CORRESPONDENTS' DISPATCHES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 188, 29 April 1918, Page 5

CORRESPONDENTS' DISPATCHES

LOSS AND RECAPTURE OF VILLERS BRETONNEUX THE AUSTRALIANS' COUNTERATTACK SKILFUL AND DARING GENERALSHIP London, April 20. Mr. Philip Gibbs mites: "Since the rating of yesterday's dispatch, many likings have happened. We lost Villers Bretonneux completely. The enemy was in possession of the village long enough to stuff it with men and machine-guns. Up to 10 o'clock Wednesday night, the Germans believed they held it firmly and permanently. Then came a brilliant counter-attack: The Australian troops, by a most skilful and daring piece of generalship, were sent forward in tho darkness preliminary artillery preparations, relying absolutely on tho weapons they carried to regain an important position which gave tho enemy full observation of our positions on both s:de3 of ■ the Somme Valley to beyond Amiens. Tho splendid courago of the Australians, the. cunning of their ma-chine-gunners, and tho fine leadership of their officers, achieved success. In conjunction with English battalions, they spent the night in clearing out/'fcho enemy from tho village, where the Germans made a desperate resistance. We brought back between 700 and 800 prisoners'.- It was a complete reversal of fortune for tho enemy, whose bodies lie' in heaps between Villers Bretonneux and Warfusce, and all about the ruins and fields in the neighbourhood. | An Artillery Truce. ! "That sector of the valley of tho Soinmo is no longer under fire. Indeed, our guns and the enemy's alike have declared a truce, _ because the Australian, English, and German soldiers are mixed up so closely that shelling is impossible to both sides. The Gorman machinegunners on Wednesday morning were in many places entirely cut off by tho English and Australian counter-attack. "Small parties of Germans are resisting behind ruins and banks, whilo our men are engaged in routing them out'. The roads behind the British lines are much cut up by tho murderous German artillery fire. Passing along the broken road wore living men witli the ash-grey colour of dead bodies. They were German prisoners, under escort of English and Australian soldiers. Throughout tho morning I'saw groups of prisoners limping along the roads, sometimes carrying stretchers with wounded officers and men. They had been many hours without food, as we had cut off their supplies with our artillery firo. English Regiments' Terribls Ordeal. "English county regiments holding Villers endured a terrible ordeal of monstrous firo. which many say was tho worst seen in the whole war. Finally the enemy turned to the western side of the village. Four German divisions, each of twelve regiments. in full strength, managed to fight a way into the village. The raeu of Middlesex. West York, and East Lancashire put up a great fight, but were compelled to retire to the edge of Bois l'Abbe, while the enemy crammed Villers Bretonneux with men and machine-guns. Australians' Magnificent Courage. "The moon was veiled in thick wet mist. Tho Australian general decided that the men should go straight into the attack with bayonets and machine-guns without waiting for artillery preparation, which would tell tho enemy what was coming, The plan of attack was to push forward in two bodies and encirclo Villers, whilo tho Northamptons andother British troops, in the centre, fought through ,the village from the north.. This manoeuvre was carried out owing to the magnificent courage of each Australian. Tho Germans fought desperately when they found themselves entrapped. Thoy had nests of machineguns along the railway embankment below the village. Theso they fired fiercely, sweeping the attackers. Those who worked round the north-east of the villago also came under a burst of ma-chine-gun fire from the ruins, but fought the enemy from one bit of ruin to another in (lie streets." Germans' Initial Success Due to Gas Shells. Mr. Pe'rcival Phillips writes: "Villers Bretonneux is a substantial town of five thousand inhabitants, built mostly of brick, and. laid out compactly in the form of a square, with main road from St. Quontin to Amiens as its northern boundary. On the south tho fields fall away to tho river Luce, at Hangard. Three miles away, on tho east, is the village of Warfusee. On tho Amiens side the ground dips sharply, and rises again to a dense wood. Tho Germans owed their initial success to the uso of gas shells. The first assault, by two German divisions, aimed at capturing a wood, but only forty moil secured a foothold, and tl'iey surrendered later. During the first advance the Germans . failed to make nn? headway against the \nstralians around Sailly lo Sec, nn<l gave up Die attack. Two more divisions I