The Washington herald., 1914-08-24
|SERVIANS ROUT
! !AUSTRIANSAF
WEEKS BATTLE
First Detailed Account of
Fight on Frontier FL
tiers Into Paris.
SPOILS WERE ENORMOUS
Territory Between Shabata
and Losnitza Strewn
with Dead.
SERVAN HERoISM SUPERIOR
Pursue Retreating Army, Then Deci-
siveIy Defeated. Capturing Thou
sands of Prisoners.
SP0ILS WERE ENORMOUS
SERVAN HEROISM SUPERIOR

| Paris. Aug. 3.-The first detailed &C.
count Of the great battle between tht
| Servians and Austrians. which lasted fol
seven days in the territory on the From
| tier between Shabata and LoEnitza, has
| just been received in Paris by telegraph
| from Rragujevatz. sent by Henry Bar
by. war correspondent Of the Paris Jour
nal
This battle ended in a great victory for
the Servians. The Austrians. decisively
defeated. precipitately retired, seeking to
recross the river Drina. The Servian
army pursued them, infiicting great
slaughter as the enemy retreated. When
the fugitives reached the bridges the
French artillery had already opened fire.
Spoil Was Enormous.
The spoil was enormous. Fifty guns,
complete ambulances, complete equip
ment train, ammunition and several
thousand prisoners fell into the hands OF
the Serbs Mr.. Barby writes:
with the Servian army 1 followed the
Servian-Turkish and the Servian-Bul-
garian wars saw those breat battles
at Kumanova Monastir, and Bregalnitzal.
But this time l have witnessed more
formidable struggle still, q bloody battle
which lasted for a week. The Servian
troops yielded to the Austrian invasion
the Drina and the Save. which they held
further up in a straight line for about
fifty kilometers Three Austrian army
corps for two days attempted to invade
Servia by this direction. With the Ser
vian army I advanced on August Is. to
meet them.
''On August 1s. the Austrians had left
the plain and were occupying the heights,
Their cannon attained a range toward
n-1 20 a
the region about. The enemy had had
time to install themselves strongly with
artillery and to dislodge them had be-
come an extremely dificult task.
AustrIans Were DisappointinE.
The deadly battle continued. The
AustrIans did not fight with that energy
and courage that had expected.
The artillery continued to play from
one part to another without ceasfng. Pro-
fitting by their knowledge OF the ground
the numerous bodies Of the Servians
pushed on irresistably. Never have l
seen so many prisoners taken in open
battle.
The Sixteenth Cavalry debouched at
a point known as Bell Kamen before an
entire division OF Austrians ambushed
there The situation was critical The
Austrians, superior in numbers, attacked
furiously. Fortunately a battalion Of in
fantry. a squadron OF cavalry and two
section Of rapid-firers from a neighboring
division passed close by and were called
in.
"As soon as these re-enforcements ar
rived the batteries went into action with
wonderful rapidity and with such precl-
sion that not only did they silence the
artillery Of the enemy but also over
whelmed a battery which they made
prisoners.
ITO the left Of where this battle was
raging, two other cannon were taken
and about 200 prisoners and the enemy
fled preclpitately. OF one regiment Of
900 men only $50 survived.
A second officer. a young lieutenant
with tears in his eyes. told me that in
eight minutes eighty men were killed |
around the Commandant Stransh.
The Servians soldiers were not as well
armed as the others but they showed |
the greatest courage. The dead were so