WESTERN ATTACK

Taranaki Daily News, 12 July 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK

MAGNIFICENT WORK. PRUSSIAN GUARD BROKEN. London, July 10. Mr. Philip Gibbs, referring to tlie fight at Mamotz,' says it was a magnificent ruecess not dearly bought, but when the position looked full of promise a disappointing turn came. The Germans were reported to be streaming out of the Mametz wood towards Con-tal-maison, and the enemy's guns were shelling the [lace. Rain fell heavily and our men, who had fought so well and long, were exhausted owing to the difficulty of communication. The situation became confused, .'ind we had to evacuate the village in the evening. We are now holding the outskirts in a sound position for a further attack. A large number of prisoners came draggbng in miserable little groups. The Prussian Guard is so utterly broken that it no longer exists as a fighting unit. Its morale is also smashed, and even the officers admit they have no more stomach for the fight. OFFICIAL REPORTS. STRUGGLE FOR A WOOD. SEVERE ENEMY LOSSES. London, July 10. Sir Douglas Haig reports that there has been severe fighting for 48 hours centred v on the Trones wood, which is triangular in shape and measures 400 yards slroncly defended by trenches and entanglements. On the Bth, after a heavy bombardment, we captured the southern end of the wood and subsequently extended our position northward and drove back a determined counter-attack with heavy enemy loss. In addition we crushed two further counter-attacks on Sunday afternoon. The enemy, at 8 o'clock in the evening, bombarded the wood with all sorts of armaments and hurled two strong attacks from the soutli-e'.st. The first was completely repulsed, but the second penetrated the southern end of the wood, but was ejected with heavy loss. Later on in the night a fifth desperate attempt was completely crushed, "i he enemy's losses in the five attacks were severe. We captured a small copse north-west of Con-tal-maison, three guns and several hundred prisoners. Enerry artillery is active in Flanders and heavily bombarded the trenches near Hooge for three hours. We three times successfully raided the enemy's front lins. t FRENCH PROGRESS CONTINUED. Paris, July 10. A communique says: We are continuing our progress. During the night we captured a line of trenches between Tiarleux and Maisonette. The prisoners in this sector now reach 950. We captured a trench west of Butte de Mesnil on a front of 500 metres. Enemv detachment* attacked at three points at La Chappelotte, in the Vosges, but were cut up and driven back by our mitrailleuses. FRENCH CLOSE TO PERONNE. Paris, July 10. The French are within three-quarters of a mile of Peronne. ON BELGIAN COAST. GERMANS FEAR ATTACK. Amsterdam, July 10. The Germans are most apprehensive of a British landing on the Belgian coast, and are strengthening the garrisons and rehearsing the repulsing of attacks. GERMAN STEREOTYPED REPORT. Received July 11, 5.5 p.m. London, July 10. A German communique states: We repeatedly repulsed continuous attacks on both sides of the Somme, and ejected the enemy from ground temporarily yielded. The French suffered great losses. TOMMIES STIMULATED. EFFECT OF KAISER'S PRESENCE. Received July 11, 5.35 p.m. London, July 10. The Morning Post's correspondent at the British headquarters says it is rumored that the Kaiser and staff are directing operations against the British. Our men believe the rumor, and consequently they fight harder, and are delighted that the Kaiser was an eye-wit-ness of the rout of his favorite Prussian Guards. THE STRUGGLE AT CON-TAL-MAISON. i SPLENDID ARTILLERY WORK. Received July 11, 5.5 p.m. London, July 10. Mr. Philip Gibbs, describing the 'attack on Con tal-maison, states that the Germans were heavily shelling Mametz village, but even that was a health resort compared with the German positions in the neighborhood of Con-tal-maison where our guns put up a terrific barrage, and our heavy artillery, which was far behind, threw 'shells in great numbers from all points of the compass to fall uuon this one" stretch of ground about one mile broad. Every kind of gun, howitzers, seventy-fives, and our own eighteen-poundcrs, played the devil over tlie German lines. About 11 o'clock in the morning our fire lifted, and put a dense barrage further back. There was a hush for just a second, as though the guns were taking a h.eath, and then the tumult began again. The infantry advanced through the smoke, and a little later our men were in the village.

