STORY OF THE FRENCH COUNTER-ATTACK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 229, 15 June 1918, Page 7

STORY OF THE FRENCH COUNTER-ATTACK

HEAVIEST LOSSES INFLICTED. London, June 13, 2.35 a.m. Router's correspondent, writing from French Headquarters dii June 12, states: "Our counter-attack yestenh.v, between Courcelles and Belloy, was delivered just as the Germans had assembled for the attack, consequently their position was strongly held. Tho lighting was Utter. "Tlio artillery preparation on the eight-mile (rout was brief but terrific. >Lines of batteries of every kind shelled the enemy's positions and then the tanks advanced. There was fierce infantry fighting in the hills and violent aerial battles.. Our aviators, dominating the situation, first began the outbreak. They saw two villages ablaze, and immense flames rose from munition dumps, which exploded. Our artillery aml infantry continued to advance. 'Ihere was no hitch or disorder; the moral was marvellous. The Anglo-French air squadrons flew over tho front infantry, spraying tho Germans with bullets from a height of a few score yards, while, bombing machines attacked tho enemy concentrations lit the rear. , ' The losses by the Germans, owing to the overcrowded front, were of the heaviest. Their strength is indeed remarkable, lour divisions were identified on a front of 3500 yards. Yard by Yard. The enemy -in ihe centre continues, at heavy cost, to push his way yard by yard down the Ma}/, Valley, where the abundance of small woods .and broken ground afford maximum protection against machine-gun and artillery Jil'e. Our ■■ troops further west have pushed their progress on the plateau into < lie valley belqw this ]x>sition, in which the enemy believed himself firmly established fortyeight, hours ago. It was important for hie iidfanco in tho centre, as it overlooks the Matz Valley -ami commands the junotion of the main roads from llontdidier to Beauvragnes and Cuvilly, through which the enemy troops and supplies for tho front line in the river valley must pass; and also tno junction of the Senlis and Compiegno roads, on which the enemy depends for his advance to tllo south. The trench thus o\erlook tho ■ German centre, and tlii.i must'already have greatly embarrassed the enemy.—Beuter. t . • ■ • THE AIRMEN'S BATTLE. (Hec. Juno 15, 0.10 a.m.) Paris, Juno 13. A marked feature of Wednesday's fighting, when the. Germans by massed attacks hiado determined but unsuccessful efforts to regain the ground: that was captured by the French counter-attacks, was the co-operation of tho Allied airmen, who, 'flying low,' bombed and machine-gunned (he enemy's troops, especially in the narrow defile of fho Matz, which was piled with dead. The struggle was fiercest round Belloy and in ihe adjoining woods, where wo captured an outwork. Depressed prisonere talcing refuge in cellars and vaults were taken at Belloy.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ■ ■ . '" THE WAR IN THE AIR ,■ ■ " GERMAN "HEAVIES" PUT OUT OF ACTION. (Rec. June H, 7.55 p.m.) London, June 13. Keuter's correspondent at French Headquarters states--"The important role played by our air force in battle is daily increasing. During the fighting tno light bombardment- squadron's performed the unprecedented feat of attacking German heavy-gun batteriesjn action, and silencing them, killing or scattering the gunners.. In the Ticardy offensive our fighting 'planes repeatedly attacked tho enemy's field-gun batteries with machine-guus, but this silencing of the heavy guns by bomb attacks from the. air is a. new achievement."—Reuler. • . ■ . • COMMENT ON THE SITUATION "BATTLE HAS TAKEN A, BETTER TURN" . ■■■ , ■ ' v '■> ' London, June 13. Mr. George Perris, the "Daily Mail" correspondent, cabling this morning, says;-' The outlook is decidedly more 'cheerful, and tho battle has taken a better turn! The German onset on tho third day suffered a distinct check, owing ,o a remarkable series of French counter-attacks yesterday. They began, eastward oi tho railway, between Domfront and Wacquemoulin, a.distance of eight mi es, and the infantry; supported by tanks, swept back the Germans along tho wholo line. One French, contingent actually reached points within, the German front, ihe advance went well beyond Rubecourt and Le Fretoy, and beyond Belloy, to tho border of St. Maur. Meanwhile the enemy delivered α-powerlul : blow in tho centre,' reaching' Antheuil, in spite- of vigorous opposition. A further counterattack from , our left centre completely