AUSTRIA'S DEBACLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 218, 22 February 1915, Page 6

AUSTRIA'S DEBACLE.

"TO US IT SOI'NDJiD LIKE THE ■DEATH-KNELL W THE JA'INU 'MONARCHY'." HOW A "PUNITIVE EXPEDITION" WAS REVERSED. The fact that it was Austrian insoleneo to little Servia which precipitated the European War lends an air of poetic justice to the overwhelming and humiliating defeat which Servia has inflicted on Austria, while expelling its troops from Servian soil. Most vivid descriptions of that defeat hav e just arrived "from the special correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, who writes from Valjevo, on December 10. " 'Not one of the enemy's soldiers remains any longer on Servian territory.' "Thus runs to-day the short bulletin of the Servian headquarters. These fewwords tell of the fearful disaster to the Austro-Hungarian army, whose invasion of Servia, from beginning «o end, represents an uninterrupted tragedy for the 300,000 Austro-Hungarian troops. The destiny of the Dual Monarchy may be decided elsewhere, but her military reputation has been irrevocably buried on the battlefields in Servia.. . . THE , SERVIAN ONSLAUGHT. "General Mishitch did not wish' to lose the auspicious moment, and ordered a general attack on December 3. The Austro-Hungarians never supposed that the Servian, who had been retreating for a whole month, would recover sufficient energy and courage to attack them. Stationed among hills and dales, they did not know where to post their artillery, and used it very ineffectively. They were attacked from the front .".nil from the wings very vigorously, whilst the Servian artillery, which simultaneity shelled their fighting lines and their rear, worked such terrible havoc that they believed that the Servian forces had "been increased tenfold. "In spite of their overwhelming numbers, their lines were shaken, and after ten hours of most desperate resistance they began to retreat, hoping to be more lucky next day. But the Servian army, fired with a long-expected success, gave them no respite. The Servian attack next day proved to be most energetic surpassing everything' previously done in its courage and impetuosity. There was not a unit officer who did not distinguish himself. "QUITE A NEW FORCE." j "Resuscitated as by a miracle, the Servian army in these days proved >i- ; self to -be quite a new force. It fought not only with skill and bravery, but every regiment, every man, and every officer co-ope*ated so harmoniously | that not only was the enemy smashed and scattered, hut Servian losses j were astonishingly rl. The commanders of the different units always expressed their thanks for the ions co-operation of the. commanders at ; their wings. Th e infantry was full of praise of the artillery, and the artillery ; could not find good enough words to ad- | mire the impetuosity and irresistible onset of the infantry "The victory was complete,hut General Mishitch knew how to utilise it. fully. It was in vain that the Austrian rearguards, on the fourth and successive days, 'attempted resistance. Always before the enemy's infantry could deploy for fighting on a new position, the Servian artillery would be shelling their lines, and the Servian infantry would be creeping beneath the enemy's batteries. The Austro-Hungarian resistance was broken before it had already begun. It was no longer fighting, it was the chasing of the terrified hare. Of course, the other Servian armies to the north and the south undertook the offensive, and the whole of the enemy's front, 250 Kilometres long, was smashed in and the centre wag taken. 1

AUSTRIA'S HEADLONG RETREAT.

"In a headlong retreat the Aiistro Hungarians fled panic-stricken, abandoning their transport and wounded, throwing away their rifles and ammunition, killing their horses, and leaving motor-cars and complete batteries of guns. In some instances they had only time to burn the cars and automobiles and to bury the guns, leaving only the empty limbers. "Fleeing to the Save and Drma, the Austro-llungarians never stopped to offer any resistance. Sometimes one Servian company would chase whole regiments, mowing them down without anv losses to themselves. The enemy was glad to escape or to surrender. "In ten days the Servian victory over five Austrian army corps was complete. Since the days when Scipio saved Rome from Hannibal, or when _ England destroyed the might of Spain, the world has never seen a similar spectacle, and never has victory been more deservedSERVIA'S LEADER. "General Mishitch has been promoted to Field-Marshal, a title which liap never been better merited, and never more modestly carried. His greatness consisted in that he preserved faith amid tlie general consternation. He remained cool-headed when the army lost their heads. Like all great soldiers, he possessed the gift of conquering tlie wills and hearts of his men, and of illspiring them with a new ardor and the fullest, confidence, in his leadership. He chose the right moment for his blow, and having prepared it thougthfullv, he struck so masterfully that the huge Austrian army shook and cracked like an old building shaken by a mjghty earthquake. "The Austro-llungariaiis have lost .- iuce November at least 120,000 men. The Servians have 'captured, since December IS, MO guns, and have made over 40.000 prisoners. They have taken enormous quantities of curs, rifles, and ammunition. Of course, such results could only be achieved by the intelligent and patriotic action of the seli-saerifi-cing Servian officers The appalling list of dead and wounded officers is the best evidence of how they fulfilled their duty, and bow much they have deserved of the Fatherland. SERVIA'S PEASANT SOLDIERS. "lint tlie real and everlasting glory belongs to tile Servian peasant soldiers, who.'after a Ion;; war, lasting for twenty-seven months, and after enduring fatigues and difficulties unheard of anions; other European armies, being diminished in numbers and means, rose ■from tli,- depths of despair and found the strength to smash to pieces the I ver-oquip'ped and disciplined enemy. That glory needs but the passage of three centuries before, to future generations the present heroism of the Servian ►(.Miert "'ill seem like a legend. They will hardly he able to believe what all of us have witnessed. -The Servians have cleared their western front, and one must possess the I of a Dickens or a Tolstoy to be ' able to describe adequately the awfiu I scenes entailed bv the Austro-Tlungaiian i , 1 i..j, ter. as well as 1.!.-' stute of the ! roads and of the devastated country. Wherever I passed, beginning with Suvobor, all the way down to Valjcvo, and further on to the Save, the roads were littered with the corpses and the

pitiful debris of the Austro-llungarian army. ? TERRIBLE VA.IJEVO. "Valjcvo, one of the loveliest- and cleanest little places in Servia, I found in an indescribably-pitiful state of mud and filth. Everywhere, in the streets, courtyards, and even in the houses, the rooms in which the enemy had lived were in a horrible state, and it is impossible t" realise how the enemv could have done so much harm In so short a time or how they could live a single day amid such conditions. The fact shows best to what degree the enemy was exhausted and unable to improve his lot or lead his regular daily life. '•Yesterday evening, a terrible explosion was heard from across the frontier. It appears that the enemy had hastily destroyed the ammunition stores collected at tlie village of Kupinovo. The enormous quantities bursting on all sides shook the air like a volcano. "To us it sounded like the death knell of flic dying Dual Monarchy."