Russia.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 294, 10 December 1914, Page 3

Russia.

THE LODZ BATTLE.

[By Electric Telegraph—Copyright] United Press 'Association.

London, December 9. The Daily Chronicle’s Potrograd correspondent, writing on Friday, forwarded details of the disaster to two of General Mackensen’s army corps. When the 25th and 3rd Guards were cut off south of Lodz, General Mackensen’s and other troops were bombarding Lodz from the west. The two army corps were nimble to retire, and attempted to cut their way via Breziny. Their road lay in a . hollow, wooded country. Hard pressed in the rear, the two army corps fought desperately for four days, though short of ammunition. On the fifth . day they made a final attempt at Breziny, where the troops which held Ivangorod in October were stationed. The Russian commander, after shelling Breziny for nine hours, until only half the to\yn was standing, then ordered a general assault. By nightfall only the scattered remnants of 80,000 men remained. Twenty thousand surrendered, and a large percentage of the remainder were killed or wounded. The rest are fugitives in the woods. Th o horrors were accentuated by the confined area of the carnage. The dead lay in great heaps at Berziny. while occasional heaps of dead were dotted about the countryside foi miles. The Ist, 2nd and 3rd Decern her saw the climax of the Gorman attempt to capture Lodz, where the Russian defenders were almost rounded. The Germans had reached Holder, within four miles of the south end of seven miles of street: which makes up to Lodz. Heavy guns meanwhile shelled the north of the city from Zgierz, and killed several hundreds of civilians. The Russian artillery was uuab’e to locate the German battery unt*' an aeroplane, on 3rd December, reported the approximate position. Tin colonel of the artillery, with a feu assistants, dragged a field telen'min by night within half a mile. Despite the searchlights, the colonel lay or the ground and directed the Russbrc fire until the battery was silenced, and he returned uninjured.

During the night of the 3rd there were seven hundred guns in action at Lodz. The sound was faintly heave at Warsaw, sixty miles distant. A German assault followed. Masse? of men dashed on, in the glare of tin searchlights. Regardless of the in ferno of bullets the Siberians allowed the Germans to come within fifty feet before they fired with rifles auc machine-guns. The assault was ar utter failure. The Russians had re latively light casualties, but the Germans' had over a hundred thoufumc killed. In the Lodz district it is im possible to estimate the’ wounded, ol which scores of trains continu e to pas' Tralisch. There are many German spies in the district. On Ist December the Council ol War decided to evacuate Lodz bu! cancelled the order on the 'followinjj day. While the convoys commence' to move, the Germans, knowing of the order to evacuate and being iguor ant of its cancellation, thought that there was only a rearguard protecting Lodz, and swooped down on the city They were promptly driven hack, losing four thousand.

The first stage of the bac.fie hae ended in the Germans being throwr back from Lowicz and Lask.

They are now threaten-ng Lod> and Parakow, hoping to have East Prussia, and hamper the Russiai operations at Cracow by pounug re inforcements, which may oblige G:ami Duke Nicholas to coucenvate Mir greater part of his forces between the Vistula and VVa"ta. The latest German attack fron Kalisch spent itself. Thus far Grand Duke Nicholas has not been ohl.-goi to relax his attack on Cracow though a new Anstro-Germji counter attack is developing southwards ol Cracow.

The Novoe Yremya (Petrograd) save that when the corps was surrounded', they marched in every direction seeking an outlet, hut * hoy alv. ay came up against a wall of Hut-vai bayonets. Then they buried their guns and amrnounitiou ) abandoned their transports, left the high roads, and marched through the fields to avoid the Russian fire. Finally they took refuge in houses at Breziuy, which proved a death-trap, where they were relentlessly exterminated by the bayonet. In Berlin the capture of Lodz was celebrated by a universal display of flags and demonstrations in the streets.

Herr Basserman, addressing the National Liberals in tbo Reichstag, said: “We shall hold fast for all time the countries fertilised by German blood, and by a bloody war to splendid victory. That is our motto at this great time.”

An official Berlin message states that the Germans east and south-east of Lodz are the rapidly retreating Russians. The latter have lost 0000 prisoners, 10 guns, and ammunition waggons.