The Western Front

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 239, 18 March 1915, Page 5

The Western Front

SIR JOHN FRENCH'S REPORT. UEIUIAX ASSAULT OX ST. ELOI. TU AYIiX,';E XKl'Vl'l CUAPELLK. WffißE HEAVY FIGHTING WXTLNUES. ... . . London, .March IG. Nil- Jolm French's bulletin describing of l'Epini'tte savs it was the r ' : ,,lt of a brilliantly executed ciiteri p'ise advancing our line WO yards on a front of SOO yards. 'J V enemy, on th e evening of the 14th alter a beau bombardment and mine ex> p.osion, rushed *OlllO of our trenches at i he south St. Kloi. We recaptured tm'iu next morning. The flying ( .„r| K M . ( .„ r( . (1 successes. A train at l), m station "as blown up on Saturday. ... Paris. March Mi. J he Hermans, sinartiiw at Prince liuj'lee its deteat at Xcuve Chap,die, Violently bombarded Yprcs and St. Kloi on Sunday. I lie Wurtemhurgevs were slrom;!y reinforced from l,:e u r,. ;iUl | lent, and aihanccl on St. 1-loi in 'I""""- "I. Hi«litfail and tlir.-nt-""•d fo envelop tile Hriti-h, who yielded ground under Jieaw lire, but 'were vemioiv.-d ijllr;i 1!,,. and ret,,,)!; village and mo't of the out-id' In nclies ou Monday iiinrnintr. A eonnnuni,|ii,. -tales; "We mad.' fnr- '<■! juoare-, nortli-ca.st <ii' Souain Our mines shattered the sit,, of the Herman delenee at Hois le Prelre." . Wellington. March 17. J i' High Coiuniis-ioner reports as follows: Paris reports dial (he H-h'iaiis ], a v,. consolidate<| tic po-itions obtained dur- , mg recent days. In Champagne new progress has been uwde north-east of Souain to liois le 1 '■'■tn'- U'e retook tlie 1 relich,■: cap<nre,l yesterday morning bv a mine ev-plo-ion. Sir ,)olm Trench r, port- thai since Marci 11 operations in the n.-iuli;.(>r-ho,e! of Xenve (liapei'e hay- continued. J lie lines captured bv u- on M:>r-|i |,i a "d 11 of the 'villas liuv.< been I'oll -oll,I:l ted and held. de-pil,. re;,,,ted eiiorls to '.( take them. During the' night of lb.' 11 tii, and early on the morning ot tiip sevi.al counter-attacks east -OI \',uvo Cll.l Ui'lle Were rejnil-eil and sixty pn-oiiers captured. The same night. a skilfii'ly execute:! enterpr:--,. east „f Armeiitieres resulted 111 our capture of the village of I'Kpinette Willi small loss. The poss-'ssjon ~f the villaffi* advances , lIM - j (| : ; on by .r.ti yards on a front of S":'i yard-. T!ie fighting in the Xenve Chap,die area was veiv seven' on I'ridav. A -fr.,n-counter-attack by the Hermans in the afteinoou was repulsed, and more prisoners were taken. The Hermans continued counter-attacks during the night of I'riilay and throughout Satur-j da\. but did not succeed ill recapturing any of t'le fsr.Miii'l !o-t. On the 1-ltli the lighting was mainlv confined to the artillery. 4 ( AVfllinprtoii, Last Xiffht. 1 lie prisoner. taken by us since the 11th are about IT'iil, including 30 officers. Judging by the number of dead counti'd on the ground, the total Herinan 10.--cs in the operation from the I'dii to tie- l:!t), on the Xenve ( hapelle front aiiioiiiits IV.nn i or ls.lluO. During tb„ evening of the' l-tth the ciemy nishe,[ smile trenches south of , St. I.loi. after a very heavs' houibardnienf and the explosion of a mine. The gr, ater portion of the trenches was recaptured on Sunday. Fight inu' in this , area continues. , liie lloyal l-'iy milt Corp- !,as secured lurther siicees-cs durin<; the last few 1 da . s. although int<■ rfer■, 1 iiiatei ia:l\" ' at t nivs. (m I-'ridav ihe railway jane ' tieM- at Pon and l),,uai were ItomeardeJ.. t and ou Saturday a train in Don -lathe] ; v.j- blown iin. 1 Wellington, i.a-l \'e|:t. ' - The Prime Minister ha- received the I following from the Hi«h ('omniission r, dated London March 17th, at 12;2D a.m.: ' Army officers killed, ;!t): wounded ."it. 1 Pans reports tli.it oil Monday niirht . tho enemy's attelii|it to rceajitiU'e the ' trenches lost at Notre Dame do Lorctte 1 was repulsed, and iirisoners taken. 11l the ( district some pry- 1 gross was made north of iJeau-ej-oir, 3 and in the Arnuiinc a Herman counter- - attack was repulsed. 1 I'etroH'tad reports that on the left : bank of the Xicmcn advanced parties 1 of the enemy were dislodged from Kopciowe. The Itus-ian offensive on both banks of the Orjice ii progressing. Herman guns and fully six hundred prisoners were taken and two villages stormed. The enemy's bombardment of the fortifications on the Bzura were more active. Tile Herman offensive in the I'ilitza reL'ion was fruitles:. 11l the Carpathians, despite snow and severe cold, the Russians carried the last Austrian position in the Smolnik region, and took *24"0 prisoners. In Eastorn Galieia ' the liussians captured a fortification . an,l two thousand prisoners. At TVzeni- j ysl the Russians on the northern front carried the heights within rifle-shot of J the protecting forts, , \ BELGIANS CROSS THE YSER. { CAl'Tl'l'K IIII.KS OK TKEXCIIES. ' PATHS THIUIUHII FLOODED AREAS. received March IS. 1'J.1.1 a.m. London. March 17. The Daily Chronicle's I alais correspondent reports that the l'elgiaiis cro-s----ed the bi't\'.'eeii Dixutude and St. (ieorges. after determined path-buildiug for niontbs acros- floods, under fire. When these were completed the artillery forced the Hermans to evacuate five miles of trenches, which the Belgians occupied. A ZEPPELIN DISASTER. ) 1-OHTY CKRMAXK KTLLKU 11.-vlvrd M.\rvh IS, a.m. "Murcli 17. Tiioro were forty-four aboard (!i<> Zi-p* jx'lin at Tirlriuonf. Whilst it Avas dril'tiii!i --vrral lidin'js < xplndiMl. The crew flir«-\v tin* ]v-t and tlir* Zcpptdin f<dl in tin* tivf-; and was -nmslird frjijrnn'Ht-. Klrv.-n won- killed nnd tw.'iit y--rvcn (hu'iicroiislv Avumnlrd Ninrti'l'll dird 71CXt diiy. ROCKET ILLUMINATIONS. A GEIVMAN' DEVICE. received March 17. 8.10 p.m. t Calais. .March 17. ?) A fantastic and uncanny feature of the fighting in France and Flanders is the J extensive use of illuminating rockets. , T!ie Hermans initiated the system, fcariUtr bayonet niulit atlack<. Soldiers with pistols si,,int. the rockets son,,. ~ hundred yards high. The cotton fuse ' r ignites an illuminating mixture, which lilazes like Bengal fire and simultaneously liberates small parachutes which < sustain the rockets ir Uie -iir for a s considerable time. ;

