, 1915-02-20

LII passee at the Deglnnlg OF last week thelo
has been less activity in that area. We
nevertheless made further progress III tins
quarter and on Saturday a valuable point
was secured and we have consolidated our
hold on the ground gained. Conclusive
evidence has been obtained that the enemy's
losses in the recent fighting thereabouts were
severe. In the pres district the enemy Mt
tackled our line and succeeded at first III
gaming possession of q few trenches, but
counter-attack were made by us and the
ground lost was recovered, some prisoners
being captured. On the remainder Of our
frout there has been some increase IN the
intensity III artillery duels, in which we have
shown a marked superiority direct hits hay
ing IN several instances been made on The
eneml 5 guns and much damage was done to
his defences, Despite the bad weather our
aircraft carried out their accostumed tasks
with conspicuous success. An aviator dis
discovad a hostile ammunition column near
La Bassee and dropped bombs, blowing up
an ammunition Wagon.
A Paris official communicate states "Des-
pIte mn active cann0nade the French and
English ~aviators who threw bombs in the
regions of Ghistelles and Ostend were able
to reenter our lines unharmed. The Bel
glan artillery has carried out some effective
shooting against gatherings of troops
and shelters. In Champagne ten OF tho
enemy's counter-attacks were repulsed
durrg the night. In the Argonne
there has been considerable activity.
Near Fontaine aux Charmes we dos
troyed a blockhouse and one hundred metres
of trenches. A German attack, launch by "a
minimum of three battalions between -Four
de Paris and hill 263, West Of Boureuilles,
yVoC CavaCo bu+ Xua. on4irol- ,oN1Ical it,o
fleeing huge losses and taking some prison
ers. More to the East, in the forest of
Melancourt, we captured one hundred metres
of trenches.
A Berlin official statement says: 'In a
nine days battle in the Mazurian lake dis
trct the Russian Tenth Army, consisting of
a minimum of eleven infantry and several
cavalry divisions, was driven from strongly
ontenchtd positions east of the Mazurian
lakes plateau and forced back across the
frontier, utterly defeated at almost every
point, and only remnants Of the army man
aged to reach the woods east of Suwalki and
Augustowo, where they are being pursued.
The number Of prisoners taken has not been
ascerta.ned, but certainly exceeds fifty thou
sand. Over fifty cannon and sixty machine
guns besides an unknown quantity of war
material, were captured. The Kaiser WAS
present during the decisive fighting in the
centre of our line. The victory was won by
the veteran East Prussians, assisted by other
troops young for such work, but who proved
their worth, the achievements of these troops
under fearful weather conditions, Iuarching
by day and by night and fighting against
such a stubborn enemy, being beyond all
praise. Field Marshal Won Hindenburg
directed the operations with mastery skill
and was brilliantly assisted by Generals Won
Eichorn and Won Bulow".
With reference to the Western campaign
the report says: obviously induced to
take the offensive because Of our great
successes in the East, the British and French
troops on Tuesday commenced especially
stubborn attacks on our positions in the
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