WAR NEWS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 11 April 1918, Page 3

WAR NEWS.

MONDAY, Attacks on British—Two Days' Heavy Fighting — Ancre Line • Maintained—Enemy Losses again Heavy—New Zealanders Engaged —French Counter-attacks. Reports from the British front show that there was very heavyfighting on Thursday between the Sqmme and the Luce. The GUrj[iian assaults were beaten off, thfp&emy gaining little advantage. A successful counter- >, , attack in the neighbourhood of Hebuterne resulted in the capture of 200 prisoners. The New Zealanders are reported to have been in action : a again at two points on the line. 'i 0 At Bucquoy they made a dashing jp* sortie on Friday, taking 134 |? prisoners. A report on Saturday r evening says that at Dernancourt south-west of Albert, after heavy fighting they completely repulsed m a strong attack by massed ■'-'■, German forces. The attacks on the French front were continued during Thursday night, rbut the defence t remained secure. On Friday the French made vigorous countert . attacks and gained ground at several points. TUESDAY Failure of Attacks—Enemy Losses ' Prodigious — Positions Not Im- ; proved—Airmen Swoop on Massed 1 Force—New Zealanders' Defence— I Three Assaults Broken Up. I ,>;v Summarising the fighting dur- '■"■ ing the last battle, Mr Percival ;..:, Phillips says that repeated at~ \ v tacks on the whole front yielded the enemy such scant gains that his position has been in no way improved. The correspondent ; states that the number of German killed since Friday has been \ '"/' prodigious. ■ ' An elaborate attack upon masses ot infantry was made by i a large formation of British aeroplanes on Sunday. Over 500 bombs were dropped and 50,000 ■ rounds of machine-gun ammuni- ■ tion fired during the operation. ■• '■'■■ Ffteen enemy machines were : brought down and 11 driven I . down. ! , A British counter-attack on \ V Saturday re-established the line f~ which had previously been pressr ed back at Aveluy Wood, two miles north of Albert. A minor v operation south of the Somme improved the position. Three attacks against the New •;..-■• . Zealanders were completely def ~"-\J feated. The enemy waves were 1 cut down by fire from the Lewis [;. guns, and the survivors despatch- | ed with bombs. i . WEDNESDAY ■V^-. Lull Continued—Enemy Preparing £$ Attack—Violent Artillery Duel— Action at Vladivostok—German tl Aggression in Baltic. W There has not been any inr'. ' , fantry action on the British front i ""..during the period covered by toj day's cables. The enemy artils le'Ty was active during Sunday "; night, and on Monday morning £~ the bombardment was renewed. * Router's correspondent states that it died down after an hour, apparently smothered by the violence of the British reply. Mr Philip Gibbs states that the terrific gunfire suggests that the ', Germans are preparing for an- ***■' other great battle which may include simultaneous blcws south of the Somme and north of the Scarpe. 1 The participation of British forces in the landing at Vladivostok is officially confirmed. The seizure by the Germans of Ekenas, in South Finland, in I conjunciion with . their occupai tion of Reval, gives them comv I mand of the Gulf of Finland and consequently of the sea approaches to Petrograd. This was achieved largely through the t subornation of part of the &_ Russian Baltic fleet. THURSDAY , Attack in Flanders—Front of Ten Miles Involved—Urgent Need of Men— Conscription for IrelandHostile Amendment Defeated. \The enemy demonstrations k, i north of Arras have developed ■"•^ *"" into an attack between Lens and Armentieres. Reuters correspondent states that the attack was^m a front of 10 miles, and •r- thVGermans occupied the British firSfc lines at some points. ?; >•-' Mr Lloyd George reviewing the ( ' position said the enemy had gained an important initial sue- '• sess. The British position was v momentarily established, but <" the enemy contemplates another attack. - The new man power bill pro- - vides for the extension of -the I K e limits and the cancellation Ir^of exemptions, In his speech Mr 'l Lloyd George said it wa,s impos- ! sible to omit Ireland from the i operations of the Conscription • Act in view of the emergency created by the offensive,