LATE WAR NEWS

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 April 1918, Page 2

LATE WAR NEWS

AERIAL WARFARE.

C RECORD LOSSES.’ / : A COMPARATIVE STATE- , MEAT. (“Tire Times” Cable.) Received this dav at 8.45 a.m. LONDON 7 , April 1. A re,cord number of aeroplanes wore brought down in Mprch, the Allies claiming 828 and the' Germans 221. The losses v werq mainly men on the Western front where the Allies* brought down 740. The British airmen bagge.d 5C7 and lost 155. IN GREECE. TRAITORS ON TRIAL. FURTHER ARRESTS. IA-itrallßn and N.Z. Cable Allocation.] ATHENS, March 31. General Pallis, ex-Military Chief in Constantine’s household, has aheen arrested. He is among the witnesses in the trial of Gorlitz and Lis officers. PROSECUTION OF CONSTANTINE ORDERED BY COURT MARTIAL. I Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) . ATHENS, March 31. The court martial has. ordered the criminal prosecution of Constantine. AUSTRALIAN FORCES. CASUALTIES TO DATE. SLACKNESS IN RECRUITING [Australian and N-Z, Cable Association.))

Received this dav at 10-10 a.m. r MELBOURNE,/This Day. The Australian casualties to date are as follows: Dead 43,475 Wounded ■ 1.10,594 Sick 08,414 All Ministers are uniting in an effort to raise recruits in response to Mr Llovd George’s appeal. The D irector* of Recruiting states that the total enlistments lor the past three months were 0000.

Speaking at Bendigo Mr Watt said that Australia this year had spent £97,000,000 in war expenditure,, £13,000,000 of which had come out of- revenue. The rein alml o/ was raised by a loan. The war expenditure represented ft per cent, yearly of the total wealth. MAN-POWER SCHEME. THE EXCLUSION OE IRELAND. • BRITISH PRESS COMMENT, fAustralian and N.Z. Cable Association.^ Received this day at 9.35 a.in. LONDON, April 1. Several newspapers, commentingl on, the West front, urged the enforcement of military service in Ireland. The, “Observer” states : It is intolerable that each new demand for men be limited to Britain while Ireland enjoys ■ unrationed food and ease in many ways. Her manhood escapes the proportionate answer to the, call which every other English-speaking- community has honoured. If Ireland is further privileged, Britain will become more bard-pressed- British democracy was never more in sympathy towards Home Rule, but eanot be brought to do all the giving.

ARMIES TO BE REINFORCED,

AGE LIMIT RAISED. LONDON, March 31. There is no whisper of any opposition to any of the measures the Government. will take, id reinforce the armies at- the front. It is generally accepted that the age- limit will be raised.' Employers have already been notified that every serviceable man is wanted. There will be a most searching comb-out of all industries. The Press Bureau states that Mr. Lloyd George’s message to the Premier of Now Zealand was also sent to (lie Premiers of Canada,, Australia, South Africa, and Newfoundland. MORE MEN WANTED. APPEAL TO THE DOMINIONS. (Per I*’resa Association., WELLINGTON, April 1. The- Prime Minister lias received through the Governor-General the following message from Hon. Lloyd George to “the people of New Zealand,” dated London, March 31st: ‘'We have been inspired during- the past week with the constant news of the dauntless courage with which the Dominion troops have withstood thedesperate assaults of vastly more numerous German forces. This battle shows that the Empire lias reason to be proud of all its sons, and our armies cannot have too- many of these splendid men. As already announced wo propose to ask Parliament, to- au • tliorise immediate, means for raising fresh forces, and I would also urge the Government of New Zealand to reinforce its heroic troops in the fullest possible manner, and with the smallest possible, delay. The struggle is" only in its opening stages,, and it is our business to sec, that our armies get. the maximum measure of support that we can give them. Let no one think that what, even the remotest ‘‘•l our Dominions can now do can be, too

late. Before the campaign is finished the last,' man may count.”—D. Lloyd George. In connection .with this message, .the, Jit., Hon. W. F. Massey said today : ‘‘By the events of last week, followed up by the foregoing message, it must he brought home to each and every one of us the seriousness of the position. .The message is not only for New Zealand, but also for every part of the Empire. The New Zealanders have done splendidly up to the present, but we are capable of more, and I am confident the Dominion will respond satisfactorily to the call which ha,si come from the Prime Minister of Britain. If, as loyal citizens, we are to do justice to the occasion which has arisen, then we must recognise that the time has come to drop- all sectional differences, and to close up- bur ranks for a great effort and let the enemy understand that our determination to win is just-a-a strong as ever and there will bo no stopping short of complete victory. J had a conference to-day with the Commandant of New Zealand Forces, and matters will be put in trim to be submitted to a meeting of Cabinet which will be held in a few clays and probably to Parliament when it- meets next week.” THE SUPER-GUN. A PORTUGUESE INVENTION. • STOLEN BY GERMAN SPIES. [Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) Received at 11.30 a.m. MADRID, April 1. The newspapers state that Benito Caeiro, a, Portuguese engineer, in J9IG invented a gun throwing a 150millimetre shell a- distance c-f 130 to IdO kilometres.' A commission of French experts reported favorably on the invention. A copy of the plans and descriptive memoranda, with telegrams from the Portuguese Minister of War in Switzerland, were stolen from the. Portuguese Ministry of War. The theft was attributed to spies. ■

