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Hokitika Guardian, 16 August 1917, Page 2

Last Friday the British continued their offensive in Flanders by an attack on a two-mile front east of Ypros, completing the occupation of Westhoek vil--1 lage and ridge. Tho advance involved a good deal of heavy fighting, even though the objectives were near at hand, and on the right the attack appears to have encountered particularly severe opposition. The purpose of those local operations is to gain possession of the main ridge running northeast from Hollebeke and the onoe-fam-ous Hill 60 to the neighbourhood of Zonnebeke. This piece of rising ground which at its highest point reaches no more than 200 feet is the northern continuation of the Wytschaete ridge. In length the portion now under attack is about six miles, from the gap through runs tho Ypres-Coin-iues railway to the saddle crossed hv the Ypros-Roulers railway, and there is another extension northwards for a couple of miles past Passcliendaele. The southern part of the main ridgo east of Ypres is held by the British, hut they will have to push east to (\\uy luvelt and north-east past Zonnebeke before they have the whole of it. Then, no doubt, measures will lk> taken to clear the Passchendaele and Moorslede hills, depriving the enemy of all the higher ground in this region. The raid carried out east of Moncliy was a big affair, and probably it had the special purpose of destroying the strong posts and trench fortifications built up by tho enemy during the period of comparative quiet. There has been a revival of fighting immediately north of St. Quentin, where the Germans attacked on a narrow front on Friday and obtained a footing in the. front Al- - trench. A French counter-attack virtually restored the line. Fayet must Iks near tho junction of British and French lines. In the advance earlier in tile year British and French were both taking part in the operations around St. Quentin, the French attacking from the south and south-west while the British attacked from the west and north-west. A subsequent arrangement transferred the whole St. Quentin sector to the French, a wise change which obviated tho possibility of any weakening of attack or defence through misunderstandings. It may be recalled that during the Somme battle similar changes wero occasionally made to facilitate the combined •operations, as when the British, who had occupied Les Goeufs and Morval, transferred the latter village to the French, jn view of the launching of an attaclqnn Sailly-Saillisel.