GREAT ATTACK.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 16037, 20 October 1917, Page 6

GREAT ATTACK.

THE B ATTLE OF THE FOURTH.

AUSTRALIAN ADVANCE. Mr C. E. W. Bean, telegraphing from the Headquarters of tho A.I.F. on October 4tli, stated: — Tho great attack has been going forward the last hour and a half. The rain, which drizzled most of the night, has ceased. Under a grey sky on the 1 brown hill-crest- which, tiro hours ago, was German, wo can see a line of men casually moving. The smoke of the German barrage continually rises on the brown, bare slope this side of them. Even* now and then a black burst with a shower of dull sparks blots the horizon in their very midst, but the men walking there sti'l] stop- They are Australians who, at the moment of writing, are half-way through this grcnt attack. A bright signal light is winking near the brown hill. Another, near certain black and brown ruins standing up in tho valley, is every now and then hid by the drifting smoke of tho German shells. The Australian signal lamps are calling up from tUe ruins of Zonnebeke and the captured spur to the guns and headquarters in the rear. Tho guns have ceased somewhat in tho past hour. It is nearly 8 o'clock, and the day is still lowering—the first dark morning alter a fortnight of perfect, skies. But the weather certainly is not wet enough to hamper such men. Our sole anxiety was that 40 minutes before our bombardment opened, when everything was going well and normally, indeed almost suspiciously quiet, the sky suddenly became lit by flare after flaro of cascading yellow, green, and red, over the horizon on our right. The Germans certainly saw the movement, for within ten minutes we could hear his barrage banging heavily aloijg tho front and tho valleys on our right. INTENSE BARRAGE. One had written almost this much when our barrage suddenly grew many times more intense. The summit of tliat semi-circle of hills, which was reek-' ing with shell craters, was steaming with -white smoke. . They seemed to lie almost to the brim up the hillside, and then gradually worked over the brow of hills till we saw the brown crest, with the shredded trees and hedges standing out against the white smoke beyond. Presently on the crest there,\veru moving men, and bunches of men'at intervals everywhere walking with rifles, generally v slung, with the splendid nonchalance which marks our men when occunied with some business. We could "see them sometimes stopping to exchange a word, sometimes sent-off on a solitary errand towards the flank, and in one or two places keeping low, evidently avoiding some machine-gun fire which remained. A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS.

A crowd of men collected behind the belt of barrage and then, with the further uproar, the guns went on. One half thought one could make" out a few shadowy figures moving through the smoke on the further crest. Then we came home cheerful, knowing the greater part of the objective had been attained, because we had seen them

there._ German prisoners were 'coming, in string after string. Some were the 4th German Guard Division. From them we. first heard the secret of a more tremendous success than we had hoped. They said that one of their regiments, with' two other regiments, had been read}' in position to attack this morning at tho shmo. hour as we when our bombardment suddenly descended on them. Some men, whom ours confirmed, actually said they had met our men in No Man's Land. Others; shattered and broken, ran back through the supporting divisions, shouting the enemy was on them. Our prisoners came from both fronts and the supporting division. At headquarters we were told tho whole of the Australian troops had reached their complete objective, and the magnificent British divisions on either dank had reached it also, despite the preliminary barrage which fell on a portion of the Australians and British. Some of the earliest and most important news was brought in by two young Australian flying officers. They had been instructed to abandon their flight as it was too windy, but "they managoa to get out the machine. They .flew over to attack, but struggled back near headquarters, where "they crashed down. One officer was hurt, but walkod in and gave the news. So has been launched the greatest of battles ever fought A PHALANX OF COLONIAL TROOPS.

LONDON, October 5,

It is now allowable to state that the ! centre of yesterday's great battle was occupied by a single solid phalanx of Australian and New Zealand troops, which constituted the greatest force of Australasian soldiers or those of any Dominion which has over attacked simultaneously. This powerful southern striking force formed the centre of a yet more extensive British line. Not the least important cause of the outstanding dash of these troops en this occasion was the real enthusiasm of being employed beside their fellowsoldiers from the Pacific Dominions. The Australasian force which launched its attack yesterday was animpted by « fierce national pride which cannot be too fully realised. Tho result of yesterday's buttle was that, together with certain British troops, for which the ground teems with undying associations, they pushed. off the Germans from a part of the crest which for three years has been one of the most essential portions of the foe's main position on the West front. The Australian soldiers yeslerdny swept over almost the exact position north of Broodseinde where the general French line before Ypres originally ran in the earliest days of the war'. But to those who watched the war in Europe closely for the last two years these three battles mean far more than ■ a mere struggle for positions.

Many of us to-day feel an optimism wliicli has not before been felt, realising that the means at last hare been worked out of delivering on the Germans, whenever desir«3, smashing blows which thev can neither avoid nor parry. Eaeh time the Germans have known the blow was coming. They have seen the arm raised, yet, despite all their preparations, they have received the blow full and square between tho eyes—one, two, and three, within a fortnight. Every time the attack readied exactly the point decided on, and stopped there deliberately. All the German counter-attacks have not brought back one inch of valuable ground. The German troops aro simply forced to- take whatever blow we decidc to deal them, and they know it.

Personally, one feels' that for the first time a weapon has been worked out which opens up a prospect of real success, leading to finality. It should be a matter of tremendous pride to Australians to realise that in the battles of Messines and Ypres the solid striking force of their troops helped outstandingly to deal the blows whereby this weapon has been proved. Two counter-attacks were beaten off yesterdav by the Australasian troops. Over'2ooo prisoners and several guns arjpear to Have been taken by _ them. Their advance was at some points at least a mile and a quarter. I