WESTERN FRONT.

Taihape Daily Times, 29 July 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

RETREAT FROM THE MARNE. | LIKELY TO REACH VESLE. LONDON, July 26. Correspondents' messages to-day from the French front state that it seems likely that von Boehm's retreat will not stop short of the Vesle, though General Mangin, north of the Ourcq, is meeting with desperate resistance from von Boehm's army. General Mangin's hard and repeated blows not only forced the enemy to abandon the Marne, but enabled Generals de Goutte and Demitry to continue their advance. Both French armies are now nearly at Beuvardes. Apparently the Germans still hold the *centre near Ouichy le Chateau. German resistance to the American advance north-east of Chateau Thierry is increasing, and hand to hand fighting is in progress amongst the pines of the Forest of Fere. Another American unit is advancing in the Forest of. Biz. The Germans are chiefly using machine guns. Big fires are seporuW at : Fere-en-Tardenois. 4 - - __- — ALLIED CAPTURES IN 10 DAYS. 25,000 PRISONERS, 400 GUNS. LONDON, July 26. ! Reuter's French Headquarters correspondent, writing at 11 o'clock on Thursday night, says: Since Monday week 25,000 prisoners, 400 guns and several thousand machine-guns have 'been captured from the. enemy, whose loss in munitions and material ia incalculable. Nightly fires indicate where the depots of stores which he is unable to remove are burning It is clearly proved that the Germans when beginning the offensive, were again deluded with the idea that the French Army at length was exhausted, and left the possibility of a counteroffensive on their right flank out of calculation. They failed to reckon on the Americans' presence, which enabled the French commanders to take measures which they might have hesitated to take with their own resource alone. ENEMY LOSSES ESTIMATED AT 150,000. WASHINGTON, July 26. Officials estimate that in a fortnight the German losses amounted to a hundred and fifty thousand, the Americans to twenty-five thousand, and the total of the Allies to less than one hundred thousand. ANOTHER CHAMPAGNE OFFENSIVE, A MILE GAINED ON 13-MILE FRONT. PARIS, July 27. Local attacks undertaken in the Champagne, after breaking the enemy offensive, resulted, notwithstanding enemy resistance, in our advancing a mile on a front of thirteen miles east of Suippe, north of the general line St. Hilaire le Grand, Souain, Mesnil les Hurlus. We recaptured the whole of Main de Massiges and re-occuuied our old first lines in that region. We captured in these operations 1100 prisoners and seven guns. General Gouraud's army has in many places taker* the original line occupied before the attack. Main de •Massiges is the raost important gam of a series which have been secured by a nibbling process. ANOTHER ADVANCE. »'& f> : K LONDON, July 28. : French c%*>trunique issued at Tofj &.m.: In Champagne we carried out a local operation in the region south of

Mont Sansom. We advanced a kilometre on a front of about three kilometres, and prisonered 200, including seven officers. GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORT. LONDON, July 27. Wireless German official: — We ejected the enemy from his front lines north of OuTcny le Chateau, and drove off attacks easl of Orets and south of the Ourcq. We cleared the wooded district, and west of Vrigny repulsed violent counter attacks. AN AMERICAN SUCCESS. LONDON, July 27. An American official message states: We captured Recharmel, between the. Qurcq and the Marne, on the 25th.,. FOCH'S OFFENSIVE SUMMED UP. NEW YORK, July 27. General Marsh, Chief of Staff, announces that | contingent of American troops have been despatched to Italy. Two additional American army corps have been organised in France. Summing up the situation on the French front, he says the Allies forced the Germans back eleven miles. The Germans are "retreating towards the centre of the salient. The Britisn gains are especially dangerous to the enemy because they have placed the southern Germans in an awkward plight. NEW ZEALANDERS IN ACTION. GERMANS ATTACK LEFT FLANK. LONDON, July 27. The Germans'last'night attacked the New Zcalanders' left flank at Hebuterne under the protection- J of a heavy ; bombardment, but were ' vigorously thrown back, leaving prisoners. Elsewhere there was mutual shelling the Germans using mostly gas. The British heavily gassed the Germans west and north-west of Albert. Simultaneously their machine-guns and artillery were let loose. Judging by the feeble response, the Germans must have suffered considerably. FIGHTING AT METEREN. LONDON, July 27. Mr Phillip Gibbs writes: This morning a futile attack on Metercn was made by six companies belonging to a German division which the Australians and Scottish almost destroyed. The Germans advanced resolutely after heavily bombarding the Scottish positions, but were raked by fire from the start, and never reached the road through our positions, which Avas their goal. They made some progress on the right, but the Scottish infantry drove them back, with severe , losses, the enemy only gaining a small outpost. Sir Douglas Haig reports: We raided, the neighbourhood of Sailly,,Laurette, Neuviiie, St. Vitasse, Arleux en Gobelle and Lens. We took several prisoners. Hostile artillery was active between the Somme and the Ancrc. There was reciprocal artillery fire in the La Bassee Canal canal sector. Sir Douglas Haig reports: We repulsed attacks on Aveluy Wood and in the neighbourhood of Vieux Berquin. , We prisonered a few in the enemy's unsuccessful attacks at Meteren. 30,000 GERMANS. FOCH'S CAPTURES DURING THE OFFENSIVE. NEW YORK, July 27. Mr Durants, the New York Times' correspondent, says: The' fto-tai captures during Foch's present offensive is 30,000 Germans.

