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Show THE IIEIIALD-KEl'UBLICA- SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1915 X, 5 Fy on rip SHIPPING ACTIVITY RESUMED WITH DEFEATS OF SERBIA 1HQL & Opening Up of Line of Communication Between Germany and Austria and Turkey and Bulgaria Meets Adequately Needs of the Four Allied Countries; Places Within Reach of the Central Powers the Vast Mineral Storehouses of the Balkans and Enables the Teutons to Replenish War Supplies Nov. 15. to do the job,' continued the com- age and the somber green of the conscene of fierce mander. ''The worst type of them all, ifers. The correspondent talked to an combat Ijettvecn tho armies of Austria-Hungar- y also of Russian manufacture, remains to on one at the and Germany pule, alive, ready go off slightest Austrian official who on tho previous n ami Serbia on tho other, the Danube touch, so leng as vou exert the slight-e- day had been in t. has now returned to more peaceful for the purpose of inducing pull on the ring by which it is Were it rot for the partly moored. At the same time, the mine the Serb population of Kladowa, who ruined towns and villages on its Ser- cannot be brought out of its hori- had fled there, to return to their bian hank, four n'.ilitary pontoon zontal or floating position with its homes. Every guaranty was offered, bridges, nml boat and hordes loaded electric contact arrangement becom- but it seemed that the Austrian had with troops and army materials, all ing alive. Then, off she goes. The only to compete with n Russian agent who traces of the struggle would ho lacking way of pelting rid of these mine3 is to also made ofTers. The Austrian lost in the Danube landscape. shoot them. Probably that is hovr the out, despite tho fact that Kladowa men bank Russians intended to get rid of them already had a Serb burgomaster and the Hungarian Along in the acres and fertile afterwards. If they did they over- a civilian administration.' plough broad mounand hills looked the fact that the mine has There has been little fighting in plains, and where the huntains come close to the water first to be found and that in dragging the Kladowa region. The fort or citdreds of women and children gather for it you are bound to upset it suf- adel, an ancient Turkish structure, recently reinforced by some modern grapes, the harvesting of which was ficiently to cause the explosion." Danube n on rose that sun the The retarded by redoubts, was abandoned by the Serbs, military operations. monmud. stack fluid The seemed of occasional a lake An Cattle and sheep grazed on the heightens smoking Hunon came the division commander itor the imprcion that lite along glacis and in the moats. Anciently deck affable but is shore the fort commanded the western limnormal, though again dignified cry garian the masses of soldiers in the streets man of about !5, and the very "beau its and Kazan pass. Then it would and along the river jetties indicate ideal" of naval officer. From him have been a military achievement of that the region is still in the base zone the Associated Press correspondent the first order to take Kladowa; tolearned what part the Austrian mon- day a few shells from a twelve-inc- h in rear of a large army. Tress Associated fleet had played in the crossing gun would leave little bnt fractured itor The rorre?pnent t from Danube he of the Danube by the troops of the masonry. made the trip up The channel of the Iron Gates was horn Palanka. Bulgaria, to Orsova, central powers. The heavier guns monreto Austrian been had the mortars a aboard and millrace of turbulent mud. Though assigned Hungary, itor San, a rraft into which all the ducing several Serb artillery posi- the Sava pulled hard against the trefruits of exjerieiice in Danube war- tions near Belgrade, while the ma- mendous current, she needed eighteen fare during the lnt rar have been chine gum had been trained upon minutes to get into quieter water. A emb.wlied. For a boat of her tonnage some infantry positions close to the turn brought the ship within sight of the Sava, as also her dtcr ship, the banks. The monitors had succeeded Orsowa and Ada Kale, the latter, up looked upon as a re- in enfilading several Serb positions. to 15)10, the last outpost of Turkey in Temes, mu-markable example of how much heavy The result was a rout, said the divi- Europe. Fearing that Serbia might n and light artillery may 1 crammed sion chief. One of the roles of the annex the island, the took into small space. Her main battery monitor had been to draw the fire government possession nomsmall a British to credit and do cruiser, Serb the of would artillery inally, though leaving to the Turkish 20 knots monitors to from 22, of whil a speed being population every right and prerogaalong the river, and, makes the Sava class an. enemy to be thoroughly detested by the Serb?, the tive it had ever enjoed, including the ruse had worked, although ordinary privilege of carrying on smuggling in respected. Th monitor left Txm Palanka at field artillery could do no more than tobacco with whomsoever it pleased. 