GERMANS' VAIN ASSAULT. EVERYWHERE DRIVEN BACK. Received March 17, 10.15 p.m. Paris, March 17. German niglit attacks 011 Notre Dam< do Lorette and \ auquois were repulsed Ihree attacks 011 Hois le Pretre were repulsed. BARRICADES OF CORPSES. SHORT-LIVED GERMAN TRIUMPH. BLOODY WORK AT ST. ELoT. Received March 17, 1(1.15 p.m. Rotterdam, March 17, ' Huge hatches of German wounded are arriving „i Ostein!, Bruges and Kolllors. They stale (hat the fight at St. Eloi was bloody ami determined. Everv foot . ; 1 11 i'■ vc:-;- corner »a- a deathtrap, and dead w.piled >'o high in the streets that they served as barricades for tile living. '1 he Hi'il;-h fought stubbornly against heavy odds, but were well supby artillcr\| placed on low hills. The German, were mowed down, but stdl tile UriG-h were driven back to the -mall eana.s- by sheer weight of '.numbers. The German triumph was short-lived. I lie 'l.ritn-.t hurried up reinforcements and flung them , :i , the village, which was carried at the point of the bavonet. The slaughter was t rr'hh'. The Germans replied be sUM>;;i!'!!i:e: more troop-', which were biliete,] iu the. -nrroundiiig villages. The fighting raged on Si. Eloi hlil for two days. THE t ASI'ALTV LIST. LOSSES AT NEUYE CIIAI'ELLE. le'eeived March IS, a.m. Loudon. March 17. The British li-ts already show 101 od'ie, r- amom;-t the casualties at Neuve Chapeile, including fifty-nine dead.