Newspapers / The Courier (Asheboro, N.C.) / Aug. 5, 1915, edition 1 / Page 2
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f THE CHANGING BATTLE LINE IN THE EAST ! Was f0 JfA 0- O "X . e The Germaaa again hare peaetratrd aa clone to Waraaw aa the atar which marks the "high tide" af laat autumn. FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN THE WEST The first month and a half of the western campaign was made up of startling, swift moves. On September 12, after the defeat on the Marne, the Germans took up defensive positions along the Aisne river. The ten and a half months since then have seen a long deadlock. The battle line of the Aisne and the Oise quickly extended northeast to the 'tea. Fighting has been continuous, jWith tremendous losses. The general situation has remained unchanged, gains of a few miles for one side at one point offset by minor gains for the enemy In other sectors, i At the beginning of August the 'kaiser took possession of the little 'state of Luxemburg and demanded passage through Belgium to the Fran-so-Belgian frontier. Permission to pass denied. Von (Einem attacked Liege (August 4), fwhile other German armies passed around the city and swept over the 'level Belgian roads at a terrific rate. l.The little Belgian army yielded Brus sels and fell back to Antwerp and Ghent. (First Big Engagement. Not until the Germans had almost reached the French border did the 'first important engagement take place (This is generally known as the battle of Mons-Cbarleroi (about August 20 38), but at the same time there was severe fighting along the whole line through Thionville in Lorraine and along the Vosges in upper Alsace, .which the Frach had invaded with temporary success. This battle resulted in defeat for the French and English. While obtaining some successes in counter-attacks on the advancing Ger mans at Peronne and at Guise, the French were obliged to fall back rap idly to the line of the River Marne. On the left the French had with drawn to below Paris and the western most German army, under Von Kluck, followed. The garrison of Paris was put in thousands of motor cars and hurled on iVon Kluck's flank. The latter was not taken entirely unawares and met the attack strongly, but at the same time the army of General Foch attacked the German army on Von Kluck's left and drove ,tback. ... , Driven Back From Paris, f The Germans had begun the battle with five armies in line. The with drawal of the two farthest west now caused the retreat of the third, fourth and fifth in that order, each in turn finding its flank exposed by the with drawal of the troops on its right. At the same time the movement on the east end of the German line was ac celerated by a strong attack from the French fortified zone of Verdun. The German retreat was as orderly as that of the French and English had been. The invaders took up an ad mirable defensive position. It ran ljust north of the Aisne river, on a series of bluffs, then Just north of Chalons and through the wooded, rough regions of the Argonne and the fWoevre, joining hands here with the troops besieging Verdun. The allies have tried this line In vain ever since. Both combatants now tried to turn the weBt flank. Enormous bodies of 'cavalry. On the part of the French Flanders. On the part of the French there was largely the desire to link up with the Belgians, now being attac'xad in Antwerp. The mighty siege guns of the Germans made short work of the Belgian seaport, however, and it fell on October 9. The remnants of the Belgian rjmy retreated along the sea coast and the Germans in a final Task reached Ostend (October 15). Lin Extended to the Sea. I The battle line of the Aisne was now extended to the sea, the Germans hold ing the important French city of Lille, while the allies kept Tpres in Belgium and, partly by Hooding the lowlands, held the position of the Tser river and canal. i From October 1$ to November 10 ,W fought the desperate first battle KEY ooe Mic an apt I . . Ott I ' Nl oca Dee 1 mm Jartj AAA - - M UTOWMf of Tpres, when the Germans suffered enormous losses in attempts to break through the line in Flanders and reach Calais. They succeeded in pushing back the allies only a little and the Invasion of Silesia by the Cossacks finally induced them to desist and send re-enforcements to