6.30 a. m. Driving sheet" of rain aud blister the paint on the monitors' arAt Orsowa some of the central a cold wind drove even body into the mor, as an inspection of the ship power troops crossed the river. The of a mes?r'om. Hot showed. town itself showed signs of the refhip's cubby-hol- e excheer to been thoe had The Sava cent and former artillery fire of t he ten and rum helped very lucky, Lorn division commander, Serbs from the opposite bank. How the whom a long walk, through plained muddy street, and finally a though her sister ship, the Temes, the Austrian? and Germans succeeded whose original namebcarer still rusts in scaling the cliff like elevations on tightrope performance on the timbers robbed had rots in the Sava river, west of the Serbian shore is hard to underand an of uncompleted jetty, men and officers The of good humor. Dislodging an enemy enGypsy inland, had not been so for- stand. all have her fleet struck shell Danube A Austrian tunate. trenched on top of the Hudson paliof the heavy a the into and hatch a lacing the in seen service sades looks less difficult. But njany deck, penetrated navy, d and a killed and and a man tumbled and t more were crew's quarter?. genuine seafarer Austrian to boot, the commander of wounded six. But otherwise the drowned before they set foot on Serbthe Sava explained to the passenger Tctnrs did not suffer, and as if to ian soil. Nevertheless tho attack was that in Addition to having run the risk prove the remark of the commander, successfully carried through and will of the monitor at just that moment made probably remain one of the monu.f slipping from a wet string-piec- e water a bend in the river, heading another ments of the great war. the jetty into the deep, muddy durhe Orsowa lies on historic ground. of the "blue" Danube, might, large convoy of barges. sail in the skythe boat tow, a course of Here With the the Iron Gates end and the Kaday, patrol ing mine. the Russian a nosed her zan Sava through way ward, implied by pass begins. The river squeezes 500 subover g fished so mud. have far itself hanks, "We up past through a narrow defile of the liquid tree-topto reason have marked aid. "We he Kazan mountains a geological fault only by mines." merged islands, 000 in Roumanian another are and Serb miserable believe that there apparently. Through the gorge the the river, but the heavy rain? which villages, and the housebont water-mil- ls Iiomans had to .build a road that have made life in Serbia for our peculiar to the Danube. Seen-icall- y would connect the Pannonian colonies. a trip on the Danube in Ihe late Trajan's tablet, still legible, celetroops one long round of had language, fcave aljo caused the river to go up fall is not uninteresting. This is es- brates this ancient piece of military about four feet. The Sava draws a pecially true in the hill region close to engineering. Close to the water's little over four feet and the mines the famous "Iron Gates." The yellow edge a gallery was cut in the lime-roc- k and where the masses of stone generally lie from two to four feet un- and gray foliage of the willow trees So r e der the normal water effectively contrasted by tho blue could not be conquered in this way a are fr.ivly safe. of the hills in the background. Where trestle, supported on beams, was conknow to be would interesting the hills come close to the river their structed. The manner in which the 'It of all. shades structure was made possible is interbow the Russian hoped to get those sides form a crazy-quiin had casc autumn foli esting for the reason that it has been of red.s tans out the and of mines "way they of the SEMI, IX, month ago the Austria-Hungar- y, st Turn-Severi- (Rou-mani- as-x-c- t Austro-Hungar-ia- Pa-l-tnk- a'a light-hearte- low-lyin- -- lel. s, ; lt a) revived by American engineers who built a railroad through the Andes. Square holes of a depth of about four feet were cut into the face of the cliff. Into these stout beams were placed and on these a strong wooden tloor was laid. No attempts to cross the Danube were made by the Austrians and the Germans in the Kazan rmss, but east of it, at the head of Moldava island, and opposite the Serbian town of Dubroviea, the main descent occurred. The exact scene is marked by a pontoon brideg, which must be looked upon as a marvel of enterprise. The bridge is about 1300 yards long and rests upon about thirty large barges. n It was built by pioneers while under lire, and is asno equal in the history serted of military engineering. Field Marshal von Mackensen, when he inspected the stretch of river which his troops would have to cross at this point, is said to have shaken his head. The remark he made was simply: "Well, the river looks different