LATE WAR NEWS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144779, 8 September 1915, Page 7

LATE WAR NEWS.

THE BRITISH FLEET. A VISIT TO THE LION. MINOR DAMAGE TO OTHER VESSELS. i BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.—COPYRIGHT. (Received Sept. 8, 1 p.m.) Continuing bis narrative of his visit to the fleet, Mr. Palmer says; — The officers on the Lion, which received the roughest handling of any major ship afloat, dwell on the difficulty they experienced in persuading Admiral Beatty alter the action began, to descend from an exposed position on tho bridge, where he had unhampered vision, to.the protection of the conning tower. They gave a thrilling account of the Lion being towed homo at five knots after tho Blucher had sunk, and tho destroyers were foiling the efforts of submarines to reach the crippled Leviathan. Her injuries are no longer discernable in some places, owing to the reconstruction of a section where a shell burst, but are evident elsewhere by patches over damaged plates. A very small percentage of the German shells hit at 18,003 yards (JO miles) in tho early stages of the battle. , . [The. Lion is a battle-cruiser carrying eight 13.5 in. guns and having a speed of 31 knots, She was Admiral Beatty’s flagship in the North Sea engagement on January 24.] The battleship Tiger had fewer scars to show. The only visible signs of the Queen Elizabeth’s experiences at the Dardanelles consist of a rough space of now planking in the deck, where a ■ shell struck her, and a dent in one of tho 15in. guns from a glancing shot. Tho Inflexible suffered less injury at the Falklands than at the Dardanelles, where she was struck by a mine and under heavy fire from the shore. The only colour visible in that vast array of fighting ships, stretching into the misty horizon or against the background of the harbour, was the uniforms of the crews and occasional signal flags. THE FLEET PUTS TO SEA. A WONDERFUL SPECTACLE. ■ While we were in the harbour the whole fleet was ordered to proceed to sea. Later, aboard a destroyer, tho guests watched the unprecedented procession of naval power make its exit, led by the graceful light cruisers and flotillas of destroyers. “Are not tho German submarines waiting outside?” we asked. An officer replied, “No doubt; two or three are always there, but the destroyers know how to keep them off.” Twenty Dreadnoughts passed out of the harbour with clockwork regularity, and more Dreadnoughts emerged in clouds of smoke before the King Edward VII. and tho other Dreadnoughts Had their turn. We had our last glimpse as we rounded the headland to tho landing place. It was that of, a seemingly, endless column of ships, which blocked tho way to German ambition. The imagination turned feeble at the thought how immense would be the Armageddon should the German fleet ever give battle. This picture of war and preparedness was most pregnant in its suggestion of irresistible concentrated power and a most impressive spectacle. ANOTHER LINER SUNK. (Received Sept. 8, 9 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 7. The Harrison liner Dictator has been sunk, and the crew of forty-two landed. GERMAN SUBMARINE LOST. (Received Sept. 'B, 9 a.m.) AMSTERDAM, Sept. 7. An official Berlin telegram states that a German submarine reports that tho U 27, about August 10, sank a small British cruiser of the old type westward of the Hebrides. U 27 has not returned and must be regarded as lost. , TELEGRAMS EXCHANGED. BETWEEN KING, CZAR AND PRESIDENT. (Received Sept. 8, 1.30 p.m.) PETROGRAD, Sept. 7. The Grand Duke Nicholas publishes an army order stating that King George watches with the greatest interest the operations and resistance of the Russian armies against the common enemy’s terrible thrusts, and desired that his sympathy and admiration for the valiant Russian heroes should be announced to every Rusian soldier. The Czar, upon placing himself at the head of his valiant armies, telegraphed to M. Poincare sincere wishes for the freatness of France and tho victory of er glorious army. M. Poincare responded with his warmest wishes, and added: “I know that your Majesty, in taking command of your heroic army yourself, you intend to carry on finally to victory.” MESSAGE TO ITALY. FROM GENERAL JOFFRE. (Received Sept. 8, 2.30 p.m.) PARIS, Sept. 7. General Joffre, in a message, congratulated General Cadorna on his superb troops and brilliant opening successes, a prelude to the Allies’ victory and the freedom of civilisation. GREAT RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE. AGAINST GERMANY AND AUSTRIA (Received Sept. 8, 1.50 p.m.) COPENHAGEN, Sept. 7. The Austrians report great activity on the part of the Russians at Dobno and Rovno. The Germans also report that the Russians are putting up an offensive with tremendous energy. GERMAN AIR RAID. (Received Sept. S, 1.30 p.m.) PARIS, Sept. 7. A communique states that German aeroplanes bombed Geradmcr killing two persons.

WHAT THE TURKS SAY. (Received Sept. 8, 1.30 p.m.) AMSTERDAM, Sept. 7. A Turkish official message says:—The enemy unsuccessfully bombarded Anafarta and Soddul Bahr. Our artillery caused a fire in the Anafarta trenches.