FURTHER ALLIED GAINS

Taihape Daily Times, 3 September 1918, Page 5

FURTHER ALLIED GAINS

■*ABSTRAIIANS CAPTURE PERONNE _ ‘.‘C "• / »“ wi:Me * SS6'O Prisoners ' -d O'j c : ■ ,- : L -■ . - .' ■.. -JSU 10 r.a.-.K -■ ••- •' ~' < r t i • V; Canadians Through at Queant 0— — • .Vi British Take 11,000 Prisoners in August Successful French llrive North of Soissons

prisoners were captured on Sunday on the whole front. Small local operations show that only strong rearguards are holding the German lines. BRITISH ADVANCE ADMITTED LONDON, Sept I. Wireless German official.— After fluctuating fighting ,the enemy recaptured Bullecourt and Eicoust. Eastward of Juvigny the enemy advanced as far as Ternysorny, ENEMY BECOMING DEMORALISED PARIS, Sept 1. Marcel Hutin says; It is unlikely that von Beulow will remain long, on the Somme, as the British are ■ threat-.' ening all positions below the bend;. The feeling now is that the- .enemy has so generally lost the initiative thathe can no longer co-ordinate- even in defensive action. His armies give the impression that each is fighting independently. ENCOURAGING NEWS. LONDON, September 2. The latest news is most encouraging Peronne . has been captured, and we are pressing the enemy’s rearguards. Fires eastwards of Lens indicate that the enemy is destoying stores preparatory to evacuating the town. There are also fires eastward of Armentieres, indicating that the enemy is contemplating retirement on a large scale in this sector. ■

Our patrols pushed forward in the direction of Leris. ■ South of the Scarpe we reached the western edge of Hamblain, capturing Bullecourt and Morval. BRITISH PRESSING THE ENEMY. LONDON, Sept;''' 2. i; Sir Douglas Haig reports;— ' We carried out successful ,,! minor operations at a number of points south of the Arras-Cambrai road. We have driven the enemy out of the high ground at Morval, and captured B’caulencourt. We are pressing the enemy hard in the Le Transloy district, and have completed the capture of Bullecourt, Court loz Cagnicourt. prisonering hundreds in these operations. The Canadians repulsed a counterattack against new positions gained this morning northward of Hendccourt PERONNE STORMED. LNODON, September 2. Sir Douglas Haig reports: The Australians captured Peronnc. After beating off the enemy counterattacks on Mont St, Quentin last night the Australians this morning renewed the advance in conjunction with the English on their left. The Australians soon stormed the German positions west and north of Peronne and pressed on while fierce fighting continued among the ruined streets and buildings, and carried the eastern suburbs. The Australians hold Peronne, Flamicourt and St. Dennis, and have progressed on the spurs cast iand northcast of Mont St. Quentin. On the Australians’ left London regiments attacked south-east of Combles and took Bouchavesnes and Rancourt, with the high ground overlooking them. They reached the western outskirts of St. Pierre Yaast Wood.

Anglo-Australians overcame stiff opposition and prisonered 2000, They took a few guns.) AERIAL ACTIVITY, LONDON, Sept. 2. Sir Douglas Haig s aviation report states: We destroyed six hostile machines and drove down three uncontrollable. Seven British machines are missing. Our aeroplanes dropped twelve find a half .'tons of bombs in the daytime. Night flying was impossible. Italian official—Our low-fliers bomb-

ed with accuracy important railway establishments at Franzcnsfesto. Air-

I’ola, and station depots at Prymolano. ships bombarded the military work at We destroyed seven aeroplanes.

An Italian naval communique states: A squadron of seaplanes dropped 21tons of bombs on the arsenal at Pola, causing serious fires. It is believed the depots of naphtha for the submarines were damaged. British machines bombed the camps and magazines at Sangiovanni, Dimedua and Ragusa, greatly damaging the station, railway and bridge. A large squadron of seaplanes uninterruptedly attacked Durazzo and dropped 3§ tons of explosives causing fires in magazines and military works and near the quarters of the Austrian command.

