The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-01-14

I'VE
Berlin, Sunday, Jan. l2.-Govern-
ment forces have captured the po-
lice headquarters y a short bonn
bardment. Whete Inc fighting be-
gan, the troops fired few shells and
then waited to see what effect they
made upon the Spartacans. When
the latter failer 10 show signs Of
yielding. two men were sent for
ward with a white flag, demanding
the surrender of the Spartacans.
They were fred upon and killed by
the men holding the building.
Artillery fire then was resumed
for a few minutes and the Sparta
cans tried to attack. The soldiers
stormed the building with cheer
and took several hundred prisoners.
No government troops were killed in
this encounter. The bolsheyists are
believed to have suffered the loss
OF SO killed and many wounded. The
soldiers were cnraged at the shoot
ing Of the white flag bearers, and the
boShevists are said to have Jared
badly in the final clash.
The capture of the headquarters
was effected early Sunday morning.
n the bombardment the govern
mcnt troops used 10 five-centimerre
field pieces.
Spartacans Lose Stronghold.
The real revolutionary headquar-
tetrs for the entire insurgent cam
paign had been in this building. and
its capture left the revolutonists
without any important stronghold
in Greater Berlin, excepting the
Silesian railway station and the
Boetzow brewery, which they had
strongly fortified.
Police Chief Eichhorn was not
among the prisoners taken by the
government forces.
The troops began surrounding
the building late last evening, and
machine gun fire was opened agains.
the Spartacans soon after midnight
The defenders replied energetically
and for some hours were able to
keep their machine gun fire going,
by replacing the guns which the FIRE
OF the government forces put out
of commission.
The artillery fire began at 400
o'clock in the morning and the fire
OF the defenders gradually died
away and ceased entirely after IS
shells had been sent into the build
ing by the soldiers.
Stormed with Hand Grenades
The attacking party in the final
assault worked its way forward with
hand grenades and stormed the
building from two sides. The num-
Der OF Spartacans pulled out OF hid
ing places by the trops and dis
armed and locked up is placed at
more than 800.
Some OF the captured Spartacans
began cheering for DR.. Liebknecht
as they were being marched through
the streets, but the soldiers shut
their mouths in summary fashion.
: The soldiers, except those left to
guard the building, returned to their
barracks with bands playing and
with the men singing, while the
residents Of the locality around the
Alexander Platz, who had been liv-
ing in terror OF their lives for a
week, during which time the Spar
tacan domination OF the whole dis
trct had been undsputed, cheered
the victorious troops.
Spartacan leaders had been able
to conclude an armstce on fairly
even terms. 1t was stipulated that
government troops should not be
reinforced during the truce nor re-
sumo operations without a half day
notice.
The capture of the Vorwaerts
building is considered rather import
ant strategically. The plant is not in
the group OF other newspaper of
fees and its capture, therefore. in
terferes with the Spartacan COM
munications with outlying detach-
ments.
The Vorwaerts building was bad
ly damaged by a fire which was
coming down over the heads OF the
defenders before they surrendered.
The arrest of George Ledebour,
leader of independent socialists, is
looked upon as significant as a COM
plete break in his relations with the
cabinet and presumably the end OF
the secret negotiations looking
to a compromise of existing diff
/, cuties by arrangement for the dis
appearance of particularly objection
able persons on both sides and the