FROM OTHER SOURCES.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1918, Page 2

FROM OTHER SOURCES.

A COMING COUNTER ATTACK. LONDON, March 27. The “Daily Chronicle’s” correspondent on the French front, states that it is believed that the hour is at hand when the Allied commanders will give General Hindonburg a lesson in the art of war, worthy of the Marne and Yerdun battles.

“Perhaps,” states the correspondent, “ I am influenced by the sight of tho masses of troops moving around me, and among, them there is nothing hut confidence.”

A HEADQAURTER’S DESPATCH STILL SLOWLY RETIRING. LONDON, March 26. Reuter’s correspondent at British headquarters, in a despatch dated Tuesday reports that very slowly and exacting the heaviest possible toll for every foot of ground, our line continues to withdraw before the pressure of the German masses, over a large portion of the battle zone. The retirement, (however., is Voluntary. It is conducted so as to maintain an unbroken front. The weather remains fine and ground bard and dry, and favouring the enemy in their work of bringing forward guns. Even so, the prisoners say that the advance is mucli behind the timetable. The tenacity of the defence is 'exceeding anything which they deemed possible. The prisoners complain of their great privations, owing to lack of supplies. They say that their extreme weariness is telling heavily on them. This is doubtless true of the prisoners taken, but thanks to the dense masses of supports the enemy is able to constantly replenish the forward line with fresh units. The enemy are fighting desperately hard against time. We now know that in (he first day’s of the fighting the enemy’s -reserve was reduced to fifty-two divisions, and by the end of the second day forty divisions from, the reserve were thrown in. GUNNERS SUPREME TIME. MAGNIFICIENT AIR WORK. LONDON March 27. Yesterday was a supreme time for our gunners, the advance being .held up nearly everywhere by the ceaseless intensity of the artilleryfire- Their massed waves received a dreadful punishment. The work of our airmen surpasses praise. Last night they made a veritable pandemonium of every centre of concentration and traffic behind the German front. Tens of thousands were fired point blank into the enemy formations whose density offered a perfect target. The Germans observations work was restricted by day, so that they never can do more than peep and run. On the other hand our tliers are fulfilling, i with deadly effectiveness, their role of the -eyes of the artillery. In this direction the weather is undoubtedly favouring them. .1 HOLDING SOLIDLY. CHANGE OF DANGER POINT. STILL EXCEEDINGLY GRAVE. i LONDON March 27. A French communique states our troops are solidly holding their positions on the left of the river Oise above Noyon. The latest news repeals the danger point has shifted from the - north to the south between Arras and Noyon. Tlie situation is more hopeful, though still exceedingly grave. Tl>e northern advance is held, hut the southern advance is clearly a race against time. Everything depends on the next fc"’ hours. Wednesday and Thursday will lio highly critical days. j FULL OF CONFIDENCE. j NEW YORK, March 27th. The official atitude and ton e s of the newspapers over the war situation is full of confidence. It is believed the German wedge will be menaced when the German troops nTd exhausted and a terrific counter attack will be launched NEW YORK, March 26. The'\ “Tribune” declares the German advance does not equal the onrush at Verdun. The Allies reserves have not yet been engaged. It is expected that General Petain will strike quickly soon. CAPTURE OF ROYE. LONDON, March 27. The War Office announces that the Germans captured Roye in the morning. The Germans were checked westward of Roye and westward of Noy- 1 on* ’

