LIBAU OCCUPIED BY GERMAN TROOPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15915, 12 May 1915, Page 7

LIBAU OCCUPIED BY GERMAN TROOPS.

KTJSBIAN TEKRITOBJAIS UNABLE TO HOLD TOW.

ENEMY AIDED BY WARSHIPS OFF COAST.

Wellington, May 11.

The Sigh Commissioner reports from London on May 10 :—

'' An official report from Petrograd admits that enemy troops, supported by warships along the Baltic Littoral, occupied the Russian port of Libau on Saturday evening, after fighting a small detachment of Russian territorials.

" The enemy was forced to evacuate hurriedly a strongly fortified position at Janiszki on Friday night."

- . Libau is a Russian seaport on the Baltic coast, 50 miles north of the German port-of Memel and 135 miles by rail south of Riga. It stands at the northern extremity of a narrow sandy peninsula, which separates Lake Libau, 12 miles loug uy i. miles wiae,. from the Baltic Sea. The town has a population of over 65,000,.and is well built of stone. Alter being brought, in 1872, into railway connection with Moscow, Orel, and Kharkov, Libau became an important port. Before the war Libau possessed large factories of colours, explosives, machinery, belts, sails and ropes, tobacco, furniture, matches, as well as tin-plate works, soap works, sawmills, breweries, oil mills, cork and linoleum factories, and flour mills. Shipbuilding was also on tho increase. North of the commercial harbour, and enclosing it, the Russian Government, between 1893 and 1906, made a very extensive fortified naval port, protected by moles and breakwaters. The baso contained two large basins and two docks capable of taking any ship afloat. A recent German communiquo claimed that the destruction of the railway had isolated Libau. A subsequent communique, dated May 8, stated:—" We occupied Libau, capturing 1600 prisoners, five guns, and four machine guns."