ITALIANS ON ISONZO RIVER

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 133, 7 June 1915, Page 7

ITALIANS ON ISONZO RIVER

ATTACK BESET WITH GREAT DIFFICULTIES 1 ROME, 6th June. Official.— Our offensive on the Isonzo River is beset with great difficulties. The ground is formidable. The enemy's entrenchments are numerously manned and well equipped with machine guns and artillei-y. After the fluctuation of the action throughout Thursday and Friday the summit and slopes of Monte Nero remained in our possession. The, advance .continues on the rest of the front. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT The High Commissioner reports: — LONDON, sth June, 0.10 a.m. Rome states that the Italians occupied Mattasone and Valmordia in Vallarsa. The Austrian forts at Luserna and Spitzverde have been silenced, forts Belvedere and Busoverle being seriously damaged. On the Carnic frontier an enemy battery at the Monte Croce Pass was silenced. The offensive against the spurs of Monte Nero, north-west of Olmino, met with great difficulties, the fighting, which lasted the whole of Thursday, constantly fluctuating. The Italians are firmly in possession of Monte Nero, summit and slopes. Their losses are not serious. The is continuing with fresh Italian troops in order to gain a decision over the rest of the front. The forward movement continues. Press Association. TRENTINO HEALTH RESORT DESTROYED ROME, sth June. An Italian cruiser found a German waterplane lying in the sea off Brindisi. The aviators had been apparently drowned. The Austrians in the Trentino are retiring towards the Fieme valley. They destroyed the magnificent mountain health resort of San Martina, including six German hotels. Austrian soldiers of Italian nationality ara daily deserting and asking to be enrolled in the Italian army. During the attack on Monte Carado the Italians by means of a few bombs stampeded wild buffaloes against the Austrian entanglements, and s& smashed their way through. ITALIANS CONFISCATE ENEMY STEAMERS """ (Received June 7, 10 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. The Italian authorities have confiscated fifty-seven Austrian and German steamers, totalling 216.770 tons. SUCCESSFUL CONCENTRATING MOVEMENT (Received June 7, 9.40 a.m.) ROME, 6th June. Official. — The concentrating irovement of great masses of troops continues everywhere in perfect order. Our advance continued on the front from the St. Elvio Pass (on the Swiss frontier) to the sea. Tlie infantry arc entrenching in poweiful positions on conquered ground, strongly supported by artillery. THE POPE'S DIPLOMATIC ACTION (Received June 7. 9 a.m.) ROME, 6th June. Cardinal Gasparri, Papal Secretary of State, is preparing a White Book, showing tho Pope's diplomatic action in favour of peace, and explaining the cessation of the English and Dutch special mission 1 :. The paper concludes by exposing the sysfem of diplomatic pressure exercised by the Austrian and German Empiies upon the Holy See. SAN MARINO ASSOCIATES ITSELF WITH ITALY (Times and Sydney Sun Services.) (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. It is reported that the Republic of San Marino has associated itself with Italy, and declared a state of war. / [San Marino, the smallest State in Europe (population a little over 11,000), is situated » between the provinces of Forli and Pesaro « Urbino, Italy, on spurs of the Apeimines. It has been au independent community since the* Middis Ageej its independence was confirmed by the Pops in 1651. and several

times since. Its area is about thirty-two square miles. The military force consists of thirty-nine officers and 950 men.] SITUATION IN VIENNA 1 (Times and Sydney Sun Services.) (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON. 6th June. Zurich reports state that the situation in Vienna is very grave. A state of siege has been proclaimed, and the despatch of newspapers and letters to Switzerland forbidden.

