FRENCH ADVISEE DESCRIBED

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 222, 29 September 1916, Page 2

FRENCH ADVISEE DESCRIBED

IMPORTANCE OF MONACU

HARM.

(From Mr.H. Warner Allen, Special Correspondent or the British Press ■with the French Armies.)

■■■' With the ■ French 'Army on the , Somme, -July 30. ■Tlie Franco-British attack on the line between 'Delville "Wood and the Somrae, made iorday,- was preceded by the usual heavy artillery Preparation. At four o'clock this morning nearly everyone in Amiens—fifteen to twenty miles ironi the .lines-—was awakened by the cannon, and the bombardment steadily increased in intensity until :<ix o'clock. I watched the artillery preparation from a point en the southern Lank of the river, from which the French and Germail hues on the f urthcji bank were clearly visible to the xiaked ey«. The French heavy shells were bursting in clouds of dust and. smoke along the whole length, of the Qenrian. lilies, though their violence was chiefly concentrated on what was left of the little wood north of Htm railway station, called H>m Wood, and on the trenches on the Down above guarding the flank of Maurepas. The Germans were replying

vigorously. Six and eight-inch shells were bursting about two hundred yards from us, evidently in quest of ti non-exisl°nt battery, and their fire 1 ©doubled when, a number of French batteries about half a mile away began to take their part in the bombardmenb. Jt w.-jg clear that the enemy was firing at' random. His aeroplanes were far too busy defending themselves to signal the position of"'the French guns, and on their side not a. single kite balloon dared to show itself. Tho result of three-

quarter's of an hour's bombardment on the part of che Germans was that .1 .nune'd section of their former trenche? without a man in it was still further demolished and that a number of shell holes were added to those m?.de in the surrounding oounti-y by the French guns before the first advance.

THE LING OF ATTACK.

If as easy to follow tho lino of the coming French attick. The French aclvancpd posts met the Somme at a point between Hem and Monacu LarM Hie southern border of the rivet is fringed with a long marshy wood, and above its trees one could

distinguish the pilas of brioks which marked the position of ruined Hem, and further to tho right the square grey-roofed tower of Mo'.iacu Farm. By some curious freak of war, this tower, though in the very forefront of the battle, had escaped destruction. 1 In fact, no building in any of ihe neighboring villages — Frise, Cuiiu, "Hem, Herbscourt — has suffered so litile. Twenty-four hours later, however, it was in French hands and only a maps of ruins. The wood in the marshes along the

river bank was still thick and green, since neither side could hope for any advantage in shelling ground that water and mud mode impassable.

From this wood the-ground began to rike. and above Menaou Farm there were two iittle woods which provided 0, strange coufcras»t with the dense i.';reen. foliage along the Somme bank. These copses' were merely a collection of bare stumps, as naked as a broomstick, between which one could see a (•linos of destruction and shell-holes. By their position they protected <~iory, which was hidden from our r.igh*: by n lo.v Jiill, and the Germans bad fortified thorn strongly as outworks of that, village. The French guns wore working great execution upon them, and it seemed that most of their defences had been destroyed.

Tlie Germans, however, cluiig to them manfully, nnd us soon as there was a. lull m the firing, or, it may be, unrlor -cover oi the night, would set to work to repair the damage clone ys. far ?is possible. As a rule the most they could do was to put up fre.sri barbed wire entanglements, which were promptly torn to pieces again, when the French gunners

resumed

It is surprising how wfll the bestton structed trenches have resisted the avalanche of high explosives that 'lias been launched ozvthom. A'deep urench wiih dug-outs some foet deeper remains a formidable obstacle even after it has been pounaod for many hours. In comparii'g this offensive to that of Champagne, T was much struck by the number of shelters that were still tenable despite a, weight of metal rained upon them infinitely .greater than that thrown on the German trendies in Champagne Underground 'defences are far deeper than they were last September j.;.'and .so far 3,<j actual destruction is concerned

the heavy artillery has done no more than keep pace with the- improved defensive organisations..' It is on the human element as well, as on the material destruction ,that the issue depends. A shelter riifiy have resisted, and yet the men concealed in it may bo quite incapable of. fighting. Stupefied,..deafened, and paralysed by the explosions round them, they simply cannot m ike &n effort, and often do not even attempt to man iho trench wiieu the guns have ■stopped and tiiey knov that the mfaiitry is advancing. I noticed in the third line of one of the strongest (German prsitioiie. long lines of jtitMich.es which were still almost I intacc, dug-outs and all, and yet the Fi ench troops had carried these lines lat ihe b,r, onei/:- -point with practi-j ! ca'ly no lovses. ;

| THE NI3W FRENCH TACTICS. I Above Hem and Mojnacu'Farm tho hills rise in roiling downs, studded here and there- will small woods.

On the north bank of the Scmme Lhe

country is far more hilly than on tho ■ south and in Iheir advance on ■ Maurepas and C'lory the French have |i a fight their vay across tins undu- { ;ating country. The German's' have j been working hard at their lines in f this part of the front,'..but it may [ vvoll be'doubled .v'hether tliey are as ! strong- as those th.jt tho Allied j Armies-have already carried. Trenches ; prepared with long and scientific i Jabor may resist heavy.-shells to a j certain .extent, but defences hastily thrown up stand no chance against j modern high explosives. At the 'same time progress' ir.usi be slow. j The new French tactics of wiping out : the defences 'with' artillery'fire before thei infantry advances, and of the . infantry halting whenever opposition .■ i:v met with toenable: the guns _to ' finish their work, appear to be iri-

vincibie, given mastery of the air and' predominance of artillery, but any hasty advance would bt> absolutely contrary to this r>a?o and sure method1 which has already saved thousands of French lives.

. In. to-day's offensive the French, ■working in tho closest co-operation with the British, sot before themsolves certain definite objectives, aJI of which have been attained' with insignificant loss. The capture of Monacu Farm marks ati advance in ihe direction of Clery which makes it impossible for the centre of theirr army on the north bank to be taken in the flank,. The. capture of Hem Wood straigthons the line in the same direction, and the French troopsworking along the river deserve greatest praise for their brilliant advance, as the ground is. very difficult. The German counter-attaebs-on Monacu Farm proved that theenemy was well aware of its importance.

THE MENACE TO MATJREPAS

Further north the French havoforced their way up tho slopes to the edge of the very strongly, fortified* village of Maurepas, and the French artillery is now free to concentrate1' on the defences of that fortress. Its; capture will mark an advance or' great importance, and will be of* material assistance to the. British in>. their advance on Guillemont.

A MENACE TO PERONNE.

PARIS, July 31

An expert French commentator, writing on the French gains on the* north bank of the Somme, says: — i All these points are situated east of the local railway line from Clery to Combles. which was the limit or onr last assault on July 20 in thiss sector. This .progress was not effected! without provoking . violent counterattacks on the part of the enemy, which are explained by the import--anoe of- the disputed ground for thefedefence of Peronns against a movement from the north-west. —Reuter.