Russia. The Germans in September had per formed the feat of pushing a salient into the French line south of Verdun, which terminated on the west bank of the Meuse river at St. Mihiel; while the French had taken the offensive with some success in Champagne at about the same time. For the most part throughout the winter the fighting consisted of regu lar siege warfare, with heavy artillery combats and mine and counter-mine. The flooding of the River Aisne from winter snows gave the Germans a chance to entrap the French troops on the north side of that river in the vicinity of Soissons for a considerable distance and kill or capture most of them (January 14). Take Offensive In Spring. With the spring, the French and English attempted to take the offensive at several points. Always preparing the way with tens or hundreds of thou shands of shells, they tried Joint after Joint of the German armor. In the Vosges the dominating height of Hartmannsweilerkopf was taken and retaken several times in sanguin ary charges and finally remained in the hands of the French. The salient of St. Mihiel was also subjected to tremendous French pres sure on both "legs." The French suc ceeded in gaining a little ground, but the Germans, despite the apparent weakness of the sharp wedge they had driven into the French line, could not be dislodged and later succeeded In re gaining some of the territory they had lost. The British also reported "victories" at Neuve Chapelle and Hill No. 60, in Flanders. Whether these should be accounted successes for the allies is doubtful. The British suffered enor mous losses and at Neuve Chapelle bungled affairs to the extent of shell ing their own men who had taken Ger man trenches. In other cases they left gallant little parties lodged in enemy's trenches without supports to be annihilated. The next development was the un expected use of poisonous gas fumes by the Germans in attacks just north of Tpres. With this novel weapon they succeeded in taking several small villages and more than compensating for the British gains south of Ypres. The losses of the French, Canadians and British were severe, but they suc ceeded in stemming the German on slaught effectively a few miles back ?.om their former position. Begin Series of Attacks. The German line makes a salient at Soissons, though not such a pro nounced one as at St. Mihiel. The French now began a series of at tacks on the upper side of this salient, to the north of Arras. Expending hun dreds of thousands of shells, they time and again blasted away the barbed wire entanglements . and concrete trenches, held by Crown Prince Rup precht of Bavaria's men, and then charged across the desolate ground for slight gains. The fighting centered about the su gar refinery of Souchez and the great German work called the Labyrinth, Fighting went on in cellars and tun nels below the earth and the casual ties were heavy. The French bent the German line and captured the Laby rinth, but whether the gains justified their sacrifice in human life is ques tionable. In July, Crown Prince Frederick William's army attacked in the Ar gonne forest, west of Verdun, and succeeded in gaining several hundred yards of shattered woodland, and cap turing several thousand Frenchmen. There were rumors that the Ger mans were re-enforcing for another great drive toward Calais or Paris, but the Teutonic campaign in the West continued to wait upon the crashing of the much weaker enemy la Poland. rxoooooooooocooooooooooooc FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR ON THE SEA At the end of the first year of war- not a German fighting craft, except submarines, is known to be at large outside the Baltic sea. The Austrian warships are confined to the up per Adriatic and the Turkish fleet to the Sea of Marmora and adjacent straits. The mer chant marine of the central European powers has disap peared utterly from the ocean highways. Sixty million dol lars' worth of German shipping lies idle in the docks of 'New York, while several times as much is bottled up elsewhere. At the same time the German submarines have inflicted enor mous losses of allied shipping. While both sides have prob ably concealed many losses, the following is a fairly accu date summary of the number of craft which have been de stroyed: Entente Allies. Brit- Rus lsh French sian Battleships ..10 2 , Cruisers 12 1 2 Submarines . . 