France & Flanders

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 168, 22 December 1914, Page 5

France & Flanders

tUtTILLERY DUET, AT ARRAS. GKRJIAX.S HURLED FROM THEIR TRENCHES. 11UXGER-STRICKEX SOLDIERS SURRENDER. Received 21, 11.50 p.m. Dunkirk, December 21. j A fierce artillery duel preceded the Allies' (ill'ensive at Arras. The Germans tried to destroy the French advanced works with trench mortars, while the aviators dropped bombs. The French shrapnel silenced the mortars within two hours. The Engineers mined the enemy's entanglements, which were blown up as the French infantry advanced over the 1 muddy lields. They rushed the gaps j pell-mell, and hurled the Germans from i their dug-outs. , [ There was a great fight round one I machine-gun, where n huge French cnirrasicr sabred and killed those trying to remove the gun. The Allies captured the trenches on a front of two kilometres. As a result of a recent Allies' bayonet charge, seven of the enemy's trenches were captured, trenches which had been Hooded. The Allies were waist.deep in water. They repelled desperate sstuaer- ' attacks. •Many of the prisoners taken on the Yser were hunger-stricken, and numbers surrendered without resisting the , Franco-Belgian bayonet charges. IRRESISTIBLE ATTACKS. I ALLIES ADVANCE AT DIXMUDE. Received 21, 11.50 p.m. Amsterdam, December 21. A correspondent at Tyd reports that i the English and Belgians carried out ] furious and irresistible attacks in West f Flanders. The Flemings, singing their ) National Anthem, dashed down upon the j Germans at Dixmudc, where the bridge--1 head m> captured by ?l bftyonct at j supported. by artillery. J An advance was made northward of j I Dixmudc. j The Germans evacuated strongly-forti-(fled trendies at Nicuport, leaving many (dead. j Hand-to.hand fights occurred at Saint [Georges. The French cavalry made splenj did charges, but the Germans, despite j great losses, were fighting with tough j tenacity. ' i | FIGHTING EVERY FOOT. THE ALLIES' STRENOUS TASK. NAVAL GUNS DEFEND BELGIAN , COAST. ' FRENCH ARTILLERY SUPERIOR. BELGIUM'S FUTURE AS PLANNED > BY GERMANY. t ' I London, December 20. i. The eye-witness at headquarters, detailing the forward movement which begall in Belgium on the I.lth, emphasises " the stubborn nature of the fighting and I the necessarily slow progress. The j, enemy holds a practically continuous defensive zone, consisting in places of n several lines in cunningly chosen sites, >' ; with carefully constructed work 4 amounting to a maze of trenches forti- i, lied with every known obstacle, including many varieties of entanglements. " The advance involves constant sapping ' with a view to capturing a hill, village wood, building, or trenches. Even°a few yards of ground all serve to facilitate further progress. Even siege approaches do not obviate surprises, an« when the enemy's trenches arc gained the only certain method to advance is to demolish the trenches with mines, and the machine guns by prolonged bombardment or mine underneath them and blow them up. Refugees report that the Germain have posted eight 15-centimctre gum ~ and several machine-guns on the sand r dunes between Duinsergen and Hevst German troops arc concentrating almi" s the Dutch frontier, between Costham n and Merehout.

The. Telegraaf states that there wa« fierce gun fire on the coast on Saturday, assisted by warships. Trains of wounded armed at Bruges, but most wore sent further eastward. A seaman who participated in the bombardment of Nieuport and Middolkerke states that the Germans at one point replied with naval 12-in. cuns mounted ashore. b

Paris, December 20. , x ™> military aviators fell near Issv les-Mou ineaux. Their petrol took lire ana both were incinerated A communique states: '"We gained a little ground before Nieuport and St Georges and progressed slHitlv ens/ and south of Ypres, whore the "enemy is reinforcing the defence. We canturcd a portion of the enemy's first lino or trenches between Rochebourg nortl hr T ■'' ren, l>t'»f«l a trench noi ill of Mancourt.

We repulsed very violent efforts (o recapture trenches at Upson and n,ai,,Ar^l"" r i ! rti " ( ' ry «»l-ri«rily in the Aigon.es where we silenced guns, deHtroy.,l tli,. observation posts of e •'""■'"""-f,™ siu.lh.rs, „..,! dispersed enemy s concentration." T,' Sa V, m !-'-;\ " lili " i^l 't communique.ihe Br.t.sh lost some trenches toward, Norn-.. Oiapello win,.), they capturV Fruliy The Tn.lui la advance,! some hnndre,ls ~., ,;,„vs towards The 1-rench artillery, with five hundred ; ;lll ,s, dealt n shattering blow at tno Gorman front lines „„ the northeastern sale of Arras on Thursday The Germans abandoned their trendies 'be" fo.e tl,e devastating (ire, and retired to »n.l St. Lauren, where ha aken up potion in the windows find housetops. The Allies are strongly entrenched in the outsirts. R>

London, December 2(1 states lt "" KS nt '"'l'lnunrtew states that prisoners" admission show hat many of „ u , |,a !l( lwehrs ,„,, „. k '°* wa l; and ( ~t(l le iro | ,icers' harsh ness. I he Germans seem to i„. eUseanl»lß «.,.„■ pieklehaubon (lll „ ,^ '» . Brtish agents intcreeptod a report dated .September S. inl.'uled fe, '(",',,' oral von <lcr Colt,;, i„ v. hic-h the author advisorf hat wlien the whole. „ S guim, w,th northern France, belonged hardily treated. Tito linguistic affinltiea with Germany should be taken into account for union with the German peoples, while later the Belgian arm 7,

like the Bavarians, should be given a special position in the German army. Amsterdam, December 20. One hundred and ninety-threo priest* have been shot, wounded or taken prisoners for giving evidence before the Commission of Inquiry into (ierman outrages in Belgium. A Berlin telegram states that two of the Allies' airmen threw ten bombs at Esaarburg, Lorraine, on Thursday night, killing a Uhlan and severely wounding n girl. They also dropped, bombs ill other villages. Times and Sydney Sun Services. London, December 20. Amsterdam reports that thousnnds of Germans have been bhcriflced in Flandtrs during the last few days. Tha Germans declare that they want to make an acknowledgment to the Fatherland for Christmas, hence their frantic efforts to capture Ypres before Christmas. The German press is frantically urging Scandinavia to combine ngaiiwt Britain on account of the suppression of their trade. ARMENTIERES BOMBARDED. ONLY SLIGHT CASUALTIES. Received 22, 1.25 a.m. Boulogne, December 21. The German bombardment of Armentieres is violent. A thousand shells and many incendiary bombs fc wcre thrown into'the town for ten iiours, but the fatalities were small. AN IMPENDING DISASTER. BELGIANS FLOCKING TO HOLLAND. Received 22, 1.25 a.m. Rotterdam, December 21. A great stream of Belgian refugees is flowing across the Dutch border without reason, beyond a vague feeling that something dreadful is about to happen in 3eigium. It is believed that the Germans' nervousness has communicated itself to the refugees. GERMAN AIRMEN THREATEN (PARIS. Received 22, 12.55 a.m. Dunkirk, December 21. An Allies' aviator bombarded and partially wrecked a train at Zeebruggc, killing forty German marines and woundnig a hundred. -i Taube attempted to reach Paris on Sunday. French aviators pursued it and brought down the German at Pontoific,