RUSSIAN FRONT

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 86, 9 October 1915, Page 5

RUSSIAN FRONT

VIOLENT FIGHTING NEAR DVINSK KOZIANY CAPTURED. PETROGRAD, Bth October. A communique states : There has been violent fighting north-west of Dvinsk, in the region of Great Greenvald, where the enemy seized part of our trenches. The battle continues. There has been heavy fighting south of Lake Bagoinskoje, imposing a heavy strain on both combatants. We seized the village of Koziany in a night attack, and captured three rows of trenches. The Germans concentrated a crossfire subsequently and compelled us to evacuate part of the position. REDUCING THE ODDS GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN RUSSIAN ARMIES. I (HUES AND STDSET SUN SERTICKS.) '(Received October 9, 8 a.m.) LONDON, Bth October. The Times correspondent at Petrograd says: "Welcome evidence is accumulating of the gradual change on our front owing to the steady technical improvement in the Russian armies. Thanks to their artillery, the Austro-Germans have hitherto easily advanced ; now our artillery is meeting theirs on equal terms. "Prisoners state that the Germans in the Vilna region suffered colossal losses. The scarcity of clothing and footgear is so great that the dead are invariably stripped. The cavalry are in a pitiable condition. The martial spirit of the men has appreciably declined, and confidence in victory is disappearing." FRESH ARMY FOR SPRING CAMPAIGN. (Received October 9, 10 a.m.) PETROGRAD, Bth October. Russia is preparing a fresh army of 2,000,000 for the spring campaign. ALLIES' SUBMARINES SUSPEND BALTIC TRADE. COPENHAGEN, Bth October. German shipping in the Baltic has been practically suspended owing to the fear of British and Russian submarines. CAPTURE OF TAHURE AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT SERIOUS THREAT TO A GERMAN RAILWAY. LONDON, Bth October. The Daily Chronicle states that the capture of Tahure and the hill immediately north, called the Butte of Tahure, is an important development. It is also stated that the plateau of Massiges has been pompletely captured, and Souain and Perthes have been cleared of the enemy. | To the west the Germans still hold Auberive, but they have lost Matiques farm. On the east they presumably hold the hills south of the Dormoise Valley. The capture of Tahure threatens them on both sides. The French took the Tillage with comparative ease, and before nightfall they had crossed the Dormoise. The men clambered up a sharp slope, despite a brisk fire, and finally established themselves on the summit, 300 ft high. The Butte of Tahure commands the valleys and lower hills for some distance on either side. Whether the artillery commands the Bazancourt-Challerange railway is not clear, as there is a wooded hillside between, but it is certain that the railway, with three tunnels, is threatened. GREAT GERMAN COUNTERATTACKS ENEMY TRAPPED IN ENTRENCHMENTS. PARIS, Bth October, i The French pushed their infantry attacks on both sides of the German position until they commanded Tahure and the Butte de Tahure. From three sides the artillery were able to prepare the way for the final assaults. There are now only the lower hill and some wooded country between the Butte ■de Tahure and the coveted supply station. I General yon Heeringen immediately I realised the seriousness of the disaster, and initiated a series of furious onslaughts, carried out in massed formations. These broke before the withering French artillery and machine gun fire, as did the furious counter-attacks at Navarin farm. The desperate struggle for the German second line proved that the Germans cannot be driven out of France at a single stroke. Nevertheless, though, it is a slow business extracting the Germans from their bombproof shelters, sometimes 30 feet deep, the very perfection of the trenches often turns to the disadvantage of the defenders. Many are caught like rats in a trap. The dash of the French infantry was so" impetuous that the Germans had no time to get ou£ of their dugouts. * The public are now realising that General Joffre does not intend a general assault. Instead, he is attacking at selected points, which will disorganise the enemy's line and finally result in a strategic piercing. General Joffre has brought up many batteries of new heavy artillery, and accumulated many millions of shells. All transport has been speeded up in order to encure sufficient ammunition. / Finally, the armies destined for the attack have been cured of trench, stale- j ness by leave and steady drilling. HEROISM OF EX-PRISONERS. PARIS, Bth, October. The famous African battalion known as "The Naughty Boys," which is composed of ex-prisonere. led the assault at Tahure. They sprang forward a few seconds J after "the artillery ceased, and found i that the barbed entanglements, had been j broken down, but they were met by a I cruel rifle and machine gun fire. Despite their losses, they never faltered, and when once in grips with the j I foe they speedily finished off the Germans. An entire battalion of the " Naughty Boys " was mentioned in orders of the da.y. Thousands of the enemy are buried in the ruins of the village and trenches. The majority of the prisoners state that they wcie in abject terror. Many wept from relief when captured Some guns in the gaJlgpe'