UNPARALLELED STREAM OF PRISONERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3212, 6 October 1915, Page 24

UN PARALLELED STREAM OF PRISONERS.

PARIS, September 27. A stream of facts regarding the fight is coming in. It is estimated that there are 1,800,000 Germans in the west and 2,600,000 in Russia. The un= wounded German prisoners now exceed 23,000. Eleven trains of prisoners passed through Bourget station for Paris, going to internment camps. The haul of prisoners is unparalleled since the battle of the Marne. A noteworthy feature of the operations is the aeroplane attacks for 40 miles to the rear of the German front, interfering with the movement of reserves and the supply of ammunition by bombing troop trains. The effect of these attacks can be estimated from the results at Saarbrnck, where aeroplanes destroyed the greater part of the strategic railways. Aeroplanes also damaged the junction at Treves, through which hundreds of thousands of troops passed from Luxemburg to France. The people of Treves were seized with a mad panic. A bishop was being consecrated in the cathedral, and clergy and congregation took refuge in the crypt until the hurricane of fire ended. It is manifest that the prime objective of the Allies’ attacks was the railway communications at Lens and La Bassee. which are the nucleus of a network of railways only second to Liiie, and the vital security of that all-important centre, Hill 70, which dominates Lens, in addition to a large tract of country eastward, resembling East Lancashire, and covered with an intricate system of mineral railways. GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS. PARIS. September 28 The hardest fighting was near Anberive. The Germans in the Champagne district are peculiarly dependent upon the crossline of railway between Argonne and Bezancourt, uniting the Rethel and Vouziers lines, along which alone they are able to bring up large and rapid supplies of reinforcements. The French at Anbexive are within three miles of the line. The latter also maintains the German connection with hills north of Rheims. Judging by the number of prisoners, the German killed and wounded are estimated as equalling the bulk of an army corps. It is difficult for the Germans to bring np the requisite reinforcements, which can scarcely' be spared from other parts, inasmuch as the whole of their long line is sorely tried. This dependence of one region upon another was illustrated on the same front last March, when the French attack upon Mesnil and Beau Sejour compelled the Germans to transfer troops from the British front, contributing to the British advance at Neuve Chapelle. THE FRENCH HARVEST. LONDON, September 27. The French Minister of War has put at the disposal of farmers some Territorial troops and men from the depots unfit for the fighting line. Permission has also been granted to men in the trenches to return to the farms at seed time, while in the zone where the enemy are close the French officers order their soldiers to help the farmers whenever possible. LIFE UNDER GERMAN RULE. LONDON, September 27. An inhabitant of Bruges who has escaped into France describes life under the German rule. Tire officers occupy the houses of the aristocracy, which they have ransacked and stripped of all their treasures. The people keep indoors. A few cafes remain open, but the only frequenters of these are Germans. A reign of terror prevails, arbitrary arrests are increasing, and the smallest success of the Allies is reflected in additional towards the people.