DASHING ATTACK.

Taihape Daily Times, 31 October 1918, Page 6

DASHING ATTACK.

PROGRESS EASTiWARt? <ffI"CAMBRAI. The New Zealanders made another splendid advance in f the battle which wa& p xecQ#4naa>f He British arinia? and Eo : !Ss S» across the Klff K*M fi f Solesmeß. fe npnlflf Tvi|on that had R»WeM« went for|i a?Ma fl iaiWfe| a destruc W thV ,9 m°a4e a Vundreds of a ftW I» % Q tr oops Sftft §neniy take fr night., -Lne uuuyo Wm JenLsnilssi auickly were m fine form, and piessea iiu^nij--9T 3019100101 IBJ/-J3OCT 10 _\ Pr «<, Oll _ after Jhe retreating eWy Puson d ol a9 they feri 9 M% Sjf dejected. and wonderedAvhy ,wi were.M fighting. ' 3 £ a ss^ B l glanders crossed stream 2 ' and, still named St. George*s; here the bridges other side 811^1163 ' &SK with ifewM ®uW#; its ~ ""'V ,'"" , o^rf B aft o ¥rnave°kW^ that took the first >objectifW I %e Hl still M^|^n^lilo «U% I i>o&°M ? nll 61l» 8 £ t Mr j aWwsk. ,' 0 ysy cl f: ih TSS ! haft'le mre tn a!s(? d dMe o, welir teen a big haul oijfflMstUr J 9 ° Wen 'Hutf ; eve& ing. This morning the B rAttMeM' 1 Wa l s : ie»ln « f »ie, feather witfi §fi|l« | d M(M I ka%n f e : d. "uf *&vss x g#efr l ¥tirfiriS °m g&aMnd' 'atillery ll ifid' excelieriliy? $&& fflfySffl. 'dasta j forward to' I s%m%6r' ) th^ ; ':adVarice' 0 bnI; the next objective. For this shoot jj tFeTFaftTers ,r and! lUt7Wm&*WWMtaos ' afready |

In Sol£>s^s T 9lie ff>\liS U Snple evidence of the deviHsh-destructiveness, of -£fie r fcmvffitiMs!- 'and 3 Wi?at:'fc f^l%n^fr k s i; : arh J e I d "away Sk^liM odi^ 7 4klge^"riufi^r 9 oPMJ!-, t^&a^'andr'So'&'ewli Sf ? da¥ea' j sMde'n efiafngey ¥Stfcl3&d i troops and the traffic streaming past, j Some of l We&-'recognised among re-| tufmn^ ; officers andj men wn*o~ Bur a little while •beforehad. treated- 1 them 1 H <lrvi&ans j could with difficulty Be restrained fxpm Silence J iipon ;' on& hian? Jfife a j -sffeW'-dayS tt€l^-Atf T iSMSf tf° little i st'rete'? because-it" did not' get out of hisFWay| but iftk sU&desjCin-! WWi o .&at :a Sf n 4 aii #en-| Wilis j had no news for four years of bis'wife [ 0 ' #§-^| s j 4tei9bßßii*e' c ?tn 7 e German 7 departure,, fier I 4W6Web*M; bad°' : fie|n : ¥ociceal in a! room, twiMe 1 'gagged and out-' fcy^Cferman 50 Soldiers, and as a; *e6u4^ef-a«r^lMreal:m"eTir^h~e^as~aT-1 ready doubts j to some civilians-wbo told this story j t^'^do^t^^ho^nad: ftifendeniftlie .•womMi,Pano? : b f e G^onff l'm© a" j t&fiDxs4stement'iMqts ehtftStyP fS s?d MsivbqsfesftooifinrtP fier s IS&fer wfeorßjtfmposWd %r IBlif tr&ataaantai*f >i]3rMsh [ ifi Was .iMitatyna&Sd *b!ey 9 Were maW n B WorfclatFrench ■ aftra Yiftriilf "in?<Jer: shell fireyJiaiSj s oili 101 .oqßrfifiT fiolilw ,s-ii?.Ofi'jo3tob'gf lJ #, %SiS&nisfi?. 9B -vcThe ienamjs &££ *a^ D^a4 )0 a ud n J e t Svy "blow to-day. Otago and Canterbury 'dSshihg ad■3[ianee____tMs— evening- s«eured the bridgeheads^fjftt*-|SM|lfii Eiver intact. They* .Save detachments across the liver, and' to the ligh ground eastward.