4 3 Auxll. cruisers 5 . Gunboats, de stroyers, and torpedo boats 4 Total Japanese 6 and 2 Italian of all losses, seven vessels classes. Teutonic Allies. Ger- Aus many tria Battleships 1 Cruisers 18 2 Submarines 9 1 Auxiliary cruisers ....19 .. Gunboats, destroyers, and torpedo boats ...20 1 Total Turkish losses of ves sels of all classes, four. Total tonnage en tente allies 376,770 Total tonnage, Teutonic allies 224,746 oooooooooooooooooooooooooo BIG EVENTS IN FIRST YEAR OF THE WORLD WAR June 2 Archduke aad Arehducbeee Fraacla of Auatrla alala by Serblaa aaaaaelae. Auguat 1 Germany declares war aa Huaala. Aafl German force rater Laxrm- barg. Germany demaada aaaaage through Belgium. Aaguet S England aaaoojacea atate of war with uermaay. Aaguet 7 -French lavade aouthern Al ice. Auguat 8 British troapa laad la ranee ana Mela-lam. A nan at 11 -Germaaa paaa Liege forta. Auguat IS England aad aTraaeo de clare war on Auetna. A nam at IS Aaatrtaaa lavade Sarkla la lore. . Auguat 17 Brglaaiag of Tdayn bat- tie Between Serblana aad Aaatrlaaa oa tho Jadar eadlast la Aaatrlaa root. Aairaat SO Germaaa eater Braaaele. Aaguat S3 Germaaa eater Naaaar aad attack Nana. Aaatrla anaoaaeee vic tory over Raaalaaa at Kraaalfc. Jaaaa deelaree war. Auguat So Brlttah ttcta retreat from Moan. Anaraat SS Preach evacuate Maelhaa aea. Aaguat 37 Louvala baraed by Uer- ataaa. Auguat ZA Battle off Hrlgnlaad, nev er I uermaa waraBipa liiK, Saul 39 Raaalaaa eruahed la three daya battle Bear Ta a Ben berg. September 3 Raaalaaa occupy Lem berg. September 5 Battle of the Mam be- glae. German neat wing defeated aad retreat begin. September 7 Maubeuge falla . September 13 German retreat halta ea the Alaae. September 30 Germaaa bombard Helma aad lajure the tamoaa cathe dral. October l Antwerp occupied by the Germana. October 13 Boer revolt atarta. October 14 Allien occupy Yprea. Bat tle bealaa oa Vlatola. October IB Oatead occupied by tb Germana. October 19 Flrat battle of Yprea be am a. October 24 Tea daya battle before Wiraan ruda ta German retirement. October 37 Ruaalaaa reoccapy Loda and rinaom. October 29 Turkey beaina war on Rua- ala. November 3 Oerataa equadroa hoar bardn Brltlnh eoaat. November 8 Dardaaellea forta bom barded. November 6 Talaataa aarreadera. November 13 Ruaalaaa defeated at l.lpao aad Katao. November 15 Ruaalaaa defeated at Vlotnlavek. November 17 Aaatrlaa victory aver Serblana at Valjevo announced. December 3 Austrian occupy Bel grade. December 5 Serblaaa defeat Aaatrlaaa a three daya' battle. December 6 Germane ocrnpy Toda. December IS Aaatrlaaa evacuate Bel- amde. December Id fiermaa crnlnera bom bard Scarborough aad Hartlepool, ISO elvlllaaa killed. December 20-3 Severe fighting; oa tke line oi tne itaura river. January S. lf15 Krench advance a crone A lane north of solaaona. January 14 Freach driven back acroaa Alaae river. Jaanary 34 Naval battle In North aea. German armored crulaer Bluecher aunk. January 30 Rnaalana occupy Tabrla. February n r allure of Uermaa attacka went ot araaw. February B Bralnnlua; of battle la F.aat I'runala, ending la Rvaalaa de feat. February IS -Reran formal aubma rlne blockade" oa Great Britain be ln. February 34 Raaalaaa drlvea from Bakowlna. March lo Brttlah make advance at Neave Chapelle. March 31 Zeppellne bombard Parle. March 33 Surrender of Praeaayal ta Raaalane. March SI Ruaalaaa penetrate Dnkla paaa aad eater Hungary. April S Freach beglna vloleat attache oa Mlhlcl aallent. April 14 Raanlana at Satropko, SO nallee lualde Hungary. April Is Raaalaaa evacaatc Taraow. April 33 Second battle of Tpren be aina. April 28 Allien leave fialtlpoll peala aula. Buttering fearful loaaea. April 3S Allien aaBouaee recapture of I.laerae Het Saa aad Hartmnnnaweller near. May 15 Berlla re porta capture ml se uu atuBBian Briaeaera In weat Oall. rla aad aelauro of three village aenr Torre. May Raaalaaa fall back (roan Dakla paaa. May r -Berlin resarta eaptar of Tar- now with lunar Ruaalaa prlaoaera. May H German auhiuarlna nlnka the Lualtaala, more tbnn 1.1B" loaf, nua alaaa In full retreat from Carpa- thlnua. May 9 Germane capture LI baa Baltic port. Slay 13 Freach capture Ceremony, north of Arrna, at great coat. May 14 American flrat aubmarlae Bote made public May 34 Italy deelarea