OCR Text |
Show Russians Preparing to Launch I 1 Great Offensive South of Riga I FIERCE I BUTTLES I RAGING I Russians and Germans in Engagements of B Tremendous Fury. " w Field Marshal von Mackensen'i jjP.' j drive against the Sereth line in W southern Moldavia continues to gain p- . ' ground and the Teutonic thrust E I against the Moldavian frontier moun- ' tains In the flanking operation now 'under way likewise 1b showing pro- W' gross. g Pushing northward from Fokshanl, the fortress position captured yester- m day southwest of the Sereth and neir S the center of the line, von Macken- I I sen's troops have driven the Rus- p slans across the Putna and are now jR I hammering at a new posi'lon they fe bae taken up there. 1 Further southeast toward the Danube Da-nube the Russians are now beginning I I to yield again, according to Berlin, J I losing another town which the Aus-j Aus-j tro-German forces held against couu-I couu-I ter attacks delivered last nicht. The total of prisoners taken by tho Teutonic armies in the operations of yesterday and the previous day is now reported by Berlin as approximately approx-imately 5,500, together with three cannon and ten machine guns. While the Russians are continuing their offensive in the region between r 1 1 Dinsk and Riga along the northern end of the line in Russia, they are meeting with no further successes I In the vicinity of the river Aa. I On the Franco-Belgian front thera have been only raiding operations and artillery duels. ! RllSSlahl Preparing for Fight. London, Jan. 9, 7:10 a. m. The Rus- j sians are preparing to launch a great new offensive in the Riga sector, ac- I cording to a Copenhagen despatch to j the Exchange Telegraph company, quoting German newspaper correspon- j dents at thp eastern front. ThA Rus sian troops are said to be equipped with great quantities of munitions and backed by large reserves. I Near Mitau and south of Riga the I artillery fire is reported to have constantly con-stantly increased on both sides during the last few days and to have become ' extremely violent. The weather is I char and frosty and the country cov-, ered with snow. Enter German Trenches. j The correspondent of the Taglische Rundschau says that the Russians at- tempted a surplrse attack on Sunday j near the Riga bridgehead. Great I masses of the attackers with white I shirts over their uniforms, succeedea during a violent snowstorm in enter- 1 ing the German trenches on a front 1 of a thousand meters. The correspondent correspon-dent says evidently an attempt was J being made to break through the road between Mitau and Riga. The Germans, seeing the danger. j sent all available reserves into the 1 battle which reached a pitch of a tremendous tre-mendous fury. The two armies fought with bombs and bayonets until sun- j set when, according to the correspon-dent, correspon-dent, the Russians retreated to their I previous positions o er the snow that I had been redeemed with blood ! Despite Fight In Progress I Berlin, Jan 9 By wireless to Say- I ville. Desperate fighting in the val- .1 I leys leading into the interior of northern Rumania is reported in ro I day's war office communication. Not-witsstanding Not-witsstanding determined Russian rc- 1 slstance. the Teutonic troops I stormed defenses on both sides of j the Kasino and Suchatza valleys. Field Marshal von Mackensen's troops have captured the Rumanian town of Galreaska and taken mor than 5,400 prisoners. I Artillery Fighting In West. If Berlin, Jan. 9. By wireless to Say- ville. There was pronounced artil- 1 lery activity at long range at numer- I ous points along the western front yesterday, army headquarters an- I nounced today. I |