The War News.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 23 November 1916, Page 3

The War News.

THE WEEK'S SUMMARY.

FRIDAY. British Progress—Heavy German Casualties — Further Servian Successes — Capture of 3200 Prisoners. The British have made a further advance north of the Ancre. The total of prisoners taken on this front during the past few days is now 5678, and it is estimated that the enemy's losses have totalled 15,000. The British losses were not high considering the extent of the gains. No overseas troops were engaged in the action, which was won by English County regiments. !> There has been violent fighting on the French portion of the Somme front. The enemy made a series of attacks both north and south of the river, supporting them by the use of liquid fire and tear shells. The French and Servian offensive towards Monastir is being continued with good results. The Servians and French have captured over 3200 prisoners in this region in four days, British airmen again bombarded the harbours and submarine shelters at Zeebrugge and Ostend with good results. SATURDAY. Advance on Monastir—Allies four miles from City—Severe Enemy Reverse. By a rapid development of their recent successes in the Monastir region, the allies have driven the enemy back to positions less than four miles from the city. The enemy has suffered a decisive reverse, although the Bulgarians were supported by heavy German reinforcements. The Russian Admiralty estimates that six to nine German torpedo-boat destroyers were sunk during the raid in the Gulf of Finland on November 13. A message from Copenhagen reports that an explosion of munitions at Archangel destroyed two steamers, two barracks, and some of the harbour buildings. A total of 150 persons were killed and 65 injured. Preparations are being made by the -Austrians for a new offensive in the Trentino, with the object of relieving the pressure on Carso. The Hungarian press views the plans with alarm, as they will involve the weakening of the forces defending Transylvania. MONDAY. Roumanian Attacks — Advance on the Ancre — Greece Accepts Neutral Zone—Russians Capture Super-Zeppelin. A successful attack has been made by the Roumanians in the Dragoslavele region, south of Predeal Pass. The arrival of large German reinforcements on the Roumanian front is reported. The British have advanced on both banks of the Ancre. On the south bank, they have reached the outskirts of Grand court. Between last Monday and Friday a total of 6196 prisoners was taken. A large village three miles east of the Struma River has been captured by the British and held ■ counter-attacks. (jr.eek Rationalists took part in tq'e capture of JCfcjuma, past of the Struma River-. A neutral zone V]as h)een established in. the nqrthern part of greepe. It will be occupied qy allied armies. The military forces of the Athens Government and the National Government will not be permitted to cross it. A super-Zeppelin has been r brought down by the Russians near Sarny. The crew of 16 men were made prisoners.

of Roumanian gityatiQn Qrave, The allies have achieved their first important success on Servian • territory by capturing Monastir, the principal town of southwestern Servia, which was lost nearly a year ago. The Berlin correspondent of a New Y-drk pap; er, while contending^ tfeat ■'" Mqnastir.' is of little tactical yalue, admits the r^bli^ical fmpor.t'anGp of it^ captu4;e. ? ' >r^c| aoi^tVQwVt^a't the allies Have an excellent railway from Salonika to Monastir, while the Bulgarians are dependent on one waggon road. The Roumanian situation is described as bsing again grave owing to the enemy's threat against the railway from Orsova, in Hungary, to Qratoya, wesf ; g| 'Huchaxesf;, .bompromising 'iihe

Roumanians who are fighting in the Jiul Valley, to the north of the railway. There is less activiiy on the Dobrudja front. The weather is stormy on the. British front, and there is no change in the general situation. Over 700 prisoners were captured on the Ancre front on Saturday, making the total taken since the 13th inst. 6962. The latest demand of the allies upon Greece is that war material which the Greek troops under arms are not using shall be handed over to them. WEDNESDAY Pursuit of Bulgars—Servians make Progress—The Roumanian Situation. The Servians have captured important heights east of Monastir, and are pressing northwards. The Bulgarian retreat has become a debacle. The allied pursuit is vigorous, and many villages and prisoners have been captured. The German and Bulgarian losses in this region are estimated at 30,000. Admiral Dufournet, who is in charge of the allied naval forces in Greek waters, has given the German, Austrian, Turkish, and Bulgarian Ministers at Athens 48 hours' notice to embark for deportation to their respective countries. There have been demonstrations in the streets of Athens by students, who favour the allies, and by members of the Reservist League, who favour Germany. An explanation is furnished or the recent vague rumours of German attempts to detach Russia from the allies. The peace plot was exposed in a dramatic speech in the Duma by the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, and the Duma bloc has the support of Generals Alexeieff, Russky, and Brussiloff in demanding a fight to a finish. THURSDAY Germans at Craiova — Roumanian Retirement — Pursuit of Enemy north of Monastlr. The Germans claim to have occupied Craiova, 112 miles west of Bucharest. ''While there is no Roumanian admission of this, the cables indicate that it was considered it might become neces sary. A Russian communique states that the Roumanians are slowly retiring north of Craiova. The allies are pressing the pursuit of the enemy north of Monastir, and important results have already followed the fall of the town. More than one-third of New Servia has been won from the enemy and 7000 prisoners taken in eight days. The Germans are reported to have lost 30,000 men on the Ancre front since 13th inst, inst.