war ea Aue- trla. May ill Itnllnna Invade Auatrta. May 3W Itullnna take Groilao. Huaalana check Germane at lenawa. May 31 Flrat Gcrninu note ou aubma rlae reachen WitKlilngloa. Zeppellnn drop bmnba In London. June 3 t'rseinyal futla to Auatro-Ger-mnna. lime 10 German rapture Mnnlalau. June II Nccoud V, S. niihmarlne note to Germany made public. Itullana tnkc Munfnlcoue. June 13 lmllnna tnke Gradlncn. June 111 Auatro-Ueriuiiua occupy Tor- nogrod. Juue 22 French take Metzeral. June 23 French unuounce occupation of the ' l.nhyrimh,' ojrth ot Arraa, Juae 24 Auatro-Ueruiaaa capture Lent berg. June if Analrlnna croaa the Dnleeter at Halloa. June 30 Halle falla. July 3 Hiiaalann defeat German at tempt ta land at VVIndnu. July 8 Ruaao-Uermaa naval battle of Gottlaad. July 4 Italian take Tolmlao. July 0 Berlin announcea galna la the Argonne to real. July Itt iermana take Praanayaa, BO nillea north of Hunan, July 111 Germaaa advance at maay point a la Ruaala, taklag Wlndau, Tu kuin. Blonde and Grobec. July SO Ruaalana report alnklng of 5 Turklah aalllug veaaela. German , guna reach outer forta of Waraaw aad damage the Lublln-Cholm rail way. July 31 Third V. 8. aubmarlna note goea to Germany. July 33 Turklab-Germaa expedition landed la Tripoli. July 34 German take two forta Bear Waraaw. July 3(1 Ruaalaaa repulae Aaatrlaaa la Gallcla. CAMPAIGNS OUTSIDE BIG WAR THEATERS In a Ecore of regions there has been fighting which would have held worldwide attention were it not for th mighty battle lines in France and Poland, Servia's own war was a greater trial to her than either of the two preced ing Balkan struggles. Assisted by Montenegro, the little Slavic tfatlon twice threw the hosts of Franz Josef beyond her borders and inflicted losses of about 330,000 men, but she suffered severely herself. The Austrians invaded Serbia in great force about August 15 and pene trated to the Jadar river, where a great' five-day battle ended in the rout of the Teutons. The Austrians returned soon in stronger force than ever. They reached Valjevo, where on November 17 the Serbians met a defeat. With their supply of artillery am munition exhausted, the Serbians now had to retreat The Austrians, be lieving them crushed, withdrew six army corps for re-enforcements against the victorious Russians in Ga llcla, Shells and English tars with naval guns reached the Serbians, and oa December 6 they turned on the Aus trians and cut them to pieces. .-.. , , The entry of Turkey Into tne war was marked by a brave, but foolhardy attempt to invade Egypt Great Brit ain's Indian and colonial troops threw the invaders back with heavy losses. British and Japanese troops invest ed the fortified German port of Tilng tau, China, aad after a siege of a few weeks the defenders gave up the hope less struggle. A section of the Boer population of South Africa revolted. The revolt was put down by a Boer, Premier Botha. He then invaded German Southwest Africa, and after a long campaign in the waterless deserts captured the greatly outnumbered Germans (July 8). After taking three-quarters of a year to arm herself to the teeth, Italy at tacked Austria this spring. The effect of the entry of Italy upon the arena has not yet been marked. J FIRST YEAR COST OF WAR IN MEN AND MONEY : Only approximately accurate tables of the killed, wounded T 4 and missing in the first year of X the war are possible, because J d France and Russia and Austria- J Hungary do not give out their J figures, while Germany ' has J changed her policy recently to one ot Becrecy. Great Britain still tells her losses from J month to month. The following estimates are X believed to give a fairly cor- rect idea of the, casualties: Teutonic Allies. T Germany 2,300,000 X Austria-Hungary .....1,900,000 J Turkey 230,000 Total 4.430,000 Entente Allies. France 1,700,000 t Russia (Including pris- X oners, 1,175,000) ....3,500,000 t Great Britain 480,000 X Belgium 260.000 T Servia 240,000 ; Japan 1,210 Italy - (no reports of losses 75,000 ' Portugal (fighting In colonies) (minor) Montenegro ' 80,000 ) San Marina (T) Total 6,286,210 The first year of the war has cost the belligerent govern ments about 816,500,000,000 In direct expenditures for mili tary purposes. The irar la now costing about $45,000,000 a day, 4 82,000,000 an hour and $30,000 T a minute. 