than it does on the map." The crossing of the Danube at this point was no mean undertaking, according to those who witnessed the affair. The first troops went over inbarges, in the face of a terrible infantry, artillery and machine gun fire. Many a man went down, and several boats sank, but the first who landed rushed the Serbian infantry positions with hand grenades, displaying a defiance of death that thrilled to the core those privileged to view the operations from comparative safety, as did a German pioneer officer who told the story. The various organizations vied with one another in the dash, men were seen to fall wounded, but rather than remain useless, they crawled after their comrades on all fours. The resistance of the Serbs, though desperate, was soon broken, 'and here, as further upstream, the central powers' troops obtained a firm footing, which later developed into a crashing advance southward into the valley of the Morava and the heart of Serbia. At Semendria a crossing had been effected in much the same way. But in that town, which the correspondent visited, the terrible work, of modern heavy artillery played a greater part. The Serbs seem to have had the plan of holding the old citadel. The Germans brought up a few pieces. A single shot made a section of the fortress untenable. It hit the base of the tower, sending fragments of masonry broadcast, and drove every Serb into another part of the position. Today the tower leans at a dangerous angle. Another "'42" shell hit a parapet wall, tearing a large breach in it. The yard of the citadel is a scries of craters, deep and large enough to hide companies iu them. On the whole waterfront of Semendria net a single building was left intact. Under the shock of the heavy shells houses crumbled like eggshells. With the citadel disposed of, the German- and Austrian troops rushed the Serbian positions west of the town. The hills, on which the Serbs were to make their last stand, were well fortified. Seven lines of trenches and obstacles lie behind one another, but so cruelly effective was the artillery lire of the' Austrians and Germans that the Serbs were obliged "to ret real long before the central power troops develojed their attack to its Austro-IIungaria- to-hav- e u i i! i i i ' k I V kit5 "sri ? " SSVV? ST a L. v y-- :y si "" !' - '" - yssK X . s2 ? : y yv" wAf six " 1 - Austrian barges and typical Danube river boats, hundreds of which are now transporting munitions en route n forces. Turkey and in return are bringing back supplies needed by the Austro-Germa- modern shell. The deep moats are frlled with broken and powdered brick. Kale MegcUiu today is good only for exhibition purposes, though for centuries it held its head high among the strong places that could not be reduced. The strong walls and deep ditches present a sorry spectacle. Parts of the wall were carried off bodily to gTeat distances, and the park in which the Belgradians used to listen to good military concerts is littered with bits of brick and rock which the "30.5" and the "42" projectiles sent flying. At the head of a walk stands a monument commemorative of Serbia's delivery' from Turkish rule. The various types of Serbia's civil classes are shown in adoration of a figure above them, the last being a peasant, hard of face and raw of bone. Through the muscular leg and the sinewy arms bits of steel have crushed, emblematic of Serbia's fate, perhaps. The Konaks, old and new, have not suffered by the bombardment, as indeed has none of the city's other big or prominent buildings. .But Belgrade is deserted. Its principal streets, well paved and cleanly kept, remind one. of early Sunday morning in any city. Few peostreets and the shutthe in ple Avere down. Good were ters of the shops order has been kept by the and to safeguard the health of their troops and give the poor a chance to Yam a little money, streets were being swept by men and women, though there seemed to be no need for it. West of Belgrade, across the Save, which is here about 4000 yards wide, owin to high water, the Austrian pioneers have constructed another bridge, partly pontoon and partly trestle. Work , on the big permanent railroad bridge, which was dynamited first by the Serbs and later by the Austrians, is in progress. Within a month the structure will be rebuilt. The old bridge was constructed by Austrian engineers, and the plans of it were still in existence, so with a foresight that deserves being called the Austrians reconremarkable structed every part of the bridge long well-regulat- ed Austro-Hungaria- ns before the offensive "began, and today the parts need merely to be placed where theyxbelong. The correspondent had many opportunities to talk to German and officers and men who had been at the Serbian front. It would seem that the first shock proved too "much for the Serbs. While occasionally a desperate resistance is still offered, the