arrested the advance. A.certain amount of confusion was apparent in the German ranks during these combats, and the fact that a-thousand prisoners and some cannon were taken speaks eloquently. But these were not their heaviest punishment. . Eye-witnesses say that corpses are strewn over tho battlefield. ' The enemy's effort overlapped into our right centre, but the attempt to debouch by the Matz Valley to the Oise proved a complete failure. Tho French repulsed repeated assaults at Cheviucourt, while ularchemoiit and Bothancourt frequently changed hands. Tho battle raged till, late at night. Three critical dava, with enormous losses, have therefore not, given the enemy any very magnificent result. Von Hutier has met his match. The Real Battle Was Won. • "The French, lines-this afternoon aro held all the way round from tho important position of■ Mery, by St. Maur and Antheuil to Marest and Chevincourt. iesterdayV counter-attacks met great bodies of the enemy preparing to force another advance; Four divisions were ranged on a. space of two miles; hence the frightful intensity of the combat and the abnormal slaughter. The Irench tanks did excellently, and so did the fleets of British and French aeroplanes, which swept down upon the battlefields before and behind the infantry, dropping bombs and raining in machine-gun tire wherever a group of enemy soldiers was seen, and-thus making good our numerical inferiority of infantry. In this way the veal battle, which aims at the destruction of the invaders and not at territorial gains, was won. The German command openly avowed its aim this morning when thero was a new development of tho offensive near lontenoy, on the east flank of tho salient from Moiilin-sous-Touvont, to thsAisne, and also southwards of the Aisue, from Amblony. to -Dommiers. This wido . attack amounts'to-on admission, of a-check: west of the.Oiso. and. of tho poor prospect for a march on-Compiegno and Paris by tho shortest Toad."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. ' . • ■ •:' ■ ■ • ■ ' OPINION IN PARIS STATEMENTS BY CAPTURED OFFICERS. .. ,'.''■' London, Jnno 13. Since General Foch's afternoon communique, the experts in Paris aro optimistic that the German "bullrush" will bo stopped. It is estimated that 210 German divisions havo been engaged since March 21, and that each division lost ii, minimum of two thousand jn'en each timo it entered tho line. It is noteworthy that the Germans show no elation. Tlie -\mericans captured thirty-four German officers. They state that the High Command promised peace by July t. The officers now realise that this is impossible, and criticise the utter recklessness of the present offensive, which is entailing the most terrible losses. They say that disease in Germany is rampant. Children under ten sears of ago aro dying wholesale. An air raid destroyed the-Cologne station, and 120 soldiers returning from leave were killed — Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. '■■.'" CONFIDENCE IN.FOCH .! London, Juno 13. Everywhere thero is the utmost confidence in General Foch's Army. The defences of the city proceed apace. War provisions have been stored; industries are bein" transferred; and thousands of children havo been sent away. Iho Government is v considering the question of handling the refugees who are daily arriving from the threatened areas.-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ■ . . WHAT THE GERMANS SAY THE MYSTERY OF FOCH'S RESERVES. , Amsterdam, June 12. Although German semi-official messages insist that thero is no fear of the Entente's manoeuvring army interfering in the present battle, several German critics refuse to accept tho War Office view that Foch's reserves are exhausted. I Ins official view was emphasised by the survey of the military position by General von Stein (Minister of War) in the Reichstag. He claimed that by the great success of the Crown Prince's attack the French had been forced to use their reserves to patch up thoj British front, and thus adequate reserves wcro wanting at the Chemin des'Dames. The Ent'ento Powers were coming to recognise a heavy defeat.—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. THE BEST ANSWER TO VON STEIN. London, June 13. Colonel Repington-says that the French counter-attacks giro the necessary answer to General von Stein that the Foch Army reserve no longer existed. Ihe French withdraw was inevitable, but implies tho loss of valuable positions.— Aus.