STRUGGLE FOR A TRENCH

CHANGES HANDS THREE TIMES. ENEMY COMPLETELY SURPRISED. Received July 11, 8.20 p.m. London, July 11. Mr. Gibbs continues: Our battalions took possession of a horseshoe t'-nch south-east of ContalinaLson. Here a curious affair happened. There was a trench running out of the horseshoe towards a German redoubt on the westward. Part of this trench was held by troops on the left, and part by troops on the right, and both believed that they held the whole trench. The truth was that the gap in the middle was still held by a party of Germans with ma-chine-gains and bombs, and presently they made themselves unpleasant. Orders were sent to clear the trench, which was done by the troops on the left. Then orders were given to clear the trench- on the right, which was a strong redoubt that the Germans defended tenaciously. It changed hands three times before we finally held it. An extraordinary and, for the the enemy, a terrible thing happened. Soaie of the battalions of the Prussian Guards reserve were hurriedly brought from Valenciennes and thrown into the I vttlefield without maps, guidance, or knowledge. They advanced, met our men, and walked, by an awful stroke of chance, straight into a terrific barrage, the whole battalion being cut to pieces. Many others suffered frightful things. Prisoners stated that they lost threequarters of their number iu casualties. When the barrage lifted, our troops swept, without great trouble,, into Contalmaison and Bailoff Wood to the north-west Mr. Gibbs concludes: The Germans were surprised at the strength ana deadly accuracy of our artillery, but they were more surprised at the dash of the infantry. When they heard that the men belonged to the new army they said they thought they belonged to the guards. They were glad to be taken prisoner. «=

A COSTLY RECOVERY.

BRITISH GAIN GROUND. Received July 11, 5.50 p.m. London, July 19. Sir D6uglas Haig reports: After six desperate attacks the Germans reentered, the Trones wood, but suffered the heaviest casualties. Fighting still continues. Wo gained si lodgment in the Bois de Mametz having hitherto resisted all efforts. We also gained the ground lost at Ovillers and La Boiselle. Our aviators have made several successful attacks on various entraining centres, ammunition depots, and aerodromes. IMPORTANT FRENCH GAINS. .. MARVELLOUS ARTILLERY ACCURACY. A HIGH PLATEAU REACHED. HUNGER-STRICKEN PRISONERS. Received July 11, C.25 p.m. Paris, July 11. The capture of Biaches is important, it being practically a suburb of Peronne. though on the left bank of the canal It was strongly fortified by the Germans, who were thus driven north of the Swamm The French have also taken part of Earleux, which is only two miles from the Chaulnes railway. The Germans, south of Barleaux, are hanging on to Villers, but their positien is insecure, the German salient, including Chaulnes, Roye, Lassigny, and Noyou being se-iously threatened. The French hold the wliele of (he Ssnlerre plateau, whereof the soil is hard limestone, which is favorable to the movement of big gnus. The capture., was the result »f two days' artillery preparation, enabling the advance at noon on Sunday. The infantry, after crossing two entrenched ridges, reached the broad plateau, 330 feet above the sea, and overlooking the whole of the valley. By three o'clock Biaches was attacked on three sides and captured, the survivors of the garrison retiring by the southern road towards Peronne just in time to escape encirclement. A French wounded officer states that the assault was so rapid that the French losses were of the lightest description, though a German army order described the position as impregnable. Assisted by their mastery in the air the French artillery attained remarkable accuracy yesterday when they hit a bridge fourteen miles distant four times in succession. As the aeroplane observer reported by wireless the communications in the German rear were thus uncertain and dangerous. Many prisoners were hunger-stricken. The enemy resisted longer on the right of Biaches, having free ground for their artillery, but dared not risk heavy guns in the narrow strip between the firingline and the river. The fight centinues at Barleux, where the French right captured a line of trenches extending to the Maisonette farm, which, caps the plateau. FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORT. Received July 11, 8.50 p.m. Paris, July 11. A communique states: We progressed towards the approaches of Barleux and captured a small fort near Biaches, takir.g many prisoners. We captured the farm of "La Maisonette, on. the summit of the plateau overlooking the Sommc, also a small wood north of La Maisonette. The French brought down four German aeroplanes on Sunday.

GERMAN ANXIETY.

FRENCH SUCCESSES ADMITTED. BRITISH ACTING CAREFULLY. received July 11, 5.35 p.m. London/July 10. The Daily Telegraph's Rotterdam correspondent states that tlie anxious note of German cimments on the operations at the West front is becoming daily more apparent. There is a belief that the offensive has failed, awl that because there was no immediate break through it was abandoned. Uneasiness is also arising owing to the conviction that the Anglo-French are engaged upon a great strategic operation. The Frankfurter Zoitung, in a sombre article says that a purely tactical French success cannot be denied. Their object was to advance along the line of Peronne to Curlu in a northerly direction, so rolling up the C-reman wing which was fighting the English. The latter are acting much more carefully, but are unable to avoid the heaviest losses. The next few days will bring the heaviest fighting against the French, preventing the carrying out of the proposed tactics. The paper adds: We do not share the cheap optimism of many newspapers in describing the events at Pennine and Albert corner as not far-reaching. GERMANY'S PLANS. THWARTED BY RUSSIA. Received July 11, 5.50 p.m. Berne, July 10. Colonel Oaedke states that the German staff anticipated the British would attack at the end of June or in July, and Germany had planned ta destroy the. British initiative by attacking abeut June 15, but the Russian onslaught compelled Germany to remain on the defensive in the West in order to divert troops to the eastward.