FIGHTING AT LODZ.

Otago Witness, Issue 3169, 9 December 1914, Page 26

FIGHTING AT LODZ.

INSTANCES OF RUSSIAN BRAVERY LONDON, December 7. Petrograd correspondents state that five army corps and five cavalry divL sions have reached Kalisz from the west from December I onwards. The Germans are attempting to hold the Centre with two or three army corps, while the flanks, each consisting of four or five army corps, attempted turning movements. The Russian commanders are glad to fight at a dis* tance from the German frontier, where strategic railways greatly assist the .enemy ,and the Russian soldiers are delighted at opportunities for hand to= hand fighting with the bayonet, owing to the frost making the German steam plough trench makers of little use. Many instances of wonderful Rus=

sian dash and bravery are recorded. One regiment charged a German howitzer battery in the centre. It broke before the hellish fire, but the flanks cut down the gunners, captured the howitzer, and cleared the way for an infantry attack. At the village of Kurpin, where the Germans were refuging, they were burnt alive when Russian shells set the lints afire. Siberians marched 60 miles to reach the heights dominating the country south of Lodz. Finding the Germans in possession, they did not give them time to entrench, but begged their commanders to allow them to storm the heights the same night. The Ger= mans repulsed the first attacks and attempted an offensive move, but the Siberian counteroffensive hurled the Germans from the heights, leaving piles of dead. Lodz has been bom= barded for several days, and night fighting is rife in the suburbs, to which small bodies of Germans have been driven bach. GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN LOSSES. LONDON, December 7. The Daily Telegraph’s Petrograd correspondent, tinder date December 4, states that the Germans, having been heavily reinforced, have carried on an aggressive offensive for three days. The Germans occupy a strong position, and it is difficult to dislodge them. Their wedge is based upon a line from Thorn to Kalisz, with the apex at Lowlcz, and they thus control the only railroads in this section of Poland. The Germans lost 160,000 effectives in the battle of Lodz, and the Aus= trians lost 180,000 in coincident opera= tions on the Czentochowa=Cracow line. The German losses for five days spent in the “ mouse-trap” near Lodz are estimated at 100,000. The inhabitants of Cracow are fleeing. Great numbers are going to Berlin, where their presence is causing discontent among the working classes. The Germans are believed to be desirous of wintering in immense entrenched lines extending from the Vistula to Cracow. HOLDING THE GERMANS. LONDON, December 6. Private messages from Petrograd state that the Germans have withdrawn nine army corps from France, replacing them by second-line troops. The Russians, nevertheless, are holding the Germans, keeping them fighting day and night. The Germans are seeking to besiege Petrokow, where the fighting is extremely violent. The Germans -at Czenstochowa are preparing for a long siege. The town has been turned into a fortress. GERMAN EXCHANGES OF TROOPS. LONDON, December 6 The Bourse Gazette at Petrograd predicts that a concerted movement will be made shortly by the Allies on both the f'n t and west fronts, for the purpose of stopping Germany shifting her trenps between tne two frontiers. HUNGARY LEFT UNGUARDED PETROGRAD, December 6. Complaints are rife that the Hungarian plains were largely left open to Russia's attack. Hungary has officially requested Germany to send her two or three army corps. Relations between Austria ard Hungary are much less cordial than hitherto. ALL THE DIFFERENCE. LONDON, December 6. The Times, in a leading article, says the enemy smashed unhappy little Belgium with positive exultation, but seem to shiver with apprehension at the thought of the thunder of guns amid their own towns. Meanwhile, in Mid-Poland the rival armies are still struggling desperately to reach a decision. If the Russians are silent, the Germans are significantly silent, too. Berlin listens vainly with growing impatience for reports of new triumphs.