-iN.Z. Cable Assn. WAR CORRESPONDENTS' REPORTS RIDICULED. (Rec. June 14, 11.15 p.m.) Amsterdam, June 13. The German war correspondents' reports are ridiculed. It is asserted by soldiers at the front who have written homo that their correspondents' stories are nonsense and intended for home consumption, and that they aro becoming intolerable—Renter. SITUATION "EXCEEDINGLY REASSURING" STATEMENT BY THE FRENCH PREMIER. Paris, June 13. Despite the withdrawal on the left bank of /the Oise. which was effected on Monday night, M. Clemcnceau (Prime Minister), in tho Senate, said he was ':oniident.' The situation was exceedingly reassuring. The enemy had put eiiornious forces in the field, and had suffered extraordinary losses. , „ , , M Galli (a member of the Chamber of Deputies), who witnessed 1 nesiluy s emash'in" counter-attacks, was intensely impressed by Hie method and organisation, and tho orderliness, of the operations, although tho movements for the. attack wero kept secret until tho previous evening. Motor lorries brought up the troops who were in admirable spirits. He saw two picked divisions attack an advanced firing-line with imperturbable calm and resoluteness. A General addressed them as they passed, and tho men responded with simple and touching earnSome precautionary measures for tho defence of Paris hnvc already been . taken, although everyone is confident the Germans will not reach the city. Ihe Deputies for the. Seine Departments are dealing with such matters as t'he eventual evacuation of the population, war industries, works of art, and the revictualling of refugees who are now reaching the city from Coinpiegne, from which iown every civilian has been evacuated.—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. GENERAL MAURICE ON THE OUTLOOK London, Juno VI. General Maurice, writing in the "Daily Chronicle," sii.vs:—"Tlio Germans have established themselves on the Thiescourl. Plateau, and the trench have fallen back from the salient to the other bank of tho Oise, and evacuated Car epont Wood. While tho French hold Iho Belloy Ridge and tho heights on the south bank of the Matz Mar the junction wit h tho Oise, they should be able

to hold the Laijiuo Forest Plateau between the Oiso and ihe Aisne, and cover C'omniegiie. With steadily diminishing reserves,. Himlenbiirg- has reached the position when lie is unablo to maintain the pressure towards' Paris :and shmiltancously attack the British front on the contemplated scale. Prince ltupprecht is probably capable of attacking heafily, but his drafts must .be dwindling. One of Germany's offensives must now bo weakened foi , the benefit of the other. Tho Germans havo now started to attack tho Soissons front south of tho Aisne, on the eastern Hank of the salient in which Compiegne Hos, but tho danger of this move is lessened by the success of tho French counter-attack, -which improved tho Allies' immediate situation, though tho days of anxiety nre far from being over."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. 0 VON LUDENDORFF'S AIMS * London, Juno 13. Colonel Rcpington (military correspondent of the "Morning Post") says lib doss not suppose that Von Ludendorff will he satisfied until ho gains at least Jlont Canelon, which overlooks Compieguo from tho north, and eo-compel the i-jreneh in the anglo between tho rivers to cross to the southljank of tho Aisne Tho fresh German offensive from the Soissons sector is obviously designed "to aid tho squeezing process bv threatening the retreat of "the 'French who are still north of tho Aisne. Tho enemy boasts that he has succeeded in eiiga"iii» and scattering Foch's reserves; but it is early to claim that the Allied Generalissimo his nothing under his hand. Tho nioro troops the enemy shows tho easier it will become for the defender to tako precautions. Colonel Eepiiigtonsavs--"It seems certain that the enemy has four strong armies, under Von Jlarwitz' Von Bulow, Von Quasi, and Von Arnim, .between the sea and the Soinme These have had a- long rest, and must bo ready to begin again,"—Aus.'-N.Z. Cable DEFENCE OF THE FRENCH CENTRAL' PLATEAU CAREFUL PLAN PREPARED. Speaking at a luncheon prior to leaving Australia, J[. Chayet l?rPiich n Consul General said he was aware before tho war of a very careful plan which had been prepared for tho defence of the Central Plateau in France in the supposititious caso ot a war with Germany, in which the foo might capture Paris Hence he was assured that if tho Germans did take Paris, his country would then con tinne to fight on with all their strength and courage.—A us'-N Z Cable Assn