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Show French Gain Some Ground I in Violent 48-Hour Fight I Bordeaux, Sept. 28. According to dispatches received from the front, the Prussian guard has been cut to pieces during the fighting of the last three days. The I strength of some companies had been reduced from 250 to 100 men. Virtually all the original officers of the guard have been killed or wounded and two battalions have I been annihilated. I ATTACK ON THE BRITISH FORCE FAILS I AUSTRIANS RETREATING AND GERMANS ARE REPULSED IN EASTERN PRUSSIA BOTH ALLIES AND GERMANS CLAIM GAINS IN SUPREME CLASH OF ARMS Close of Tremendous Fortnight of Practically Unceasing Battle Bat-tle Along Four Rivers of Northeastern France Seems Approaching Violent Fighting of Last 48 Hours Brings No Decisive Result Field Marshal Sir John French Claims Situation Is Satisfactory. TERRIFIC STRUGGLE ON ALLIES' LEFT Trenches of Opposing Armies Only Speaking Distance Apart Enemy Comes Against Cold Steel in Hand-to-Hand Fighting General Joffre Pushes Lines Inside Range of Deadly German Guns and Forces 9 Bayonet Clashes Belgians Doing Some Desperate Fighting. London, Sept. 28, 6:11 p. m. The official war informa tion bureau issued the following statement this afternoon: Last night the enemy attacked our line with even more vigor but with no more success. "There is no change in the situation. "The Germans have gained no ground and the French have advanced here and there." Paris, Sept 28, 2:58 p. m. The following official communication com-munication was given in Paris this afternoon: "There is nothing new to report in the general situation. Relative calm prevails along a portion of the front. Never-the Never-the less, at certain points, notably between the River Aisne and the Argonne district, the enemy has delivered further violent vio-lent attacks, which, however, have been repulsed." Washington, Sept. 28. The French embassy today received re-ceived the following dispatch from the foreign office at Bordeaux: "The Austrians in the south of Przemysl continue their retreat toward the west. In Prussia the attempt of the Germans to assume the offensive to the east of Suwalki and 1 South of Grajewo were repulsed." London, Sept. 28, 5 : 1 7 p. m. The official press bureau this afternoon issued the following statement: "Operations of his majesty's naval forces on the west coast of Africa have resulted in the unconditional surrender of Duala, the capital of Kamauran and of Bonaboy to an Anglo-French force." London. Sept 28. 1:25 p. m The supreme claeta of arms, denoting the approaching close of the tremendous fortnight of practically unceasing hat tie along the four rivers flowing through northeastern France, has no 'f been in progress some 48 hours with out bringing a decisive result. .c3. Both sides claim encouraging, though slight gains Field Marshal Sir John l5, French, commander of the British ex peditlonary forces, is spending his Jf. 6ixty-second birthday in maintaining tflt what his latest communication to tho jli war office describes as "a satisfac 8f lory situation." in? The Hermans have steadily met as D' sault with counter assault until tho iri trenches of the opposing armies are only sDeaking distance apart. Already there has been some work with 'h3 tH 1 n hand-to-hand conflicts, bu except at a single point where the. forced a passage across the Mcuse the GermanB, half of whose army ie . kept busy on the Russian frontier had up to last night found It impossible ro break through the human barrier stretching across France. In the terrific struggle of the last ! forty-eight hours, the hardest fight : ing. as It was at the battle of the Marne. is between the Gorman right and the allies' 'eft. Paris Sept. 28. 6:02 a. m. The pro- longatlos of the tension on the two long lines of fire and death fronting I each other on the Alsoe must have become Insupportable to the Germans since the reports indicate that they have changed their tactics and attacked at-tacked with the bayonet. The opln-j opln-j ion is expressed here that General 1 Joffre's master hand is shown in this as it is believed he baa succeeded in pushing his lines Inside the range of the deadly heavy German guns and forced the enemy to hand-to-band l fighting Since the attacks have been repulsed re-pulsed over the whole line, according to the official communications, the military experts here cannot see now what rosourcps the Germans can call on to retrieve their fortunes. The Matin expresses the opinion that the new troops the allies found fronting thein on the left were not from the German left but were part of the forces detached after the battle of Charlerol and sent to East Prussia bui now brought back in haste. The general opinion is that the battle has reached the most critical, as well as the most violent stage. The losses of the last few days are said to exceed ex-ceed all other engagements of the war. Stories have reached here from Belgium that the Germans, unable to bury their dead on the field, have shipped them behind the army by Uain loadB in order to avoid epidemics. epidem-ics. No Decisive Battles. London. SepL 28 The last 48 hours have witnessed many scenes of extraordinary activity whereer an tagonists faced each other in the great theater of Europe's war, but none of these encounters apparently have been decisive. The official communications of yes tr-rday stated that the attack on the German right has made a distinct advance ad-vance and this version is supported by official Berlin advices which say the allies have made extensive advances advan-ces against the German extreme right. The Belgians