WESTERN BATTLEFIELD.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 319, 16 October 1915, Page 5

WESTERN BATTLEFIELD.

BIG ATTACK BY ERITISH. GOOD ADVANCE MADE. SMOKE AND GAS EMPLOYED. I LONDON. October 15. Sir John Frendi reports:— On Wednesday aftemon, after a bombardment, we attacked the enemy's trendies under the cover of a cloud of smoke and pas. from a point about six hundred yards south-west of Kullueh to the Hohcnzollern Redoubt. Wo regained about a thousand yards of the trendies just south and west of Hul-hu-h, but were unable to maintain the I position, owing to the enemy's shell--1 /ire. We captured and hold the enemy's trendies south-west of St. Elio, behind S the Vennlles-Hulfadi road, and the south-western edge of the quarries. Me also captured a trend) on the north-western face of the forest, nnd captured the main trench in the Hoheny.oUern Redoubt. The enemy still occupy two communication trenches between the redoubt and the quarries. AT TA^TJRE. GERMAN POSITIONS SUFFERING. INTENSE FRENCH OFFENSIVE. LONDON, October 15. The Frankfurter fceitung says the ) salient points of the German positions at Tahure and Sonimery are suffering severely, but a flanking- fire prevents the French keeping up concentrations of troops. The Lokal Anaciger says, four offensives (luring the last few days have been intense. The French have great quantities of nmmuniton. The battles in the Champagne are the centre' of gravity. A STARTLING SPEECH. LORD MILNER SUGGESTS WITHDRAWAL FROM GALLIPOLI. "DISASTROUS BALKAN DEVELOP- / MENTS." DIPLOMACY PROFOUNDLY DISAPPOINTING. LONDON. October 15. Lord Milner, in the House of Lords, said tjha L whatever resulted from the disastrous Balkan developments, it gave the opportunity, wni;h might n->t occur again, for withdrawing from lo Dardanelles enterprise, the successful' completion of which was no v '.lopeles.;. He did not want to press tie Gov 3-3. nient for reasons, but he had heard statements that the abandonment would have a bad effect on our prestige in the East. He could not help thinking whether it would not have a worse effect if we persisted and the enterprise ended in a complete disaster. He felt we jhad gone on too longliving from hand to mouth in regard to our policy of strategy. Our diplomacy in the Balkans, starting as it did with a clean record, was profoundly disappointing, when we found states we had befriended drifting into the control of States whom the Balkans had hitherto regarded with suspicion. BRITISH CASUALTIES. AT THE DARDANELLES. (Rec. 9.10 a.m.) LONDON. Oct. 15. TJie total British casualties at the Dardanelles to October <HI> are 9fi,599. and of Australasians 29,123. A GENERAL BOMBARDMENT. ALONG WHOLE WESTERN FRONT. The High Commissioner reports:— LONDON, Oct. 15. There is genral violent bombardment along the whole western front. A TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. COPENHAGEN, Oct 15. A traveller from Brest Litovsk at the beginning of September, reports that a German ammunition depot exploded and 2000 Austro-Germans were killed and wounded. A hospital in the vicinity, with 50 patients, 21 nurses, and eight doctors, was blown up. USE OF JAPANESE. TOKIO PRESS NOT FAVOURABLE.. STOCKHOLM.. Oct. 15. 1 Tcl.io, in commenting on the snggeslion \: ct Japanese troops should assise the Allies in Europe, ?a,vs newspapers emphasise the inability of Japan to spare troops, in view of the delicate Chinese situation.