In the West.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 77, 4 July 1916, Page 5

In the West.

'.■■r.iTEi ,v -* ‘T-- OV :• . tip iphulfim -irtJii ,(-.-I hher b. 'ii(i : luiU i&ajiiV ■ ft ~; I ''! ' - ■ >' /■6jT*l^'J|o :^i|ELLS r A MINUTE. • !f{ ~t i/. ' - ' ■ - : ' Splendid work of aviators, '• ' 1 • ■ ■ ■ : ■ j ! WOUNDED ARRIVE IN 1 LONDON. .. i- i. ■ United Press’ Association. - London, July 3, Reuter’s special con-espondent at the, Front says the offensive v was , roDKhlyJhrice .the magnitude of the. battle of loos. . The shell bursts reached five hundred a minute on a short front, the guns being of all calibres. . The., correspondent, pays tributes to Jbe splendid work of British aviators, . who were, sailing undisturbed in the j . .Storm, marking the shells down on dr“® oi ;n rr .•_ •• ■ . , I in, the evening and , P There ,\v;a3 muqh *•««. h* : VIOLENT BOMBING BY THE.. 'BELGIANS. London, July 3. A Belgian communique says that in the southern sector of the Belgian front violent bomb warfare developed i on Saturday evening. ANZACS NOT ENCAGED. ENORMITY OF BOMBARDMENT. 1 London, July 3.' 1 It is believed there were no overseas troops engaged in the offensi/e. The chief fruits are the enemy losses, <ii and the men’s mbrpie. Nowhere was the ( fight sufficiently uniform to make a general summing .lip possible. South of Ancre we scored the greatest successes. Northward the progress on the whole line was greater than the map shows. Under a dreadful hurricane of shells the whole of the attacking troops reached the enemy trenches, which 'were i battered out of existence. His nearer communication trenches were obliterated. Whole villages behind the , lines were swept away as if a forest fire had raged through them. VILLAGE CONVERTED INTO DEVIL’S CAULDRON.

The village of Thiepval was converted into a veritable devil's cauldron. Here there was a bowl of seething , fumes—black, green and white. The German lines for the past four days must have been a hideous nightmare. The French advance was Magnificent. They went forward as >f on parade, and carried the first German line unchecked and then swept en beyond. A ROARINC HELL.

At the order to advance, the British rushed into the Toaring hell,, and worked their way tb our curtain of fire ahead. - ' ' The enemy's shells poured mto our men, who did not waver, the gaps m their ranks being quickly closed. Then the curtain of fire suddenly jumped like a jerky cinema film, and rose and fell on another trench furlier on< leaving nothing but desola- _ —

tion in front of' our men. Everything was flattened out. Our > men leaped across thei ruined'trenches toSvards the- wall ' of smoke -ahdufire. ' The' drama ! was repeated agalns a/id again. The men'-'"approached" the Curtain arid saw it : lift'and fall If ur- ! ther on. QuiI perfectly. ' In 'the cyclone)J of it was*'impossible : to give spoken? jcommahds. Everything was done by; gesture. ' ,■' ":" ;i '.' ' ; ' 1 ' GERMAN SURRENDERERS. A' dense body of Germans.approached.' It looked like a counter-attack. Our artillery ceased fire. The gunners knew these were surrenderors. We slit-their boot laces and cut off their brace buttons. The Germans, ' i Mfch" , ' n fchei>r' hands in their 1 pockets, slouched rearwards, needing few to guard them. l ''The German general must' also have been 'surprised at the local counterattack turning into a- procession of prisoners, for he orderedth© artillery to fire." Many of 1 the prisoners' fell. It was also found that' 1 many«ofef£JSfc enemy were stricken- doWri'i jwhite praying'. ■ ' Some had ptayer^>ook|s"" itr their hands. ,; : 'ik»:> \ ' Many of the trenches 'were-' impassable shambles, groans coming 1 jfrom , the, wounded buried beneath the'piles of dead.

