New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-18
FALL OF K0VNO
NEAR ASKAISER
STORMS FORTS
London Sees Retreat of
Russians from Bug
Niemen Front.
AUSTRIANS MOVE
ON BREST-LITOVSK
Reach Dobrynka, Thirteen Miles
South - Novogeorgievsk
FOrtreSseS Yield.

London, Aug. 17-With the Russian
forces on their original first line of
defence, the Bug Niemen front, fur
Their retreat seems imminent.
The German army led by General
Litsmann has stormed the forts on the
southwest front of Kovno. between the
Niemen River and Gesia, two and one
half miles south of Kovno, capturing
$500 prisoners and 24O guns. This sue
cess foreshadows the early fall of the
fortress. With Kovno in the invaders
hands, the capture of the Wilna-War-
saw-Petrograd railway is almost GER
tain.
Between the Narew and the Bug the
German drive is making Roadway. Here
the objective is the Grodno Bielostok-
Brest-Litovsk railway. Bielostok, the
junction of the Warsaw Petrograd and
Grodno- Brest-Litovks roads, is a pivo-
tai point of the Russian line of de-
fence. From the south the advance on
this front is being pushed by the Aus
Hungarian troops, who have, ad-
vanced to Dobrynka, thirteen miles
southwes. of Brest-Litovsk, according
to the Vienna official.
Menace Seen In Courland.
Meanwhile the operations in Cour-
land present Gus menace. Grand
Duke Nicholas, the Russian commander
in chief, will not be able to assure the
safety of his armies until the menace
presented by the operations of Field
Marshal Won Hindenburg is removed.
In the Bausk district the German army
has been driven back toward the IA
River, while Kovno is still stemming
the German tide. The chief struggle,
however, centres in the region north of
the Niemen, notwithstanding the recent
success of Russian resistance.
Another fort on the northeast front
of Novogeorgievsk also had fallen, and
the Gordon is being closed around the
fortress.
GERMAN OFFICIAL.
The official statement issued to-day
at Berlin says:
Army group of Field Marshal Won
Hindenburg: Further battles in the
region of Kupiski resulted success
fully, and 625 prisoners, including
three officers, as well as three ma
chine guns, fell into our hands. The
troops of the army of General Won
Eichorn. under the adarship of Gen
eral Litsmann, took the forts Of
Kovno situated between the Niemen
and Gesia. More than $500 Russians
were taken prisoners and more than
240 cannon and numerous other ma
terials were captured.
The armies of General Won Scholz
and General Won Gallwitz, by dint of
continuous fighting, drove their OPP
ponents further back in an easterly
direction, and $50 Russians. includ-
ing eleven officers, were taken prison
ers, and one cannon and ten machine
guns were captured.
Novogeorgievsk Forts Fall.
On the northeastern front of Novo-
georgievsk a large fort and two in
termediary Notifications were taken
by storm. On the other front we sue
ceeded almost everywhere in forcing
the enemy further back. We cap
tured 2,400 prisoners, together with
nineteen cannon and other materials.
Army groups of Prince Leopold and
Field Marshal Won Mackensen: These
army groups are continuing further
their victorious progress.
In their official communication of
August Is the Russian army authori-
ties asserted that the advanced
guards of the Russians had captured
two lines of German trenches on Au-
gust 10 on the Zlota Lipa and had
annihilated their defenders. Our
troops fighting in this locality know
of only one operation. II was an as
sault by Russian patrol during the
night of August 1918, which failed
completely, and resulted in the
enemy's leaving four killed and two
injured in front of our positions No
losses were inflicted on US.