Serbs generally are unable today to hold a position long. They have begun to realize that their cause is lost. It can be attested, on the other hand, that the central pow-- . er troops, especially the Austrians, are generous in their praise of the Serb as a soldier and patriot. . What great military and economic advantages were gained by the Germans and their allies with. the opening of traffic on the Danube has been shown by the activity in shipping which' developed directly the Serbs had been driven from the banks of the river. Fighting along the Danube was still in progress when the Austrians started to clear a channel through the mine fields which the Russians, Serbs and English had laid out. Meanwhile large tows, carrying military supplies needed by Turkey and Bulgaria, were being brought down the river from and German ports and assembled at Semlin, ready for the minute when navigation became possible. Austrian river monitors, notably the Sava and Temes, had in the meantime patrolled the Danube as far as Lorn Palanka, and later to Ruschuek, both Bulgarian ports, and in so doing had cleared the river 4f some Russian armed merchant vessels stationed in the Roumanian port of That these vessels were not sunk or captured by the Austrians is due to the fact that, on the day when the Associated Press correspondent made the trip up the river as a guest on the Sava, they were being convoyed down stream by Roumanian monitors, the Russians themselves flying the Roumanian flag. The Bulgarian port of Lorn Palanka was the scene of great activity. For over fifteen months no boats from up Austro-IIu- ngarian Austro-Hun-gari- Turn-Severi- n. an tt stream had arrived there. Now the' jetties were crowded with barges from Austria and Germany. On the previous day King Ferdinand of Bulgaria and Premier Radoslavoff had been at Lorn Palanka to assist in the resumption of traffic between Bulgaria aud the central powers, an event which Germany and Austria-Hungar- y thought important enough to have inaugurated b3' Duke Albrecht of Meckof Emperor lenburg, brother-in-laWilliam, who was a passenger on tho first convoy arriving. For the first two weeks nothing but military supplies were shipped downstream, principally arms and ammunition for Bulgaria and Turkey. Both these countries stood in need of heavy artillery and artillery ammunition. Some of the later boats brought a large number of heavy, motor trucks, combat and scout aeroplanes, ambulances and sanitary supplies. Since then ordinary merchandise has been admitted to shipment. The returning barges and boats carry raw material of all sorts and foodstuffs. During the last few dajs a regular passenger and mail service to Lorn. Palanka hv. been in operation, until today traf i" on the Danube may be considered normal, with the difference that never before had it known such proportion. The military supplies of which Bulgaria and, Turkey can make use are many, and on the other hand, Austria-and Germany offer an eager market for the agricultural and animal industry products of the two first mentioned countries. Some anxiety had been felt in Constantinople and lately in Sofia that the heavy demand which the war made on their relatively scant stores of artillery ammunition might soon create a problem it would be difficult to solve in case a free route of communication were not opened up. This, in fact, was the principal reason why offensive against the Serbia wras undertaken, .when it .was, though the attitude of Bulgaria necessarily played an important part in this. But German and Austrian war stores were not the sole factor. Tlie (Continued on Page 7.) w Hungary long-delay- ed . 5&fj&s ? Sty,y jVyi V jy y 1 - -- i t "I maximum shock. .... . . is fa Scjlica and ntmitios piled mm. up on the whcrrc3 at : . . 'Av Belgrade aaitLag shipment to Turkey. t.1 . .. - In one section of the positions 'the Associated Press correspondent noticed that every shell from across the river had hit exactly into the Serbian infantry trench. It is inconceivable that artillery fire at the range which obtained could be so accurate, and the conclusion i; therefore justified that here we deal with a remarkable freak. two Near Semendria pontoon connect One' is banks. the bridges a railroad built of barges and carries track, while the otlicr. of military pontoons, serves as a foot and wagon bridge. Much has been said of the destruction wrought by the German and Austrian heavy artillery in Belgrade. A day's inspection of the city shows that the damage done to city buildings of any sort i virtually nil. An expenditure of '.f,20,U00 would make good whatever masonry and window-gla- s there was destroyed. But the old fort, Kale Megdan, fared worse.' German soldiers viewing ruins of the citadel at Belgrade. This picture gives an idea of the tremendous power and destructive force of the big German sns. Its ancient walls were no match for v :f tc? J&st |