CAPTURE OF CRAONNE.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 3 July 1917, Page 2

CAPTURE OF CRAONNE.

««* | KEY TO LOAN PLATEAU. BRILLIANT FRENCH TACTICS. Describing the capture of Craonne by the .French on May 4. Mr. H. Warner Allan wrote that from its position sent battle than many a town ten or twenty times its size. Craonne was,, as it were, a watch-tower perched on the edge of of the plateau of Laon, which might be endangered by a French advance through the gap that lies between Craonne and Rhcims. The battle that continued a day or two later further west, and culminated in the capture of practically all the Chemin des Dames, including Craonne and the California plateau, Events have shown that the enemy was entirely deceived as to the principal French objective.

HOODWINKING THE ENEMY. The British had attacked on the left of the battlefront. The first French blow vtc's struck on the extreme right wing On April 30 the French made a general advance on the east of Rheims, extending their hold on the Moronvillexs Hills aud carrying the front German trenches from Mont Cornillct to the south of Bcine. The objectives of this attack, which were limited, were attained. It was not, strictly speaking, a feint, since the material advantages gained justified it in itself and led to German counterattacks that resulted in heavy loss to the enemy, yet it played an important part in hoodwinking the German 7tf.Jgh Command. On May -A, this successful operation was followed by an assault on the German trenches north-west of Rheims. The first enemy lines were carried on a front of two-and-a-half miles. The enemy evidently adopted this point of view, as no sooner had he lost his positions than he began to counterattack with desperate violence in the hope of recovering them. Two new divisions that had only arrived were thrown into the fray. As the attack debouched from Aguilcourt it was received with a terrific fire. The ranks of attack were broken, and the enemy

• ell back, leaving 700 prisoners and many' killed and wounded. In the meantime the French suddenly revealed the main purpose of all these opera-

tions and took the enemy unprepared. While the Germans Averc busying themselves about the French advance in the neighboiArhood of Brimont. and wcr"

exhausting themselves with futile counter-attacks the French infantry carried, after a. vigorous artillery preparation, the village of Craonne, which the Germans regarded as impregnable end established themselves on its approaches to the north and northeast. It was only when Craonne had sliped from his hands that the enemy realised the French plan. Too late he endeavoured desperately to drive the French from the village that opened t£ them the gate of the California plateau above. All through the night his in-

fantry returned stubbornly to the charge, only to be cut to pieces by the French barrage and machine-gun fire. The French did not yield an inch of ground, and took 225 prisoners. The next day, the sth, the whole Frenek efforts were concentrated on what had always been their main objective. Heartened by the success already won, the French troops strained every nerve to make' the most of the capture of Craonne. The assault was made in three sections, from the east of Vauxaillon to the east of Craonne. SIEGFRIED LINE PIERCED.

On the west the Hlndenlmrg salient, which lay between Moisy Farm, the Laffaux windmill and the plateau north of Xanteuil la Fosse and Sancy, was attacked with such irresistible dash that ; 'dl the principal points of this fortress were carried, despite the fire of the enemy's powerful artillery and Lite countless machine-guns with which it was protected. The Laffaux windmill, the pivot of the salient, where the enemy concentrated his resistance, fell into French hands after a Titanis struggle. Further east, the crest of the Chemin des Dames was taken from above Frimont Farm to the quarries marked on the staff map.as La Creute.

Here the French had made their way into the famous Siegfried line. Its deep entrenchments, concrete shelters, and hundreds of light machine-guns availed nothing, and 1800 of its defenders Surrendered. In the third section, east of Corny, the French took the whole of the plateau north of Vauclerc and the California plateau that command the Ailette Valley. All counter-attacks were unavailing, and the issue of this phase of the battle was that the enemy lost a number of highly important positions and suffered enormous losses in the struggle.