4ww44 THE GREAT BATTLE Era The flrat geaeral cngagemeat la f Mnna-Charlerot, atarted Auguat 30 and Brltlah. They retreated aouth of the Marne, where the aecoad geaeral ea gagemeat atarted September 5. The Uae af thla data on the amp ahowa the aruilea' poaltloao Juat before the battle. The German right wing wna broken aa aad forced back, bringing a boat a retirement of the whole line. The German poaltlona oa September S, la the mldat of their retreat, are ahowa oa the map by a acrlea of light rectaaglea, while a row of darkeaed rectaaglea Indlcatea the carefully prepared trench line of the Alaae where they atopped and were attaaked by the allien Septem ber 13. Both aldea bow extended their Uae toward the eaaat. Light Benaru ahow the approximate position aaeumed September SO. By October 15 the alege line waa complete from the Alpa to the aea. The Uae af September 30 aleo abowa the Germaaa' great drive lata the French line acroaa the Meuae at St. MlhleL Crooned aworda mark the apota of tho entrenched elega line where the greatest atrugglea have takea place alace October IB. FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN THE EAST The first twelvemonth of fighting between the Russians on one side and the Austrians and Germans on the other is a story of groat changes of fortune, both combatants being re peatedly driven back only to show the greatest resiliency in defeat and soon to resume the offensive in a most surprising manner. The end of the year, however, finds the pendulum swinging strongly against the czar. He may recover and take again the roads to Cracow, Vienna and Berlin, but Just at pres ent he is on the whole In worse plight than in any hour since the war started. Russia's losses In the first year of the war are not approached by those of any nation in any war of history. According to reliable estimates, she has had between 2.500,000 and 4,000, 000 men killed, injured and captured. Despite these horrible gaps made in her ranks, she still has millions in the field, and ber great reservoir of personnel does not show signs of ex haustion. It is not men she lacks, but guns, shells and brains. Slew to Mobilize. On August 1, 1914, Germany de clared war on Russia, Almost imme diately the Germans crossed the fron tier at Thorn and the Austrians south ot Lublin. They were practically on ppoeed because of the slowness of mobilization la Russia. The Grand Duke Nicholas Nlcholalevltca was forced to gather his main armies well to the rear ot the line of great fort resses running through Kovno, Grod no. Ossowetz, Novo Georglevsk, War saw and Ivangorod. On account ot his desire to do all he could to relieve the French, who were being driven from northern France by the amazing German rush through Belgium, Nicholas attacked sooner than he otherwise would have done. As a result, he met two disas ters. He sent General Samsonoff into East Prussia from the south and General Rennenkampf Into East Prus sia from the east, the latter winning the first large engagement of the war in the East at Gumblnen. At this moment the Germans, be lieving that the French were well in hand and about to be surrounded on their eastern frontier, quickly with drew 250,000 men from France and hurled them by rati Into East Prus sia, where they fell upon Samsonoff with crushing force in the great Ger man victory ot Tannenberg (Aug. 28). Meanwhile, the Austrians, leaving only a tew troops in Gallcla to hold back the Russians advancing from Tarnopol on the line of the Gnila-Llpa, struck the Russians en masse at Kras nlk and routed them to Lublin. Most Bloody Drive of War. With two armies In difficulty, the grand duke decided to abandon one to its fate and save the other. He threw re-enforcements into Lublin and ordered the line of the Gnlla Llpa river be forced at any cost. In one of tha most bloody drives of the war the Russians advanced into east ern Gallcla and occupied Lemberg. The Russians then advanced to Rawa Ruska and took the Austrian armies in Poland in the rear, cutting them up frightfully. Meanwhile Von Hlndenburg had completed his victory over Samsonoff by turning oa Rennenkampf and clear ing East Prussia of Muscovites. But though Rennenkampf had been de feated and Samsonoff almost anni hilated, the Germans. The Russians were now as far west as Tarnow in Gallcla, while their Cossacks