SCENE OF HAIG'S SMASHING BLOW

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 51, 23 November 1917, Page 5

SCENE OF HAIG'S SMASHING BLOW

VIVID ACCOUNTS BY THE CORRESPONDENTS

BATTLE IGNORED ALL STEREOTYPED RULES

(Rec. November 22, 9.5 p.m.)

London, November 21. The correspondent for the United Press Agency writes: The battle ignored all stereotyped rules. Sir Douglas Haig attacked through the Hindenburg line with an army of tanks, penotrating the much-vaunted trench system on a wide front. No barrage preceded the infantry, and there was no artillery preparation. Tanks and infantry broko and crossed tho Hindenburg line without a single preparatory gun-shot being fired. The tanks, which had been berthed behind the lines, crawled out in the morning darkness, advancing in a blazing trail through tho Rindenburgian mane. The artillery during the, night fired sleepily on a front which was one of the quietest of tho entire line. If anything, it vas quieter than usual last night. The attention of the Germans and the British seemed to bo concentrated in Flanders. Then in the morning the batteries let loose over more than thirty miles of No-Man's Land, which shimmered, sparkled, and sizzled under a rain of fireworks, between Lens and St. Quenttii there was'a continuous shower of sparks and' Hashes. Gargantuan monsters of steel crawled forward through the smoke barago, trampling lino after lino of entanglements, whose wires wero the thickness of a finger. Each line wns scores of yards across. When the widest trenches wero reached the tanks, by a clever trick, furnished their own bridge, and crossed as smooth-as silk. The infantry then followed. Strangest Bailie in .World's History. Those,tactics entirely, surprised tho Prussians. One division'was in process of being relieved by another at tho moment of tho attack. The battle was the Btrangest in the history of the \vi Wd. When Hie world was saying that surprise attacks wero no longer possil'e, when the Prussians wero thinking the same, and sleeping comfortably in their dug-outs, an nrmy of tanks, camouflaged behind lines of British infantry, rose up from tho ground like magic, smashing the Ilindenburg line. It was the most wonderful performance of the war. ' Everything was absolutely normal until the kick-off, then hell was turned loose. Guns bellowed, tho tanks crawled forward, and the Tommies followed, shouting "Coino on , " impatiently. The Germans crawled from their dug-outs dazed and terror-stricken.; The British casualties were few. Desperate Fighting After First Surprise, I The United Press correspondent continues: —"As tho weird fleet of leviathans loomed through Llio misty duivu, ilio Germans in several places bolted, panic-stricken, but after their recovery from the first surprise tho fighting was despcrato. The ikicish stormed Ncuf Wood a milo ti of Marcoing, full of old quarries and underground defences, and considered ono of the strongest points defending the Hindanburg line. We have substantially advanced beyond this. Our booty includes a score of guns."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. The Field of Battle and its Difficulties. Router's correspondent at Headquarters states: Besides tho ordinary preparations for an attack on a largo scale, a. fleet of tanks had been brought close up to tho lino. Everything apparently liad been carried out without the smallest intimation reaching tho enemy. Tho advantage of tho sudden change of scene, apart from tho element of surprise, was that ground suitablo for tanks had not been cut up into shell holes. The enemy had evacuated this area last spring without fighting, and wk had never previously seriously attacked this section. Tiio enemy also had nothing liko tho concentration of guns that he has around Ypres and Passchendaole. On tho other liand, we had against us tho extremely formidable defences of tho Ilindenburg line, tho strength of which tho Germans had continuously increased since they fell back on tho positions last spring. They consisted ot a triple cordon of three soparato trench systems, witli tunnels in which the garrison was safo from the heaviest gunfire. Intricate wiring was co-oruinated with machine-gun posts ami strong redoubts. Tho main Hindenburg trenches had been mado specially wide to frustrate the operations of tanks, but they wero not wide enough. Tho monsters rolled through or over every obstacle. The infantry losses wero almost unprocedentcdly light. There wero evidences everywhere that the enemy had been taken unawares. The British have counted 8000 prisoners. Many more villages have been captured, and strong counter-attacks repulsed."—lleuter.

BRITISH NEAEING CAMBRAI

FIVE THOUSAND PIUSONEHS COUNTED.

; London, November 21. Tim British aro near Cambrni. Tiio number of prisoners counted totals 5000.—Router.

CAVALRY FIGHTING ON THE CAMBRAI PLAIN

(Rcc. November 22, 11.10 p.m.)

London, November 22.

Thousands of cavalry, hidden close to tho front lino until the tanks broke the Hindenburg line, have been fighting on the Cambrai Plain since midday on Tuesday, widening the salient, and capturing villages.—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.

THE NEWS IN NEW ZEALAND

A VICTORY "DOUBLY WELCOME."

A few words of comment on the great victory were spoken by tho Prime Minister yesterday. "Tho news received this morning of tho great victory on tho Western front," he said, "has gladdened tho hearts of British citizens in every part of the world, and has again proved tho superiority of the British soldiers over the very best men that Germany can place in tho field. At a time like this, when wo are anxiously watching tho events taking placo in. Russia and Italy, the victory is doubly welcome, and as it is welcomo to us so it must be disappointing to the enemy. The new tactics must have been a terrible surprise to the German commanders, and coming so soon after their successes in Italy, a terrible surprise to tho whole of the forceß of the Central Powers. We may still experience disappointments before the end comes, but co'ura"o and resource such as General Haig and his soldiers havo displayed, backed" Tip by determination on tho part of non-combatant citizens, will without the shadow of a doubt see tho war through to the conclusiou which wo desire."