THE VERDUN STRUGGLE.

THE FIGHTING AT THIAUMONT.

London, July 2

All reports prove that the Germans are lying as to Thiaumont in the same way as their falsehood about Douaumont. The French captured Thiaumont at 10 o'clock on Friday morning, and the. Germans re-entered the town at three in the afternoon, and remained there for ninety minutes.- The Germans, in the evening, 'made a series of \ furious attacks and retook Thiaumont, which the French On Saturday corning again captured. The- Germans bombarded all day without result,

ON THE BRITISH FRONT.

HEAVY FIGHTING CONTINUES.

SATISFACTORY PROCRESS.

AVIATORS' GREAT ASSISTANCE.

The High Commissioner reports:— London, July 3 (1.50 p.m.) British Headquarters report heavy fighting to-day in the area between the Ancre and the Somme, especially about Fricourt and La Boisselle. Fricourt, which was captured by our troops, remains in our hands, and progress has also been made east of' the village. In the neighbourhood of La Boisselle, the enemy is stubbornly resisting our troops, but we are progressing satisfactorily. A considerable quantity of war material has fallen into our hands, but details at present are not available. The general situation is favourable. Later information of the enemy's losses show that our first estimate was too low. , •

On Saturday our aeroplanes were active in co-operation with our at-

tack north of the Soinme, and afford* 'ed valuable assistance to our operations. Numerous enemy headquarters and railway centres were attacked 'with bombs. In one of these raids, our escorting aeroplanes were attacked by twenty Fokkers, which were driven off. Two enemy machines 1 crashed to the earth and were destroyed. Some long distance reconnaissances were made despite numerous at- ' tempts made-by tho enemy's machines to frustrate our enterprise.':. Three of our aeroplanes arc missing.

DASH OF THE SCOTS.

LET HIM DO OR DIE!

(Received 8.45 a.m.) Paris, July 3

Correspondents eulogise the brilliant dash of the Scottish regiments, which General Haig mentions as having traversed three lines of trenches, and entering Montauban slew hundreds at the point of the bayonet.

) PROMISING SITUATION. The High Commissioner reports: — London, July 3 (4.55 p.m.) Northward of the Ancre, the position is unchanged. At Fricourt, our positions were advanced northward to high ground. The situation is promising. We are bombarding Thiepval and La Boisselle. Tho Germans are bombarding Montauban, but no damage has !been done.' ' ; Prisoners taken on British front total 4000.

WITH THE FRENCH.

IN THE GERMANS 'SECOND LINE. PRISONERS EXCEED 6000.

LIVELY FIGHTING AT VERDUN.

London, July 3 (2.15 p.m.)

The French official reports states:— At north" Somme, fighting continued all day to 1 our" advantage in the region of Hardecourt and Curlu. At south Somme, we gained a footing in numin the 'p&cfohd German pWrfcfons. The viliag#- 6f-' Fritz. j agd/ Mereaucourt Wood have fallen i into our hands.

Unwoundcd prisoners captured by the French troops on July Ist and 2nd actually counted exceeded 6000, including -&t least 150 officers. Cannons and numerous material were also captured. Thanks to. the very complete preparation and plan of our j artillery, our losses were, slight. j There has been lively artillery fightLing at Hill 304 in the sectors of /Fleury and DaroUwp. ; On, l ', Saturday night, one of our squadrons threw shells on the following stations .\4B on Longuyon, 8 on Thionville, 16 on jDun, and 33 on Queulles. ; 'On'Sunday-a dozen of our aviators ! bombarded the station of Amagnelucqiiy.' Sixty shells struck' 'the buildings gandrraiteyays, destroying a; traiib \ The j Germans fired several large calibre

3?Mi^-"tfce^direction of:"Nancy, j ' ojAj Gefman squadron bombed 1 the open town of "Luneville, and reprisals .are.threatened. .

