THE WESTERN FRONT.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 September 1917, Page 2

THE WESTERN FRONT.

THE FRENCH 'FRONT.

REPEATED GERMAN ATTACKS. HEAVILY REPULSED. T AUSTRALIAN <fc N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION A REUTER.] (Received this day at 1.20 a.m.,) LONDON, Sept. 2o A French communique says there is the liveliest artillerying on the Aisne. We repulsed a raid on our outposts north of Brayelonnois. ( The Germans on the right bank of the Meuse, after a bombardment, attacked the trenches north of Boislechaurne on a front of two kilometres. Four battalions were leading, supported by Stasstaruppen. The attack was broken by our lire. The enemy did not roach our linos except in a few elements in the centre, where fierce hand-to-hand fighting resulted in the ejection of /the Germans. Simultaneously two secondary attacks were made north of BezoUvqmx and south of Beaumont respectively. These wero sanguinarily defeated by our troops. The men leaving the trenches rushed out to meet the assailants.

There were two fresh attacks in tho afternoon on Boisleehaume which only increased the enmy losses. GERMAN DEFENCES. NEW METHODS SOUGHT. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.—COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, Sept, 24. Reuter’s French headquarters correspondent states that the terrific bombardment is forcing the German High Command to revise its tactics.

A recently captured army order admits that the German front lines arq regularly battered to pieces before the actual battle begins and there is urgent necessity for hiding the trenches, batteries and other means of defence from being photographed. Therefore an entirely new system of defence is needed—namely,*a zone- organised to depth that is extended towards the rear. Such a system with the defences hidden as much as possible and troops echelonned in the depths so that their lines in their front become progressively denser rearwards ought to enable us to pass from the defensive to the offensive with troops occupying more thickly the positions in the rear. That means that they must abandon their trenches and retire to shell craters and redoubts held by the machine guns. It indicates how the craters must be organised and connected as Jar as passible, stressing that the ©s- ’ sential point is that the crater from above must be indistinguishable from the thousands or surrounding crat*r^£