Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-15

ENDLESS STRUGGLE
IN POLAND STILL ON
Feat Of English Submarine
Lends Naval Color to
the Days War News

Vigorous thrusts at the German
line In France were made again
yesterday by the allies but reports
Of successes In today's official
statement from Paris are not borne
out by the Berlin communication.
The French war office states that
German positions along the Aisne
we're demolished; that in the
Woevre district line Of trenches
500 yards long was captured and
that further progress was made In
the Argonne and In AIsaee. Tho
German announcement says that
nothing Of Importance has occur.
red in the west, with the exception
Of a few French attacks along the
Meuse and In the Vosses, which
were repulsed easily.
There have been no Important
changes in the east, according to
the Germans, but Petrograd as
serts that the Russians have def
nitely thrown back the German
army attempting to strike at War;
saw from the north, and that as
result the position of the Russians
all along their front has been I'M
proved.
The French war office announced
further servian successes against
the Austrlans, and that In the
Montenegrin campaign the Aus
TRANS have suffered reverse.
The cruiser Dresden, sole Ger
man survivor Of the sea fight In
the south Atlantic on December 8,
le reported to have reached Punta
Arenas, on the Strait Of Magellan,
n without injury.
London, Dec. 14.-The first serious
blow inflicted on the Turkish navy
since the entrance of the porte into
the war-the torpedoing of the Tur
kish battleship Messudieh by a Brit
fsh submarine in the Dardanelles-
gave naval color to today's war news
and was In fact the only striking oc
chronicled by land or by sea-
Little or no change has been report
ed on the western battle front and in
the east Prussia and Germany con
tinues to fight seemingly endless
battle for the control of western Po
land.
English and French newspapers
unite in declaring that the time is
drawing near for the much discussed
general advance of the allies through
France and Belgium and some unoffi.
cial reports say this motive is about
to be undertaken if it has not actually
begun. Progress necessarily would
be inch by inch and even the most
optimistic of the British observers, as.
suming that general forward move.
ment of the allies Is to be attempted
concede that 1t would be spring before
any appreciable eastern progress
could be made.
The feat of Lieutenant Commander
Holbrook in diving under five rows
Of mines in the Dardanelles and tor
pedoing the Turkish battleship is de-
scribed here as perhaps the boldest
marine exploit of the war. The sub
marine presumably was not scratched.
She escaped gun fire and the pursuit
of torepdo boats in a manner truly re-
markable and it was necessary for her
crew to endure the ordeal of remain
|np un6er water for nine hours on a
stretch.
Russian guns have from time to
time inflicted some damage on Tur-
kish warships bombarding Russian
ports, but the disaster reported today
robs Turkey of It's first big ship. The
loss of life is not estimated in the
brief announcement of the episode CIV
en- out by the British admiralty, but
Il the Messudieh was manned as 9th
sr Turkish ships have been, then there
we're number of German officers on
board.