WITH THE NEW ZEALAND ADVANCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 300, 7 September 1918, Page 7

WITH THE NEW ZEALAND ADVANCE

THE FIGHT FOR HAPLINCOURT

A DAY FOR THE SOUTHERN BATTALIONS

(Special Dispatch from the Official War Correspondent.) September % The New Zealanders attacked the enemy again this morning in , front of Haplincourt. The South Island troops were engaged, and tho Otagos bore the brunt of the fighting. One company of Otagos found themselves up against superior numbers of the'.enemy, who had crept'forward in the nighttime, and evaded most of the barrace. They were in force at sonio of our old huts at a crossroad, and as our men advanced they were met with a. heavy machine-gun fire, and later had to bear the brunt of shrapnel and high explosives; Fortuntelv only one company was exposed to this lire. Naturally" they did not make much progress. In the afternoon, at one o'clock. »Now Zealand gunners put down a heavy barrage, and the Otagos, renewing tho attack, went forward with grim determination, and finished the day's work in brilliant style. They got right ori to the enemy, who was clustered in large numbers on a sunken road, and inflicted severe casualties. The sunken road was littered with his dead. Immediately, afterwards thn Otagos pushed on, and had the satisfaction of capturing one hundred and twenty prisoners. These were a very mixed lot, arid included several of the new Prussian division which had recently arrived from Flanders, and had. already suffered very heavily in casualties. An •English division oh our right attacked at tho same time, and captured the village' of Villers-au-Floss, taking many prisoners The Canterbury troops were also in this fight, but they had not such heavy, fignting, and their casualties were light. In the moriving's fighting one lot of the enemy put up their, hands in token of surrender, but immediately went back and turned their machine-guns upon, the Otagos. •They , were 'promptly wiped out. ■ During the past month wo have captured • twenty-eight guns, including some 8-inch howitzers, 260 machineguns, ;■ some general service wagons, much'ammunition, many rifles, and a great deal; of equipment, trench mortars, and some minenwerfer. Tho .ground, recently won from tho enemy is littered withGorman equipment, and at tht s . • railway sidings they have left behind large quantities of engineering stores. • > .

HAPLINCOURT TAKEN September 3. _ ■ The troops-have rounded up their day brilliantly by adding another 320 prisoners to their tally during the night. This morning Haplinco.urt is in their hands, and patrols,are now pushing forward near Bertincourt, tliree-thousand yards ahead.