HEAVY RAIN ON THE WESTERN BATTLEFRONT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 15, 12 October 1917, Page 5

HEAVY RAIN ON THE WESTERN BATTLEFRONT

SEVERAL COUNTER-ATTACKS REPULSED LATEST ACCOUNTS OP THE GREAT ATTACK , By .Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, October 10. Sir Douglas Haig reports: "We repulsed several counter-attacks last evening in, tlio neighbourhood' of the Ypres-Staden railway. Tho enemy forced back our advanced troops a short distance on a front of two thousand yards south of the railway Wo repulsed counter-attacks, with loss, north-cast of Broodseinde. We carried out a raid south of the Scarpe. Heavy rain is falling."—Ana.-N.Z. Cable Aesn.-Beuter. . STRENUOUS DAY FOR THE AIRMEN. ' (llcc. October 11, !) p.m.) London, October 11. Sir Douglas Hais reports: "Our aviators did much work on the battlcl'ront on Tuesday, in spite of the 6trong £ale and thick clouds which prevailed. Tho ,artillery wa s thus enabled to deal with the enemy's new gun iiosilions and other suitaWo targets, and kept in touch with our own infantry all day long. The enemy's troops were harassed at every opportunity by machine-gun fire, and many bdmbs were dropped on Roitlers, Courtrni, Menin, and Ledeghem stations, causing a number of explosions. We brought down six German aeroplanes. Two of ours are missing. In tho course of tho day attacks oil our new positions in the neighbourhood of tho Ypres-Staden railway led to local fighting, but .that did not effect any material change in the situation. The enemy made no further coun-ter-attacks. Our troops actively organised tho captured positions, in spite of tho great difficulties of tho ground. Tuesday's prisoners, hitherto reported, number 2038, of whom 29 were officers. This also includes 400 who were taken by the French. We captured a few field guns and a number of machine-guns and trench mortars."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. i SUCCESS SOMEWHAT MODIFIED, BUT NET GAIN OVER A MILE (Rec. October 11, 10.5 p.in.) ' • London, October 11. Mr Percival Phillips 6ays: "Yesterday's original success was somewhat modified between Broodseindb and tho Thorout railway, embracing tho area of our attack from Passchendaele to tho southern border of tho Forest of Houthutet. Somo of our troops have fallen back to a lino which is still much in advance of that held yesterday morning. This relinquishment was due to the unfavourable nature of. the ground, which in somo places was an impassible quagmire. Nowhere did the enemy drive us out. The waterlogged condition of tho country and the largo number of 6nipers who vera ensconced behind trees and concrete redoubts at Passchendaele retarded our progress. It is impossible to give an exact definition of the present line between Po«lcapelle and Broodseinde. Some of the fortified farms which wore cleared yesterday have been reoccupied by the enemy, but on the average our net advance is two thousand jards."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. VON HINDENBURG CONCERNED ABOUT FLANDERS (Rec. Octobcr 11, S p.m.) Rome, October 1.0. It is reported that von Hindenburg has declined to accompany tho Kaiser to the Balkans, owing to the situation in. Flanders.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. FURTHER ACCOUNTS. OF THE BATTLE THE FIGHT FOR "DAISY WOOD/' London, October 10. - The "pocket" of Germans in the Daisy Wood is still holding out, but it is fast dwindling. Fighting continues at Polderhoek Chateau. Hand-to-hand fighting occurred in Celtic \Vood, t whicli tho Australians now have in their possession. Bayonets were freely used in terrific nian-to-man clashes. The troops have never 'had tasks harder than these. The Germans wore unable to mate a general counter-attack. The beet they could do was in feeble, local reactions. The British advanced posts in the centre and on the right retired slightly at night, in order to consolidate tho lino better Dtnvn brought tremendous aerial activity. Scores of aeroplanes fought in tho midst of a storni of shrapnel, the Allies aviators'firing their machine-guns at the German infantry, and harassing the enemy balloons and batteries. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. German Fourth Army Severely Defeated. Air. Percival Phillips writes*. "The German Fourth Army lias been defeated again in a battle which is another unqualified success. Prisoners are surrendering in large numbers. We again caught the German divisions in the process of relief and punished them severely. The rain and mud made the enemy believe that another enterprise wad impossible, and it was a complete surprise. Our'troops fought in sway.ps and pools, and sometimes were buried by shells; but the unquenchable spirit of victory carried thorn through. Somo •nien marched for nearly twelve hours just More going into, battle; yet they fought like lions. The attack was less a great battlo than a great readjustment of the battlefront. There were two simultaneous advances. The larger operation was the swinging forward of our left towards 1 asschendaele Village, thereby casing the salient of which Broodseinde was the projiounced point. This involved tho. capture of the remainder of Poelcapello Village and an advance among tho wilderness of ruined farms on the western 6purs of the Passchendaelo /Kidge, in the direction of the Houthulst Forest. On the right of the battlefront wo straightened out an erratic line around 11-outelbeck and the Polderhoek Chateau. The fighting between Poelcapelle and the Houthutet Forest was handicapped by marshes caused by the shell-lire 6hooting away the banks of the Broonbeek, and thp country here wa« a 9ll eet of stagnant yellow water, with a long irregular slope of slippery ooze beyond, cut by the shattered embankment of l.hc Thonrout Kailway and the Jjangemurck Road. All this was liberally planted with enemy redoubts, the lliouroui. I'ailway embankment giving cover to ma-chine-guns, while a number of piu-bo.u»& \ replaced the railway station. Here we caught two German divisions relieving each■other. One had been hurried from the Argonne in motor-buses, and thrust into the forest during tho night. Tho troops they relieved had been lying in tho rain and mud sinco tho last attack, and a great number of Hie men were ill. lucse wittalioiis were so anxious to pet away that they failed lo gi.ve, the necessary intoimotion to the Argonne Division, and tlio latter know nothing about tho disposition ol the British opposite tiieni. The men, on surveying tho British barrage, surrendered immediately. The first ami second objectives were gained on tirn<\ ann « o clock 1 ho troops of the British Isles and of another island of the hmpii'c ncrc brcaklatiliiifj amoug vhc vanquished re-

