THE RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14052, 24 July 1916, Page 3

THE RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE.

ACROSS THE JDVINA. GERMANS' COLOSSAL LOSSES. FURTHER CAPTURES BY RUSSIANS, LEMBERG NOT TO BE DEFENDED. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) PETROGRAD, July 21. Official : The Russians have captured the town of Gumiahkanen, 40 miles north-west of Baiburt. _ Interest is ' developing .on General Kuropatkin's front, westward of Kemniern and Lake Babit, the Germans being continually irritated by carefully planned raids, but unable to bring a single division to support the threatened positions. General Kuropatkin's artillery is also breaking up the front trenches.. LONDON, July 22, The Daily Chronicle's Petrograd correspondent says that there is excitement m Riga as the result of the offensive agains£ General von Hindenburg. Tlie bombardment is deafening, and private telegrams state that the Russians already have taken three lines of trenches. The first German prisoners have reached Riga. A Petrograd communique states that the artillery battle is continuous on the Dvina. ( Trie Russians dislodged the enemy m the village of Jerben. The fortifications southward, m the vicinity of the confluence of the Styr and the Lipa, were captured, also the passages of the Styr. We captured 50 officers and 1600 men m the conflict m the Berestechlo region. We also captured (30 Turkish officers and 400 men and a large quantity bf transports m the region north-east of Kial Kitcerli. ROME, July 22. After a furious attack upon General von Hindenburg progress was made m several places, causing colossal losses. The fall of Brody and Stanislau is imminent. The Austrians have decided not to defend Lemberg. . AMSTERDAM, July 23. A Petrograd official . message states : Battles continue on the left bank of the ■ Riga front. The Russians south of Lipa continue to press tha enemy. They have passed Beresteczko and are still mo vine, westward. We took prisoner on the 20th and 21st 300 Austro-Gertnan officers a.nd 12,000 men. We surrounded , and took prisoner on " the 13th an : , Austrian Landwehr regiment near Versen, bayoneting the commander, and carried a series of Turkish positions m tlie west plateau. On the "Black Sea coast we are now advancing on Fol. i (Reuter's Telegram.) PETROGRAD, July 22. A communique states ithat three thousand prisoners were taken at the junction of the Styr and the Lipa. General Sakharoff's troops were sub- . jected to a concentrated bombardment crossing the marshes of the Lipa Valley, but they crossed the river and routed the enemy, pouring a deadly fire into tho fleeing columns, and took 1000 prisoners and several guns. The. communique admits that tlie Russians crossed the Dvina. i This is not mentioned m the Russian communique, but lia<* now leaked out. Tli© Russians began extensive operations m the, Riga front, and the first intimation was n telegram to the Novoe Vremya, announcing the capture of three lines of German trenches, and many prisoners i and guns. Now the Riga correspondent of the Bourse Gazette describes the population as listening to a tremend- , ous bombardment, which commenced on the 16th.