GENERAL WAR NEWS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 19, 28 December 1915, Page 8

GENERAL WAR NEWS

[United Peebb Association. ) i Berne, December 27. 1 General von bulow ana a jarge-stall' ■of Lucerne agents are overrunning I Switzerland trying to produce an aij inospliere of peace. I Homo, December 2d. 1 The Milan paper 11 Secolo says that * tiie Bulgarians and Turks are engaged 'in lively recriminations, so as to enIsure the postponing ol the cession ol I Thracian territory until the Bulgarians have obtained possession, peacefully or otherwise, in the Seres and '.lvavalla drama.

1 Betrograd, December 20. | M. Sazonolf, in an interview, ream nued the Government's unsbakeable determination to carry on the war 'to a successful issue. I Home, December 27. j La Tribuna says that the Serbian army is still suffering acutely from lack of provisions in Albania but is laboring incessantly at the construction of new roads. | King Deter embarked for Durazzo lon the eighteenth on an Italian desI * : iroyer, but on the voyage "as so ovor'come at the thought of having aban!doned his bravo warriors that be pro--1 vailed upon the commander to return and laml him at Vero'iia.

| New York, December 27. ! Mr Douglas Do Id, w!io took over Lady i’aget’s relict organisation at .Nish, lias returned to America. lie states that the Bulgarians behaved well, and there was no disorder until the Bermans arrived. Then hell broke loose. The Germans looted, burned, ;violated and whipped women, and did 'everything that is awful and unmen'tionable. They used the Cathedral as la stable and polluted the water sup- ' ply. Women committed subside to escape the ill-usage, while others im'plored Bold to marry them for protecitiou. London, December Id. A Salonika correspiondent says that he has never seen such a celebration of Christmas as that in the Allies camps, which lost their military atmosphere. There was music, singing, and football, and the most amusing event was a bare-backed and reinless mule race, in which the Tommies were seen struggling like Turkey and Greece. Every shop was depleted of raisins, nuts and figs, and there were I boisterous sing-songs in the evening.

Mr Douohoe, from Athens, reports that a heated argument took place in a cafe at Uskub, where a German officer fired a revolver point-blank and

killed two and wounded three of the Bulgarian officers. The remaining Bulgars, from cover, overturned the tables and fired, killing five Germans. Troops then intervened. These sanguinary feuds are of almost daily occurrence.

The Spectator says the withdrawal from tire Dardanelles was nothing less than a military miracle. Every unit and every officer must have been carefully coached and the minutest timetable arrangements made. The Gallipoli staff has shown that they can- achieve the most difficult work with a precision which the Gormans must envy. The hard task ahead is the smashing of the threatened attack on Egypt, where the enemy will fight at I the greatest disadvantage, j Lieutenant Dartnell, of the League of Frontiersmen, has been awardled the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery on the third of tiepItemher, at Maktau, in East Africa. I During a mounted infantry engage!merit the enemy’s black troops were I murdering our wounded, and Dartluoll, who was himself wounded, iu- ! sisted on being left behind in the hope lof saving the rest. He lost his life in a most gallant attempt to save his comrades. Lieutenant Dartnell is believed to be the first actor who has received the Victoria Cross, i A soldier’s letter states: “Dartnell gave a good account of himself. We found seven of the enemy dead at his feet.”

An article in the Sunday Times asserts that Mr Ashmead Bartlett at the end of May sent home an outspoken despatch, giving the real position at the Dardanelles, which .was not passed for publication. Mr Bartlett, when in England in September, saw several leading members of the Cabinet and gave them his views. He was requested to draw up a memorandum, which he did, declaring that the position was a dangerous impasse and could not succeed frontally, as gas attacks might drive us into the sea. He made alternative suggestions, which included securing the Bulgarians’ co-operation and the Bulair landing. Mr Bartlett, after the Suvla failure, and in defiance of the censorship, sent a strong letter to Mr Asquith by a courier, denouncing the conduct of the expedition. The British Consul at Marseilles seized the letter, and Mr Bartlett’s connection with the Dardanelles ceased a few days later, on War Office instructions.

1 A Times correspondent states tliat die is reliably informed that the new battle cruiser Hindenburg is ready. She is the fastest cruiser afloat, and, with others, is armed with 17-inch guns.

The Manchester Guardian states that Germany is not building dreadnoughts, but is concentrating her energies on submarines and merchantmen. She is seeking contracts for two new Brazilian cruisers.

The Lokal Anzeiger gives the text of an alleged Sofia semi-official message that Greece is unwilling to fight, and, what is more, she sees no reason to go against the Central Powers, and will gladly permit their armies to destroy the Anglo-French, on Greek soil, as they are unwilling to evacuate it voluntarily. Sofia au-

thorilies slate that they are convinced that me .. .iv/kiivu question will bo

'solved m a ie., dujs, and the Bulgarians "ill greet their southern neigjiuui's as friends. The I'rank!niter Zeitung mysteriously hints that negotiations are afoot in order to give Greece certain 'guarantees. Discussing the Budget ‘debate the paper says that the enor--1 mous increasing war cost necessitates the most colossal taxation, no matter liow nigh the indemnity may be.

The Vienna A cue i'Teie i’resse says that tiie Bulgurs are leaving the pursuit to the Austro-German troops. An Italian diplomat who is in close touch 'with the Balkans states that the Ger‘maus are s" arming into Bulgaria in 'great force and have succeeded in ‘getting the Bulgur army well away from home. They are slipping in 'powerful German forces in order to 'safeguard the route to Constantinople, and are now showing a cynical iudif'fercnco to Bulgaria. They are not sending men and guns to assist in tiie pursuit of the Serbians, but will devote to Salonika sufficient men to 'prevent the Allies menacing the road To Constantinople. 1 Mr Brown, the Daily Mail’s ChiTagu correspondent, sends a vivid 'despatch of the Serbian campaign. I’lTio Germans used a wonderful new (typo of mount, in mortar, which, (though l.glii. ■ ' ameusely heavy

shells effective and accurate at a range of five miles. The Serb artillery was pitifully insufficient to cope 'with it, and their rifles and cannon !were worn out in three weeks. The lAustro-Germans fired an unbelievable I number of shrapnel and high explosives, and apparently had iuex--haustible ammunition. The German engineers showed amazing skill and judgment in selecting positions foi the batteries, in natural shelters. A torrent ol shells began at daylight to fall with deadly accuracy on the Serbs, who were utterly unable to escape. Whatever they moved shells drove them out. The Germans took their artillery to the high mountains, scaling precipices and accomplishing ' unheard-of feats, always outflanking I the Serbs and forcing them to re- ) treat.