THE LUSITANIA GERMANY WILL NOT ADMIT SHE DID WRONG. (TIMES ANB SIDNEI SUN SERVICES.) ! (Pieceived June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. \ The newspaper Lokal Anzeiger says ' that Germany will never admit that she did wrong in torpedoing the Lusitania. If President Wilson really thinks that consideration for human life cannot be left to Germany,' further discussion would be superfluous. (PRESS ASSOCIATION.) GULF LIGHT AND CUSHING CASES. WASHINGTON, 6th June. The American Ambassador in Berlin, Mr. Gerard, cables that Germany is willing to pay an indemnity for the damage to the Gulf Light. He states that it is impossible to clear up the bombing the Ciisliing. The aviators state that they only dropped bombs on one ship in the vicinity of the North Hinder lightship, and it was not flying a flag and had no neutral markings, but it is possible she was the dishing. AMERICANS IN GERMANY WARNED TO BE READY TO LEAVE. AMSTERDAM, 6th June. Americans in Germany have been warned officially that relations with tho Uniitd States may be broken off in, forty-eight hours, and they must be in readiness to leave the country. 1 The newspapers, discussing the position, declare that the threatened rupture would clear up the situation and show who Germany's reaJ enemies were. ANOTHER AIR RAID EAST AND SOUTH-EAST COASTS OF ENGLAND. CASUALTIES VERY PEW. The High Commissioner reports : — LONDON, sth June, 3.5 p.m.* London reports : — On Friday night hostile airships vibited the east and south-east coasts of England, and dropped bombs at various places. Little material damage wap. done, and the casualties were very few. LONDON, sth June. The Admiralty states that tho fatalities during Monday night's air raid were one man, one woman, and four children. SUBMARINE WARFARE ACTIVITY OF THE ENEMY. A LIST OP VICTIMS. PARIS, 6th June. The French, steamer Fenfelcl \va& submarined, in the Channel. The crew were landed at Brest. LONDON, 6th June. ] The submarine fired five 65-millimetre shells, but missed the Penfeld. The crew l then /took to the boat. Tlie submarine then torpedoed and sank the Penfeld. The crew rowed for thirty hours before they reached land. The Wilson liner lona and the fishing vessel Chrysoprase were submarined and sunk' at the Orkneys. The crew were landed. Four of the lona's men were wounded by shrapnel, two badly. The crews were fired at while the boats were launching. • The Norwegian steamer Cubano was torpedoed. The crew were landed at Lewis after twenty-two hours in a rough sea. The steamer Inkum was submarined and sunk off the Lizard. The crew were landed. Nine men were drowned m the Vanilla on 20th April. [The Grimsby trawler Fermo reported that a submarine torpedoed the trawler Vanilla in the North Sea. The trawler was almost shattered, and sank immediately. The Fermo, which was 300 yards away attempted to pick up those who were struggling in the water, but the submarine turned a gun on the rescuers and fired a torpedo, forcing the Fermo to seek safety inflight.] A Peterhead drifter, the Enamay, was torpedoed off the Shetland Islands. Tho .crew landed. A I Belgian trawler was sunk by a. submarine in the Irish Channel. 'The crew landed at Milford Haven. A submarine in the North Sea ordered the crews of two Lowestoft trawlers to take to the boats, and -then blew up the trawlers with bombs. The crews landed. Three more Aberdeen trawlers were sunk by submarines off the Orkneys, but the crews have landed. A report from Rome states that the Greek.. steamer Virginia was mined and sunk near Cape Salvore. The crew perished. COPENHAGEN. sth June. The Danish collier Cyrus "has been torpedoed. The captain said he saw the streak of foam made by the torpedo. The crew put off in a boat, and were brought t< Stavenger by a Notwegian steamer, which sighted the submarine earlier. FISHERMEN'S PRIZE ;FIND A DESERTED SHIP. LONDON. 6th June. A curious sequel is reported to the case of the Montrosa. A fisherman named Sam Holdane, in the North Sea. observed a three-masted .barque in full sail. He casually hailed her, without get tine; any reply ■ * He scrambled aboard with a comrade, and found the ship deserted. He realised that he was in possession of an undamaged prize worth many thousands. Holdane and his mate navigated the Montiosa to Bridelington and claimed her as a pri7.e. Apparently the Montro*a struck something in the night, and the crew in a panic rushed to the boats without waiting to ascertain the damage. fit was reported on 2nd June that the Russian barque Montrosa, from Hull to Nova Scotia, was mined in the North Sea. The crew were saved.] SUNK WITHOUT A WARNING. (Received June 7. 9.20 a.m.) LONDON. 6th June. The Aberdeen fishing liner Strathbian mistook a submarine for a schooner as she was rieeed ujj with a sail. The