were able to make raids Into Hungary farther aouth. Hlndenburg concentrated a great force suddenly in Silesia and began a drive from the west against Warsaw and Ivan gorod. The Siberian corps arrived In the nick of time to save Warsaw from the enemy. High Tide of Russian Invasion. Hlndenburg then drew off the north ern section of his army in Poland to the north, thinking to take the pursu LINES IN THE WEST Antvesra ktv the Weat, aometlmea kaowa aa the battla aad reaulled la the defeat of the Freaea lng Russians in flank with the south ern section. But the Austrians were too slow to carry out the field mar shal's plans and the Russians, slip ping Into a gap in the lines between the Germans and their allies, slaugh tered the latter. The result was the high tide ot Russian invasion. Th Austrians withdrew over the Carpa thians again, leaving Przemysl to b besieged a second time. The Ger mans withdrew to Silesia and the Rus sians, following closely, were able for a brief moment to raid this rich province at Pleschen. At the same time, they entered East Prussia again. But again the German strategic railways proved their undoing. Hln denburg concentrated at Thorn and drove into the right flank of tho Rus sian main forces, throwing them back on Lods. He advanced too far, however, and when he had the Russian forces near ly surrounded, be suddenly found Rus sians in his own rear. In this ex tremity, the Russians say, he tele graphed for re-enforcements. But before the re-enforcements sent from Flanders arrived the Ger mans had managed at frightful coat to hack their way to safety. This was the bloody battle of Lods. Wins 8ecod VloUry. With stronger German forces oppos ing then) the Russians withdrew to the line of, Bsura, Rawa and Nlda rivers. At the same time the Aus trians, attempting to debouch, from the Carpathian passes, were drive back everywhere, leaving 80,000 pris oners. With January Hlndenburg made a third desperate attack on Warsaw. For ten days, both night and day, the Germans came on. Then, having lost probably 50,000 men and the Russians nearly as many, they gave it up. Unable to reach Warsaw, Hlndenburg concentrated twice Siever's force in East Prussia, and won his second overwhelming victory there. Enor mous captures of Russians were made and the fortress of Gradno was at tacked farther west, from Ossowets to Pultusk. The Germans retreated to Mlawa and then tried to flank the Russians at Przasnysz, whlcb city they took. But the Russians again flanked the flanking party, as they had done at Lods and won an Important success (February 22-28). In March and April, the Russians pressed through the western Carpa thian passes and entered Hungary. Just when their future seemed bright est, the Germans broke the Russian line In West Gallcla and let through enormous forces. Pressing westward Irresistibly, they took the Russian Carpathian armies la the rear. The latter tried to retreat, but vast numbers were captured. Przemysl, which had succumbed to the Russian beslerers March 22, fell again into the hands ot the Austro Germans. Great German Maneuver. From Przemysl Von Mackensea drove east through Mosciska and Grodek and captured Lemberg, the Galiclan capital., Then he turned north and marched upon the Warsaw Ivangorod -Brest -Litovsk triangla from the south. At the same time the Russians In southern Gallcla, putting up a desper ate resistance, were driven by Von Llnsingen first to the line of the Dniester and then across the Gnlla Llpa to the line ot the Zlota-Llpa. Reaching the vicinity ot Krasnik In their drive to Warsaw from the south, the Austrians sustained a se vere check in the scene of their tri umph of the previous summer. Held on this line the Germans attacked hot ly from the north and took the town ot Przasnyss (July 14). The Germans now began the grand est maneuver ever seen In the history ot human wa.fare. From the Wlndau river ta the BaV tlo provinces all tho way along tb border of East Prussia and In a git Uo sweep through the vicinity of R' dom, west ot the Vistula, and Ua south of the Lublln-Cholm railway they delivered smashing blows and have reached the yery tes of War saw. r. " L If
The Courier (Asheboro, N.C.)
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Aug. 5, 1915, edition 1
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