GERMANS COMPLETELY ALTER THEIR PLANS. NEW YORK, July 2T. Mr. Duranty, the New York "Times" correspondent on the French front, learns from a French staff officer on the Marne sector that there has been a dramatic change in the German plans, explaining the recent fluctuations of the battle J :~"Th"e officer said that on the night of July 17£h the Germans re-crossed the river, protected by a strong rearguard and heavy shell fire. By July 20th the south bank was in Allied hands. On July 21st the German artillery had greatly decreased, and the French troops crossed to the north bank. It was reported that the German lines were held by machine-gunners only. Arr observers reported that gun supplies and troops, in very great congestion behind the enemy lines, .were moving northward, and that yntransportable supp'ies were burning. On July 22nd, terrific German artillery fire Commenced at dawn. An air observer reported that the German army was now moving south. taken prisoner on July 22nd* aid the retreat had been abandoned and the troops ordered to hold on to the last man. The assumption is that von Boehm or the Crown Prince decided to retreat, but the Higher Command countermanded the order. The French advanced north of Fonta Binson, but otherwise the advance has been stayed. GERMANY'S PROSPECTS. LONDON, July 27. There is good reason to think that the enemy had made up his mind on {he 19th to undertake a general reirement to the Ardre and Vesle, but later cancelled the orders. He may now try to hold the present line at all costs, or to straighten his front between Soissons and Rbeims. His object in hanging on may be a desire to sh.ve the e:acrmous ' accumulation ot stores and reduce the confusion of congested transport in the area. Should he fall back on the Ardre or Vesle it would be an admission of complete failure, and would seriously affect. the Central Empire's morale. The Crown Prince's reserves have been entirely used up. Prince Rupprecht'f; thirty fresh divisions are all that are left or the Western front. The prospects of an attack are less apparent than a week ago. He appears net to be inclined to stake everything en an isolated attack on another front. Another reaison , is that the man-power situation is not at» good as he would like, but he canno* expect an improvement until the 1920 classes are ready to take the fiel*— t?o months hence. ENEMY LEAVING DORMANS AREA. NEW YORK, July 27. The United Press correspondent on the French front, writing on Saturday night, states: The Germans are in full retreat from the bottom of. the pocket. BIG ADVANCE BY ALLIED TROOPS. LONDON, July 28. At 1.30 this morning a French com: munique states: Under continuous pressure by French and Allied troops for several days past, the Germans today retreated -on the whole front north of the Marne. Our troops, pressing the enemy rearguards, reached the line Buycres-Villencuvc sur Icss-Courmont, Passy-Gringny, Cuisies, La Nenville Charmuzis. On the right bank of the Marne, we have cleared a wide front, and we continue to progvess > We have reached more than fifteen kilometres northwest of Chateau Thierry. An American official says: The enemy's resistance has been broken between the Ourcq. and the Marne. A French communique says: On the right bank of the Marne we advanced north of Ponta Binson. The New York Times correspondent on the West front states that the Allies have already gained several kilometres in the southern portion of the Marne salient. , HINDENBURG DISOWNS RE. SPONSIBILITY j BERNE, July 27. Hindenburg disapproved of the recent offensive. His name figured improperly in the official communiques, but after the German defeat he insisted on Ludcndorff's being substituted, holding him really responsible. RETIRE TO PREPARE NEW BLOWS AMSTERDAM, July 27 German military critics are preparing the public for a withdrawal ,at Soissons and Rheims. The Lokal Anzgier states: A change in the present, line is probable. it is indifferent whether the troops move forward ,or back, provided our adversaries' aims are impeded. The Tageblatt warns the public not to get excited if Hindenburg sees fit