FIGHTING >OR THE SECOND LINES. Paris, July 3. A communique states that heavy fighting occurred in our favor all day north of the Somme and in the region of Hardecourt and Cuiiu. We captured a fortified quarry east of Curlu. .We gained a footing in the second , lines at many points south of the i Somme and captured the village of JFrise Wood and Mereincourt. The ! unbounded prisoners captured now I exceed 6000, including 150 . officers. .We also took some guns and, much material. Our losses were slight. .There was no infantry action north of Verdun, but there was a lively bombardment. The insignificant French losses in the Somme region is due to the complete artillery preparation, the dash of the infantry and ! the aii; squadrons. The latter did [effective work, bombing heavily the 'railway station at Longuyon, Thionjville, Dun Brisculles and Amagnelucquy. At the last-named they destroyed the buildings and a train.

i The Germans to-day fired heavy shells at Nancy and Belfort, and aeroplanes bombed the open town of Luneville. Reprisals will be taken.

! THE GENERAL RESULT. CAPTURE OF FIRST TWO LINES. THE LATEST ADDITIONS.

; (Received 8.45 a.m.) J Paris, July 3. I The Petit Journal says the general result of the present offensive is tint capture of the first and second lines and a vast area between Montauban and Assevillers. The success is now more, because the British captured Mametz and Fricourt. NEED FOR CAUTION. WAITING FOR THE THROUGH(Received 8.45 a.m.) Paris, July 3.

Military critics emphasise the need for continued caution, and to be sparing in lives until a general breakthrough is possible, meanwhile forcing action only where' our decisive superiority is assured and inflicting the maximum loos on the enemy with a -minimum loss on ourselves.

COST NOT TOO DEAR.

BRITISH PROGRESS SLOWER THAN FRENCH. DIFFICULTIES OF COUNTRY. ENEMY SANGUINARILY REPULSED. (Received 8.45 a.m.) Paris, July 3. M. Marcel Rutin, writing in tfu Echo de Paris, says the British progress is slower than the French which is duo to the difficulty of the ground, i'lio Allies are engaged in lengthy operations wherein there is plenty of work for the artillery before aa attack. It is gratifying that the hai 1 of prisoners, besides the strategic result obtained, was not paid for too dearly.

The Germans facing the British multiplied their counter-attacks all day and night, but were sanguinarily repulsed. Altogether, the situation is favorable.

OPPOSED TO BRITISH. CROWN PRINCE OF BAVARIA. (Received 8.45 a.m.) Berne, July 3. The Crown Prince of Bavaria commands the enemy opposing the British offensive. THE USE OF GAS. TOO LATE TO SQUEAL.

(Received 8.45 a.m.). Berne, July 3

, German newspapers protest against .he British using gas more deadly han the German variety.

CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS) IN SOMME.

OPPOSED BY 39 GERMAN tJ „ on , *J>rtAuQNs. \ I' ■'' REPORT HEAVY

LOSSES AND DISORGANISATION.

(Received 9 a.m.) Paris, July 3

A communique states: The enemy in North Somme did not attempt a night-attack on the newly-won positions. The fight continued in South Somme with complete success in the northern and western outskirts of Assevillers. Our troops made considerable progress in the north of the villages of Estress, Assevillers and Mort. Prisoners to an unknown number and heavy guns were captured during the' latest action's'. ,' \ '' Already 'it' ''lias 1 been identified that there were' thivty-nihe German ■battalions in thg -front of the French attack, whereof the prisoners state that thirty-one sustained the heaviest losses and were completely disorganised. Most of the prisoners, who are very young, state that our artillery was extremely effective, and not only annihilated the defensive organisations but obliterated all the lateral communications in the rearward and rendered the control of troops and arrangements for their feeding impossible.

A BRILLIANT FIGHT.

FRENCH SEIZE HERBEGOURT.

