Second Edition Great Britain

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 94, 17 November 1916, Page 6

Second Edition Great Britain

MOST BRILLIANT VICTORY. OF OPERATIONS. SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES. T r R,O.Cf?S CHEERY AND NON- # CHALANT. . Press Assn,—Copyright,—Australian Cable Association. (Received, 12.20 p.m.) \ London, Novefhber 10. Oply now the public are beginning to fully realise the magnitude of the British victory. The latest correspondents’ accounts emphasise the completeness of the triumphs and the extreme difficulties of the attack, though the conquered sector is described as one of the strongest on the West f ront. First-hand accounts show a mazy intricacy of -the trenches which baffles description. Places over a mile in breadth and, pattern compared to the tangle of ft quick-set hedge in. winter, and the barbed-wire division consisted of four systems two hundred yards wide, while the weather adde.d (enormously to the difficulties. '‘Tjtyl.raordinary stories are related by the attackers of the difficulty of keeping in touch with other units in the darkness and fog, it being im- , possible to, tell whether the next trench was full or deserted, and. how much of the wire remained- standing, so, that accurate reporting was scarcely possible,- especially in the absence of aerial observation. These difficulties often accounted for the attackers ' missing batches of Germans, necessitating a methodical roumlinguip all ■’day. The mud was not bad south of the Ancre, but it was serious on the lower ground, especially in the north, fho trenches were full of wafer, and there were several.- escapes from drowning in the darkness. The conditions were unsuitable for the tanks, so fhat the services of- the two units were all the

more meritorious. . All 'the correspondents dwell on the nonchalance and cheeriness of the British, tiioopß&«Si»fae daft* carelessly on the pair,pets, while others strolled in search"'Tlie?r Serenity passed all precedent, hut the same quality alone enabled • the nr to reach their goaj in face of the unprecedented difficulties. l‘he absence of German artillery retaliation is not explained, since we know that recently they had ’ about 1000 guns in the Apcre sector. Though there is no disposition to deprecate the German troops generally, the victory again proves there is » waning'of| the German morale. Never has such a number not offered any resistance; 1300 men and 29 officers who were rounded •‘lip in a series of un- • derground refuges on the .south bank of. the Apcre made no attempt to fight. There were remarkably few bayonet wounds during the first two days in the British casualties, the vast, bulk being due to shrapnel and machine-guns. Our correspondent sums up the vic- : tory as one of the most brilliant successes of the Sorinue offensive, if not M of the whole f ‘'' r ( . ■ nee ■ " ' COLONIALS WIN■ M'.M.’S. • -IS&L ■ ; Press Association-Copyright, Austra!ian arid N'.Z. Cable Association. (Received 12.1(1 p.m.) London, November 16. Two hundred and forty-five Australians arid thirteen New , Zealanders have been awarded the Military Medal. THE WHEAT SUPPLY. 1 ' ■ _ >. . „• Press Association—Copyright, Aust-a lian arid N.Z. Cabld Association '(Received 12.10 p.m.) London, November 16. The Wheat Commission has arranged with the Indian Government to sanction the export of* 400,000 tons of ■ wheat to Britain, France, and Italy, - shipment to he made in. November, December, and January.