Western Campaign

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 140, 6 November 1914, Page 5

Western Campaign

ENEMY FALLING BACK. MATERIAL AND GUNS ABANDONED. ALLIES ADVANCE. Received 6, 12.20 a\m. . Paris, Wednesday Night. Official: On the left the enemy lias fallen back on the right bank of the Yser. They hold only Tete-de-Pont on the left bank, midway between Dixmunde and Nieuport. The enemy has abandoned large quantities of material and many guns, which are inundated. We recaptured Lombartzyde, and appreciably progressed, after alternate advances and retreats, between Lixnumde and Lys. Wo also advanced east of Lequesney to the heights of Parillora, and regained part of the lower slopes north of Vailly and Chavonhc. We repulsed a violent attack on the heights of Chemindresdaers and Kheims. There is nothing to report from the remainder of the front.

AN EFFECTIVE BOMB. KILLS VON KLUCK. PRINCELY FAMILIES SUFFER. Received fi, 12.20 a.m. London, November u. It is unofficially reported that a bomb was dropped on the German Headquarters Stall',- and killed General Von Kluck. Eight members of German princely families have died on the battlectild, the youngest being under 17 years of age. GERMAN TROOPS DISCONTENTED. SHORTAGE OF STORES. OFFICERS COMMIT SUICIDE. Received 5, 5.20 p.m. London, November 4.

The following were killed in action:— Lieutenant Williams itSu Malcolm Chisholm, the lastnamed belonging to the 'Lancashire Regiment. The Times correspondent says the reports as to the Germans' dispiritcdnoss and fatigue are too numerous to be disregarded; also that it is evident they are experiencing difficulty in replenishing their stores, heavy ammunition and uniforms being particularly scarce, the dead being stripped in order to clothe the recruits. It is not an uncommon event for Germans to get shot in an itnbcroic fashion. Tired of the life in the trenches, they hold up a hand with a view io getting a bullet wound, enabling them to go to the rear. Another correspondent says the. Germans are beginning to manifest restlessness, or grumbling hard against their officers for the useless sacrifices on the Yscr. This is especially noticeable among the troops returning to the front, who, during intervals of rest, arrived at the conclusion that the struggle was madness, lie says lie can state with absolute certainty that desertion throughout the whole region has been severe, and that preventive measures are being adopted, Boldiers being forbidden to pass the night at private houses, so as to prevent their escaping in civilian dress. Suicides of officers arc becoming a noticeable feature. Three shot themselves in the head, and a major drowned himself.

The Times rorrespondent says that the greater part of the .lighting east of Ypres for the lust few days lia-s been a soldiers' battle, with fierce bayonet charges over the edge of the trenches, a work wherein the British excels, but it entails tremendous losses.

FIGHTING NEAR YPRES. GKRMAXS STROXGLV ENTRENCH FIX , OAPTI-RE OF GERMAN GUNS. I'aris, November 4. It is believed that the Germans have concentrated foar hundred guns at Ypres. The Kaiser has removed his headquarters to Couvtrai.

Severe lighting is in progress in bushy country between Ypres and Roulers. Many wounded liave been brought to' Roulers.

The Germans again violently shelled Rlicims, destroying many buildings ami killing many non-combatants. White re-taking liamscapclle the Belgians) captured three heavy guns, cleverly concealed, with which the Germans •were bombarding Funics. THE SCOTS' BAYOXET CHARCiE. MA< .(X'IFTCTCST WORK.. IIAXD-TO-lIAXD FIGHT. Paris, Xovember 4.

Details of the exploit of the London Scottish Kegiment show that a famous British infantry unit was compelled, owing to the terrilie onslaught o2 the Bavarian';, to evacuate Messines. Tne London Scottish men were ordered to recover the ground. Our artillery blazed a<. Messines all day, and dislodged a portion of the gunners. In the evening the London' Scottish crept cautiously forward till a searchlight found them, then they dashed forward, bayonetting the Bavarians up to, through, and beyond the town. Messines was won, and Maxims placed in position. The London Scottish then re-formed and bivouacked •or the nfgM.

At daybreak they advanced, with the support of a cavalry brigade which was operating in the vicinity. Misled by spies, they found themselves in open ncct fioldSi under a murderous German artillery lire. The men, though falling on all sides, pushed on under a relentless shrapnel lire, and the majority, escaping the shell zone, suddenly became a target for trench upon trench of German infantry, skilfully hidden. The London Scottish were creeping through a beet field with bayonets fixed, when the Germans, in overwhelming num- | bora, emerged from the trenches. A death struggle ensued, and the London Scottish, in a hand-to-hand fight, overpowered the Bavarians, who ran. The! London Scottish suffered too severely: to pursue.

A MISERABLE SUBTERFUGE.WARSHIPS' GOOD WORK. . ALLIES GAIN GROUND. GERMAN RETIRE. Amsterdam, November 4.

A proclamation has been issued in Liege th>t the inhabitants need not be astonished if numerous German troops traverse the city from the front, because typhus and cholera are raging among the Allies.

'Paris, November 4.

Belgian officers assert that the fire of the warships alone saved the Bel. gians from disaster at Nieuport. They were worn out by many weeks' fighting and overwhelming odds. Paris, November 3 (Midnight).

Official: We counteracted an attack and re-took a farm eastwards of Vailly, repelled attacks in the Fcrmc-dc-Partis and St. Hubert districts, and gained ground. Three German aeroplanes were brought down at Sou'ain. Havre, November 4.

A Belgian official statement reports that the enemy is retreating eastward of the Yscr, between Nieuport and Dixniunde. London, November 4. The Press Bureau states that the British repulsed attacks along the whole line on Sunday. The howitzers demolished, two of the enemy's 8-inch guns. The artillery caused prodigious slaughter.

. AS! OPTIMISTIC VIEW. GENERAL JOFFRE'S TACTICS. THE INDIAN TROOPS, FEARLESS ZOUAVES. Times and Sydney Sun Services. Paris, November 4.

The Figaro calculates that the German losses during the last few days exceed 50,000. The authorities at Bordeaux consider that the crisis is almost over. General Joffre is credited with the statement that it wa3 possible to expel the Germans from France at a cost of 100,000 men, but it was not worth the expenditure. At a lesser cost the enemy could'be fought back over the frontier. Germany is reckoned to have lost 1,000,000 effectives since the commencement of war in the eastern theatre.

A Berlin official message states: "It has been definitely ascertained that the Indian troops are fighting against our right wing. They are not only in massed bodies, but are spread out on the entire British front."

Ten thousand Germans have left Liege in the direction of Brussels. Eight supply train, each containing sixty wjagons loaded with munitions, were dispatched to, Xamur j'or northern France. The .Germans arc still entrenching at .Namuv. An o'iiecr in a Highland regiment states' that tlio Zouaves are fearless fe!lows. Every night thirty of their number go to the enemy's trenches and stand twenty yards in front of them, hooting and Turning and cvolcing a fusilado of musketry, which always goes over their heads. Then they jauntily return.