submarine without giving a warning sank the Strathbran. The crew were thirty-one hours in an open boat before being picked up and brought to Wick. ARRIVALS AND SAILINGS The High Commissioner reports : — LONDON, sth Junt. The Admiralty report that for the week ending Wednesday, 2nd June, 1328 vessels arrived at and sailed from+Brit* ish ports. Eight vessels were submarined, their total tonnage being 25,363. (PRESS ASSOCIATION.) GERMANS USED VITRIOL LATER THEY ADOPTED BOMBS .JTHEN POISONOUS GASES. (iteceived June 7, 10 a.m.) PETROGRAD, 6th June. The Germans earlier in the war used vitriol, which was squirted into the trenches. Later they used bombs •containing concentrated formalin, causing much eye trouble over large areas. Then the methods apparently proved unsatisfactory, and the enemy adopted gas, but applied in a manner different from that adopted in the western area. On one Galician front they ignited large quantities of straw before their trenches, into which objects resembling short lengths of rope were thrown, changing the character of the smoke and flames. The enemy was next observed trying to extinguish the fire with hoses, but their purpose failed. The enemy then climbed out of the trenches and ran for their lives, the Russian rifle fire meanwhile decimating the refugees. At other points the Germans threw tins like biscuit boxes, yhich burst on impact, enjitting dense poisonous fumes. GERMAN AND RUSSIAN WARSHIPS SHOTS EXCHANGED IN -GULF OF ! RIGA. PETROGRAD. 6th June. i Official : Our ships exchanged shots with a large German naval force in the Gulf of Riga. HOLLAND'S MILITIA EXTENDING THE LANDSTURM. AMSTERDAM, 6th June. An important new Bill is being prepared, extending the Dutch Landstwm to all hitherto exempted from military service. GERMAN SPY ARRESTED.' LONDON. sth June. The Prebs Bureau states that a. German spy. Robert Rosenthal, was arrested as he was leaving the country, where he had been for .a short time. Ho confessed that he wae sent by the German Admiralty to obtain naval information. DURATION OF THE WAR j A GERMAN ESTIMATE. ! AMSTERDAM, sth June. ( . The Gei'man military authorities estimate that the war will last another year. -- • ENEMY'S FOOD SUPPLY CONSIDERABLE RESERVES. AMSTERDAM. sth June. Professor Delbrueck, speaking in the Prussian Diet, said that the food question might be regarded as solved. They even had considerable reserves to l % e carried over into the coming harvest, and the quantity of ' flour and potatoes would reach the noimal peace coneumption. The Kraez Zeitung says that "Britain's starvation war has failed, and now the United States makes a strange demand for the stopping of submarine warfare. If the reports of the reception of the German Note can be relied upon, it appears that the American does not want to reach an understanding, but prefers to break off relations and give at least moral support to Britain. However comforting to ue the retention of relations with Messrs. Wilson and Bernini an may be, their utility for us is somewhat imaginary." THE ENEMY IN CHINA QUESTION OF PROHIBITING TRADE. (TIMES AND STDNET SUN BBRTICES.I (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. A correspondent states that in Manchester'theie is a growing feeling that Britain should follow France's lead by prohibiting trading with the enemy in China. Before the outbreak of the war a large section of the business in cotton goods between Manchester and China were done through German firms, and certain firms are reluctant to discontinue the system, which can only be stopped by the stiffening of the British regulations. (PRESS ASSOCIATION.) CROWN PRINCE'S HEADQUARTERS s SEVERAL PEOPLE KILLED IN RECENT RAID. AMSTERDAM. stlr June. The German account of the- aerial bombing of the Crown Prince's head- . quarters states that several people were killed. The attack was otherwise result- , less. < CONFERENCE OF FINANCE MINISTERS. PARIS, 6th June. Mr. Reginald M'Kenna, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Hip Italian Minister for Finance conferred pt Nice. Mr. M'Kenna goes home to-morrow. ENEMY CONSULS A DIFFERENCE AT BUENOS AIRES. BUENOS AIRES. 6th June. The Turkish Consul-Guneral has closed the Consulate and deposited the archives in a place of safety, refusing the German Charge d'Aft'aires's demand to hand i them to tho German Consul

