WESTERN FRONT.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 3 July 1917, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

BRITISH REPORT. , EXTENSIVE CAPTURES BY THE BRITISH. LONDON, July 1. Marshal Haig reports that there i» considerable enemy artillery fire in the Scrape Valley and in the neighbourhood of Lens. During June we captured SGSG Germans, including 175 officers, 67 guns, including two heavies, 102 trench mortars, 345 machine-guns and great quantities of other material. A French official message reports that, in the sector of Cerny, the Allies * bombardment by large calibre shells of redoubled intensity towards the end of last night, was succeeded by a very violent enemy attack eastward of Cerny, which we occupied on a front of 500 metres. The enemy's trenches were deluged with projectiles and were evacuated by their troops. The concentrated fire of our batteries caused great ravages in the enemy ranks.

TRENCH REPORT. LONDON, July 1. A French communique says: The Cerny-AUies sector bombardment has redoubled in intensity. Violent enemy attacks followed east of Cerny on a five hundred metre front on both sides of the Aille-Paissy road. The enmey occupied a line of trenches evacuated by us. Our artillery caused great havoc to the enemy who was unable to push the attack further despite all efforts. THE OSTENB BOMBARDMENT. LONDON, July 2. Aeroplane-s photographs of the recent bombardment of Ostend show little damage to the residental portions, but much wreckage of the wharves, destroyers and submarine shelters and pier. There has been much bombardment of the coast for a week. BRITAIN'S GUN POWER. AN OVERWHELMING SUPERI- - - •-> :.,• ORITY/ 1 ' LONDON, July 1. The "Morning Post" in a special article says that on the West Front there is abundant indications that the Germans are short of guns and ammunition. Although many guns are massed at certain points, the rest of the line is skinned in order to do so. The British counter battery work never ceases. When an enemy battery is detected suddenly anything from 150 to 500 British heavy shells are turned on the spot. In this way it is estimated that the British destroyed 1280 German guns in twenty-three weeks.

THE GERMAN STORY. FROM VARIOUS FRONTS. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE ACKNOWLEDGED. Received 8.50. LONDON, July 1. Wireless German official: The French failed to recapture the ground lost at Chemin de Dames, on the west bank of the Meuse. We repulsed three trench attacks on our new trenches southward of Bovelle Farm. We stormed the lines further eastward as far as Illes Bissyroate. The Russian Government, yielding to Entente pressure, their army has been in duced to attack. The Russian infantry attacks on a front of thirty kilometres in the Upper Strywa, as far as Narajowka, failed with heavy losses. Nocturnal attacks astride Brezany, near Zwyzyn, broke down. Artillerying has extended northwards to the middle Stokhod, southward to Stanislau. GERMANY'S APPALLING LOSSES. 2,000,000 DEAD. 3,000,000 PERMANENTLY DISABLED. Received 11.40 a.m. LONDON, July 2. The Daily Chronicle's correspondent at Amsterdam states that the estimates of German casualties appearing in British newspapers are necessarily founded on German lists, but these are so been made by the Reichstag to elicit the truth. Thereupon fresh figures were given under the seal of seerey, showing that over two million Germans were killed and died of wounds and sickness: these permanently disabled number upwards of three millions. The above statistics do not include the re-" cent heavy fighting along the Hindenburg line.