LATE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 161, 27 March 1918, Page 7

LATE NEWS

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S REPORT ANOTHER DAY'S nEAYY FIGHTING . BRITISH FORCED TO GIVE GROUND GREAT WORK BY OUR AIRMEN (Hoc. March 27, 1.35 a.m.) London, March 26. >Sir Douglas Baiu; reports: "There lias been the most severe fighting all day on wide fronts south of Peronne and south and north of Bapaume. The onomy attacked our positions in great strength with fresh forces, and, despite a gallant resistance, we were forced to give ground. The enemy has occupied Nesle'and Bapaume. Heavy, iiguting continues. Big activity m the air is very great. The day has been remarkable for the weight of bombs dropped ana tho number, of fights. Many thousands of rounds hare beenr bred from low altitudes upon the enemy's troops. Our aeroplanes reported the progress of tho battle and informed the artillery of suitable targets. . Low-fly-ing machines bombed and fired with maolnne-guns upon tho mass'es of troops in the battle area. Over 1700 bombs were dropped in the daytime on diirorent targets, including the Brugos dock, Aulnoye railway station, large' painp south-east of Cambrai, high-veloc-; ity guns and hostile reinforcements. Tha' fighting was tho most severe experi- 1 enced. 'Wo brought down 47 enemrf machines, and drove 'down twenty-: two out of control. Ten of our machines aro missing. After dark we continued' bombing and using machine-guns on-j enemy troops opposite the battlefront,. and also bombed Bruges dock and an.-' aerodrome between Tournai and Mons used by night-fliers. Over fourteen* tons were dropped. AH our machines returned. One large enemy' machine' was bombed,' and landed behind our. lines. Following a successful daylight! raid on Mannheim and other objectives: in. Germany, we attacked in the nighttime and dropped half a ton of bomba on railway stations at Cologne, start-' ing a fire. Over a ton of bombs were> distributed over Luxembourg railway' station, where' a. firo was started, and at Courcelles railway station, eastward of Metz Two tons of- bombs weredropped on Metz railway station, and direct hits made on a bridge southeast of the town, and on a stationary; train, which was set on fire. A largo lire was also started at Alson. ' A ton of bombs were dropped on the Thionville railway station, where a moving train was derailed and a fire caused* All onr machines returned."—Aus.N.Z. Cablo Assn.-Eeuter.