WESTERN FRONT.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 25 April 1917, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

HEAVY AND CONTINUOUS FIGHTING.

MORE POSITIONS AND PRISON ERS CAPTURED.

LONDON, April 24,

The High Commissioner reports

British official: Heavy and contin- | nous fighting occurred throughout the I day on both banks of the Scarpe. Sevj oral important enemy positions were ; gained by our troops. A marked feature in the day’s operations was the frequency and violence of the enemy’s counter-attacks, during which he suf- | fered very heavily. We captured the village of Cavrelli and the enemy’s de- , fences for two and a-half miles south of the village, as far as Rouex ceme- | tery. On the right bank of the , Scarpe our troops fought forward on | a wide front south and east of Monchilereun, and captured Guenappe. j The prisoners taken are considerably over a thousand. We also progressed south of Lens, in the neighbourhood of Souchez river. There was great activity in the air ■ yesterday, in which our aircraft were ' equally successful. French official: Several enemy attacks were completely repulsed by our j fire - Som e enemy fractions penetrated our advanced elements, but were immediately ejected by hand-to-hand j fighting. HINDENBURG FORTSTALLED.

PLANS SERIOUSLY UPSET.

Received 9.25.

PARIS, April 24

Documents seized on prisoners have established th e fact that the German High Command selected for their attack the front whereon the French took the offensive on the Kith, thereby seriously upsetting Hindenburg’s plans.

STILL PRESSING ON.

LONDON, April 24

The High Commissioner cables; General Haig reports that south of the Bapaume-Cambrai road we gained ground during the night on a wide front, eastward of Epeehy. We reached the St. Quentin Canal in the neighbourhood of Vendhuile.. Northwards we captured Villars, Plonich and Beaucamp, also some prisoners. Severe fighting took place yesterday even ing and at night on the whole front. At Croiselles and northwards of Gavrelle th e enemy unsuccessfully coun-ter-attacked determinedly, regardless of losses. The positions' gained yesterday wer e maintained. We progressed eastwards of Mouchy-le-Preux and Roeux, and prisonered over 1500 yesterday. Particularly violent coun-ter-attacks this morning at Gavrelle were beaten off. GERMANS IN GREAT STRENGTH A GALANT BRITISH OFFICER. LONDON, April 23. Mr Beach Thomas, describing the new British offensive, describes a great concentration of new German reserves and batteries on both sides of the Scarpe to meet renewed attacks. He sajs one officer rushed Ins men past the German curtain fire, then paraded up close to his own barrage. The moment the curtain lifted the men were in the enemy’s trenches and bayoneted the whole garrison save a handful of prisoners. Th e Germans fought to the death. A group, nearly surrounded, held up their hands, but as the British rose from shell holes machine-gunners behind, pretending to surrender, opened fire in all directions.

I never met Britishers coming from battle with such passionate words of fury. Much air fighting prefaced the battle. Sis German machines we're downed.

AT EAST 2000 PRISONERS TAKTN.

LONDON, April 24,

Correspondents at British Headquarters state that three days’ fine weather preceded the Scarpe attack, which was on a front of 12,000 yards. At least 2000 prisoners have been taken. The attack was considerably less important than that made on the 9th April, because there was no definite objective like tiie old German first line. Instead of a continuous trench system, the British were facing rolling country dotted by many isolated posts and short lengths of trenches. Such country offered the artillery no defined target or object of attack. Many Germans in the second lines fought stubbornly. There was considerable bayonet fighting. It is evident the Germans are making every effort to delay the advance in order to gain time to complete their defences in the rear. THE BATTLE OF ARRAS. BRITISH LAUNCH A GREAT OFFENSIVE. IMPORTANT PROGRESS MADE EVERYWHERE.

LONDON, April 24.

Mr Philip Gibbs says: The Battle of Arras has entered the second phrase, which is harder than the battle of the 9th. This morning, before five o ’clock, English, Scotch, and Welsh attacked eastwards of Arras between Gavrclle Gnemappe, Fontaine and Croixelles, which is the last switch line hereabouts between us and the main Hindenburg line. So far the day has. gone in cur favour. We gained important ground, inflicted great losses and prisouered a thousand in the neighbour'll and of Fontaine. Everywhere there has been hard fighting, as the enemy wore aware they would bo attacked as soon as the guns moved up. The Germans wore told to hold on at all costs. They brought up many new batteries and massed machine-guns in the villages and trenches covering the line of advance. Fighting is progressing at all points. (Sometimes our men are beaten back, and then, re-attacking,- go forward. Gavrclle is certainly ours, thus breaking the so-called Oppy line northward of the village. On the extreme right the enemy suffered disaster northward of Croiselles, where v>e prisonered and killed many. At the outset the enemy resisted fiercely. Last night was terribly cold. Our men lay in shell holes and shallow trenches, and suffered severely. The' British bombardment was steady throughout the nig-ht, but broke in a hurricane of fire at dawn. The artillery barrage was brilliantly successful directly the attack commenced, but the Britishers had hardly risen from shell-holes and ditches before a German counter-barrage started like a furnace-blast. Machinegun fire from two small woods on the front from Monchy to Guemappe also commenced. The enemy trenches below Monchy were defended by enfilade fire from redoubts along the Cambrai road. When the Britishers swept down the Germans quickly fled to cover in the wood of Ausart. The Britishers elsewhere along "the Scarpe were held up for some time by intense machine-gun fire. They had to await a tank. Still further "north, Scottish battalions quickly advanced towards Douox, passing a fortified farm, and chemical .works, where the enemy lost very heavily in trying to escape from the ruins. The capture of Gaverelle was the most brilliant episode on the left side of the attack. The Germans set great store on Guemappe, a heap of brick deriving its importance from its position upon the Cambrai road. The third Bavarian division held the village, where there was deadly hand-to-hand fighting. The 101st Pomeranian regiment, in the neighbourhood of Fontainel, had been for several clays heavily bombarded; and their nerves were so shaken that they came out of their dug-outs, 500 surrendering without attempting to fight. Between the Cojeul and Sensee riv--ers where the British advanced along a curved line following Tfie shape of rising ground, we took at least 1200 prisoners and a battery ,of field guns. BRITISH PUTTING ON THE PRESSURE. Received 11.30.

PARIS, April 24

The Petit Parisien states the British semi-circle round Lens was drawn closer yesterday, holding the majority of the suburbs. The enemy concentrated important forces eastward’ of Arras, determined at all costs to bar the way to Douai.