The Washington herald., 1917-09-07
Russians in Flight as Ger
mans Throw Big Force
Across Dwina-A Drive
May Be Made on Minsk.
Radicals Carry Elections
In Petrograd.
CBy the InternatIonaI New, s.,x,.,,

(By the International News serysee.l
London, Sept 6-With forced
marches. meeting no resistance what
ever from the Russians. the Teuton
Eighth army that took Riga ia swing
ing in a circular advance northeast
ward TO force a Russian Withdrawal
from the entire Dwina line as far a.
DWinsk. 40 miles southeast Of Ries.
From Riga TO Friederichstsdt Ton
the Dwina) a front Of forty miles.
the Muscovites are already IN f,fIl
flight. The Teutons are throwing di-
vision after division across the Dwfna
TO push the pursuit. Automatically
the Russians are extending their
front Of retirement eastward 10 es-
care encirclement.
German Fleet Active.
Meanwhile a German fleet in the
Gulf Of Finland is raking the Llttorsl
with naval gunfire 10 clear the whole
terrain OF Russian troops that might
form menace in the rear Of the ad-
Ssncing Tsuton armies.
Grave admissions came from The
Petrograd war ofhce today. showing
that the forty mile s-Friederich-
stadt front has caved in and that the
Muscovites already have been driven
fully as many miles northward.
Along the Riga-wendon Railway,
the main line OF retreat. the Russians
have retired as far as Lgat, forty
miles northeast Of Riga and only
twelve miles from the railway center
Of Wenden.
The menace to Reval and PetroErad
is still remote. An advance on the
Russian capital. military critics point
out, would entail an arduous winter
campaign and arrest huge forces on
the Eastern front that can be sorely
spared from the West.
May Change Course.
More and more developments point
TO realization OF the German plan.
exclusively foreshadowed in these dis
patches, TO throw the Russians back
from the Dwina line. take DRfnsk
and then swing the German center.
east OF Wilma, into a drive on Minslk.
such an operation, accompanied by
a drive by Msckensen on Odessa, and
I by ArChduke Josef on Kien, would
shorten the Teuton front easily 800
miles. releasing an entire army group
for the fighting in the West next
/ spring.
Berlin today gave the hgure OF
| prisoners taken so far In the RIGA
, drive at 10 officers and more than
$50 men. Three hundred machIns
suns, lS0 big caBaon and ineStimabls
-torss Of material have been cap
/ tured
Petrograd dispatches to-day cast a
I gloomy light upon the political sit
! uation. The radicals carried the new
municipal elections by a landslide.
AirPIanes At Work.
Fighting activity IN the West hss
been confined during the last twenty
four hours chiefly to airplanes and
( scouting parties. The Germans at
temp. ed a number OF attacks IN the
3 Champagne and north Of the Aisne
Z but were repulsed everywhere Sir
g Douglas Haig reports only local hght-
ing.
Z British flyers carried out extensive
I raius upon German military works be-
hind the FranCo-BelEian front. drop
! ping great quantities OF projectiles
/ from an average height OF loo feet.
The Germans again raided DunlSirk,
wOunding some civilians. French avia-
: tors threw bombs on a number OF
I points behind the German lines
In new headwsy in the Brestovizza
( Valley and to the northeast Of Gorizia.
1 the Italians have taken more than 100
| additional prisoners. tOday's Rome war
! Office statement says. The struggle
continues fierce along the whole front
| from Tolmino 10 the Adristic. The
Austrians are counter alta acking with
| violent tenacity, but thus FAR without
avail.