The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-09-23
WILMA CAPTURED
BY KA|sER'S men.
Great Russ Railway Center
Taken by Germans.
sLAvs IN WILD FLIGHT
Won Elehhorn Wins Goal After Des,
perate 5attle-Von Hindenbura
, Now Controls Routes to Pc
troerad and Moscow.

Berlin, Sept. 20.-Vilna, the great
western Russia, has fallen before the
German drive, which has taken Is
great cities and fortresses since the
capture Of Warsaw, capital of Poland.
+ The goal upon which the eyes OF
General Won Hindenburg and all Ger
many has been se4 since Warsaw was
entered, was captured Sunday by the
forces of General Won Eichhorn,
which have been fighting stubbornly
eastward since their capture of
Rovno three weeks ago. The most
desperate Russian resistance encoun-
tered In the entire German offensive
has been crushed, and Germany now
holds the key to the vital railroad sys-
tenn of Russia. ... ~.s.r '..',
'E q Great Rail Lines Seized. -y.'
"$The coveted lateral railway from
Rovno in tie south to Riga in the
north. with lines extending from
wilma to tCtrograd, Moscow Odessa
and through the very heart of Rus
STA Is now controlled by German
forces. Upon this lateral line from
north to south the Germans may now,
II they wishjT dig themselves in, and
provided with facilities for immediate
transfer of troops and supplies to any
rnenaced point, hold the cars millions
helpless with half OF, less of the great
army which has been pursuing the
eastern drive.
y Hundreds Of thousands of German
troops will be available for cam
paigns in other theaters of war as
soon as the new line is consolidated
and prepared for defense. Whether
or not the German drive will be con-
finued against Moscow or Petrograd
is as yet undecided. liz any event
the German position for the winter
is made secure, and only a new and
more terrible offensive against Riga as
afbase for the German left is expected
to follow at once.
) ~ Seventeenth City to Fall.
The capture of Wilma, town of 170,-
900 population, and one of the manu-
featuring eenters of Russia, is the sew
ehteenth similar success attained
since the German drive, which started
on May against Przemysl, has
crossed into German soil near Warsaw
and the Lublin- ChOlm line in southern
Poland.
- Last Desperate Drive.
The actual capture of Wilma, though
predicted as imminent since the fall
of Brest-Litovsk several weeks ago,
appears to have been accomplished at
last by a desperate rush of General
van Eichhorn's forces, aided by
simultaneous offensive by Generals
Won Scholz and Won Gallwitz and
Prince Leopold of Bavaria, conqueror
of Warsaw.
Their offensives kept the Russians
busy on all lines to the north and
south of Wilma and cleared the way
for Eichhorn's rush into the city.
Hastily summoned re-enforcements
failed TO aid the Russian defense and
resulted only in more complete dis
organization and rOut of the Russian
army.
The official announcement that the
Russians were routed completely at
the fall of the city leads to the as
sumption that though their losses in
men killed and wounded were great,
no body of troops was surrounded and
captured.
Even with the stripping of the city
OF every object of value, however,
the Slav defenders could not seriously
damage the railroad, and this great
asset is now in German hands. ~