PARIS BOMBARDED. 1 , AND M.Z. OAXLB ABBOOfi TIOW. ] Received at. 11.45 a..m. PARIS, April 1. •A long range gun bombarded the city twice on Sunday. One was killed and one injured. IN PALESTINE. BRILLIANT WORK. ANZACS’ HAZARDOUS MARCH. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Assentation.] Received at 11.5 a-ni. LONDON, April 1. Mr. Massey, writing - from Palestine Headquarters on Sunday, says.: By a. dashing - raid the Anzao Mouuteds and Imperial Camel Corps blew up a. portion of Hie Hedjaz railway north and south of Amman, after the infantry had taken the town of Eassalt, '2>j miles east of the Jordan. The infantry and cavalry in these operations captured over V 00 prisoners l , many o: them Germans, with four guns, <* number of nuiohine-gunsi, and. mu.U ammunition. THE JORDAN BRIDGED. 'When the Jordan was bridged, a. number of troops were put across and so surprised the enemy that he did not put up much of a. light before Eassalt, but. was strongly reinforced at Amman and fought stoutly behind his trenches. f The cavalry and camel corps made a great .holding attack at Amman, shelling the station, with made-up trains in the siding. The airmen dropped bombs, causing much destruction, while the Anzao Engineers, moving on the other flank, blew up two.' arch bridges north of the town and destroyed several culverts in the south, and completely ruined five, miles of a section of the line. CAVALRY SUPPORT. In the march from the Jordan Valley, the cavalry were on cither flitnk of the infantry, who used the road to Eassalt, ANZACS’ MARCH. The Anzacs went over the mountains, using the steep goat and sheep tracks nearly all the way. The troopers had to dismount and pull tlieu- horses behind them for miles. They heeded not the barriers that Nature had erected nor the hardships

entailed by country in w r hioh transport must be precarious and scan tv. Towards the end of the journey the country was so. terribly rough that some of the Anzacsi had to leave their: horses three miles behind them, y Campaigning in this wild, hilly eountiy is a, terribly arduous business. The accomplishment of the raid on the railway is a noteworthy military feat. The weather was very bad. The .lordan rose eight feet in one day. The rain and misit in the hills added enormously to the difficulties. T-rr i.r rlir- }V* * ' ' U GENERALISSIMO. CALLING UP DRAFTS. AUSTRALIANS AND IRISH EXEMPTED. [Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. J Received this day at 1.15 p.m. WASHINGTON, March 28. The Senate Foreign Committee discussed the question of the. exemption of Australian and Irish resident in the United States from the draft at present- The draft exempts Australians and Irish he.cav.se they are exempted in their home countries. AMERICA AT WAR. THE GENERALISSIMO.I PRESIDENT ’ S CONGRATULATIONS. [Australian and N.Z. Cams Aooaiatian.) Received this day at 1.15 p.m. WASHINGTON, March 28. President Wilson has sent the following message to General Foch. I wish to congratulate you on your new authority. Such unity of command is a most hopeful augury of the ultimate success. We are following with profound interest the'bold and brilliant account of your forces. ” The, United Press Agency states that it. is unknown here whether General Foch’s new command is supreme or only the command of “the army of manoeuvres.”

MISCELLANEOUS. GERMAN WARSHIPS. CRUISING OFF DENMARK. (Reuter‘o Telegram.] Received at 1.45 a.m. AMSTERDAM,. April 1. Thirteen German warslups, including - torpedoersi and submarines, ’are cruising on the coast of Amoland. IN ITALY. A USTRJANS CONCENTRATING. IKeutor’s Telegram.] Received at 8.40 a.m. WASHINGTON March 31. Official cables from Rome'state the situation is becoming tenser on the Italian front. Italian aviators report great movements of Austrian troops at Val Lugana. Everything indicates that the Austro-Germans will make a big effort to break through the mountainous zone to the* Italian plains. jfj' THE BRITISH ADVANCE. NEARINC~ALEPPO. [Australian and N.Z. Cabla Aiioalatlon.] Received this day at 11.40 a.mLONDON, April 2. A message states that the troops in Mesopotamia reached a point half -way between Bagdad and Aleppo. : SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN. WHITE STAR LINER TORPEDOED. VESSEL STILL AFLOAT. [Australian and N.Z. Cabla Assoaiatlan.| Received This Eiay, 11.40 a.m. LONDON, April 1. The White Star liner Celtic •was, torpedoed hut is still afloat. She carried no passenger’s. C NEW YORK, April 1. A message from Liverpool says that it is hoped to save the Celtic. •>.