were then thrown into Villers. Our rounlor-attack during the night was a cnmnleto mirnriso. The German gunners" did not know what was happening, and it was im'imssiblc to dm!: up a bar- , rage without destroying their own people. Kockets cave the Australians. Berkfhires, and Northamptons enough light j for buvonot fighting, though sometimes we wore delnved l>v tho darkness. Our | casualties were not light, but thev were j nothing like as heavy as the German losses. j Fight Between Tanks. , "British and German tanks met for ] (he first time in battle. Victory was : ours. They fought in the open fields iirouud Villers. Tho Gorman tanks led j I he attack from Iho north-east and the j south.. Infantry followed, with machineguns, mortars, and light artillery. Tho Germans used four or five tanks, bulky, ungainly, very unlike Hie British, and equipped with a broad turret with quickfiring guns. They crawled up in the thick mist behind the barrage until they were close |e our trenches. The first intimation of their presence was when one dropped into a gully parallel to the trenches, and turning north, 'lattened I the parapets and fusilladed the infantry, j British tanks came up, and the Ger- I

mans, when they saw them approach, advanced to engage them, concentrating their 6hellfire on a single British ma--chine. But another British tank crawled to tho rescue. There was a brief duel, until one German was disabled, and the other then scuttled away. Later light British tanks successfully engaged the German infantry, which was massing for an a,ttack near Cachv, southwest of Villore Bretomeux. they slid swiftly forward, and returned with their sides covered with blood. They had charged the enemy repeatedly. The lesson of this first engagement is that we have nothing to fear from the enemy tanks, in epite of the size and weight of the machines and their- armament. German Attack on Kemmel Hill. "The attack on Kemmel Hill was carefully planned. Four or six German divisions were used, of which threo were mountain troops. Tho fighting continues. We still hold Grand Bois, near Wytschaeto. Tho mountain troops at ono time- reached the crest of Kemmel j Hill. Though the French fought with their usual gallantry and determine tion, tho Germans assaulted from two sides, ono of which was swept bare of trees by tho artillery, and the other was covered . with broken trunks and branches. The position was drenched with gas, tho timbered slopes holding (ho deadly fumes, and the defenders had to fight in their gas masks/"—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. French and British Fighting Side By Side. The United Press correspondent writes: "Figihiting continued all day along tho heights dominating Amiens from the east, and also around Kommel. The French aro holding Kemmel village and hill, while the British hold Grand Bois, north of Wyteohaete. The Germans flung fresh masses against the positions between Bailleul and Wytschaete, to which Von Hindenburg attaches importance. Tihoy progressed south of the Kemmol Ridge, and have- apparently occupied Dranoutre. Tho French and British are fighting brilliantly side by. side. Tho British apparently hold Villers Bretonneux."—Aus.,-N.Z. Cablo Assn-. Heavy Attacks on the French, lieuter's correspondent at British Headquarters, writing on the evening of April 25, says: "During the last two_ nights the enemy attacked the Frenclaround Dranoutre with a strength, of six battalions. The enemy gained a temporary advantage, but was driven back by counter-attacks. This morning a niuch heavier assault/ was delivered, by four to six divisions, over a front of seven miles, on the lines of Meteren, Bailleul, nnd Wytschaete. An Alpine corps, the 11th Bavariaas, and the 117 th Division, consisting of mountain troops, were engaged, with Jaeger regiments in support, and an entirely fresh division, the 56th, was identified. The attack overlapped on our froni on the right fiank of the French."—Eeuter. THE FIGHTING 4T KEMMEL. HILL A VIVID DESCRIPTION (Kec. April 28, 5.5 p.m.) London, April 27. Mr. H. Perry Bobinson gives a vivid description of the fighting at Kemmel Hill. ''An intense bombardment coni.menced at midnight and continued till four in the morning. The attack was delivered on a wide front from near Wyteohaet;e, held by the British, along the front of Kemmel, w.est of Dranoutre, held by the French. The penetration seems to have been made at two points simultaneously, at the Franco-British junction east of Kemmel, and through the French lines on the west. The enemy, pouring in on both sides, surrounded Kemmel and cut off the garrison. The fighting certainly was continued on the hillcrest for soven to eight hours till the middle of the afternoon. The garri6on had sworn never to give up Kemmel