LONODN TROOPS' BIG RAID

Hokitika Guardian, 25 May 1917, Page 4

LONODN TROOPS' BIG RAID

Precise Operation (From Filson Young, in Franco.) Tbe order or 4 Marshal von Hindcnburg concerning the moral of German troops is the greatest possible tribuie to tbe British policy cf constant raiding on tbe western from. The order stated that tbe moral was deteriorating, and that every effort must be made to restore it by constant supervision and drill. As an answer to this corfeseicn comes a paid by British troops whion in the number of prisonera taken establishes tbe reccrd for raids as distinguished from attacks and larger oper tions. This raid was the work of London men—men who two years ago wire for the most parteterke in City offices, who hardly dreamed of a more exoiting world than that lying between tbo bounds of tbe Uity and a suburban home. Yet on this, as on other occasions, they showed that the City man, properly trained and inspi-ed with tbe spirit of tbe British Armies, can be made into ’a first-rate fighting man. In this raid particularly the superior intelligence and quickness of men of this type was takin iull advantage, of. The raid was the wotk of a group of men, volunteers, who had been specially trained in the art of bombing and searching of treoche?, so < L*. fc erob man knew exactly what he had to do. The place chosen for tbe raid was a small German salient to the east of St Eloi (south of Ypres),' between the Bluff and Hill 6). It was an evening raid, conducted in the last of the daylight ; and, a? usual, preceded by a prolonged bombardment, which left the eoemy in the dark as to when and where the blow was to fall.

A SINISTER WEAPON Three minutes before five o’clock on Monday evening, however, a furious uproar on his lines warned him that something was about to happen immediately. This wat due to that sinister weapon the Stokts mutfar, which sends up into tho air, like a group of lead peocite, a flight of bombs which gait down on io tbeir objective with deadly neouracy and a terrific explosive eff ct. Upon the heels of ?bin, find m der cover of a dense smoko batrogp, the advance war made. 1-t to„k the ferm of a centra with twowirig’, 1 11 three formations converging on a common objective, which was the ceniro and rear of the German salient. It was bo successful that cea ! r6aud wings met, amid a crowd of surrendering Germans, at exactly the time and point agreed on. The grea'ett depth cf tba advance was 500yds and tne front covered was about tbe same. There was a certain amount o f fighting in (he trenches, but the raid h ti been so well rebesrsad tbit the work of clearing and bombing wa* quick y dons, and the Got m ini bad no time fo- serious opposition. Is was fight or surrender—and io most c -.ass th* y cho?e tbe tetter. Tbe Londoners remained in the eoemy trenches for about an hour, and they brought, back w th (ham a tinman officer and 119 prisoners (Prussians.) They captured 7 machine guns, of which they brought back 5 ; and they thinK th?*y accounted for about 300 Prussians iu all. Their own casualties, which v.eroall brought in, were light.