The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-09-06
British Big Guns Bombard
Germans With Telling Effect

Inc Germans are knocking virtually
, at the gates of Riga. with the Rus
slams apparently unable to Withstand
, their advance. .-.-...,.
The port and arsenal on the Baltic
and the head of the railway line rum
ming to- Petrograd, is beset on three
sides by the 'enemy-on the west in
the Lake Babit region, on the south
west near Mitau and on the south
east along the eastern bank of the
Dvina river, a scant Is miles distant
from the city. ..-.
In the latter region the Germans
after heavy bombardment won the
Uxkull bridgehead, famous as the
; scene of many songuinary encounters,
and crossed the Dvina river. Thence
they shaped their course northward
along the waterway toward Riga, with
! the Russians counter-attacking but
unable to hold them.
Begin New Offensive
Some 20 miles southwest of Riga,
along the railway line running from
Milan to the seaport, the Germans
have begun a new offensive. Here a
big battle is in progress, but in whose
favor it is going has not yet been
made evident by the Russian and Ger
man official communications. Neither
is anything contained in them con-
| corning the operations near Lake
Babit, where the Germans were last
reported about IL miles west of Riga.
Preparations evidently were made
last week in raids by airplanes on
warships and military works in the
| Gulf of Riga and by the maneuvers of
German torpedo boat destroyers, sub
marines and mine sweeping trawlers
in adjacent waters, for the new often
,, sive against Riga, but whether the at
tack is being carried out sychron-
Ously by the sea, has not become ap-
parent.
While the capture of Riga would be-
OF great strategic value to the Ger
mans in controlling the entrance to
the Gulf of Finland, at the head of
| which stands Petrograd, it would not
necessarily place the capital in jeop-
ardy, for it lies overland 300 miles as
! the crow flies from Riga and $50 miles
by rail.
Russians Again Fighting
In southern Moldavia, the Russians,
fighting near Koksbant in conjunction
! with the Rumanians, evidently have
ceased their assertions and again are
facing the enemy. Here, according to
Berlin, they have delivered heavy
country-attacks against Field Marshal
Won Mackensens forces. Near Braila,
southwest of Galatz on the Danube,
the Germans were repealed in an at
tack on the Russian positions.
On the Italian front General Cador-
mas forces have extended their gains
on the Brestovizza plateau on the
slope of Monte San Gabrielle east
Of Gorilla and have taken additional
prisoners and war stores from the
I Austrians. Five Italian airplanes have
flown from the Italian front to Vienna
and dropped pamphlets telling the
Austrian people of the victory of the
Italians from Tolmino to the sea.
| In Belgium the British big guns are
continuing to lombard violently the
German positions, evidently preparing
the way for another smash at Crown
Prince Rupprechts front The infan-
try activity here and also to the south
in France is mainly in the nature of
raiding operations. Near Havrincourt
the Germans in sharp attack pushed
/ back the British but later last the
ground in counter.attack Heavy
artillery duels also arr in progress
, the Verdun sector.