Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-29
A|RMEN OF BOTH
ARMIES ACTIVE
Numerous Raids Made By
Aeroplanes Upon Towns
Held By the Enemy
OFFENSIVE MOVES
SUFFER REVERSES
Allies Advance Stopped and
German Advance Toward
Warsaw Is Checked

London, Dec 2S.-The initiative ir
military operations apparently has
been left for the time being to the
airmen. Aerial raids across the Eng
lish channel to the lower Thames, ov
er Freiburg, Nancy, Metz and Sochac
zew, Russian Poland, and on the Ger
man naval base at Cuxhaven, inflicted
considerable damage in the aggregate
Details of the Cuxhaven expedition
are still lacking and although Berlin
asserts that the British aviators &C
complished nothing, it is said in Ham
burg that some damage was done II
Is evident, however, that the heavy
fog prevented the British from carry
ing out fully their plans.
81 Activity on land and sea apparently
rs diminishing. Even in Russian Po
land the fighting is becoming less Sc
we're, without decision having been
reached. Vienna admits that the Aus
trians have been compelled to retreat
before the Galician Carpathians, and
in Berlin it is said that the attempt
to cross the Bzura river. in the ad'
vance on Warsaw, has been abandon
ed.
In the west the onslaught of the al
lies would seem to have been checked
by the counter attack of the Ger
mans.
French troops during the last three
days have made minor advances, judg'
ing from the official communications
given out in Paris, but apparently not
at the same rate of speed as reported
a fortnight ago. Fog accounts IN
measure for this slackeping of efforts.
With the exception of the capture OF
certain Anglo-Indian trenches near
the Lys last week. most of which the
allies claim to have recaptured, the
efforts of the Germans to send back
the allied line appear, in the opinion
Of British observers, to have been gen
orally abortive.
North of the river Vistula, in Rus
sian Poland. the Germans, again re,
inforced have retaken the town OF
Mlawa, but south of the river they
still stand on their old ground. In
southern Poland, where the German
right Joins the Austrian left there has
been some fierce fighting with slight
gains for the AustroGerman allies
Judging from the reports coming from
Berlin and Vienna.
In the Galician Carpathians the Aus
trians have been compelled to give
ground, according to an official state,
ment issued in Vienna, and Petrograd
declares also officially that Russian
forces are pursuing the Austrians IN
to the Carpathian mountains, after
taking many thousand prisoners.
German Report.
Berlin, Dec. 28., (wireless to Lon
don)-The German army headquarters
staff today issued the following state
me1t:
''In the western theater the enemy
unsuccessfully renewed his attacks on
Newport, supported by warships,
which did no damage to us, but killed
or wounded a few Inhabitants of West
ende. An attack on the hamlet of st.
George also failed.
South Of Ypres we captured one of
the enemys trenches and some dozens
Of prisoners fell into our hands.
Several violent attacks by the
enemy in the region to the northwest
of Arras we're repelled.
'To the southwest of Verdun the
enemy repeated his attacks but they
also were without success. A similar
result occurred when he attempted to
recapture height to the west of Sen
helm for which we fought yesterday.
There is no news from East Prus-
sia or from Poland North of the Wis
tula and on the left bank of the Vistula
our attacks are developing notwith-
standing the very unfavorable wealth
err
French Report.
Paris, Dec. 2s.-An official statement
rame out of Paris this afternoon read
ng as follows:
I'm Belgium we have continued 10
advance To the west Of Lombaert-
zyde we are actually at the foot Of the
sand dunes on which the enemy has
established his line of resistance. At
a point south of Ypres we have lost a
section Of trenches near Hollebeke.
in the valley of the river Aisne and
In Champagn gne there has been inter-
mittent artillery fighting which was
particularly severe in the vicinity OF
Rheims and around Perthes. Here the
enemy directed their artillery fire
especially against the positions to the
west of Perthes, conquered and oc-
cupied by us.
"On the heights of the Meuse there
has been slight progress by our troops
all along the front.
tIn the Vosges the enemy lombard
ed the railroad station at st. Die, but
the railroad service has not been inter-
rupted.
''ln Upper Alsace, to the northeast
of Steinbach, counter attack of the
r. arm u-os Y--,,1c od - aHhl