<loubts. Here they rested a lime befote going on to Hie final goal. The Germans evacuated somo 'pill-boxes' as our nion came up. The Uevnians admitted that they had been l>adly pounded by our Stokes' mortars. The French, on the British left, suffered even more from the mud, but they wero splendidly protected by their own artillery. Stiff fighting occurred in tlio ruins, also on the remains of a brewery west of the Comsbeko Road, just clear of the village. The Germans had strengthened tlio cellars in the village since 'I'hursdny, when we halted at the cross-roads. This had convinced tlio German regimental commander that ho had still a> lighting chance of turning us out; but before dawn the Germans had been chased out. of the cellars on the outskirts of tlio village, ran along the broken street, and reassembled at the brewery. Machine-guns tilled tlio apertures in Hid sandbagged brewery walls, and stubborn fighting lasted throughout the morning. The British troops early in the afternoon gained a foothold in the brewery, which was finally captured. Tho garrison were all killed or taken prisoner." Tho United Press correspondent states I hat the Australians, after terrific bayonet fighting, took possession of Celtic Wood, south-east of Broodseinde.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. SPLENDID FEAT BY LANCASHIRE MEN ELEVEN HOURS' MABCH IN PITCH BLACK NIGHT TO WIN THEIR OBJECTIVES. (Rec. October 11, 10.55 p.m.) London, October 11. ■ Ihe Battle of Poelcapelle will always bo famous for the grit of the-Lan-cashires, who, in marching to the attack, endured superhuman trials. At nightfall they crossed the Yser Canal and niarchetl for miles over a formless, featureless country, lighted only by the gunflashes. The night was pitch' dark, and the men stumbled on through infinite tangles of sinister country. They fell foul of shell holes. It was impossible to got food, drink, and rest, otherwise they would havo been late for the battle. The troops inarched thus for eleven hours, arrived in time, and in spite of their exhaustion went over with the rest and fought a great battle, winning their objectives and ' withstanding counter-at-tacks."—United Service. HEAVY FIGHTING ON THE MEUSE , PROLONGED AND OBSTINATE STRUGGLE. (Rec. October 11, 9 p.m.) London, October 11. A French, ofhcial communique states: "There was no infantry action in Belgium to-day. Our troops are consolidating the positions that' were won. On both sides there is artillery activity north of the Aisne. After an intense bombardment tho enemy violently attacked us on. the right bank of the Meuee, north of Chaume Wood. The attack was maintained throughout the day, and the enemy gained a footing at some points in our advanced elements, but our artillery prevented him from making further progress."—A us.-N.Z. Cable Assn.Heuter. DECLINE IN THE ENEMY'S STRENGTH ■ CLEAR AND UNMISTAKABLE INCREASE RECORDED. ~ _ , London, October 10. A French Commission, authoritatively reviewing the recent courso of tho war, declares that .the Germans have reached their supreme military effort, For the first time since the beginning of the war, a clear decrease ft the total strength, of the German forces is recorded. Germany has been forced to call up part of the 1919 class, and to break up newly-formed regiments to reinforce the fighting units. In spite of the Russian upheaval, tho continuity, and intensity of tho Anglo-French offensive has prevented Germany from getting the benefit of her valuablo reserves. Germany retains- great powers of resistance, which it will take nil the strength of the Allied forces, to break; but her resources are diminishing at the very moment when the military situation requires them to increase. Tlio British and French armies have reached their full strength, and are capable, with tho help of tho United States, of maintaining enormous strength until the end of the war. This will prove its decisive, character in the operations in 1918.—Aue.-. N.Z. Cable Assn.