Nearing Mosul.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 2 May 1918, Page 3

Nearing Mosul.

BRITISH ADVANOE IN MIiSUi'OTAMIA. Received tlhis day .at 9.50 a.m. London, May 1. Thi- British if. Mesopotamia are now within 120 mile's of Mosul. They have captured 1.200 Turks an<3 many guns. SENSATIONAL ESCAPE FROM GEDMAiN •LINES. Received this day at 9.30 a.m. London, May 1. Peter Gillon, the wireless operator from tho steamer Otaki, which the German raider r:aiiik, has reached Switzerland from Germany. Two Australians captured l on April 4tli made a sensational escape while captives engaged in buiry'.'ng German dead. They helped to inter thousands of Germans and wore surprised at the hoaviinees of fiie enemy ilosset-. While imprisoned in an oildi British compound a shell broke the wire and they bolted. During eight days they traversed the whole German lines, hiding during tiho daytime. When challenged they ran, dodging riflo shots. On approaching the front lines they came under the British barrage. Then they croereclJ the enemy lirenches full of Bosdhes, rusfhed over .No Man's Land and ran the gauntlet of fire from both rfdes. On approaching tihe Australian lines "they pretended to he German survonderere but were treated as spies till they established their identify. RATIONING DOGS. Received this diay iat 11.5 a.m. London, May 1. The Government has appointed a committee to consider whdiher cereals j should bo used to manufacture dog biscul'ts and whether the number of dogs in the country elhrSwld be limited. IRISH OONSOiRiI PTION.. 'Received this day at 11.5 a.m. London, May 1. The Daily News Isajys tho Government has decided! not to enforce Irish conscription for a few woelcs pending the reception of the flome -Rule Bill. At a meeting of the National Directory of *ho United Irish League Mr Dillon waa elected President and a resolution -was adopted claiming for Ireland the raffle right of seliF-determmo-tion as the self-governing colonies possess and summoning all the members of the League t)o extend the organisation in order to resist conscription. ANOTHER CHANCELLOR GOING. Received! thia diay iat 11.5 a.m. "London, May 1. Tho Daily Express's Amsterdam coi,respondent says the post'tion of Count Hurtling (German Chancellor) and his whole Administration is perilous owing to the Prussian Diet's probable rejection of the Frandhire Bill. HerWng stated on Sunday that he would stand or fall 'by the bill. , The Pan-Germans artei d,eJighi:edi at tho possibility of ousting HerbTi-ng because he does not favour the annexation of Belgium and Northern France and they believe the time has come for a purely' annexationist 'Government. BRITISHERS EBOAPE FROM GERMANY. Received this diay at 11.5 a.m. London, May 1. Sevenfteetn British soldiers who ,escaped from Germany have arrived in London. LOYAL INDIA. Received this diay at 11.5 a.m. Calcutta, May I. Flour hundred and forty five thousand recruits joined the Indian Army last year. .J COLONIALS IN ACTION. LONDON, April 18. Australian and New Zealand wounded soldiers agree that they have never experienced harder fighting than during the German offensive. Though few "WflO were in the rccciit—fe&r-crCS—.ASyifiai jyet arrived in England, there are some ■who helped to stop the first rush on tho Somme. A Queensland lance-corporal donlwrs that his battalion, which had done proudly in many fighta i received a report that tho enemy had broken through with armoured cars. His battalion with others marched with all speed and took up positions on the high ground in tho neighbourhood of Arras. The report " proved incorrcct, and the Australians returned to the Toads ana throughout the night ana up till four o'colck in tho morning. Thoy had the best breakfast possible und.T tho circumstances; then they were ready for a big day. It was this lay »li--: t things happened. The Australians, many of whom knew every inch of tho country from the experience gain-d i:' LMIG were surprised to see shells bursting in unininaginable spots round Alforu-i -tho first intimation that tho Germans had brofcen through. The bitMlion was ordered to do an approach mar.?h or tw T o miles' "by daylight and relisvo the .Wa'k Watch— their old friui; ho h-.u h«en l'<-eie.-ally fighting re-irguard t ■-lions since tho offensive opened. Although the e'dvanco was made in extended ord'-r f *he battalion suffered cr,n3i.l.v'i")le cn-naltles from the heavy shell fire. The men lay hiding until iar : ;. ; icn tl-ev tooit over the line, the lance-corporal end another non'-cra. emnmhu-lirg He p'ntoon. There .vis i rous <■,: wclcomo from the Scottish who cheercd the Australians like brothers. DEALING WITH SNIPERS. A Brisbane lad. describing the entry

in!.o tho trenches said: "I never saw our bey ?--ke it so well. They dug in as l;e,sl t.-cy could under a railway cmbanknient kno.v:ng chat a veil chance for hot lighting was imniinout. Tin y had not to wait long. The fievn f.n snipers hy daylight, were active. Wo ■ sat up, n*id by ten o'clock lher? I not-a German sniper left, and we were I able to lookover safely. It ivas an | amazing sight. A few hundred yards | ahead hundreds of Germans marked tho skyline on a low ridge. They had been ' arriving in motor-cars and lorries and . were marching in solid bodies. AVo touched them up properly, but did not prevent tliem .t'ioin asembling in the hollow. The attack came an hour later from a point 40 yarda distant. The 'ilermana came over in waves', without much bombardment. Cur boys nevtfr 7iai any or this sort of lighting before. It was go as yon p!cu:;c with rifles and machine-guns. We stopped them. Our boys were tireu c-x i.liootiii£. They were Iv iiig out in the open upon the railway firing rapidly % simply knocking down the Germans. It v. as the most strenuous day I'ever had — >:uch killing as the Germans will remember. Our cafualities during the attack were mostly from machine-guns. After hours of tremendous work the attic'.i ! failed. Wc had retained tho positions." ; The battalion had a comparatively uneventful time during the next few days in the ragged line; but tho men suffered on April 5 under intense bombardment. The Brisbane lad was then wounded, but he learned that a German mass attack broke tho front lino. Australian supports immediately went up and retook it.

A Melbourne boy who was seriously gassed was rcticcnt regarding his exploits, but ho said that he would be content, if he only came througTi, if he could have the opportunity of telling tho parents of his mate in Australia how bravely their son died. One lad who was wounded at Passchendaelo has a second wound in the same log to testify to the severity of the fighting at Dcrnacourt. NEW ZEALANDERS' PART Other Australian units were rushea in the line north of Albert. The Now Zealanders took a splendid part tn .stemming the tide at a critical moment. A Tasmanian tells of tho heroism of a young officer who haft a Tiunet through tho shoulder. When the wound had been bound up he refused to go back, saying that he must rejoin his platoon. He had not walked 200 yarss before a bullet went through liis Tieaer. The Tasmanians took up where cavalry had been patrolling the previous day. They met the attacking Germans in tho open. The masses wavered under the withering fire The acting-commander of tlio Tiattallon was wounded.

At another point 12 successive German waves against a Now South Wales battalion crumplcd up.

Tho Australian Siege Battery, wrucri was caught in the maelstrom of the Armcnticres attack, uphold the highesf traditions of tho army. It fought desperately for 24 hours, amidst a ter-ribTe barrage, the Germans flooding the position with gas and high explosives. Ultimately masses came <®n and machinegunned the Australians, who were threatened with annihilation. ITcvcrtheloss ,thcy extricated all their guns, r.nd dragged t'.:em to prepared positions in the rear, where they recommenced shooting. "Theirs was the last battery to leave the area. They rerusea to retire until tho enemy was outflanking them. One officer who was wounded Is in Lor.dcn. lie slates that the men work like tigers, and with the utmost chcerincss.