while they were alive. The Frenchmen's Fight on the Hilltop. "One- can only roughly picture the scene as the Germane svnrnied the lull. The Frenchmen, taken on both flanks and in the rear, fought with lessening numbers and in a gradually reduced area. Finally, only tho hilltop was crowned with blue as the defenders, facing all ways, mado the last stand. When all is known I believe the last %bt of the French on Kemmel will stand as one of the rcost stirring episodes' of the war. Kemmol is the first of tho chain of isolated hills running eastward of Mont des Cattes and Cassel, each dominating and giving observation over a wide' area of country. Meanwhile our lino has fallen back between Kemmel and tho next height, Scherpenberg, thence north-east to Vierstraat and thence east to Grand Bois, near Wytsqhacte. From the left to this point our lino has been held under very hard fighting. Tho enemy had penetrated 1000 yards south-west of Wytschaete before the Royal Scots, in the front ,lino, knew the battle had bogun. Further north iho Camerons held the lino- for nine hours of eavage fighting, till ordered to fall back and conform with thn new , positions. The Scottish troops, including tho Black Watch, inflicted extremely, heavy casualties and captured many prisoners." Effectiveness of the .Mew Tanks, Jbr. Eobinson states that our new Ifeht tanks aro wonderfully effective. The crew of one got amongst two German battalions nnd declare they killed a thousand. Their speed enables them to rim down and crush masses of the enemy.—"The Times." Situation in Flandors Still Serious. llr. Philip Gibbs, writing on April 27, states:—A thick wet fog, like London's particular fog at its worst, enveloped tho Kemmel sector on Friday morning. Favoured by the fog and the effect of their gunfire, the attackers caused gaps in tho Anglo-French line and isolated the French on Kemmel Hill. Our coun-ter-attack met a \ricked machine-gun fire, and we could not maintain and hold the recaptured ground, though ive did not lose all. The situation in Flanders is still serious. Tho enemy may endeavour to exploit tho advance at Kemmel by a, great concentration of strength and moro violent attacks, but the French Army is now assisting thn British to bar the way. Everyone is fully confident of tho result. Australians Close Gap in Line. The Australians at Villers have now joined up the gap which existed for a timo in Hie British line. The whulo village- is non in our hands. The loss the enemy suffered is if anything underestimated. The Australians describe the Germans' tanks as 36 feet long, 12 feet high and broad, with a central turret. Their caterpillar tracks pass round several paiK of wheels, and tho tanks resemble enormous turtles, but they are

very slow. They are armed villi 'woinch guns and six machine-guns handled by scratch crews who have not been specially trained. 'I'w.o of the tauks fled directly they encountered our tanks. Furious Battle for Flemish Hills. Mr. I'ercivnl Phillips writes:—The battle fur the Flemish hills continued on Friday with unabated fury. Though the gallant Froneh infantry defended liommcl to the death, four German divisions and mounted troops enveloped this isolated mound of pounded earth and splintered tiinbjr, and gained the crest at a. heavy sacrifice. The enemy is now striving desperately towards Scnerpcnberg, tlie next hill in tho chain of ground behind the newly-entrenched divisions. His field guns are limiting like a heavy hammer upon the plain of Plunders, and his longrange guns are searching the remote villages and country roads. Although the French bore the brunt of the attack the British troops were heavily engaged, on either side, especially on the lower slopes of tho ridge around Wytscliaeto and the broken woodland -towards the Yprcs Canal. The Germans mwlo a double attack on the hill after an allnight bombardment with gas shells. Tho French .infantry received orders to remain on tho hill until they died rather than retreat. The Gorman's fought their way through a tangle of broken tree trunks; wire and battered trenches, losing heavily in our machine-gun barrage. Finally it came to hand-to-hand lighting. The fog drifting across the marshes helppd the first German attack. The Camerons put up a fine fight for a fortified sunken road called the Danvmstrasse, which they held. The Black Watch was engaged in hand-to-hand fighting at Kenimel village. Germans Cleared Out of Villers Bretonneux. Tho Australians and the English have now cleared all tho pockecs of Germans out of. Tillers BiGconnoux. The Germans surrendered freely, emerging from underground shelters. Many of them Tvero suffering severely from gas poisoning,- as the German helmet ia not fully proof—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.