieve General Townshend at Kut-el-Amara.

An amendment to bring Ireland within the scope of the Military Service Compulsion Bill was not pressed in the House of Commons.

THURSDAY

Russian Towns Regained — Heavy German Losses — Air Raid on Bulgaria — Greek King's Unpopularity

The Russian offensive gains a new importance with the reports this morning of the evacuation by the enemy of Pinsk, in the region of the Pripet marshes, and Luzk, in Volhynia. The German losses have been enormous. Fighting continues in Galicia and near Czemovitz, the capital of Bukovina, recently taken by the Russians. French aeroplanes bombarded the small Bulgarian town of Petrich, 53 miles north-east of Salonika, killing hundreds of Bulgarian soldiers and wounding a large number. Some Paris newspapers, com~ raenting on the Montenegrin surrender, express doubts as to the sincerity of the Montenegrin Court,