Official News

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 124, 19 October 1914, Page 8

Official News

ALLIES' OPERATIONS SUMMARISED. WITH THE BRITISH TROOPS. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Wellington, October 17. The following official war news has been received by the l'rimo Minister, dated London, October 10 (10.35 p.m.) ; —General headquarters continues and supplements the narrative of movements of tho British and French armies in immediate touch. From October 9 until October 12 little occurred. The usual sporadic shelling of our trenches resulted lin little harm, so well dug in are our men. On the night of the 10th the Germans made a fresh assault, supported by artillery, against a point which has all along attracted most of their attention. The attempt was again a costly jfailure, towards which our guns were I able to contribute with great effect. One 1 of our aviators sighted a hostile machine *nd gave chase, but lost sight of liis opponents in the clouds. Another machine* appeared, a German Otto biplane. Oar officer started in pursuit. At sixty yards' range he fired, turned round, and emptied his magazine at tho German. The latter descended and our officer continued firing while he was descending on his opponent, who disappeared into a bank of clouds.

I French airmen were very successful during the last three days. They dropped bombs amongst tho German cavalry and caused considerable loss and disorder. They also silenced a battery of field howitzers.

; German anti-aircraft guns were recently unusually active. From their jrate of fire it seemed nearly automatic. ] So Jar it has not had much effect in rcjdueing our air reconnaissances. j A striking feature of our line is that ,\t consists of trenches not all placed alongside eaeb other, but some more advanced than others, many facing in different directions. At one place they i run east and west on one side of a valley, at another north and south. At different points both German and British ; trenches jut out like promontories into : the opponent's territory. In spite of lavish expenditure of life, :the enemy has not succeeded in driving ;us back. Experience has shown that a short field of fire is sufficient to beat (back the enemy's infantry assaults. The ; extent of which cross fire of all kinds 'is employed is remarkable. Many localities are untenable by rifle fire from i neighboring features or guns out of ' sight, and it is difficult for the troops j The First Contingent of Canadians tias to find out whence they are being shot ; at. There is a perpetual triangular duel, 'arrived at Plymouth.

THE SYSTEM OF TRENCHES. WHAT WE MA»NET> IN SOUTH AEIRIOA. GERMAN AMMUNITION CONVOY BIjOWN UP. WORK OP BRITISH AIRMEN. Wellingnon, Last Night. Tlio Prime Min.stcc has received the following from the High Commissioner, (ia'.iud Lon.lon, Kith mst: A further report fronii the general > headquarters on October LLii sute: I "Our iiion are fairly comfortable iu t'ho I trenehes, and in tllie numerous tiuurries out out of tiie 'hillside, «u well as iai pic-tiue.-iiuo wiho.su s.eep streets eliin'b the slopes of the hills. "In Uiu firing line the men obtained shelter in dug-outs, hollowed in the skhs of tlie trendies. Quarries and caves provide ample accommodation for tllie whole of tin; battalions. The slopes of l-lie Aisilo Valley are very steep. Tlus - protects us from the enemy's shells, many of which pass harmlessly 'below, along Vlie river hank. At all posts subject to shelliirc, aoc<-<, 4 to tSie lirinjr lino Horn beli.nd is provided by eoMmiunicat'.ons in the trenches. These. ar e now so good that it us possible for our tnien :*> crosd in .saictiyi a lire-swept zone to the advanoeij trenches from, their billets in the villager;. '•AH day anil night the 'boom of guns and the scream of shells overhead con, linues. At midday especially tiiie bombardment slackens, and then swells into incessant roar. At first there are short, iiereo bursts, as a dw.en iheavy howitzer shells fall into the ploughed Held, sending up clouds of (black smoke and great clouds of earth. Then there is a peiriod of quiescence, soon broken by llhe .smaller li'mvllzcr shell, which comes into tliiu villages, tearing up tlhe tiile.s and atones. Through this ipinulemoniuni tile inhabitants conduct tlbeir business as though tlhey were accustomed- lw> it. 'According to information frouu 'the enemy, fifteen Germans were killed by a 'bomb dropped upon an umimunition waggon of a cavalry column. It was thought at the tinic that 'tin's might have been llhe work of one of our airaneit, who reported having dropped a hand grenade mm a convoy. From co"robora'tive evidence of tllie locality, it now appeals tluit the grenade 'thrown by a ISritish aiimitm probably caused •tlio destruction of a convoy ear-ying iield-gun suramin nil ion, which has now been found a total wreck on a road passing turonglh the forest of Dc.rctz, nortlien ■ of Villers and Cditterets. Along the road, lie fourteen motor-lorries, now only skeletons of twiistted iron. Nothing remains of -tllie drivers- except haltered limits ami charred scraps of clothing, while the ground within-fifty yards of the wagons is littered with pieces of 'iron and brass cases of the cartridges exploded. Tlio, grenado must have detonated the leading lorry on one site ■of the road, and caused the caiUridgi-*) carried by it to explode. Three vehicles immediately, in the rear were then set on line, and" 'behind these groups of four and two vehicles were so jambed together as to suggest a collision. On the dlhe.r side of ihe road, level with the leading waggon, were foiiir more, ' which were probably fired by the exipflosion of tllie first Vehicle. "A section of the French Press claims ' that this damage was caused by 1(ho I aetion of their dragoons, and not of air- I men". I