Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1915-09-24
GERMANS OCCUPY
V|LNAAF TER BATTLE
RUSSIANS HAVE ONLY ONE RAIL
WAY ON WHICH TO MAKE
A GETAWAY.
OTHER LINE HELDBY GERMANS
Won Hindenburg and Leopold Renew
Efforts to Catch Retiring Enemy
-lvanoff Defends kovno-Mi-
nor Battles on West Front.

London, Sept. 20.-The Germans
have occupied wilma and by wide
sweeping movement to the north of
that city have succeeded in almost en-
tirely surrounding a portion of the
Russian army, which is fighting in the
railway triangle between Wilma, Ida
and Vileika.
At any rate, the Russian forces in
this district either must fight their
way out eastward or retire in a south
easterly direction for the only railway
left entirely in their hands is that
which runs from Wilma to Ida, and
thence to Baranovich.
Wilma Stragetic Point.
wilma, city of some 10000 inhab-
itants on the Warsaw-Petrograd rail-
way line, has been the object of a Ger
man offensive movement for weeks
past, in the course of the operations
of Field Marshal Won Hindenburg.
After the fall of Kovno to the north
west, and Grondo to the southwest, no
Germans moving on Wilma, but stub
born defensive measures were taken
by the Russians to hold back the Teu-
tonic advance, Wilma being the north
ern key position on the important
strategic railway line running south
eastward to Rovno, which the Rus
slams were striving to retain.
Tho foil Of Nf1no bod hoap avna0fad
for several days, the German encir-
cling movement having developed suf-
ficiently to make it apparent that its
abandonment was only a question of
time. Last week Petrograd dispatches
stated that Wilma, as well as Dvinsk,
another of Field Marshal Won linden
burg's detectives, had been emptied of
stores and abandoned by government
and private institutions.
Wilma has been an important indus
trial and trade center in the midst of
region studded with lakes, forests
and marshes Recent estimates have
stated that probably half the popula-
ton was Jewish, with only small ma
tive Russian element.
mans seem likely to find the way more
easily opened to Dvinsk, virtually the
entire railroad line leading northeast
ward to that city apparently now be-
ing in their hands.
German Position Strong.
The army of Field Marshal Won Hin
denburg, which took Wilma and has
reached Vileika. to the east of wilma,
is working in close cooperation with
that of Archduke Leopold of Bavaria
in an effort to catch part of the Rus
sian army, an operation which has
been so often tried without success
since the Austro-Germans commenced
their drive in western Galicia in early
May.
Big Battle.
London, Sept. 21.-Of the many big
battles fought ON the eastern front dur
ing the last five months few, if any
have been fraught with such import
ance as that now in progress to the
east and south of Wilma, where Field
Marshal Won Hindenburg is attempting
to cut off the retreat of and destroy
the Russian army that defended tha
city.
The German official report ISSUED
2 today throws little light on the prog
: ress of the operations, simply stating
1.-THE attack against the enemy retreat
? ing from Wilma is proceeding"
Nels B. Pearson, the owner of tn,
e Mechanics saloon, Spokane, was in
stantly killed when an automobile HI
I drove turned turtle on the Medica
Lake road, near Spokane, last Mon
day.
|, Russians Reiterated Finely.
d London, Sept 22.-The German en-
circling movement against the Russian
) army which evacuated Wilma has al
. preciably intensified and tightene
and, with the retreating forces virtua
, ly without rail communication, thei
l. retreat seems to have reached the mos
, critical juncture. There is increasin
= misgiving in England with regard
, the outcome of the maneuver.
r Th&latest Berlin official communici
e ton Shows important advances b
e Field Marshal Won Hindenburg's rigf
d wing as well as progress by Prime
+ eLopold of Bavaria on the center