PHILIP GIBBS’ ACCOUNT.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1918, Page 2

PHILIP GIBBS’ ACCOUNT.

THE GREAT COUNTER

LONDON, April 26,

-Air. Phillip ■Gibbs writes—After yesterday’s despatch many things happened-. We lost- Villers Bretonueux completely, and the enemy was in possession of tile village long enough to stuff it with men and machine-guns. Till ten o’clock on Wednesday night the Germans believed they held it firmly and permanently. Then came a brilliant counter-attack by Australian troops. By a most skilful, daring piece of generalship they were sent forward in the darkness, without preliminary artillery preparations, relying absolutely on the weapons they carried to regain the important position which gave the enemy full observation of our positions on both sides of the Somme and valley beyond Amiens. , The splendid courage lof the Australians, cunning of their machine-gun-ners and the fine leadership of officers, achieved success, in conjunction wjtTi English battalions. They spent the night clearing out the enemy from the village where he made a.desperate resistance. Wo brought hack between seven and eight hundred prisoners. It was a complete’ reversal of fortune for the enemy, whose bodies lie in heaps between Villcrs-Bretonneux and Warfusee, and about the ruins and fields in the neighbourhood. That sector of the valley of the Somme is no longer under fire: Indeed, our guns and the enemy’s alike declared truce, because the Australian,' English and German soldiers wore, mixed up so closely that shelling was impossible on both sides. , German machine gunners on Wednesday morning, at many places, were entirely cut off by the Anglo-Australian counter-attack. Small parties of Gormans were resisting behind the ruins and banks, while our men were engaged routing them out. The roads behind the British lines are much cut up by murderous German artillery fire. Passing along the broken road were living men -with the ash grey colour of dead bodies. They were German prisoners under the escort of English and Australian soldiers.

Throughout the morning I saw groups of prisoners limping on the roads, sometimes carrying stretchers with wounded officers. The men had been for many hours without food, as they were cut off from supplies by our artillery fire.

SITUATION TN FLANDERS,

LONDON, April 26,

Mr Phillip Gibbs writing on the"27th states that a thick wet fog, like London's particular at its. worst, enveloped the Kernmel sector ou Friday morning.

Favoured by the fog and the effect of tlieir gun-fire the attackers caused

gaps in the Anglo-French line, which isolated the French on Kemmel Hill. ~ Our counter-attack met, a wicked machine-gun fire and we could not maintain a hold of the recaptured ground, though we did not lose an.

The situation at Flanders is-still serious.

The enemy may endeavour to exploit his advance on Kemmel by a great concentration of his strength and more violent ntatcks, hut the French Army is now assisting the British to bar his

way. Everyone is fully confident of the result.