ALLIES HOLD COURTRAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15747, 23 October 1914, Page 5

ALLIES HOLD COURTRAL

SUCCESS OF LANDING PARTIES. GERMANS FEEL PRESSURE. CALLING MEN FROM ANTWERP. AUSTRIAN REINFORCEMENTS. EMDEM SINKS FOUR STEAMERS The tone of to-day's war news gives an impression of increasing confidence on the side of the allies and depression in the German ranks. The allies have occupied Courtrai, in Belgium. Severe fighting in this neighbourhood has been reported for several da\s. The Belgian Army has been fighting to the north of Courtrai and has distinguished itself by a spirited defence of its position. At several other points in Belgian territory the allies have won notable successes. Germans have been driven from Bruges and Roulers, and a force which attempted to cross the Yser towards the coast was driven back with considerable loss. The German advance on the coastal towns of Belgium was effectively checked by British warships. The enemy, moving on Nieuport, was shelled from the sea, and detachments with machine guns were landed, compelling the Germans to retreat. Three monitors acquired for the British Navy at the outbreak of war rendered great assistance in this work, being, owing to their light draught, able to approach close to the coast. The Germans, feeling the increasing pressure of the allied forces in Belgium, have curtailed the Antwerp garrison and have sent forward to the battle-line the machine guns used in the bombardment of the city. It is also reported that manyAustrian troops have been removed from the Italian frontier with a view to strengthening the German right wing in Belgium. Further losses are reported to have been inflicted on British shipping in Indian waters by the German cruiser Fmden. The Emden was last heard of when she appeared off Madras and fired nine shells into the town. Rumours have been current since then that she had been interned in a neutral port in Java, but they now appear to have been baseless. To-day's cables indicate that she is still at large in Indian waters, where she has sunk four more British steamers, representing a tonnage of 19,368, and a dredger on its way to Tasmania. The battle in Poland is reported to be moving away from Warsaw towards the west—an indication that the Russians are forcing back the invading Germans. In Galicia the Austrians are making a stubborn resistance under their German leaders, but so far the fighting about Przemysl has een favourable to the Russians.