EASTERN THEATRE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16952, 3 September 1915, Page 7

EASTERN THEATRE.

RUSSIA'S SUCCESSES. CALICIAN VICTORY. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. PETROGRAD, Septoraber 1. Military critics attach importance to Russia's successes in Eastern Galioia. The German attack on the Upper Bug and Strypa aimed at push'ng the .Russians from the Rumanian frontiers. Fire Austro-German army corps, under General Pflanzer, suffered defeat. Colonel Shumsky calculates that a million of the enemy are operating in the Brest Litovsk-Minsk-Bialystok region, throe hundred thousand at Riga, and six hundred thousand in Galicia. REPEATED ENEMY ATTACKS ALL BEATEN BACK. PETROGRAD, September 1. Details of the defeat of General

Pflanzer show that some of the hardest fighting was on tho Bug, near Baelykamoh, ten miles to the southwest of Busk. The enemy on Sunday morning essayed to storm height 366. All attacks were repulsed. The Austro-Oermans, reinforced in the night, ue'ivered five separate" assaults, which were repulsed, with very heavy loss. Nevertheless, three further attacks were made before dawn, but were beatßn back, with enormous lossew. Meanwhile General Pflanzer attempted to force the passage of the" Strypa, but was driven back, enabling the Russians on Monday to assume the offensive and surround a portion of the AustroGerman forces, where tho KogatinTarnopol railway crosses tho Strypa, capturing guns and many prisoners. Tho enemy.oh Sunday niade nine attempts to cross the Strypa near Burkanoff, ten miles south of the railway. All were repn'sed. Attacks south of tho Dniester also wero without result.

GERMAN COMMUNIQUE*

ENORMOUS CAPTURES CLATMED. BERLIN, September 1. A communique states:— Field-Marshal von Hindenburg's troops are before the outer line of forts at Grodno.

General von Maokensen continues to defeat the Russians whenever they make a stand.

General vbu Bbthmer, in the of n stubborn resistance, stormed heights 6n the bank of the' Strypa, overcoming tho enemy's forces which csrused a temporary delay. Dxiring August we tooK prisorevs ortho eastern front 2000 officers, 269 839 men, 2300 cannon, and 560 machine gams, including 20.000" prisoners and 827 cannttn at and 15 generals. 90,000 men and 1200 cannon at Novo Gooreievsk. Since May 2 tho Germans and #Austrians took prisoners over a million m6n.

RUSSIA'S FINANCES.

GREAT GOLD RESERVE- , PETROGRAD, September 1. The Financial Statement delivered in the Duma states that the Government has already borrowed six hundred millions. Probably an important loan wi.l be placed on the foreign markets shortly. . . ~ , Russia has the greatest reserve of gold in the world.

AN AUSTRIAN REPORT. AMSTERDAM, September 1. An Austrian communique states: — We captured Lutzk and Zborow. ■

RUSSIAN ARMY CHANCES.

GENERAL RUSSET'S NEW COMMAND. t3y Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright (Received September 2, 10.20 p.m.) PETROGRAD, September 2. General Russky has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of tho, armies oi defence in the northern region. General Yanushkevitch. the Grand Duko Nicholas's Chief of Staff, has been appointed assistant Viceroy in the Caucasus. General Alexieff succeeds General Yanushkevitch.

HOLDING THE ENEMY.

RUSSIANS REPULSE FIERCE

ATTACKS.

DESPERATE FIGHTING ALL ALONG LINE. '(Received September 2, 10.20 p.m.) PETROGRAD, September 2. A Russian communique states: — We captured four guns on the right of the Vilia- Tho enemy lifts occupied O.ay. Desperate fighting continues. A Russian regiment, surrounded- by the enemy, broke through, annihilating a German battalion. We repulsed a series, of vigorous, r«v peatod German attacks westward of Grodno, and we are holding the enemy in the Lutsk region and in Galicia while withdrawing to a less extended front. We have inflicted heavy losses. The total number of Austriaus and Germans mad.? prisoners is 7000, with 100 officers. The enemy's most stubborn attacks were at Radzickhoff, Zborow and Bourkanow. districts. Everywhere we repulsed them with enormous losses. The fighting in the districts of Bourkanow and Boutchatoh was remarkably fierce. We repulsed numerous attaoks with fire and bayonet. The enemy at some points were unable to stand the hand to hand fighting, and retreated to the trenches, leaving prisoners with us.

THE ENEMY'S EFFORTS.

RUSSIAN REARGUARD'S DESPER

ATE FIGHT. "Trows" *nd Sydney "Sun" S«rvice». (Received September 2, 8 p.m.) LONDON, September 2. The corre..pondont of " The Times " at i'otrograd states that, fluctuating day by day, the enemy's northern raovoniente at present have reverted to tbe direction ot R.ga, and attention is concentrated on Fnederichstadt, which is a vital point situated not far from the railway opening tho path to both Riga and Dvinsk. The seizure of the Ahi,au-J\.reuw;burg section of the railway, forty-riv-e utiles-tang, enables the Germans to bring up reinforcement* from Mitau. On the other hand, in •ijlie Dviusk. region we assumed tho offensive. The enemy's crossing of tho luemen at Olita and {us advance on Orauy ciisolose his intention to iiiolate our Vilna and Grodno groups, hindering our retreat from the Nwftnan line. It is hoped that the enemy operating in the region of Bialystok stnd Bielsk will not succeed in intercepting' our retreat from Grodno to the trunk line in the vicinity, of Mosty and Lida. Tho Russian rearguards aro offering a desperate resistance on a twentymil© front between Bieloviesk and Suprasegorod, in order to afford time for regrouping in the rear. Serious importance is attributed to the events on the Vladimir VolynskiLutsk front, where the enemy is operating in graat force. Apparently General von Mackenscii's army was transferred there to undertake an important offensive against the trunk line Kovel-Kazatin-Kieff. ■. •