WITH THE BRITISH ON THE YSER LINE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2512, 13 July 1915, Page 5

WITH THE BRITISH ON THE YSER LINE

SIR JOHN FRENCH'S NARRATIVE CONTINUED BATTLES OF' FESTUBERT AND FREZENBERG (Continuation of Narrative Published In The Dominion Yesterday.) By Telegraph—ProßS Association—OopyrijM , London, July 11. Sir John French's dispatch continues: . Attack; on ..the; sth'' Army: Corps. at Frezenberg.—"Vastly superior German artillery fire, 'with unlimited ammunition, matte it impossible to make efficient trenches or a properly organised' lino. 'After gas attacks, the German bombard- , ment was finally concentrated, on the morning of May 8, upon a line north ./ and . south of. Frezenberg. The German -' firo obliterated the trenches, and caused enormous losses. A heavy infantry attack followed, causing our line, to givo way. . Brigades Broken. "Lieutenant-General Sir H. Plumer reported that on the morning of May 8 the right of one brigade was broken, .. i then'; the centre, then 'part of the; left: . The nest ..brigade,/ Princess Patricia's Canadians, however, 'stuck, to the ■ trenches throughout the day. By mid- ■ day, -the centre of another brigade had been broken, but thoilst Suffolks,:forming the right of the brigade, held on. Thoy were apparently, surrounded and' overwhelmed. We launched a counter--attack, at 3.30j which reached Frezeni berg, but were driven back. Despite the 'severe shelling, and many casualties, • the spirit of.' all ranks. was excellent. Tho enemy's losses, particularly . .on May 10 and 18, wero unquestionably serious.".Violent Outburst of Gas. . Sir John French continues: "Desultory fighting went on till May 24, when, .'there.-was a violent outburst of gas along nearly tho whole front. 'A most determined attack was' made 'east of . ; Ypresi. A large proportion of the men were . asleep, and the' l attack was too : sudden -to give them time to put on their respirators. The 2nd Royal Irish . and the 9th Argylls were overcome by gas and driven out of'a, farm on the , front of our line, whioli; the enemy, for- ' tilied. All attempts to retake it failed, and wo' took up a position slightly in the rear of our old line." Battle of Festubort. Referring to the Battle of 'Festubert, Sir John French states:—"ln pursu-i ance of a promise given General Joffre I to'support an attack his troops wero i . making on May 9 at Arras, L directed General Sir. Douglas Haig to attack tho trenches at Eougebanc. Ho found the much stronger"than he anticipated, and a more extensive artillery preparation was necessary' to crush tlie . resistance offered by the numerous -fortified posts. Repeated efforts at progress on May 9 and 10 were violent. 1 y Tho enemy's machinc-guns from posts • on the flanks Tendered :the trenches so difficult to ' hold that all the units of the 4th-'Army'Corps had to retire, Gallant Canadians. i i''P sanctioned General Haig's proposal :to concentrate all his resources upon a southern point of attack. Misty weather prevented the action recommencing before; May 15, when I placed the Cana- •' dian Division at General Haig's disposal, i During the night of May 20 the Cana- • (lians brillia,ntly seized, several trenches, pushing on the . whole , line several hundred yards arid capturing machine-guns. By May 24 tho. immediate.object of tho ■attack did not exist, ■ so I directed General Haig to consolidate the ground ■ won. . . : r ' 1 v- ■■ _ . "Tho Battle of Festubert resulted in '600 yards won along a front of four miles. The enemy suffered very heavy . losses; Wo captured ten machine-guns pnd destroyed a number of others. ■ • "Throughout the 3rd Anny Corps was active making demonstrations and holdirig the enemy on. its front."; Sir John French, pays a . tribute to fiorioral Sir 'Douglas Haig's valuable cervices at Festubert, and General Sir H. Plumer's fmo defence of Ypres. ■ Tho New Army, ' "Some divisions ,of the New' Army Jiave Reached France; ■; and ought to j>rovo a.valuable addition to our fighting force. They , appear to be. thoroughly well officered and commanded. Their fcquipment is in good order and efficient, iand iho shooting of their artillery, is: : extremely good. , They are; quite, fit to' iake' their places in : tho : lino. ' The ■pioneer battalions ;hav© created a very favourable impression. . The officers are keen and ingenious, arid the; men are '' good of physique and good diggers. . ■ "Experience has,shown that tho Ter- : rltorials; have now reached a standard of efficiency enabling them to_ be usefully employed in complete divisional units Bt whatever kind of work.' - The -units have borne an active., distinguished part, arid have proved themselves thoroughly reliably and efficient. General ; 'Joffre, on May 27, inspected the' 7th •Division, and expressed appreciation of their appearance on parade.' "Despite the constant , strain,' owing ■fo tho_ arduous nature of tho fighting, the spirits animating all ranks remains high. lam confident the men will meet every demand on them with the utmost cheerfulness.' This spirit is particularly among the men in the hospitals, even' . those who are 'mortally wounded. ,Tho invariable question that comes to the-lips of .those hardly able to utter a sound is : ,'How are things (going at the front?' ; • . . N Fighting in the Air. "The Flying Corps is becoming a more ; jirid more indispensable factor in com- . ; f)iried operations. The officers have : shown'marked ingenuity in devising improvements in tactics. Since my last , dispatch there has been a considerable increase in the number and activity of r.'the German aeroplanes. There have \ been sixty combats in the air, in which not one British aeroplane was lost.. Most ." of the encounters- were over the German lines, hut it is known that six German ■\ aeroplanes were wrecked,. and many iothers chased down and forced'to. land."