ENEMY SEEK DECISION.

Evening Star, Issue 15907, 13 September 1915, Page 6

ENEMY SEEK DECISION.

BUT THEIR CENTRE HELD. THEY SUFFER REVERSES SOUTH. PETROGRAD, September 12.' (Received September 13, at 8.55 a..-m.) A communique states: A Zeppelin flew over and threw bombs on our Baltic ports. Our seaplanes bombed German ships at Windau. A series of German attacks in the direction of Dvinsk were repulsed. A. German aeroplane bombarding our hos- ■ v pitals near Ponemounek was brought down between Smenta and .Villa. Strong forces_ of the enemy opened a vigorous offensive, eastward of Vilkomir, the enemy advancing along the Dvinsk road and neighboring roads. The direction of the principal, effort, with the assistance of strong field siege artillery, was southward of the Dvinsk road. Simultaneously large forces of the enemy advanced in the region of Chirvinty, their general direction being from Vilkomir towards Svienthiany. We repulsed repeated attacks on the Ozery-Skidel front. The possession of Slddel passed from hand to hand, but finally, after a brilliant assault by one of our battalions, Skidel remained in our hands. Our cavalry, aided by the infantry which dislodged the Germans from the trenches southwards of Skidel, eagerly pursued the enemy. There was a desperate fighfc on the River Zelvianka, southward of the Nie■men. An enemy battery was entirely destroyed, and we thereafter easDy stopped attacks. Near Zelva, despite asphyxiating gases, we repelled a series of assaults and maintained our positions on the right bank of the Zelvianka, after completely clearing the enemy from the whole of this bank. (Received September 13, at 9.35 a.m.) A communique states: East of the Bialystok-Brest-Litovsk railway we held up the enemy in the direction of Ruzhany. - In the Rovno district the Austrians resumed their attacks on iboth banks of the Goryn. We held the enemy up on the right) bank, despite their use of poison gas. Several of their detachments were destroyed by our fire. In the Tarnopol region (Galicia) we broke the enemy's obstinate resistance. Prisoners state that the newly-formed 6th Battalion of Chasseurs were entirely destroyed. The enemy fled, leaving in our-hands 39 officers and 2,900 men. A company with q.f. guns mounted on motor cars actively helped us. The enemy retreated southward in the direction of the Dniester. Southward of Tarnopol we repelled furious attacks, and*expelled the enemy from Tioust, taking prisoner 800 men. Summing up the situation, it may be said that the entire Austro-German forces, from one side to the other, are striving.to strike a decisive blow. TOO CLEVER. LONDON, September 12. (Received September 13, at 10.15 a.m.) A French official wireless message points out that the Wolff Agency at 4 p.m. on ' September 8 denied the official Petrograd statement announcing the defeat of two German divisions on the Sereth, but the Russian statement was not issued until 11 p.m. that day. This premature denial , thus informed Europe of the Russian successes eight hours sooner than would have been the case. AN ARMY OF REFUGEES LEAVE COUNTRY DEVASTATED LONDON, September 12. (Received September 13, at 8.10 a.m.) The ' Observer's' Petrograd correspondent states that the Germans are advancing .through a country burnt and devas- . teted by the retreating Russian army and by the: population. The refugees are moving eastward in whole parishes, headed by their priests. Sometimes enemy patrols overtake the refugees, capture the priests, beat the men, and carry off the young women. The Germans, instead of finding food in the conquered territory, are obliged to draw nearly tho whole of their supplies from Germany. The only aid rendered by the Russians is to steadily reduce the number of Germans who must be fed, clothed, and transported. The main-result of the invasion has been to stimulate Russian organising power to an. unprecedented degree. Organisation is no. longer left to the Government, but every man and woman is thinking about organisation, especially in regard to munitions. [A previous cable placed the number of Russian refugees at six millions.] GERMAN SUBMARINES IN THE BLACK SEA. PETROGRAD, September 12. ' " . (Received.-September 13, at 9.35 a.m.) • - /The presence of enemy submarines off ' "the Ciimsaa coast is reported. M&&?''"■£:"-••'< * : ' - •• '." ->'■'•