New Britain herald., 1915-08-18

CHlCldlly tOudJ.
THE Fortress of Kovno, together
CT war material which has not been
determined, has been in German
hands since last night.
More than 400 cannon were taken.
The fortress was captured by storm
in spite of the most tenacious resis-
lance by the Russians"
Serious Blow to Russians.
Military experts have agreed that
the loss of the Fortress of Kovno
would be a serious blow to the
Russians. The critic OF the
London Times, in an article
published this morning says: eff
the enemy succeeds in reducing ov-
no and is thereby able to cross the
Niemen he will be in the rear of the
Russian line north OF the Sventa,
and with the junction of the two
wings of Field Marshall Won linden
burgs army the position of the Rus
sian right flank will be very diff
cult"
The official German statement Oh
yesterday announced the capture Of
the forts on the southwest front Of
Kovno, together with $500 prisoners
and 240 guns. This was interpreted
as foreshadowing the fall of the for
tress proper, but it's accomplishment
so speedily was hardly expected. The
famous German general Field Mar
shall Won Hindenburg, probably took
command of the army attacking Kov-
no. The selection of Germanys ma
tional hero for this task indicates the
Importance attached to it by the Ger
man general staff.
Population of City $4,000.
Kovno, capital of the Russian Pro-
vince of that name, is on the right
bank of the Niemen. 1t is a fortress
of the first class. The civilian pep
ulation of the city is more than 49,
0G0 At the time Of the fall of War
saw the Austrian and German forces
in Russia were operating in three
large divisions. From the south
Field Marshal Won Mackensen pressed
into Poland with the troops with
which has had successfully swept
through >Galicia,. sErecapturing the
province from the Russians From
the west Prince Leopold of Bavaria
advanced directly at the Warsaw
'front.' From the north came the for
ces of Field Marshal Won Hindenburg,
advancing through the Baltic pro-
vinces ill.,. .r":
After Warsaw was ca ptured a juno
ton was effected between the army
groups of Mackehsen and Leopold.
Weld Teutonic Forces.
!. The capture of Kovno prbably will
result in welding the northern and
central Teutonic forces into con-
solidated line from Baltic Provinces
to Galicia.
Kovno is unit of a line of fort
resses running from the Niemen south
and east, connected by railroad. On
this line are Grodno, Brest-Litovsk
and Lutsk. The capture of Kovno
raised the question whether the Rus
slams will be able to retain this line
or whether they will again be COM
PEELED to make general retreat.
Germans Bombarding Wilma.
Petrograd, Aug. IS, Via. London,
3:46 D. m.-German aeroplanes are
consistently bombarding the city of
Wilma, about fifty miles east of Kovno.
The possibility of the capture Of Wilma
by the Germans is foreseen IN Petro-
grad and operations preliminary to its
evacuation are in progress.
London Prepared for news.
London, Aug 1S.-The fall of the
Russian Fortress of kovnO, an
nounced officially in Berlin today,
marks a development of unmistak-
able Importance in the great struggle
between the Russians and their OPP
ponents. The news from Berlin yes
terday that some of the outlying forts
had been taken indicated that the sit
uation of the Russian defenders was
a desperate one, SO that London was
prepared for today's announcement,
although hardly expecting it so soon.
The Russian armies apparently have
not been able to reOrganiZe sufficient
ly to check the Austro- German ad-
vance, which is being pushed steadily
against the ring of strong fortresses
which form the outer defense to the
Petrograd provinces. The armies of
the central powers show no DISPOSE
ton to relax pressure on the eastern
front, nor are they likely to do So un-
til they have tried once more to sep
arate the Russian northern and
southern armies anG capture Brest-
Litovsk
Allies Gain Ground
News from Turkish sources that the
new landing party on the Gallipoli
Peninsula, near Suvla Bay, had been
engaged heavily is confirmed in an
official report today from Gen. Sir Ian
Hamilton, the British commander at
the Dardanelles front, stating that the
British left had won 500 yards of
ground, including a Turkish trench.
Sir Ian also reported the repulse of
determined Turkish attacks against
the Australasia position
Little change is reported in the dip
lOmatic situation in the near east