German offensive continues

Gigantic haul of prisoners

Russians fall back

VON HINDENBURG heavily reinforced (possibly to a certain extent at the expense of German forces operating in the less promising sectors) army is hammering away at the point to which attention was directed yesterday at the most likely to bring him profit.

This development of the enemy’s offensive in the north-west is, indeed, the dominating feature of the news from the eastern-front, although the stirring news from the southern sector must at the same time be accorded its full value.

With this latter we will deal with later.

The new effort of Von Hindenburg to strike a vital blow has, as was not anticipated, already resulted in the cutting of the Petrograd railway between Vilna and Dvinsk, and, it will be remembered, the Russian communique published yesterday named the precise locality where the German success had been achieved (Novo Sventsyany) adding that under the great pressure exerted against them the Russians had fallen back towards Podbrodze railway station.

The Germans, as we were shown the other day, are carrying out the operations on this part of their front with three columns and the failure of the northerly offensive (which aimed at securing the line of the Dvina) has already been noted.

It is the most southerly of these three forces which has forced the Russians to fall back and we are forced to conclude from the wording of the Russian report regarding the fighting in the Niemen-Pripet sector that Kidel, around which such battles have raged, is again in the hands of the enemy.

Having said as much, the tale of German victory is incomplete and the sum total is not so impressive when examined in the light of events elsewhere.

There is, of course, the possibility that a somewhat dangerous salient has been created about the town of Vilna, which, relief is brought up by the General Ruszky, may mean the evacuation of the town and the loss of the Vilna-Petrograd railway communications but this seems to be unduly anticipating events and it may be that the importance of events which would presumably follow is easily exaggerated.

That a big effort to isolate Riga is in progress is, however, apparent and to this end the thrust toward Jacobstadt is a portion of the design.

So far it cannot be said to have succeeded.

We learn this morning from Petrograd (in last night’s official report) that the pressure continues “west” of the Jacobstadt-Dviusk line, from Orany nearly to Kossova, but that the enemy advance is “cautious”. (The German claim is that they are close on Lida, and this is not altogether incompatible with the Russian statement.) As we get further south, from the Pripet downwards, there is quite another story to tell.

Near Taria and Pripet, the Russians announce that they have crossed the Goryn and continuing the advance westwards, captured a whole Austrian battalion.

Here, although telegraphic errors make the message a trifle obscure, there appears to have been some hard fighting. Some 1,300 prisoners were taken.