THE FIGHT FOR THE THIEPVAL PLATEAU

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2836, 29 July 1916, Page 9

THE FIGHT FOR THE THIEPVAL PLATEAU

IDVANCE NORTH OF POZIERES ; STUBBORN CONTFST FOR A TRISNCH"■' The High...Commissioner reports.—. _ London, July 2", 3.10 p.m. General Haig. reports :-Throughout the night our artillery was active and we continued to press the eiftmy in hand-to-hand encounters at various points- • 1 he'enemy; is.using.gas and tear shells in the battle area, v: \ . 'Elsewhere there has been..no incident of importance during the-past forty--'eight, hours.". . ■ ... ' ; ' . 'SIR'DOUGLAS HAIG'S-LATEST REPORT. ' "• /. ' (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright)'. ' . . . . Australian-New Zealand Ca,blft Association. -. .;. . ..... . (Rec. July. 28,: 7.5 "pmi'.) „.' i . . .. . London, Julv'2S. 'fu r captured ' la'st night an important-trench' •'^s2* ®? ,4res T i?ntinr-le-Petit litre,-' which.hitherto' had Resisted ' our attacks. The Germans in the morning regained -complete.possession. We immediately re-attacked, and regained a footing at the southern end • j After-hard fighting we drove the Germans' out of. the east- and north-east fh ' HeaT f fi f- Ktln S continues here,'.and at. Longueval, - [ the Northern part, which we regained. ■ "A small'party of Germans entered our ..trenches' westward' of the Ynre's-Pil- ' kein Road; but were driven out.' . ' ■ • "Further'south, after an artillery bombardment, we raided the line; aiid en--m "n f fv - f'r 15 ,, entansiements. We killed thirty, and found many of tneir dead in their trenches. .... defennes r " aViat ° rS g ° 0(1 WOrk locati " s the e n enl 3'' 3 batteries and nev ■ 7 1 (I?oc. July- 29, 0.10 a.m.) With the capture of the windmill at Pozieres the w only a few hundred yards from the highest point of the plateau, which -has a slHitiv more commanding position than the Foureaux Wood, three miles eastward ' SECOND PHASE OF THE MAIN-"PUSH" ACHIEVED. ' ■■ , - (Rec. July 28, 9.15 p.m.) Urn nn?ftr nii rft ' Briti v tt " Mnil «'« .capture and"''se^urinfof the positions at Pozieres, which the Territorials, co-operating with the An«acs had to take, under great .difficulties. . Tlj A Territorials sliowwl the utmost dash -md staunchness- in clearing the German, out of the wcrt of the village, I wMl«< Me Anzacs were attacking the south-east. The ground was grid-ironed with -■the enemys-trenches dotted with strongly fortified machine-gun posts, and ■ "idduion the front trenj-hes before Pozieres Are' commanded by 'the liigli'ground -tjbove ihierival. ... The Territorials, made a lot of ground during the firstni"l" and afterwards continually forged ahead,: rushing a-bit of trench, and at& ing the machine-gnn posts till they juncturned .with-the Anzacs at the top of the viuAire on Tuesday evening; . 1 : The British are-now well established on the line to the second main push, oe.gun on July 14, was directed, 13 v,deuce is accumulating that the enen ° h.w concentrated great quantities of gun, and troops.to oppose'the' next British ~ /riie stubborn at Pozieres was due -to the fact that the German* were all picked troops It is reported that tn e Kaiser himself ordered that the British must be kept out.at all costs. Over two hundred machine-guns defended the inproaches to Pozieres alone. Our bombardment, destroyed most of them, and their remains will be scattered about the ruins, but thirty were captured in good condition, » " A German company in a small fort in the centre of the village was completely surrounded. They held out for twelve hours, and whe7> the position was taken only four remained alive. Sixty were dead, heaped one .'above the ofiier in the little armoured .shelter. The commander of n Bavarian Battalion which was defending the north-east ■part of the village, realising the danger which was'menacing his garrison ordered a retirement. The Bavaria-* were obliged to cross a fi re-swept zone of three hundred, yards, where the British batteries decimated tliein. POZIERES A GREAT MILITARY ASSET (United Service.) (Rec. July 28, 8.15 p.m.) London, July 28 . A .'.correspondent writes: The capture of Pozieres distinctly improves tlio' position "on the Somme. It is believed that we are through the Germans' most elaborate defences. The Germans'doubtless are 'feverishly workin" for miles behind, but they .will have no time-to create anything like we have got past. I am well informed in saying that we are not afraid of anything thev can create, but they have massed enormous forces, entirely of infantry, which will now he our most serious problem." The. "Westminster Gazette's" _ military correspondent writes:—"The capture af Pozieres may prove to be decisive. Pozieres and Longueval command, the main roads oon'verginff mi ttapaii'ne, whilst. Foureaux Wood commands the crossroad running between them. Our capture will enable our attack to gather weight and momentum in falling upon the enemy in the ngricultnral country, which will require massed forces to resist. The capture of Pozieres decides the crux of the battle in our favour." 24 SQUARE MILES OF CAPTURED GROUND. Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. (Rec. July 28, 8..10 p.m.) London, July 28. Wounded Australians and Territorials slate that the capture of Pozieres include the windmill and the. cemetery. The British have won 24 square miles of mound on the Sommo since July 1. < FIVE MILLION BRITISH SHELLS IN FOUR WEEKS. (Eeuter's Telegram.) London, July 27. A correspondent at the British-Army Headquarters states that it is reliably computed that the British artillery fired 5,000,000 shells at the .German positions during the last four weeks. AMERICAN TRIBUTE TO. THE ANZACS. Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. New York, July 27. Tiie "Globe" 6ays: "The heroic fight'jng of the Anzacs is of particular interest, because these men closely resemble Americans. The holding of Pozieres . for three days will prove'one of the mos t wonderful tales of human endurance"

