The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-10-16
RUSSIAN LAND
|. BATTERIES PUT
. 0UT0F BUSINESS
Si|enced BY German War
ships in Riga Harbor
U-BOATS IN THE BALTIC
kaiser's Destroyers Drove in Patrol
Boats But Were Powerless
Against Main Fleet.
J-BOATS IN THE BALTIC

London, Oct 16-Rapid progress
has been made by the German troops
which landed on the Russian island
of Oesel, according to the official
statement issued at Berlin yesterday
by the German war Office. German
warships shelled the Russian land
batteries and silenced them. Svorb
peninsula has been cut off from the
northern part of the island
German torpedo boats, the state
ment adds, penetrated the inner wa
ters between the islands of Oesel and
Dago and in repeated engagements
pressed back the Russian naval fore
es into the Moonesund.
The German landing forces have
pushed forward on the island of
Oesel as far as Arensburg. the capi-
tai, which is ablaze. The Teutons
are advancing in East Oesel toward
the east coast on which the Russians
are rapidly retreating to escape over
the mole connecting the island with
Moon island
The official announcement at Petro-
grad says that the German forces
OF Oesel at the head of the gulf of
Riga on Friday occupied Arensburg,
the capital of the island, on Satur-
day Arenburg is ON the southern
shore of Oesel island The northern
group of German warships, the state
ment adds, dispatched a torpedo boat
squadron between the islands of
Oesel and Dago, which pressed back
the Russian patrols, Russian naval
forces reinforced the patrol and ac-
cepted battle, whereupon the German
ships retired.
Fighting for Oesel island, the war
office announced continued all day
Sunday. A third group of German
warships, consisting of cruisers and
torpedo boats, approached the south
west coast of Oesel island and bonn
barded unimportant parts of the
coast German submarines were OBJ
served at various times and places
in the Baltic.
German naval aerial forces are
supporting the land forces on the
northern and southern sections OF
Oesel island. Further movements OF
the German naval forces into the guilt
of Riga, the statement says. are GOV
cred by the long-range artillery OF
the Russians from Oesel island
The German forces which were
landed on Oesel island, at the head OF
the gulf OF Riga are pushing forward
to the east and south, placing in
difficult position the Russian forces
and batteries in the district of Arens-
burg, at the southern end of the isl,
and, and especially those OH the Cerel
peninsula, said a dispatch from Petro
grad yesterday Military critics pre-;
diet actions in the gulf of Riga, fol
lowed by development of the invas.
ion to the main land, on the coast of
Esthonia, rather than an attempt to-
ward the gulf Of Finland. which is
protected by mine fields which the
Germans would have to sweep under
the menact of the Russian fleet.
The newspapers exhibit alarm at
the landing OF the Germans on Oesel
island. The Bource Gazette says the
situation of the country is the more
complicated because a solution must
be found not only of the unsatisfac-
tory condition of affairs in the inter
ior but of the problem presented by
the closing of the gulf of Riga by the
Germans.