"NO TIME TO BE LOST" WILL THE GOVERNMENT GIVE THE NEEDFUL PUSH? DUTY OF THE CHURCH. (TIMES AND STDNEY SUN SERVICES.) (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON. 6th June. The Mancheeter Guardian writes : — " Will tho Government give the needful push ? There is no time to be lost. The reason for discussion and argument ha* gone by; this is the hour for action. Here the church may find a new and unique oppoitunity. The Government was reconstructed in consequence of Colonel Repington's telegram to the effect that there was a scarcity of high explosives, and the Bishop of Pretoria's letter brought home tho necessity for mobilisation of the nation. These are the two most important events outside the' actual battlefield since the war began. The duty of the Church is now plain. Ministers from their pulpits must drill the- people into a clear sense of tho part they have to play in a colossal epic. The Church of England has got to justify the national name it bears, and every one of her pulpits ought to ring with tho call for service." [Colonel Repington, mentioned in the above message, is the military correspondent of ( the London Times.] "THE RIGHT NOTE" STRUCK BY MR. LLOYD GEORGE. DANGERS CONFRONTING THE COUNTRY. (TIMES AND SIDNCT SUN SERVICES.) (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. The Times, in a leader, says :— " Mr. ' Lloyd George struck the right note at Manchester. He did not flinch at stating the dangers confronting the country, and treated his audience in a way Englishmen love and expect. He described the German success as entirely due to superior equipment, and his bluntness is almost regarded a s treasonable in 'certain quarter?. Tlie speed with which he progresses vj-ill be an event in our history, and will, doubtless, provoke bitter complaints in certain circles." fPBESS APSOOUTION.I ADMIRALTY APPOINTMENT. LONDON. 6tyjune. The Duke of Devonshire has succeeded Mr. George Lambert as a Civil Lord of the Admiralty. THE CAMEROONS ENEMY DRIVEN FROM STRONG POSITION. The High Commissioner reports :— "" LONDON, 4th June, 9.15 p.m. "Reports from the Cameroons state that the Allies drove out the enemy, from a strong position at Njok. Our losses were not heavy." AUSTRALIA'S PATRIOTIC FUNDS TWO AND A-QUARTER MILLIONS. ( (Received June 7, 10.10 a.m.) • SYDNEY', This Day. The patriotic funds total two and a-quarter millions. Mr. Hugh J. Ward is organising an "Australia Day" for 30th July to assist Australian wounded. SHORTAGE OF MEAT VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT ! % BLAMED. (Received June 7, 10.10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. The State Government is blamed for the shortage of meat by shipping large stocks to Europe, South Africa, British East Africa, and India. BRISBANE, This Day. A Royal Commission has been appointed to investigate the cost of supply and distribution of wheat and flour. KING CONSTANTINE OPERATION PERFORMED. ATHENS, 6th Jun&; The German physicians attending King Constantine have postponed their departure owing to a slight increase in the King's temperature. Later. King Constantine successfully underwent an operation for tho removal of his tenth rib. IN A CRITICAL CONDITION. (Received June 7, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, 6th June. King Constantine is in a critical condition. His temperature is at 109deg. IN MEMORY OF THE AUSTRALASIAN DEAD PROPOSED MEMORIAL SERVICE. (TIMES AND STDNEY SUN SERVICEB.) (Received June 7, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON. 6th June. Arrangements are proceeding to hold a service at St. Paul's Cathedral in memory of the Australasians killed in the war. (PRESS ASSOCIATION.) IN THE CAUCASUS HUNDREDS OF KURDS SABRED. PETROGRAD, 6th June. Official : "In the Caucasus we repulsed a, Turkish attack, killing four hundred, in the region of Alashgerd. We also made a simultaneous attack from Ayldjeraz. Our cavalry penetrated to Ayldjeraz, and sabred some hundreds of Kurds." AUSTRALIAN LIST SYDNEY, sth June. The thirty^third Dardanelles casualty list shows :—: — Killed in action : Sergeants Oswin and Wade ; Corporals Graffunder, Alexander Mulvey ; Privates Wilson, Anderson, Beyers, Burton, Garvey, Underhill, Allison. Charnock, M'Dowell, Turnbull, Woods, Statham, Fletcher, Leslie. Died of wounds : Sergeant Peterson ; Corporals Whiting and Baker ; Privates Mills, Haydon, Hume, Milloy. Parish. Griffiths, Woolley. Died of illness : Sergeant Allison ; Privates Harrison, Johnson. Kohn, Kirk. Wounded : Acting-Brigadier Lon?ada. Captain Miller, and 232 noncoms, and men. including" Privates Hoskins, Carr. Whitlaker. and Cosgrove, who arc New Zealanders. Five men are dangerously and one) seriously ill. Nine are missing.