The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-08-19
.TEUTONS GUT OFF
RETREATING RUSS
Trap Closes Upon Cars Army
in Poland.
SIEDLCE TAKEN BY KAISER
Fall Of Fortress Half Way Between
Warsaw and Brest-LttoTsk
Leaves Slavs Without Line
of Retreat by Rail.

London, Aug. 14.-Capture of the
Polish railroad town of Siedlce, SO
mites west of Brest-Litovsk on the
main line from Warsaw to the latter
fortress, which is the southern base
of the new Russian lines of defenses,
is announced in official German dis
patches. simultaneously the massing
of seven Austro- German armies in the
Bug and Vistula triangle Is taken to
indicate that vast Russian army, cut
off from retreat by rail through
Siedlce to Brest-Litovsk, is trapped
and is certain of humiliation or cap
ture. 4..
Berlin, making these statements,
admits that the exact number of Rus
slams held west of Siedlce is unknown.
Military experts here declare the Rus
SLAMS have had ample time to with
draw tho got ter part of their troops
and have 'aGubtedly withdrawn with
the except IN of their rear guards and
the garrison of $4,000 besieged at
iNovogeorgieysk
kovno Holds Out.
The vital point on the Russian line
now seems to be at Kovno, where the
Germans are still attacking the fort
ress in the hope of cutting the War
isaw-Petrograd railroad at this point
and continuing to the important city
of Wilma on the same line, but in the
rear of the proposed line of defense
The capture of Wilma would render the
greater part of this line untenable.
Though Kovno is holding out and
infiicting terrific losses on the Ger
mans who are trying to storm the pc
sitions rather than take the time nee
essary for reduction by artillery at
lacks, the Russian situation is ex
tremeIy precarious.
H.. Check In North.
/ The Russians for the time beinG
are holding in check the Baltic fianl
of,the German armies which are strug
Cling to cut the WarsawPetrograC
railway and are battling toward the
DVina, beyond which lie the roads t.
the Russian capital.
: German attacks toward Riga have
been repulsed and the railway juno
ton at Dvinsk remain in Russian
hands IlsoIla Ostrolo.,IEa, north o
Warsaw, to Chelm. in the south, the
TeutOns claim to have made further
progress, but between the Vieprz ant
the Bug they apparently have beer
thrown back with heavy losses.
Details of the capture and Occupa
ton of Vladimir Volynski on thu
Luga river, IS miles southeast Of Lub
lin, were received here. The Cos
sacks before evacuating the town Sc
It on fire ana the greater part was de
stroyed, in spite of the fact that tn,
captors tried to put out the flames.
On the southern front in POlanC
there has been bitter fighting. Berlin
reports the Russians falling back
while Petrograd asserts that German
attacks between the Vieprz and tn,
Bug were repulsed with eXtremel,
heavy losses.
Driven Back In the North.
Offsetting the German successes II
central Poland, the Russians CLAIM
to. be steadily driving back the Ger
mans on the Kovno-Riga front, tn
host important sector of the who'll
long battle line In the Riga region
'Petrograd reports that the Russian
have retaken several villages and ar
advancing westward.
Continued German attacks on tn
fortress of Kovno and the front ives
of the Niemen river also have beeI
repulsed. -
or the fighting on this whole from
Berlin merely says that the situation
is unchanged.