FRENCH ATTACK ON CUMIERES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2783, 30 May 1916, Page 5

FRENCH ATTACK ON CUMIERES

STRUGGLE TO RECOVER LOST GROUND ALL-NIGHT FIGHTING WITH HAND-GRENADES By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright (Rec. May 29, 10.15 p.m.) ' Paris, May 29. llie (.terinau gams at Verdun during filg ht days' fighting total three hundred yards. Tlie enemy was not long m possession of Cumieres. A series of grenade attacks on Friday, enabled the I'reach quietly to organise two columns of attackers east and west of the village, The eastern column captured a mill at nightfall, and found that the enemy had dug himself in in trenches one behind the other across the main street. £hey then proceeded to recapture the houses by night-long siege operations. Meanwhile the western column is progressing. The Diiewy, fearful that tho villago would be surrounded, hastily threw in heavy reinforcements, but tho French maintain their gains, though the Germans are counter-attacking with a. brigade and a half. c FRENCH OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE. colun 1 lu ' li( l" e s ' nles: "W? occupied the southern lips of three'cratora which were caused by the German mines at Haute Chevauchee, in the Argonne. Our fire stopped tiro attack! north-eastwards of Bolschwillcr, in Alsace." SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S FIRST DISPATCH ' FRESH LIGHT ON THE FIGHTING AT ST. ELOI. (Rec. May 29, 10.55 p.m.) on-n , _. , , , , London, May 29. bir Douglas Haigs first dispatch as Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces ?>!m. , We6tenl frout CoTer « flve months operations since December 19. He saysihere lias been no incident of historic importance, but .'a steady and continuous struggle above and below the ground, with many sharp local actions. This period saw the British initiation of cutting out raids, in which, on tho whole, we still hold the initiative." Tho dispatch alludes to the extension of tho British front in order to release the .trench troops for the Verdun front. "This evacuation on a considerable front, everywhere in touch with tho enemy, was a delicate operation, but was completely successful.-" Sir Douglas Haig clears up the confusion' relating to tho British attack at St. hloi.on March 27, which had for its object the straightening of the line. "Tho fighting for the mine craters lasted for a week. Tho British then secured the whole of the original objective, but the wet ground and an intense bombardment by the enemy, prevented the consolidation of our positions, and the Germans recaptured two of the craters." It was erroneously reported to Sir Douglas Haig on April 11 tliat the British had regained all the craters, whereas the old craters had been mistaken lor tho new ones. The latter have been rendered untenable since being abandoned. (• "The British line, roughly, is the sanio as before the first attack. Mv forces have been considerably augmented by the arrival of new formations from Home and the transfer of others released from Near East service, liij increase enabled us to relieve one French Army at the time of the Verdun battle " Among the new arrivals is au Anzac Corps, with Anzacs, Canadians, and a portion of tho South Africans. The overseas forces of the Dominions are now a \juuable part of the Imperial forces m 1 ranee. „ '■Tho .appearance of German Fokker aeroplanes in December has obliged the British to send escorts with their reconnoitring aeroplanes, and consequently air mm whlc " wel ' B previously exceptional, are now an everyday occurrence. There has been no serious epidemic of disease, the sick rate'is low ' while enteric, the bane of armies of yore, has almost disappeared, owing to our c'nenretie preventive measures. . "The Registration Commission lias marked over fifty thousand graves." The dispatch concludes with a tribute to Lord French's work"Starting with a small Expeditionary Force, he faced an enemy of far superior' numbers fully preparcd for this great campaign. During the long and anxious tiiie needed for the improvisation of the comparatively large force now on the front 1 ,- Lord French overcame all difficulties, and, before relinquishing his responsibilities, had the satisfaction of 6eeing the balance of advantage swing steadily in our favour." THE CALL FOR MORE MUNITIONS i . STRIKING APPEAL TO THE WORKERS. \ London, May 28. Mr. J. Norton Griffiths (Unionist for Wedncsbur.v, and managing director of the Public Works Contracting of Norton Griffiths anil Co.), after fourteen months spent at the front, makes a striking appeal to munition workers, through the "Weekly Dispatch." , "Tho next six months," he says, "will bo the most critical timo of tho | whole war. We.are'passing rapidly to our zenith, and the enemy's effort is ever increasingly violent.. We will bo in tho gravest danger if we are caught short of ammunition or guns, with tho enemy commanding' apparently un limited supplies of both. Whitsuntide holidays, with their inevitable curtailment of supplies, would bo little.short of murder for the Tommies in the trenches. This.is a gun war. Verdun has provod that any shortage will be fatal. .Men without guns and shells do not count. A stoppage in haste means the sacri. fice of thousands of lives. Wo never, until recently, had guns or ammunition approaching anywhere near tho total available against us. All these long months we have been struggling to egualisß conditions, and wo are now on tha right road to overtaking the Germans. I do not believe we are going to let down becauso tho munitions workers !aro determined to take holidays. Tho science of gun-reading enablos the enoiny to discover your weakness whether you are conserving ammunition or waiting for guns.' Let the munition workers treat themselves to the best of all holidays—tho one enjoyed by the mind from a senso of duty done; giving the mind a rest from the terrible'thought that slackness on your part has compromised our safety. If we all pla.y up well we put the soldiers well on to tho goal; if there is any slackness, I fear to contemplate tho consequences. It is just as serious as that." [Mr. J. N. Griffiths has served in tho present war, being mentioned in dis> patches.] . .. / MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S APPEAL ENCOUNTERS A MIXED RECEPTION. (Rec. May 29, 8.50 p.m.) t London, May 29. Mr. Lloyd George's appeal to the muuitions works to sacrifice the Whitsuntide holidays has met with a mixed reception.. The armament and munition masters of Sheffield are not favourable. They say: "The proposal will penalise the good workers, while the bad workers will take a holiday anyway." Many of Vickers's staff have worked eighty-three hours a week since the war began and it will bo necessary to clean the flues, furnaces, and forg®, and rfpair the machinery. In Birmingham, Leeds, and Glasgow, the masters are equally doubtful, though they are willing ,to forego the holiday if an urgent temporary need exists. Others have suggested instead a general the Workers being allowed a few days in rotation, like soldiers at the front. Many of the miners have decided to take only one day' off. ' REQUEST TO THE WELSH MINERS. London, May 28 The Admiralty has requested the AVo,lsh miners to restrict the Whitsuntide holidays to a single day.