The Elk Mountain pilot., 1914-12-10
PoLAND's CITY OF 415,ooo CAP.
TuRED AFTER FEARFUL AT
TAckS ON RUSSIANS.
FIERCE FIRE BY ALLIES
SOLDIERS sURRoW FOR DAYS TO
GAIN FEW YARDS IN LONG
LINE OF TRENCHES.
Western Newspaper Union News Service.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
London, Dec. 7.-Lodz, the second
city of Poland. lying rs miles south
German arms.
1t was occupied Sunday, according
to the official announcement from Ber-
lin, after fearful bombardment.
Around this important town a des-
perate battle has ragged for days. Here
thousands have fallen in desperate,
hand-to-hand conflicts, and from the
shells of hundreds of guns. 1t was evil
dent, from the occupation of Lodz by
the Germans, that the heaviest kind
of fighting has been going on. for late
advices told of vicious attack and
bombardment of LodZ and fighting on
the outskirts of the city, and previous
to that, of operations twenty miles
west of Piotrkow, which lies consider
ably south of Lodz and along line
from Glowno, 16 miles northeast OF
LODI. to the Vistula river.
Lodz has long been an objective
point of the German army. 1t has
grown In recent years from an insig-
nificant place to be one of the most
populous cities in the Russian Empire.
In 1910 its population numbered 415,-
6O4, and, with this important place as
a base, it is expected that the Ger
mans will make a strong effort to
reach the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Delayed dispatches to the Daily
Telegraph from Petrograd indicate
th af 7 nh Eriday
day the dispatches were filed. WAS
then serious.
For the past three days" says one
of these dispatches. "the Germans In
Russian Poland around I>odZ have been
strenuously aggressive. Their wedge,
which already has been driven into
Russian Poland. is being pushed with
reinforcements. The base of this
wedge is Thoru and Kalisz.
"The apex is Loswicz. This gives
the Germans control of all the rail
roads in this triangle. They are using
the railroads to pour an unceasing
stream OF fresh troops and engines of
war.
y THE enemy's plan around LODI m
wolves the cutting OF some of war
saws most important lines OF commu-
nication. The Germans plan to hold
this wedge all winter, an
elaborate trench warfare system, like
that on the west front"
The evacuation by the Germans or
Vernelles, southeast of Bethune, was
officially announced in statement Is
sued at Berlin. The statement says:t
"Vernelles was evacuated by us ac-
cording to our plan, on account of the
continuous French artillery fire, which
was causing unnecessary loss"
The German official report dis
missed the struggle in a single SEN
tenoe: 1.-The battles of LODI are de-
veloping according to our expecta-
tons ia
The last Russian report, sent from
Petrograd Friday, simply recorded that
the battle was in progress.
From unofficial sources, however,
it is gathered that on Thursday last,
the Germans having failed in their at
tempt to pierce the Russian center,
commenced. with the aid OF reinforce
ments, another attempt to envelop the
This is indicated by the fact that
there is fighting near How to the
north of LODI and at Piotrkow TO the
south. Both of these places are in ad-
vance of the positions at which the
Germans previously have been report
ed in their second invasion OF Poland.
and, like LODI. they are situated on
~, In IN 40
There is no news from South Poland
beyond German denial of a success
reported to have been achieved by the
Russians at Czenstachowa.
The capture of one of the advance
positions at Przemysl is regarded as
comforting valuable advantage to the
Russians in their attack on the fort
ress. Leaving this city to the atten-
ton of the besieging armies, the Rus
SLAMS are pushing in small bodies
steadily across the plains of Hungary,
and fugitives are said to be pouring
toward Budapest
The allies continue to push forward
in Flanders and northern France, but
the Germans explain that they are Civ
ing ground for tactical and strategical
reasons. The advance, as far as Elan
ders is concerned, seems to have been
checked on the outskirts of Lange-
marck.
Gain Small.
In the face of the Austrian advance
in Servia there has been talk of the
removal of the capital from Nish to
Mitrovitza, but Servia denies that this
step actually has been taken.
There has been a recrudescence of
hard fighting in the Argonne district,
where the French claim they are max
ing progress. On the whole. however,
in these siege operations. these sue
| coasos and reverseS only mean a gain