War Notes.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 91, 12 September 1914, Page 7

War Notes.

I THE MASSACRE AT LOUVAIX. It was over at l.ouvuin, and the bloody 'lced was done, ■; For tin; city was in ruins, ere'the settint,' of the .sup. And mothers, wives and children were massacred that day, ' '■'■'•'- Because liclgians hnght for hparth home against the tyrant sway

The treaty signed ljy Prussia was brushed ruthlessly aside, By. the haughty Teuton despot in his arrogance and pride. Caring nought for truth and honor, ho showed the world that day The fate that would await it if allowed to have his way.

So for those we leave behind us, for the honor of the flag, We must crush, the - -,nt ere beneath his heel wo drag. So for King and for our country, for oar honor and our God, N .' We must light right on to' victory, ur rest beneath the sod.

Or the fate that Louvain suffered may be'our fate any day, If «'e let this war-mad manorch hold ■European sway; So for justice, truth and honor, wc'imist. strike with all our might, That a lasting peace for ages may be ever Britain's right. —H. C. EXGLEFIELD, Koru.

FRANCE AXD GERMANY.

THE'. FiXA!, PR-EACH.

T , ~ . ~ r » ri <*, August 1. ' Ino diplomatic developments sine* yesterday afternoon can be elated briefly as follows:

I- Huron yon Selioen, German Ambaasci-<l<-r to Prance, <-:l!1c<1 on tile French . rem.ciYl'enc Viviani, at 7 o'clock mlerdiiy evening ami formally notified 'tan Germany hart addressed an ulti;nnitiun to Russia, desiring to know toy 12 o clock to-day whclher the St. Jeler a |.mrg Government would dipconr tiime mobilisation of the Russian Army lliiron yon Schoen wa.s directed by I'lns Government to'ask-what were the intentions of France should Ruga's reply to Germany be a refusal to demobilise.

I'lio German Covernm.-nt fixed "hefore 1 p.m. to-day" as the period within which Franco must answer. Baron von Schoen called at.tlie.French Foreign Ollice at ''11.4!) a.m. to receive Frances reply. _ Premier Viviani' made an earnest- appeal to thy German Ambassador, asking if Germany could iiot yet do something to avert war. The Baron promised to communicate with Berlin and to return to *•'-,. ,c. „.v Ihe German reply, whatever it was, was submitted to the French Cabinet Council, which, within a few minutes afterwards, ordered a general mobilise, tion of the French Armv.

During the course of their second interview to-day, Premier Viviani said to the German Ambassador: ''You are mobilising; we know it." Baron von Scoen; ""the Ambassador, did not reply to it. Viviani continued: '"This attitude of your Government has dictated ours. We are compelled to take precautions similar to yours. Our peaceful intentions remain 'unchanged. We wish peace, and the best 'proof we can give you of this is that at the present moment the French Parliament has not boon convoked. Tender our constitution wo should be compelled to convoke it if our intentions wore not peaceful."

Baron von Sehoen said: "But frontier incidents are, unfortunately, to be feared.''

Premier Viviani replied: "How. can yon suppose sucb things? Our troops are five miles from the frontier. We are, in fact, exposed to the violation oi our frontier, and there is not another Power in the world which .would have consented to do such a thing." (This refers to the withdrawal of the. French troops from the immediate frontier).

The Premier* proceeded to point butthat the German troops were at the very foot of the frontier posts, and said he concluded from this that if incidents occurred they could only be provoked by the German military forcco.

ATTACK IX CT/'SR 01IDKR. The enormous looses sustained liy the. (lormaiis through 'attacks in close order emphasises the lesson learned by the llritish in tlio J'oer war—that to a« close formation for attacking a modeni position is to invite wholesale slaughter.; liy the end of the lioci war the British used to attack ths lines extended to as lnueli as 20 paces between each man. Successive lines would gradually he pushed up until there was a moderate concentration of men in the firing lino to make the final rush. Kwjopean officers never, believed, that, an a,ttaek of this sort would be sufficiently; concentrated to succeed in a Europeaji battle, and quite a number of Knglish' military men hold the same view. On the other hand, no troops will stand more than a certain amount of carnage, and the old attack in close formation may yet prove so expensive that even jleriiiany may have to modify its melhitds. There is good reason to believe that the British soldier is more capable of an advance in. open'formation than many foreigners. It certainly has never sebmed to matter very much to the average Tommy Atkins 'whether he is one yard or 10 yards, or 20 yards from: his neighbor when bullets are Hying. It is not so with all men.

XKW SLTKUDRIiADXOUGiIT. There is building in lbitish yards today a great fleet' of the- niper-Dread-noughts. There ace ten ships, headed by ' the Queen Elizabeth, which was launched'nine, months ago. Kadi of these vessels mounts eight of the. giant loin. Rims recently adopted by the Ad-, miraltv. These suns wilt throw a shell vcifdiiiv* about 18001b. >r marly a ton in weight. The last of these ship- was to have been completed by January, 11)10, but from now on work will never cease ,lav or night in the shipbuilding yards, and it is highly probable, that their delivery will lie "expedited. The Queen Elizabeth and Warspite are to be completed in October of this:.vear. For the ilerman Xavv six great skips (hat will ,arry lain guns are building, bat none of them will be delivered before late m l'.lla.