to retire to the Aisne or even further north. It will mean nothing more than a strategic movement, which cedes no German ground. "We may have to retire in order to prepare new blows. RECENT GERMAN OFFENSIVE REVIEWED. FRENCH GENERALS' PiLAN. DEFENCE AND COUNTER ATTACK Received 8.50' a.m';" LONDON, July 27. . A French headquarters correspondent, reviewing the recent German offensive, says: The German attacK was foiled by the systenTof defence of Generals Gouraud, Berthelot, ano Degoutte, acting under orders from General Petain. From experience of past offensives the Commander inChief came to the conclusion that the first line could not be held against such an attack, therefore he ordered the advanced zone to be evacuated as soon as the bombardment began, and the defence thereof left to small detachments of determined men under competent officers, whose mission it would be to delay the Germans as long as possible, so that their push would lose its vigour by the time it reached the principal line of defence. The plan worked perfectly, and the main line of resistance was nowhere pierced. The enemy on the Marne front was able to make more progress against General Berthelot, because Berthelot was defending unorganised ground. General Petain's plan went further than a successful defence, and he decided on a counter attack on the left of the assembling divisions under the shsde" v of Villers Cotterets Forest; where the troops might hope to escape observation. The double plan was submitted to General Foch" on July 12, and approved the following day. The enemy failed altogether east of Rheims, and' found himself engaged in a desperately difficult attempt to advance up tho. valley of the Marne on Epernay, when he was' suddenly attacked between Chateau Thierry and the Aisne. SECRET OF GERMAN FAILURE. UNDER-RATING THE FRENCH. HUNS' FATAL OVER-CONFIDENCE Received 9.10 a.m. LONDON, July 27. The state of the enemy's army after the failure of the third, offensive is shown by the fact of the three thousand prisoners' taken in the last few days, 14.8 were below the class or 1919. Therefore 5.6 of the soldiers of that class are on the front. Clasß 1920 have been warned to be in reaainess for the call in September, all of whom are under nineteen years of age. The breakdown of the third German effort to reach a decision this summer is due mainly to two facets: First, under-rating, the. French power of resistance; second, the blow was not a surprise. They came to the conclusion that after the Picardy and Aisne offensives the French had reached a pitch of exhaustion from which they could not recover. The Germans contemplated the capture of a number o* important towns. Epernay and Montmirail were to be captured the first day, and Chalons the second. Instructions were issued regarding the ex,-< ploitation of conquered territory, and detachments were formed to plunder the houses in conquered territory in the national interests.' Four armies, von Einem's, von Mudra's, von Boahm's and von Eben's, were to striisc simultaneously. The strategic object of the attacks was to cut the Frencn army in halves, and turn the whole strength against whichever half was least able to resist. If successful, the enemy could have'cliosen between a move on Paris or turning the whole French line from the Argonne to the Vosges. The Germans were so confident that they did not trouble to hide their intentions. The delay was due-to the fact that they were no less pressed for men than the French, and that the attack would be at Champagne and the Marne had been foreseen, though the date was uncertain. It was expected on the Bth, and again on the 12th; Ta~stly, on the 14th, on the eve whereof General Gouraud ordered a trench raid, which resulted in the information that the enemy meant to attack at dawn. GERMAN LOSSES FOR SIX MONTHS OVER ONE MILLION. Received 9.30 a.m. NEW YORK, July 28, The New York Tribune's correspondent with the French armies says the German casualties in six months total one million, which is designated by German statesmen as the number Germany is willing to lose this year to win the war. Six hundred thousand were killed, permanently injured, or taken prisoner. These were chiefly elite shock troops. Seventeen year boyn are firing the ranks. The ioi-u of the German armies now is 2.760,000

who are far inferior in moral to the armies of 1914. Not only are the Germans outnumbered by the Allies, but they are also dominated by the military almost everywhere. If they elect to fight to a finish the figures show they will inevitably be overwhelmed. NEW GERMAN ARMY CREATED. OUT OF RESERVES AND OTHER TROOPS. Received 1Q.20. a.m. . Af won* •:■■ PARIS, July 28. :It iS'M.-e<ported .that a new German army has been created from Prince 'Rupprecht's .reserves and other troops and placed between the Oise* and the Aisne. LONG RANGE GUNS' EMPLACEMENTS. DISCOVERED BY AMERICANS. Received 9.10 a.m. PARIS, July 28. The Americans have discovered at Tournelle Wood the emplacement o? one of the long range guns which bombarded Paris. Apparently a stubborn defence in this region was designed to secure the gun's withdrawal.