imst night Zealandcn! slept in the town through whfek rf ,4 **nnjngyfcft ago 1 We £3Mn fimperor! r&amEme&T, were made to remain inting baxs: .SWHnsJEhe tfJiiotfinagilars in jHEhieh— keen■• -cooped-'tip "for I .!?& night many lay jajwsk& fife and the tramp of soldiers of our vic-j etojiioas rmi&yp With "sounds} Engi&h feg.fihdi.OS 4£E pit, before his retreat fired a fowl 'tricolour flies, in the" briffh't 'suriisinr.o,,

and paled-faced civilians, freed from their'bondage, gather in little groups and curiously watch the army streaming forward. The majority of the prisoners are helping to clean up the town, and are already friendly with the inhabitants.

I Along the Corps front yesterday's fighting was curiously varied. In some sectors the machine-gunners stoutly resisted the advance; in others they did not fight with much determination Manv ran before the initial creeping barrage, and resistance weakened as we advanced. We learn that the enemy had heard the sound of our approaching tanks, and news of this getting quickly to the rear, the enemy bc"-an to heavily shell part of our front before; iire attack commenced. The New Zealanders fortunately escaped this. Enemy air scouts were aggressive, single-seaters patrolling the line offensively, and two-eaters reconnoitring under strong patrols of singleseaters. General speaking, there was more enemy artillery fire than has been experienced for some time on the line of the New Zealanders' attack. Further details of yesterday's fighting adds to the admiration of the splendid feat of the South Islanders, who advanced so far, and eventually under cover of'.darkness stormed the Ecaillon bridgeheads. In addition to the artillery, Canterbury and Auckland machine-gun companies greatly helped the infantry in their advance. In front of Vertigneu village, which we captured early in the day, our gunners drove their limbers right up into action, and in one minute had their guns off limbers and were firing a barrage in front of the advancing infantry. They were | absolutely racing, and their perform- j ance was particularly brilliant. Later j they made a further advance to protect our right flank, which was in air, our infantry at one time holding two , thousand yards beyond their boundary. , A famous division on our left kept well . abreast of the New Zealanders, the Gordons especially distinguishing themselves. The Canterbury and Otago men moving forward to high ground ahead were fired on by the German machine-, gunners on the right, but one company was swung round to keep the enemy down while another on the left kept advancing till it reached the outskirts of Beaudignes on the banks of the Ecallon Eiver ahead. Here they were held up by machine gun fire. Later we secured the two bridgeheads, the Imemy having having been driven off. Then the enemy came back again, and Here a very brave New Zealand soldier wks killed in the gathering darkness. r lse saw some men, and, not being quite i sure about them, he called upon them j'Vo- surrender. A German, drawing a i revolver, fired and shot him dead. The | 'enemy were, however, soon driven off, ■'fifld the Otago and Canterbury men -wen't on and held the high ground "freyond the river. More machine gun

opposition was met in the darkness from the top of the slope, but tkis morning our men went for the enemy again, and, after inflicting casualties, drove him off once more.

Throughout the day prisoners were captured at intervals, but not in large numbers, as there wsa no outline of advance. Last evening the groom of an Otago battalion commander handed over one small batch he had rounded up, and this morning a batch of over | SO, including three officers, who were ! hardly pressed, hoisted the white flag, ' and came in with full packs up. Last night the Otagos captured a battery \ of° 5.9 % one of 4.2 's and one 9-inch ! gun. A German intelligence report captured giving the positions of divisions in the lino, specifies the New Zealanders as :a tired and worn out division.