THE CAPTURE OF ALBERT.

Taihape Daily Times, 27 August 1918, Page 7

THE CAPTURE OF ALBERT.

LONDON ,August 24. Six thousand -prisoners have been taken in three days during the course of the British advance, including upwards of 1000 taken before noon to-day, also 1000 on Thursday southward of the Somme. The Germans were surprised at many points in the latter region. Sir Douglas Haig quickly secured the high ground in the south., including the towns of Cruignes, Heleville, and Chuignoles. The Germans elsewhere were only overpowered after fierce fighting. The British lines, now reaches Boyelles, Hamlincourt and Gommecourt. Here, many were captured in the first rush. A bitter battle preceded the capture of Albert. Before victory was achieved it was necessary to wipe out a multitude of machine gun emplacements formed by the wreckage of houses and a famous church, from which the figures of the Madonna and child have hung suspended for a long time—a striking monument of the Huns' destructiveness. The sight which greeted the Tommies when pouring in on Thursday was the church levelled to the height of the other ruins round about. The German tenaciously clung to the position which had cost them so much to attain, and it was only given up after their dead litterea the broken pile of brick and stone throughout the city. The prisoners here numbered 750, including a battalion commander and his staff. The city was attacked on two sides. Whilo the brief haze in the morning lasteor, the infantry crossed the Ancre southwards, and took up their position in the rear of the city. Then the forces holding the railway centre on the wes. tern edge poured out on the stricken city frontally. Shortly after 10 o'clock the desperate resistance ended. Divisions further south were able to use the tanks advantageously, working up the exposed slope to take the measure of, and after severe fighting, pushing the Germans out of socalled "Happy Valley." Meanwhile the British carried a new line around northward of Bray, taking 200 prisoners from the hard-fighting Germans, bringing up the total for the first ten hours to 1500. There was furious fighting elsewhere. Beauregard" Dovecote changed hands five times.