WESTERN FRONT.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 8 May 1917, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

ENEMY ATTACKS. ON THE BRITISH FRONT. ENTIRELY UN S U CCESSFU L. LONDON, May 6. Sir Douglas Haig reports that the enemy, last night, during a sharp fight, unsuccessfully endeavoured to re-estab-lish himself eastward of Lcvcrguier, north-west of St. Quentin. We successfully raided a front of one and a half miles north of Gonnelieu, nine miles south-west of Camb>rai. The enemy again determinedly attacked our positions on the Hindcnburg line, eastward of Bullecourt, but was entirely unsuccessful, and our artillery stopped the renewal of the attack. This morning we captured a section of a trench on the right bank of the Souch.cz River, to the south of the Lens River. IMPROVING THE POSITION. MORE PRISONERS TAKEN. Peceived 9.10. LONDON, May 7. General Haig reports;—We improved our positions in the course of sharp fighting this morning on the Hindenburg line eastward of Bullecourt, and progressed westwards, taking prisonms. We drove off during the night a jemb attack southward of Oppy. FRENCH COMMUNIQUE. GERMAN ASSAULTS REPULSED. ENEMY MOWED DOWN. 20,000 PRISONERS TO DATE.

LONDON, May T. The High Commissioner rexmrts: Precnh official; Yesterday evening and night were marked by new German counter-attacks north-eastward of Soissons, also at Chemin des Dames where four new divisions were identified yesterday. At Froidmont Farm, on the CernyAurtehise front, on the heights at Craonne, also at Vauclere, enemy counter-attacks; were' preceded by 'bombardment. Lively, ■ stubborn fighting ended to our advantage, despite furious enemy assaults'. Our heavy artillery and machine-guns ;mowed down the German masses. Their losses are considerable. Yesterday we took 820 prisoners, bringing the total since April 16th to 29,000, MISCARRIAGE OF GERMAN PLANS LUDENDORFF’S EMBARASSMENT. Received 9.10. PARIS, May 7. Marcel Hutin states that Friday’s, Saturday’s, and Sunday’s French ’Attack marks the complete and irremediable miscarriage of the German de-. sign upon ;Paris. Prodigiously violent counter-attacks have only ended in fresh massacres. General Ludendorff is thoroughly embarasged in his, endeavours to re-assure the German people by his verbal subterfuges. ANOTHER BRITISH THRUST. AUSTRALIANS’ GOOD WORK. Received 9.10. LONDON, May 7. A correspondent at headquarters states the British at 3.45 this morning delivered another attack against Bullecourt, progressing especially on the right flank. The Australians have thrust salient after salient into the German lines, approximately one mile deep eastward of the village northward of the town of Riencourt; thus the town is hemmed in to the west, east, and south. A HOLE IN HINDENBURG’S LINE. POSITION STILL HELD BY BRITISH. FURIOUS FIGHTING. Received 9.10. NEW YORK, May 7. Mr. Simms, correspondent with the British armies in the field, states the Australian troops forged ahead one mile into the German lines early this morning. At the moment of cabling the great hole is being maintained against all the enemy counter-attacks, the chief point of penetration being around Riencourt. The Australian attack began at dawn, and the salient was pushed forward yard by yard to a depth of a mile. They had to face a most violent resistance. The thrust carried them eastward to the village northerly from Riencourt, which is now hemmed in by British troops on all sides except the north. More than one hundred prisoners were taken in the general attack here. Elsewhere, along the British front no’ major actions have taken place, but the artillery fighting is one of the most violent character.

OUR, MINISTERS AT HOME. SIR JOSEPH WARD. WORK FOR THE WAR LOAN. LONDON, Feb 27. The final announcement just 'made that the new war loan had reached the huge total of over a thousand million pounds is a tribute to the success of the lightning campaign which has ranged over the country, and in which Sir Joseph Ward has been giving such effective help, help which has undoubtedly played its part in swelling the huge total the nation has succeeded in gathering up. .... . ’ " ' » Some of his phrases have been quoted far and wide. “Silver bullets are good, gold bullets are better, but copper bullets will also., help,” .was one of the, notpsv of Vl hhe r campaign, aimed; as it was at the small investor.

Wherever Sir Joseph spoke he received a rousing welcome, and it was quite evident from the enthusiasm of his audiences that the public of England has an exceedingly soft spot in their hearts for our Overseas Dominions. “The war has done more than a hundred years of peace could have done to advertise New Zealand in the Old Country,” said Sir Joseph Ward at one town; while at every meeting the chairman and other speakers invariably drew attention to the magnificent work done by New Zealand and other oversea countries in connection with this titanic struggle. In all, Sir Joseph addressed meetings at Eastbourne and Bournemouth on the south coast, Stockton, Hartlepool, and Grimsby (where the gallant mine-sweeping trawlers have their home), Wakefield, Leicester, and Preston, and Wood Green, in London. At some places he addressed two meetings in one day, and in all there were huge, overflowing audiences, and in some cases overflow meetings. “Poor Proud Preston,” with its population of only 120,000, raised over two and a-half millions, and in writing to Sir Joseph after the meeting the Mayor of that town says;—“We feel tha,t your presence among us has given new. Impetus to the war savings movement, generally. It will .also prote of the, greatest benefit in enabling us more,fully to.realise the necessity _ for a closer bond of union between us and the colonies, and to help us to think imperially,” Sir Joseph Ward received splendid hospitality wherever he went. In every town that he visited ~he was entertained by the Mayor and Corporation, and was conducted over the most interesting parts of each district to which -he paid a visit. At Preston he was the guest of Sir Frank Hollins, the head of the firm of Horrocks. He went over this great factory, where over 6000 operatives are employed in making cotton goods. At Leicester he was conducted oyer some of the largest boot-manufacturing firms and worsted mills in the world, while at Grimsby he went over the famous Fish Docks, where most of the.,trawlers coming in from the North Sea unload. He also visited the new docks at Tmmingham, and met Rear-Admiral Nicholson, of the East Coast Station.