THE CRITICAL HOUR. I NEW YORK, March 27. Frank Simmonds in an article in tho “New York Sun” says within the next 24 hours the Germans will win a decisive victory-, or be forced to halt The British now hold the high advantageous ground. The Germans task of bnnging up supplies is increasingly j difficult. It is absurd to regard tho situation as desperate untiT the Allies reserve army participate. POSITION REVIEWED. (Received This Day at 9.50. a.m.) LONDON, March 27. Mr Robinson, summarising the twenty-four hours, says on the whole the Germans have made headway ana we fell back. It is impossible to ■visualise fifty miles as a single entity. 1 he great conflict seems more and more to resolve itself into detached incidents, 4 thrust and counter thrust at scattered * points. Our guns and aeroplanes are incessantly bombarding Nesle and Ba- ; P aunie , giving the on-ooming infatnry at i bad time. In the old Somme battlefield, , towards Peronne, the Germans on the north side of the river, are a trifle further west than yesterday in Longeval iind Montauban region and between Clery and Mericourt, but we hold the river line. Fighting i s progressing on the north side. The enemy made an additional crossing of the river at Brie and Veynees. We have fallen back beyond , Nesle. There is evidence that German i troops are getting beyond their guns, I and the German artillery are thus un- | able to play anything like they did in I the earlier part, hut fresh masses of troops are continuously thrown in numb- ■ ers that are now as enormous as at the * , beginning of the battle, v. < . Probably eight-five German divisions j in reserf e on the West Front and thirty, three were used on the first day, and ' j approximately ten each succeeding day, so that the are now reduced to .‘SO or 32 divisions. ( Since then new troops were thrown in each day. How many reserves are left it is impossible to say, but this is an obviously hopeful feature of tho i situation. " Oh the other hand, we have new re1, serves available, and the spirit of our i whole Army remains superb. , j The airmen’s prodigious efforts are 3 bady hampering the enemy. The 1 French assistance was most valuable. All these facts reduce the ultimate importance of tile immediate territorial j gains. British troops were very hard pressed t in the struggle at Nesle, the Germans f having thirteen divisions to our .four. The latter, nevertheless, held the' linof the canal at Bethincourt, southward;all day, checking the enemy till by his , overwhelming strength, he forced a passage at Voyennes, with the bloodiest of losses. The enemy advanced at Roye le Grand. j We still held the line running through r Morchain, Mesnil, Ruy le Petit, Menin. j i_ court, Libermont, le Blesses and Ville- t " if selve, hut it is van awkward line and '- only exceeding valour enabled us to cling thereto so long. Therefore during , s the day a new line was prepared west l ~ of Nesle, and we fell back at nightfall, j Our line still continues across the f enemy front, but though the troops*!are e [ everywhere outnumbered they have 1 nowhere yielded, except to overwhelm- * ing pressure. * A division defending Nervillers Mory ? fought for thirty-six hours, beating off three divisions, including the Second - i- Guards Reserve. The beaten enemy is throw their weight further south agains • st Gommecourt, and here the Lancas shires and Yorkshires beat off repeated * attacks, fighting so long that their officers were hardly able to stand. _ y Finally the Germans withdrew, and the 4 v IGancashires and Yorkshires, full of - g fight and glory, had an opportunity to > rest. Despite the intensest strain on I their physical endurance, the weary II / Tommies clung to the line to the last , with but one idea: Their business is to go on fighting, and kill Germans. Prisoners declare this is Germany s , \ supreme effort. She must have peace, v whether she wins.or loses. r news WANTED. s PRESS COMPLAINTS. LONDON, March 27. Tho newspapers generally complain of S the brevity of British communiques, f The “Pall Mall Gazette” says this ree ' ticience irritates the Allies as well as ? ourselves. It urges the War Cabinet to abandon the exasperating condition - of handling the truth in the spirit of a disarept" nursemaid, s •• [ the GERMAN TANKS. f COPENHAGEN, March 27. The Germans are using a large numb- - er of a new type ef Tank, which is ■' daimed to be powerful and markedly mobile. . . A semi-official German message states it is mainly owing to the attacks $ these Tanks that the British hues and their machine g«V nests bave bee “ easily destroyed. The Tanks returned I undamaged. r . Tlie “ Vorwaerts ” correspondent ‘ says that the captured British Tanks s are being used to reinforce the Ger- [» mans. “ GERMAN NIGHT ATTACK FAILS. | ? (Received This Day at 9.15 a.mO * LONDON, March 27- V A German night attack south of the * Somme was repulsed with heavy losses. 1 | . DRIVEN OFFi LONDON, March 37. * German attacks on the French, along the Nonaon front, were driven off. 3 AMERICANS PARTICIPATING. 3 1 NEW YORK, March 2d. i American headquarters reports that the Americans are heavily shelling the - German jwsitions, preventing the Ger- - mans from detaching troops to par- * ticipate in the big offensjve^^^^^^^^^