SUPERIORITY OF AIRMEN. DAM LOUP LOST AND RECAPTURED. (Received 9.40 a.m.) Paris, July 3. A communique states: The enemy were defensively organised at Herbecourt, which we seized after a brilliant fight. Wo sot fire to fifteen German captive balloons during the offensive. Our aeroplanes were the masters throughout. Only nine of, the enemy were seen, and none crossed our lines. The Germans at 3.30 in the morning started a violent bombardment, and launched a strong attack against the Damloup work on the right bank of the Mouse and took possession ol it, but our counter-attack immedia'ely hurled the enemy hack and recaptured the work.

THE ANZACS' RAID. RAPID SUCCESSFUL WORKERS. (Received 10.10 a.m.) London, July 3. The United Service correspondents, referring to the Anza'c raid on Thursday, state that a storm of artillery fire seemed to concentrate at one rpot. For two long minutes, it paused, and then flashed forth again less fiercely. Here the An/iaes rushed ilie raid, and within five minutes had reached the first concentration of the enemy. They carried.out their work with wonderful rapidity, returning successful.

SUNDAY NIGHT SUCCESS.

GERMAN SECOND POSITION OCCUPIED. A FRONT OF THREE MILES. (Received 10.10 a.m.) Paris, July 3. A communique states: We occupied on Sunday night on a front of. five kilometres the two lines of the German second position from Bois de Mereaucourt to Assevillers, including the village of Herbecourt. THE GERMAN REPORT.

ALLIES' SUCCESS DISCOUNTED.

(Received 11.45 a.m.) Berlin, July 3

" A communique states: The continu r ation of the British and French attacks did not secure any advantage north of the Somme. They suffered extraordinary sanguinary losses. We withdrew to the second position south of the river during the night. The enemy again exhausted himself in a fruitless attack on the village oi Thiaumont! They captured six hundred yards of a trench south-west of the village, but were driven out. We captured the hill and battery at Damloup, south of Vaux Fort, making prisoners of 100 and capturing several machine-guns. ,

We brought.down six aeroplanes,' wounded reach england. Maniacs not great PUSH. (Received 11.10 a.m.)' ' = '.. London, July 3.

A train load of British wounded reached Charing Cross, including a number of Anzacs, who were not engaged in the great push, but in the preliminary raids. • All were in high spirits. The Anzacs were not holding a section where the British were advancing.

A party of New Zealand dfficers arrived at Chelsea, Hospital where they were visited by Sir Thomas Mackenzie and General Richardson. OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION. rii'Jl • i ; j7l - ; ".. | & . " ;' \ ; ;.' The High .Commissioner reports:— London, July 3 (3.25 p.m.) J

Northwards of the 'Somme, the ene* my made no attempt during the night, and the positions conquered are being organised. South of the river, fighting continued successfully yesterday evening and during- the night. The French occupied on a front of over five kilometres two lines of the second line of trenches from the borders of Mereahcourt Wood to Assevillers, brilliantly taking Herbecourt. A number of new prisoners and heavy artillery were captured, but these were not counted.

Information has been obtained which shows that thirty-nine German battalions were in the front which the French attacked on Saturday. Heavy losses' were inflicted on Germans who became disorganised. Most of prisoners taken on Saturday and Sunday are very young. Prisoners say the artillery preparation was extremely effective, both shattering the defences and the lateral communications to the rear, and rendering revietualling and commanding impossible. Dining the artillery preparations, thirteen German captive balloons were firod*by our airmen. During the attack, our chasing aeroplanes were masters of the front. Only nine Germans.appeared, none crossing our lines, and one was destroyed.

South of Avre, in the.region of Dancourt and Loges Wood, our reconnaissance penetrated the German trenches and damaged them.with grenades. At Lassigny, a coup de main was successful on the enemy's trenches at Verlet Wood, near Canny sur Matz. Another patrol was captured between the Somme and Moulinsoustouson.

On the left of the Meuse, the night was relatively calm, except for the German bombardment of Hill 304.

On the right bank early this morning, after violent bombardment, the Germany attacked and captured the work at Damlonp, but a counter-attack completely drove them out and wo retook the work.