have retaliated against the threat of the Germans to bring up their great siege guns before Antwerp by making desperate sorties. Along the gTeat western battle it seems the struggle still continues to be general with the most desperate attacks being made on both flanks Both sides evidently have realied that mass attacks in the center are futile In the present exhausted state of the armies. German Airship Attacks. Another manifestation of the week end has been the renewal of a aerial activity by Germany. Zeppelin and aeroplanes have been out in force, apparently for scouting work, but indulging in-dulging in bomb dropping wherever feasible From the east come reports of action from almost every 6ecUon of the Russian frontier Emperor William Wil-liam 1b reported to be in east Prussia Prus-sia and tho German offensive, probably prob-ably under his eyes, has rocommenoed against General Rennenkampf Petrograd Petro-grad believes that this movement, be cause of Its limited front Is a diversion diver-sion to relieve the threatened German line from KalLc to Cracow The Austrian Aus-trian forces aro still retiring on Cracow Cra-cow and besldos having taken some of the forts around Prcemysl, the Russian cavalry is said to be pouring through the defiles of the Carpathians Carpathi-ans on the plains of Hungary. Reinforcing Hungarian Forces. Although the success of this latter movement is officially denied from Budapest which announces that the repeated attempts of the Russian cavalry cav-alry to enter the country have been repulBed, hurried efforts are being made along the Austrian frontier to strengthen the garrisons of the fortresses. fort-resses. One hundred thousand troops taken from Trent at the beginning of the war have been replaced by Hun garlans and all eighteen forts of the flrBt line of defense are being brought In the highest state of repair, while the second defenses, commanding the parses, have been reinforced by additional ad-ditional redoubts. Electric currents are a marked feature fea-ture of the defensive arrangements. Wires have been laid over all thu strategic points on the frontier and these connect with a powerful power station at Rlva. Twelve heavy mortars which were sent to help the Germans have been recalled and have boen hastily installed in-stalled in the frontier fortresses, making mak-ing them a formidable obstacle. Rlvaf Armies In Close Grips. London. Sept. 28, 8 a. m Telegraphing Tele-graphing from Bordeaux, under date y of Sunday the Times correspondent says- ' The rival armies are now close to each other A few hundred yards separated the trenches yesterday. Ev-eivwhere Ev-eivwhere the German fury was unavailing un-availing and the cIobc of the day found the allies' left reaching up still further north. "The battle has become to some extent a race between this movement on the left and the enemy's offensive against the center and the right. The failure of the enemy to shake off the tightening grip of the allies on the Oise and north of Somme w& accom pan led yesterday by a renewed attempt at-tempt to smash the center. Here was niatsed the flower of the army, the Prussian guard, which alstingnlsho.j iiself from the outset of the campaign by its ability to give and take hard knocks. "Further to the right the German offensive at first met with some success. suc-cess. The attack a launched In the morning through the hilly, wooded country between the road from the Somme to Chalons and the railway from St Menenhou d to Vooslers At the end of the df.y the French recovered re-covered the loot g-ound." Petrograd Reports Successes. Petrograd, Sept. 28 The following official communication has been re ceived from the staff of Grand Uuke Nicholas, commnnder in chief of the Russian forces in the field "An engagement near Sopotskin, on the Ntemen river in Russian Poland and DruzenJkl, camo to an end with the retreat of the Germans "The enemy has approached Os-souetz Os-souetz from the north and has begun the bombardment of tho fortress. "In Gallcla we have occupied Dem blca, on the railroad 65 miles easl of Cracow, and between Rzeezow anrl Tarnow. "A numerous column of the enem Is retreating from Przemysl in th direction of Sanok, 3s miles south-west south-west of larosluv. In their fllghl they abandoned artillery and auto mobile transports. "At Coloujok we defeated a detach ment of the enemy and captured hit artillery and many prisoners Con tinulug tho pursuit, we entered Hun gary. " German Officers Among Prisoners. Paris, Sept 28, 4 80 a. m Among the 800 wounded Germans at Mont de-Marsan, 70 mile south of Bor deaux are Lieutenant George Von Ble-bersteln Ble-bersteln a nephew of the late Baron Marchal) Von Blcberstein and a son of Chief of Police Von Jagow of Ber-1 Ber-1 in Lieutenant Von Loemming, son of the general who directed the bombardment bom-bardment of Liege Is among the prisoners pris-oners at the same place. Through the Gazetta Del Populo of Turin it Is learned that General Stelnmetz, who directed the attacks at Namur and Maubeuge, has been killed in battle. His body was taken to Mainz. Violent Fighting In Belgium. Paris, Sept. 28, 4.57 a. m. A dispatch dis-patch to the Petit Parisien from Amsterdam Am-sterdam says violent fighting has occurred oc-curred between the Germans and Belgians at Schooten. four miles east of Antwerp; at Termonde, sixteen miles east of Ghent and Hofstade. eighteen miles east of Ghent In the latter locality the heavy German ar tlllery became stuck In the mud and the Germans were obliged to retire before the attacks of the Belgians. It Is confirmed, says tho dispatch that the Germans are fortifying Liege |