BITTER STRUGGLE FOR LIHONS RIDGE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 280, 15 August 1918, Page 5

BITTER STRUGGLE FOR LIHONS RIDGE

(Rec. August 14, 7.45 p.m.) \r v-n 1r i . London, An;,ust 13. jut. ivoitli Alurdoen, correspondent aI- Australian. Headquarters, writing on August 11, states: "As fresh. Hun troops (which include Grenadier Guards) arJhwtr?S^ y "* r ? I,tanw ,^? eM ' 5"? ba F° he * [ttS t0 «*«™<» Iho normal characteristics of close and intense fighting. On tha ridge in front of Lihons ~i,,.„ A, gul ! D S rs 1 wcrß told to sacrifice their guns in order to hamper the nn in™ °i J he lnfa " h 7' a,ld told t 0 dio on th " vi(i &°- Tl)is r%» is tho strongest position between Bretonneux and Roye. It dominates the plain and is „vl„ gl "« ms of * th ? old Somme battlefield. Tho mazes of the old trenches, overiw. j-l Bra , B - S ,'- M serviceable, are available for tho defenders. The Australians did some bitter fighting round the ridge, eventually outflanking the Germ,n " mi mi l g £ e ?? ba , ok in ficvco «o«nter-attncks, ami capturing a number of (,uns. xue Australian losses were under half the number of the prisoners they captured. Onr bootf continues to pile up. The Eosieros dump alono is worth a million sterling."—United Service. OFFENSIVE ENTERS UPON A QUIET STAGE (Rec. August 14, 10.10 p.m.) A».m? Britieli Headqnnrtan, writing ontt aVterntolf'of ffrtoiL S: drive from Montdidier to north of tho Sommo ha» reached a comparatively quiet stage. Tho enemy is still hurrying un rent to the utmost capacity. His S concept.,. leas?£?£r„™^ M MM i'" cuh ? is »«">««% a »-™us to retain, nt least for the present. The Australians, who have been fighting in the region of JiXlwLa m r T S 00c1 ' ? rt - with slron ° "»dW resistance at ttehTJf L h A Ca , natlans »!«» improved their position on the right of anxietv nn H,o n„°^ Cr f and signed by von Ludendorff, indicates k FdiKl T„niV P i 5, tbe H ! ghcr C °n lman <l regarding man-power. The order air sinl W„,f r Ti 'f or r C * P ractlCal! l' adnata tho Allies' supremacy in tho nl-JI a B " 8 ' T M y (Il , vlsl ?, n , s m ust have been heavily engaged by tho British, Americans, and French The total German casualties on iho Western the: sC C K™ n KT' g .° f f 06 ?" wunter-offensive is about 360,000; guns lost at nL! « lm f. ate «t twelve hundred. Prisoners state that in more than ono i P n™„ ti l ly mn ? t0 relnfol ; ce tho wcro composed largely of artiln y th„ enemy iem H °; a large number of aerodromes in tno bomme area, which somewhat disorganised his air eervke.'-Beuter. DOGGED ATTACK BY THE AUSTRALIANS Tho "Morning Post's" correspondent at Headquarters states that thTAustralians on Saturday night tried to advance between the Somme and tho Amiens Iw'h » VT V to , hiking Proyart, but tho machine-gun fire was so heavy Xh, Ans Wiansdid not ottonPt to prpsead. They made a fresh attempt on hunday night, the enemy had been reinforced, and fought strongly for two hourelarjiid the old dugouts and trenches. Tho advance was therefore difficult and tedious, but tho Australians, crawling on their stomachs over tho last thousand yards, pocketed nest after nest until tho vUlage was rcached.-Avis.-N.Z. Cable Assn. GERMAN ATTACK ON THE VESLE AMERICANS SUCCESSFULLY COUNTER THE BLOW. m. „ ~ , ,„. Washington, August 13. iho bermans attacked Pismotte, on tho banks of the Vesle, and the Americana were forced to retire across tho river, but a counter-attack recovered tho ground.—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. ' • AT GRIPS IN THE OLD TRENCH LINE •d . , , , , London, August IS. t Jtentor correspondent at French Headquarters, writing this evoning, says: Our pursuit of the German retreat has reached a point of momentary stabilisation on tho French wing, as tho necessity for bringing up artillery and munitions over tho deeply-rutted roads has caused an enforced halt. We are now at grips on ground which tho Germans entrenched and held from tho autumn of lOlli to the spring of 1917. The trenches aro in a tumble-down state, yet thoy afford tho Germans the best opportunity for clinging to the ground since they left tho line in tho valley of tho Avro. They aro evidently determined to remain as long as they can, and are well supplied with machine-guns. To-day a continuous enemy lino opposed our progress by regular barrages, instead of the casual harassment of fire previously experienced."—Rcutcr. 