Twenty-Five Years Ago

Northern Advocate, 27 April 1940, Page 8

Twenty-Five Years Ago

One of the most important incidents recorded- in connection with the western struggle in which the Germans had Calais as their objective, was the recrossing of the Yser by the Allies, who were marching on Bixschoote. The German concentration of artillery in the Yser battle included 16-inch guns and 17-inch • howitzers, and was believed to be the largest in the war to date. The French and Belgians had discovered a means of effectually neutralising the asphyxiating gases which the enemy was using, it was reported. The last German vessel in the Pacific, an island trading steamer called the Elfreeda, was captured by the British warship Encounter. Latest development in the Italian situation was the summoning to Rome of Italy’s Ambassadors to London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin.

It was asserted by the “North German Gazette ” that British and other prisoners in Germany were found, during an ambassadorial visit, to be humanely treated and well cared for. A hill in the Carpathians, scene of the fiercest mountain fighting in the war, earned the title “Golgotha.'’ The Germans alone, it was stated, had lost 20.G00 men since the Austro-German forces attempted to dislodge the Russians.