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EUROPEAN WAR.
HEAVY FIGHTING IN FRANCE.
GERMANS EVERYWHERE REPULSED.
BIG BATTLES IN BELGIUM.
ALLIES GAINING GROUND.
RUSSIA'S ENGAGEMENTS..
GERMANS" LOSE HEAVILY.
AUSTRIAN BATTALION SURRENDERS.
The latest-news from the scenes of
war contains nothing sensational, but.
Sitsuggests thatthe~ ies emore than
holding their own. Progress has been
made in various directions along the
extended front of battle, and ii no
instaioe have the enemy achieved any
success. The Germans attacked along
the whole front from La Basse (half way'
between Arras and Armentieres) .to
the Meuse, but 'were repulsed every
where. f
It is officially reported that the enemy
continue strongly to hoIdd.the approaches.
.to Lille from the directiop. of Ar&en- .
..tieresi, Fernes, and La Basse. At the
last-mentioned locality the struggle has i
Sbeen particularly severe, and in this 1
=locality the Belgians, cooperating with
:the French andBritish troops, have so 1
quitted themselves with signal distin a
tion. The French are also credited with
a magnificent feat of arms in taking a
village to, the ,westward of Lille; and
Sir Douglas Haig, writing to a friend in I
England, affirms that nothing in the his
tory of the nation surpasses the soldierly
"qualities exhibited by the British troops
in.the present: campaig. ..
Much-fighting has takeil place in Bel
gium. 'The report that the enemy had
Belbeen driven from Ostend was evi
dently premature. -An advice from Lon-.
don states that the town is being forti
*fed by the Germane onthbe sea-front and "i
south side. The Allies, however, have
made excellent progress . in the little
kingdom, and they appear to be in con
sidersble force between the Franco
Belgian frontier and Ostend. Accord
ing to an Amsterdam jnornal, 30,000 Ger.
mans were entrenched along the Yser
River, between Middelkerke and Nieu- 4
port, near the Belgian coast. After an
engagement near, the latter .town the
enemy were compelled to retreat with
losses amounting to about 5,000, includ
ing an entire battery which was anni
hilated.
'Owing. to the fighting taking place
near to the coastline, the Navy wav en
abled to co-operate with the land forces.
A British warship lying of the coast .I
raked the villages southward of Middel
kerke. The enemy, caught between two
fires, was driven back towards Ostend.
.Further successes were gained by the
Allies along the Dyle River, between
Brnssels and Antwerp, and in the Ypres
district. Captuged German officers betray
signs of dejection and admit that their
armies in France and Belgium are re
treating. The enemy, however, are mak
ing preparations against the advance of
the Allies. They are re-fortifying
Namur, throwing bridges across the
Meuse between Liege and Vise, and es
tablishing Zeppelin sheds at Antwerp and
Brussels.
There is little news of the struggle
in Poland and Galicia; but what has
come to hand is satisfactory. South
ward of Przemysl an entire Austrian
battalion. with all its officers and guns
has surrendered to the Russians. The
battle in the Warsaw district has rolled
back from the-capital, but the nature of
the struggle is indicated by the report
that a constant stream of German pri
soners and wounded is pouring into
-Warsaw. The contending armies are
fighting in ceaseless rain.
Further help is apparently forthcoming
for the Allies. Lisbon papers state that
Portugal is sending to France 8,000
artillerymen 'and 4,000 marines. It is
also declared that when her preparations
are completed Portuga~ l will forward
90,000 men to the front. The movement
in favour of Italy's participation in the
war on the side of the Entente appears
to be gaining momentum; the Radical
party urging that Italian troops should
be sent to the Lombardy and Venetian
frontiers of Austria. In Greece warlike
preparations are proceeding actively.
Probably as a result of Turkey's pro
German attitude the Greek Government
has now 450,000 men of the first line
ready for the ield, and it is estimated
that an additional 100,000 will be ready
in a fortnight's time.
An official German message states that
a British submarine has been sunk in
the North Sea. The Press Bureau in
London has received no word of any such
disaster; but it is reported that while
"the British ships were operating off the
Belgian coast they were menaced by
German submarines. These, however,
were driven off with some loss by British
" ,edo .er .
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