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Show FIERCE FIGHT TO TAKE LASK Germans, Heavily Reinforced, Are Filling Gap and Trying to Turn Russian Left Wing. Pelrograd. via London, Dec. 5, 6:rw" a. m The heaviest fighting in the vicinity vi-cinity of Lods during the past two days has occurred In the course of maneuvering for the possession of Lask. lf miles southwest of Lodz On the Szezerczow line which Is 15 to 20 miles long, east of the Wart a. the fighting appears to Indicate that the Germans have been heavily reinforced and that they are filling the gap between be-tween the right wing and the Isolated body which has been striving to turn the RusBlan left. The German defense on the northern north-ern front In Fast Prussia occupies a position along the river Angerapp from Guniblnnen to Darkehmcn and thence to the northern extremity of the Mazurlan lakes at Angerburg. Here the Russians are entrenched close to tho German line. On the east front of the lakes and to the Vistula the Russians have taken a position slightly back of their line of advance of ten days ago Both sides appear to be awaiting the outcome of the struggle at Lodz The main German forces In this region are concentrated con-centrated about Mlawa. Many Dead and Wounded. The military eritir of the Bourse Gazette Ga-zette reckons that the loss of the Aus-trians, Aus-trians, In prisoners, Is equal to their I number of dead and wounded, and places the fighting strength of Aus tria now at two-thirds of what it was at the beginning of the war. lie cites the smaller percentage of Aus trian artillery falling into Russian hands ; id s;ivs ihis Is accounted fo,-bv fo,-bv an explanation In a reeent Issue of the official War Messenger that since the sceond ustrian retreat from Poland, the Austrian artillery Is a!-wavs a!-wavs withdrawn from the field before the final issue of the battle. This, he declares, amounts to beginning a retreat, re-treat, before they are actually defeated. de-feated. The critic also points out the large proportion of officers, including colonels colo-nels and lieutenant colonels, anion;: the prisoners, as indicating the demoralization demor-alization of the Austrian army and the loss of the fighting spirit. He states that the last fifty thousand Austrian prisoners included six hundred commissioned com-missioned officers The writer contrasts con-trasts this with the results where the Russians are engaged against the Germans. Ger-mans. There, he declared, the officers of-ficers fall fighting. out great risk of hitting their own men. Bombs have come to take the place of artillery and they are being used in enormous quantities. Short Range Howitzers. "The short range howitzers are of threo types, and those used by the Germans have come to be termed the 'Jack Johnson" of dose attack. The smaller bombs and grenades thrown by hand, although local In action are very unpleasant, particularly In the enclosed space of a trench. These erenades are thrown continuously bjf both sides, and every trench assault is first prextided HUd then accompanied accompa-nied bv showers of these numerous missile's. This kind of fighting 18 very deadly and owing to the difficulty diffi-culty of observation it is at times somewhat blind. This difficult has in a measure been decreased however how-ever by the use of the hypersoope, an Instrument which works very much like the periscope on u submarine subma-rine It permits an observer to look out over the top of a parapet without raising his head above the protection of tbo trench l |