BLOODIEST BATTLE IN PROGRESS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 47, 25 October 1915, Page 5

BLOODIEST BATTLE IN PROGRESS

ixjLW.y GERMAN-BULGARIAN PLANS FRUSTRATED. ;■' m ■'.JILT' .i'.i BULGARS SHORT OF AMMUNITION. REPORTED FALL OF VELES DENIED. (Received c'.25 a.m.) i'l ;'\r.M'*'.: ': -'Parrs, pctoLer";24r~ The Journals'. Athens cqijrespbudenf statesi'liliatl \ iit! "fiiridus 1 battle', 11 thl ■bloodiest and most serious in the Balkans for three years, is progressing neav.Yeles.,. , ~ , ■ ■■/ nt' [i 1 T Thd Austro-GeYmari defeat'in North Serbia has .now. loreed .King. to strike'a""heavy blow in the south. General von, Mackensen has g'yen up the idea for" the time being of joining, up the armies in the Timok Valle ing up the armies in the Timok Valley. Picked Bulgarians are attempting a surprise attack in the Ishtib-Vcles sector. Success means the isolation of the Serbian army, while failure spells the collapse of the concerted GermanBulgarian plans. Bulgarian ammunition is running I short.. Advices from Salonika confirm the French success from Krivolak. arresting the Bulgarian attack on Veles.

THE FALL OF VELES. London, October .24. A Nish communique admits the fall of Veles. GERMANS REPORT STIFF JOB IN FRONT OF THEM. I (Received 10.5 a.m.) Amsterdam, October 24. Lokal Anzeiger states that the Serbian retreat was most methodical, and General von Mackensen's booty was practically nil. The Serbians are strongly fortified in " new defensive positions, and the Austro-Germans will find them terribly expensive to conquer.

ROSY REPORTS ABOUT BULCARS. : PROGRESS EVERYWHERE. PART OF USKUB INVADED. United Tress Association. (Received 1.135 p.m.) Amsterdam, October 24. A Bulgarian communique states: We are advancing between Kniashevatz and Zaitchar, and have readied the left bank of the Timok. Fighting for the town of ' Kniashevatz continues. Our troops in Macedonia, after a violent battle, captured the greater part of the town of Uskub. The fighting continues there. |i We are continuing the offensive on , the other fronts.

ROUMANIAN REASON OF DELAY. I London, October 22. \ The.«Novoe Vremya publishes an in- . terview with a Roumanian envoy, who j is a near relative of M. Bratiano. The envoy arrived at Petrograd on a special mission on behalf of the Rou- j nianian Foreign Office. He states emjphatically that the army and navy are wholly on the side of the Allies, and all are convinced that Roumania will shortly abandon her neutrality. The delay has been due to the absence of an adequate supply ' 6f ! munitions. There is almost ready an army of six hundred thousand, 'increa'sible to eleven hundred thousand, and the War Office has already corfceritlrated 320,000 troops in the Carpathians. Bucharest messages state that Roumania stipulates as a condition of intervention that the Allies should .send to the Balkans four hundred thousand men.' thus enabling : Roumania to concentrate the whole of her forces affile Carpathians. )England and France said they accepted the conditions, and Roumania is preparing to attack Bulgaria. Bucharest, October 22.

Interventionists' caused a riot outside the German Embassy, and many of them were arrested. REPORTS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. London, October 23. The Germans claim that General Kovess has reached the Arnajeivo-Sla-tina front, and |hat General Gallwitz ,has further advanced on Savanovac. General Bojadoeff; has further advanced northwards lofl Eniashevatz, while other Bulgarians have, occupied Kumiinovo and captured Veles,.and driven the'enemy, across. the . Var.dar,,, southward of Strumnitza. ■ Salonika reports that the Bulgarians after occupying Pirot, are advancing in the direction of Nish. iiA biglpattlfe is in progress between the Serbians and Bulgarians at Veles, Turkish cavalry participating. The Bulgarians arc fortifying Rhodope Mountains, on the north of the Grecian frontier. Athens, October 23.

General' Pa'shitch's despatches state "that the Austro-Germaii casualties ra fahe battles'l df ' Semendria;' Sdbata, dnd Obrenovatx, oh the northern border of Serbia, West of Belgrade, were sixjy thousand, and some battalions lpsf nine-tenths of their strength in twJntv .minutes, while traversing tire The Pfitish and French military attaches at Nisli confirm the above report, and add that the Bulgarians do not occupy Vranya. They only attempted a cavalry raid, which was thrown back. The attaches sav that the Serbian troops have advanced into Bulgaria, and the enemy s successes hitherto have been due to heavy artillery. ___