75.000 PRISONERS SINCE BEGINNING OF JULY (Rec. August 15, 0.10 a.m.) ■' nn i' ii r ~ . London, August 14. Although the figures cabled represent tho number of prisoners actually counted, the authorities do not regard tho Paris estimates of forty thousand as over optimistic. Tho French captured over sixteen hundred machino-gune mid tho British an enormous number, but there has been no opportunity of counting them. The enemy apparently is making preparations for a further retirement, and is burning the villages between Peronno and Chaulnes, but thero aro no signs of confusion or congestion behind tho lines. Sinco tho be«innin" of July seventy-five thousand prisoners have been taken on tho Western front - Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. THE KING AT THE FRONT. (Rec. August 15, 0.10 a.m.) Kr„ T^ e ,? in F has liiwnei to London from a visit to the Western front-AiA-W.Z. Cable. Assn. . ' OFFICIAL REPORTS BATTLEPRONT COMPARATIVELY QUIET. c- t. i tt • , „r~ , London. August 13. Sir Douglas Haig reports: "Wo further improved our positions north of tho Koyo road and on tho north bank of tho Somme, capturing additional prisoners. Wo repulsed a local attack in tho neighbourhood of Fouquoscourt, and repulsed an attack on tho Morris 6ector after sharp iighting."-Aus,-N Z Cable Assn.-Reuter. ■ (Bee. August 11, 7.15 p.m.) . Sir Douglas Haig reports: "Tho battlefront is comparatively quiet, excent for increased hostile artillery fire. We took prisoners; at several different points Balding" patrol activity is reported south of the Scarpe, north-east of Kobecn' and in the neighbourhood of Vieuxborquin. Sinco August 8 the French First Army and the British Fourth Army have captured over twenty-eight thousand prisoners, including eight hundred officer?, of whom eight are regimental commanders. We also took six hundred guns, including many heavy guns severaL thousand machine-guns, numerous tronch mortars, and also three complete trains and vast stocks of Btpres."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.-Reuter. ON THE FRENCH FRONT. a w i • ,™ . . London, August 13. , A French communique says: "There was no important event during the night on the battlefront. Several enemy. raids in the Vosges and in Tipper (Southern) Alsace failed."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable' Assn.-Reuter. , (Rec. August 15, 0.10 a.m.) I , _ ' , . , , London, August 14. A French communique states: ['During the day wo renewed our attacks between the Matz and the Oise, and in spite of strong resistance wo made somaprogress noTth-east of Gury. We gained a footing in Plessis do Roto Park and reached Belval (a mile and a half south of Lassigny). Further oast wo carried ' lines to over a mile north of the village of Cambronue (about six miles south of Noyon)."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.-Reuter. / . . THE ENEMY'S REPORT (Rec. August 14, 7.45 p.m.) A wireless, German official report states: "We repulsed repeatedVaTslouthward of Menu We also repulsed attacks northrard of the Amicns-Eoyo road and southward of the Avre."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. THE WAR IN THE AIR A STRENUOUS DAY'S WORK. (Reo. August 11, 7.-15 p.m.) o- tv i rr • , •i- ■ ,', ~',„ London, August 13. ' Sir Douglas Haigs aviation report states: "There has been much air fighting We brought down thirty hostile machines and drove down seven oui of control We dropped forty-five tons of bombs during the day on the stations at Peronno and Cambrai. We wore heavily assailed. Twelve British machines are missinir." -Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. COPIOUS SHOWERS OF FRENCH BOMBS. i London, August 13. A French aviation communique states: "Despite attempts by enemy squadrons to opposo their passage, our bombers on Sunday made fruitful expeditions over the enemy's lines, and copiously bombed bridges, roads, railways, and troops. Numerous convoys were blocked. Altogether fifty-seven tons of bombs were dropped during the day an'd night. Fifteen aeroplanes fell, and twenty-one wcro disabled by tho French and Americans."—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn. THE AMERICAN FIRST FIELD ARMY ORGANISATION COMPLETED, x- „ , „ m . „ , Now Y<)rk > August 13. The New York "Tunes" correspondent on tho battlefront reports the dfneial announcement of the organisation of the American First Field Army. It consists of more than three hundred thousand men, organised in four or five army corps.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.