HAIG’S OFFICIAL REPORT. .. IMPORTANT ADVANCES MADE. IN SEVERAL SECTORS. Received 8.45 a.m, LONDON, Sept 2. Haig reports that Welsh and East Country troops, on Sunday evening, captured Sailly—Saillisel, and Saillisel after heavy fighting. English troops have drawn nearer Le Transloy and Moreuil, where they took a number of prisoners. English and Scottish, during night time, captured Reincourt, les Cagnicourt, and positions to the southward with prisoners. In the sector southward of the Scarpe, the Canadians and English attacked, at five in the morning, and are reported to be making good progress. In the Lys sector we reached the Lys river eastward of Estaires and captured Neuve Eglise. FRENCH REPORT FURTHER PROGRESS. TWO POSITIONS CAPTURED. Received 11.35 a.m. ' LONDON, Sept 2. A French communique states; There is artillery activity on the Somme aiid at the CanaLNord. We have gained a footing hr the woods' west of Conchy le Chateau, and captured Cresy and Aumont.

Daylight bombers, flying at low altitudes, dropped 23 tons of bombs on enemy concentration camps and convoys. Aviators also used several thousand tons of cartridges against German troops. AUSTRALIANS CAPTURE 3500 ' PRISONERS. MORE VILLAGES CAPTURED. CANADIANS BREAK THROUGH. Received 11.35 a.m. LONDON, Sept 2. We have captured Moreuil ana Villers, and Auflcs. The. Australians took 3500 prisoners at Peronne. The Canadians broke through the Drppourt—Queant line on a two mile front, and , are now in Durey.

WESTERN FRONT.

PERONNE CAPTURED BY THE BRITISH. TROOPS REACH THE SUBURBS OF LENS. LONDON, Sept 1. The British have captured Pdronne, Morval, and Bullecourt, and have reached the suburbs of Lens. Mr, Gordon Gilmour, special correspondent of the Australian Press Association, writing cn Saturday, says: Peronne is merely a broken ruin. After its demolition by the Germans last year hardly a . habitable house remains. Referring to the mines and booby traps left by the Germans in abandoned places; Mr, Gilmour says that these ruses are now unfruitful, because the Australians, however casual about other matters, avoid evacuated towns and villages as they would the plague, knowing that traps are set which might prove their graves. •' He gives instances of the discovery of several such traps.

The iinemy blew up bridges in the Peronne sector, but failed to prevent ts; British and’ Australians advancing and outflanking the town.

Mr. Gilmour paid a tribute to the rapidity with, which the field and heavy batteries moved, keeping up with the infkntry in their big strides forward, while the patrols were so close to the heels of the enemy that they caught up his machine gunners and crossed some o£ the bridges before fE'e Germans had time to blow them up, pushing forward in the face of severe close range fire and ma-

chine-gunning. The long advance has been unbelievably fatiguing, for the men have had few oportunities pf resting, but they find satisfaction in the knowledge that these are unquestionably victorious operations, and are heartened by the fact that the enemy retreat was necessitated by the great thrust begun on August 8. He has not been given a moment’s respite since. German prisoners in various regions give dismal accounts of the state of affairs on their side of the line. They admit that the retirement is disorderly in many places, and that the officers have apparently lost control. Some say that the Germans ultimately will stand on the old Cambrai —St. Quentin line.

BRITISH HAUL DURING AUGUST. V. 57,316 PRISONERS. LONDON, Sept 2. Sir Douglas Haig reports: During August we prisonered 57,318, of whom 1283 were officers. We took 657 guns, Including 150 heavies, 5750 machine guns and 1000 trench mortars. Other captures included three trains and nine locomotives, numerous complete ammunition and engineer dumps (containing many hundred ■thousand rounds of gun and small ' arms ammunition)' and immense quantities of other war material. Wireless German official. —The English have pressed us back in places between the Scarpe and the Somme. Progress continued in the Lens — iLys sector. We reached Doulieu, LevCrrier and Steenwerck, and are engaging the enemy at Neuve and Eglise and Wulverghem. french going on. LONDON, Sept 2. The First French Army has taken Eoye le Petit, also Campagne, northward of Noyon. General Mangin’s array is operating b«tw6fl|E.rthe Aisne and the Ailette. we captured the villages of Leury, Conchy, and Thiemy, and reached the western edge of Cresy. Two thousand