French Troops Arrive

Levin Daily Chronicle, 14 May 1918, Page 1

French Troops Arrive

SCENES IN FLANDERS. WELCOME BY THE BRITISH. PHASES OF THE GREAT BATTLE. LONDON, April 24.^ The arrival of French support in Flanders is regarded as most important. These troops are described as splendid, seasoned men. The sight of the long blue lines marching up the roads rejoiced the British, giving thorn a fresh sense of security, and'the news of the French aggressive stroke south of Amiens still further heartened the anxious home watchers. Reviewing the battle-worn Frenchmen to?day, M. Clemenceau was visibly moved when their achievements were recounted. The cordiality between the French and the British is hardly describable. The armies have fused into a united whole, and arc thrilled to almost romantic enthusiasm. Tho French are ready to instantly help at any time or take any risk. As an ipstance a party was sent out at night to rescue an isolated British subaltern and 12 men. They were found, all dead, surrounded by 50 German corpses. Said the officer, "Mon Dieu! but they fought!" There is nothing finer than the promptitude with which the French ajVpear wherever they are most needed. The spirit of comradeship between the two armies is admirable. Nothing impresses one more than on entering a group of farm buildings (the divisional headquarters) to see the staff of tho British and French divisions working in the same barn. Behind, on the ground, huddled in chairs, lay the British officers asleep, after making reports of five days' continuous fighting. The sight made one realise what the Anglo-French alliance really means . PUSHED IN IN A HURRY. Heavy rain fell last night, and a white fog enveloped the battlefield. The Germans appear to be preparing a fresh attack at Meteren. The hardest fighting occurred between Robecq and Givenchy when tho Germans renewed their efforts to capture the line of the Canal. They entirely failed. y '■ Parties succeeded in crossing on bridges ,and by wading tho canal, but all were either captured or killed. At the end of the operations the enemy was nowhere beyond the starting point. Prisoners were taken from 10 different regiments, and it is conjectured that they really were intended for dif- | ferent destinations, but that as 1 roi.ps were needed in a hurry, the enemy gathered all who were handy and push--1 ed them in in a bunch. I As illustrating tho severity of the I German losses, one baetilion over twenty-five thousand rounds in Tiv<r hours into Germans who were good visible targets the whole time. TJ.e infantry highly praised tho guns. Rome of the batteries covered 75 miles in two days in order to participate in the battle, and have hardly stopped firi.ig »ince. The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry magnificently charged and restored tho line temporarily bent by tho weight of the attack. A young officer, with a patrol of five found 40 Germans digging in. The little party promptly charged wish the bayonet, killed half-a.-do'son, and shot some others as the Germans fled REPULSED BY BELGIANS. Yesterday was a strenuous time for our infantry in co-operation with the French, who are now engaged in the northern battle area. The record was satisfactory, balacing heavily in our favour. German waves dashed against our lines in half-a-dozen places. Only at Beaver Hill were we forced to yield ground, which a,counter-attack regained.. Our gunners, anticipating the enemy's occupation of the evacuated Pnsschendacle salient, prepared to give him n warm reception. When the German infantry advanced over the dreary waste another ghastly toll of dead was gathered. The German attack nearer the coast is specially noteworthy at .this stage of the campaign. The enemy employed four divisions —marine, infantry, one Bavarian, and two Russian. All night there was a most intense bombardment. This probably was considered to be likely to forestall all resistance, but the Germans speedily found that they were mistaken, for the Belgians put up a fight ranking as one of the epics of their splendid story. Finally, they drove back the Germans in confusion, 2nd took more than 600 prisoners. The front on which this brilliant victory was achieved is a stretch of 3% miles, between Kippe and Langemarck. Th 0 harassing fire'of our artillery upon enemy communications has greatly increased in intensity, and the German gunners suffered heavily. Thus, on Monday, the 23rd Field Artillery Regiment had four of its guns knocked out by our batteries, all the personnel but two being casualties. One battery, the 61st Reserves of Field Artillery, lost all five of its officers and most of its non-commissioned officers and gunners. FAILURE AT GIVENCHY. Mr Percival Phillips writes: The failure of the Givenchy attack was the most complete since the beginning of the coast gamble. Nowheyc on the fif-teen-vaile front, from Nicppe and Givenchy, has the line given way. Massed machine-guns smashed waves of the enemy. Our troops knowledge of the network of trenches at La Basscc enabled them to creep round the advancing infantry, ad boiu'i, them from the flanks. The attackers, in attempting to cross the canal, were stiot down to a man, but behind them appeared another wave. They halted and hesitated at the sight of the slaughter. They were driven on by their officers. They advanced reluctantly, in single file. The slaughter was appalling. We smashed their flimsy bridges, and remain masters of the crossing and the direct road to Betliune. Mr Perry Robinson writes: The testimony of prisoners and captured documents confirms our evidence that the enemy suffered severely at Baillcul and Givenchy. One regiment was reduced to 250 men, while all three battalions of another regiment were smashed to pieces. Captured officers of the Twelfth Division say that it was impossible to advance in the slightest against our nrtillerv and machine-guns. A British officer fired 300 rounds from a rifle, and said that every shot was effective —he couldn't miss.