THE FIGHTING ON THE FRENCH FRONT SHARP ACTION IN CHAMPAGNE. • The High Commissioner, reports:— London, July 27, 3.15 p.m. The Trench official report states:—"South of Somme we progressed eastEstrees. There is a lively fusillade in the neighbourhood of"Soyecourt. "Northwards of the Aisne the enemy, after a violent bombardment, attacked yesterday evening the salient which forms a line north-west of Buttes Wood. The attack failed under our machine-gun fire. "In the Champagne, the bombardment of our positions yesterday, west of Prosnes, was'followed at'lo p.m. by a strong attack on a front of a thousand metres. The attack was arreted by our curtain of fire, causing losses to the enemy, who were unable to penetrate our lines except' at some advanced elements, from-which they were .ejected by our counter-attack shortly after. "On.the Verdun front, the artillery is active. During the night, on the 6ector of Hill 304, and in the Fleury-La Laufee region,, west'of the Thiaumont work, the French made progress with grenade attacks." London, July 27, 11.20 p.m. The usual cannonade is going on on the greater part of the front. There is a violent bombardment on the right of the Meuse, especially in the Fleury, Fumin Wood, and yhenois sectors.' A BRUTAL AIR CRIME, Australian-New Zealand Cable Association. . (Kee. July 28, 8.35 p.m.) Paris, July 28. A commnulfiue states:—"Three Geima;i aviators bombed Crepy-en-Valote - killing a girl and wounding three women." THE OFFENSIVE FROM THE GERMAN SIDE London, July 27. A German, official communique- states:—"There is intense artillery activity on both sides, between, tho Ancro and th e Somme. "We repulsed the enemy's hand grenade attacks westward of Pozieros. ■ • - "A French, attack north-west of Baileux failed. "Several strong French attacks in the region of Cold Height .(Froid de Terrc) and Fleury were repulsed. "Strong British reconnoitring detachments south-west of Warneton were repulsed." GARRISONS DENUDED FOR REINFORCEMENTS. . (United Service.) fßec. July 28, 8.15 p.m.) London, July fiS. The "Daily Mail's" correspondent at Amsterdam states that two divisions of infantry and four thousand Uhlans have loft the Ghent district for service southwards. "There is a continuous stream of men and guns en route for the tiommu. "no hundred, and fifty .lieavy guns and two divisions ' traversed tho Ghent railway in two days. The' Germans have suspended passenger communi-' cation between. Belgium and Holland, and the most stringent restrictions are being imposed on the inhabitants of Flanders mid North.France. It is believed that the majority of the German Belgian garrisons have been sent to the firing-line." ■ • • .. THEIR'CHANGED WAR AIMS. ... fßeuter's Telegram.) London, July 27i The changed tone among prominent Germans regarding the nation's war .aims-'is growing more evident. The latest example is that Baron von ■an Independent Conservative leader, is' advising the industrial and commercial associations to revise- their ideas of annexation, and to make their demands correspond with the present war situation. ■_ A further, significant fact is that pro-Wilr Socialist leaders, including - Herr Shneidemann,. had' a. most hostile reception at. Frankfurt..