WITH THE AUSTRALIANS.

Taihape Daily Times, 30 August 1918, Page 2

WITH THE AUSTRALIANS.

Co) AT LI HONS HILL. 'THE ADVANCE IN BRAY. LONDON, August 11. ' ester-day morniug the Australian i■■ -- 1 u j passed well beyond Lihons, A king through the actual town with Lii- tanks. The stiff obstacle to the advance is apparently removed. The battle of Lilians will go down in Australian history as cue of the naraest open fights within the experience of the force. On the heights north of the Somme yesterday morning, the Germans found other Austrar.ius iuuKing upon the town. Queenslanders, south Australians, and some Vest Australians, during the night, had taken the peninsula whereon stanas the’ town of Btinehem, practically without loss. The Germans hurriedly blew up the railway bridge at Bray. Although the Australians held the northern end of the peninsula, there were still Germans on the southern end. During the day the German troops kept moving into Bray, and towards the end of the morning they managed to work their way along the edge of the peninsula.

For two or three hours the Germans were trickling on to the end of this spur, and gradually digging in across the slope. The line of men could be seen with the naked eye, each man digging himself a little rifle pit across the green hillside.

When these were established, the German artillery laid down a heavy barrage upon the height held by the Queenslanders and South 'Australians. For half an hour the ridge simply smoked with black fumes of shell bursts.

Yet through the whole of this turmoil the only movement one could see across the boiling hilltop was a line of Australian stretcher bearers winding their way quietly along some path across the summit. Every now and then the rolling thick fumes of a shen burst hid them from sight, yet when these cleared there they were, still picking their way steadily across the plateau. On the right, where the Germans had dug in on the penipsula, actually behind our men, we could see three Australians, apparently a patrol, creeping on hands and knees through the grass down the slope almost alongside the Germans. Then one "of them coolly walked up the fridge to the top, where he stood, bending low for some minutes, calmly taking in his surroundings before he moved along the skyline in the direction where oi;r men must then have been. It was obvious that our flank had been slightly withdrawn in order to avoid the Germans behind it. The figures disappeared gradually over the skyline amongst the shell bursts, which were still frequently spurting from that part of the slope. Presently the man re-appearec*, walked down hill, and rejoined his comrades. All of them filed off to carry information of enemy positions back to those who we're waiting for it.

Half an hour later on while those Gormans were busily engaged digging across the foot of the peninsula, there descended a crash of shells from the Australian Field Artillery.

The Germans v till then had been digging for dear life, working shovels as hard as men could move their arms. The work half finished, they were lining their rifle pits with grass, or deepening a corner, or making a traverse. Suddenly they dived for holes like rabbits, as the first shell descended. For a quarter of an hour they were treated to the same experience which their field guns had been giving our men. When this was over we could still see the shells from one gun, peck-

ing at these Gormans every few Brutes. The observer for this battery apparently was not satisfied w|th th© results, and determined to register his gun exactly on the rifle pits. First a high explosive shell would spurc fumes from the very edge of these rifle pits, then alternately shrapnel burst, wickedly 9ow, up dust freely over and around those pits. Unless the Germans had dug very much deeper than they appeared, certainly some who got into those rifle pits will never get out of them again.

Later. —It turns out that the Germans when they put down the barrago above mentioned drove in an attack against the Queenslanders. This attack was completely beater?. After dark last night the Australians south of the river advanced wild ■complete success, rounded off the Australian Ime, and captured 70 prisoners.

So much for the fighting near Bray. Near Lihons, no sooner had Australians taken the town than the Germans, who had put in a fresh division in the night, counter attacked, aha managed to penetrate nearly a mile. The Australians, after a struggle over country which was made difficult by the old Somme trench lines and crater field, within two and a half Shours completely drove out the Germans, restored the line, and captured several sin guns.

In this struggle the Germans haw the fresh 38th Division, besides part of the 50th Bavarian Division, fighting against part of the same magnificent Australian division which now fc.three days has been fighting this fierce battle for the heights of Lihon, which the Germans had been trying to hold was csential to their safe retirement

These two fresh German divisions, which had been put in especially to hold this hill, were both beaten. Another fresh division was put near Brav.

A number of prisoners was taken yesterday by the Australians in a fine advance near Ilainecourt. The Germans captured by the Australians in this battle now number nearly 8000. The guns are not counted, but there appear to be about 120. The depth of the Australian advance is now about 13 miles.