WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

THE BATTLE OF POZIERES. AUSTRALIANS' GALLANTRY. FURIOUS STRUGGLE AT CLOSE QUARTERS. HUN BRUTALITY, A VICTORY AND A RETREAT. Received July 20, 7.10 p.m. London. July 2(i. The Da.il}' Chronicle's Paris correspondent states that the light at Pozieres plateau was as full of horrors as any incident in the war. When the bombardment on Sunday morning had broken up the German trenches, the Australians carried a powerful redoubt at the entrance to the village. After the assault they quickly established themselves in the first houses and made progress step by step until 11.30 ill the morning, when they were stopped near the church by a charge by German reinforcements. A wounded olliccr said that botli sides went at each other with equal fury. The Germans were evidently plied with ether, as they reeked of it. The Australians met theni with heroic tenacity. Rifle* were useless, and only bayonets, knives, revolvers and grenades were used, while some Germans, handled long spiked clubs. lie saw an officer strike a British wounded soldier with this brutal weapon, but he had no time to finish the job, as a revolver shot stretched him beside his victim. He also saw a thrilling duel. An English lieutenant, charging at the head of his men, met a Bavarian captain. The Englishman got home with his sword stroke, but at the same moment received a revolver ball in the stomach. Mastering the pain, he gave the Bavarian captain his death stroke. The Englishman, unfortunately, died. I The correspondent continues: ''The halted oil the ground tliey ■lliad won, and then resumed the advance Hat i o'clock, and at 7.45 the, village was captured. Sunday night was passed in relative quietude, both sides being engaged in strengthening their positions and pulling themselves together for a new struggle. The Germans at, dawn on Monday, after the heaviest cannonade, made a furious charge, before which the Australians fell back to the market place. The latest news is that the fight continues favorably on the north-eastern sector of the village, NEW'ZEALANDERS TAKE PART. HEROIC ANZACS PROGRESS. _____ THEY CAPTURE GUNS AND PRISONERS. EACH HOUSE STORMED. FIERCE FIGHTING. Received July 26, 10.20 p.m. London, July 2(5. Details of the Australian and New Zealand attack at Pozieres arrived only in time for the second edition of the morning papers, but they were made prominent in the. evening papers and by posters announcing "Anzae Heroism at Pozieres." The latest telegrams from correspondents show that the struggle at Pozieres was as fierce on Monday as on Sunday, The Anzacs continue to progress in tlfe street fighting. A particularly brilliant episode shows that a party of Anzacs apparently worked round the eastern side of the village to a position north of a house where the Anzacs seized a fortresslike structure, in the north-east corner of the village, capturing two big guns, several machine-guns and over 10(1 prisoners. Respite the. fury of the British bombardments, the armored dug-outs in the centre of the town were largely undamaged, obliging the Anzacs and Loudon Territorials attacking Pozieres on two sides to storm each house and cottage. The Germans now only hold a few houses. The main road to Bapaumc ascends gradually, passing through the struggling village at I+9 to IUO feet. The first outstanding building is a church, on the left of the main road, with tile cemetery. Half a mile along the Thiepval road the school'iiouse .was the centre of a big struggle, the Gcrmajis making a desperate stand here. Fierce lighting is now in progress north of the village and near the windmill, about half a mile beyond the houses, a sugar refinery being a mile further on. GERMANS REINFORCED. FUTILE ENEMY ATTACKS, BRITISH GAIN GROUND. London, July 2.">. Sir Douglas Haig reports: The Germans on the Somme front have further reinforced their infantry and guns. The hostile bombardment throughout yesterday was fairly continuous and sometimes very heavy. Our artillery frustrated an afternoon attack.on our right llank. The Germans la*t night launched two further infantry attacks against the centre, with specially violent artillery work. Our concentrated gun fire and rifle fire stopped both attacks, and the Germans nowhere reached the British j trenches. The losses in these fruitless attacks must have been severe, i Elsewhere there was a good deal of hand-to-hand fighting, and our infantry iu some places worked their way forward, Northward of Pozieres, the greater part of which is now in our possession, the Germans are offering strong opposition, hut here also >we gained some ground, capturing two machine-guns and a fe\7 prisoners, including two battalion commanders.

DASTARDLY HUNS. FIRE ON THE WOUNDED: Received July 20, 5.5 p.m. London, July '25. ' Australian ■wounded who have arrived in England state that they are absolutely convinced that German snipers deliberately pot at the wounded and train tlii! machine-guns on thorn whenever they detect the slightest sign of men moving. ' [ lay.'' r.aid one man. ''for seventeen hours dead quiet.,and had many marvellous escapes, shells ceaselessly bursting and machine-guns sweeping the ground with terrific curtain-fire, pre\eiiting tin; stretcher-bearers from conducting rescue work." BRITISH PRISONERS. (PROUDLY DEFIANT. "GERMANY WILL NEVER WIN." Received July 20, 7..10 p.m. London, .July 25. The Frankfurter Zeitung's correspondent, describing the British prisoners captured at Montauban and Ovillers, says they are proudly defiant and like boys caught after a good fight. Their attitude is one of extreme indifference. One prisoner, when told what Germany would claim when she had won the war, replied: "Germany will never win; it is quite impossible." VALUE OF GRENADE WORK. TRAINING JUSTIFIED. BRITISH PROGRESS FAVORABLE. ENEMY HANGING TO HIGH GROUND Received July 26, 10.40 p.m. London, July 26. The brilliant fighting has justified the special training courses in grenade throwing, which wt.s often the only method of clearing such burrows and underground works us exist at Pozieres. French military critics regard the British progress at Pozieres, and Longueval as exceedingly favorable. The enemy, however, still holds the highest ground consisting of Hills 130, 100, 150, and 100, stretching from Thiepval to Fouveai:x Wood, but when driven out of this line they will bo in an exceedingly awkward position in the lowhind behind, lionet the pertinacity of the Germans in hanging on to Pozieres and Fouveaux. They have even sent such crack corps as the Brandenburgers from Verdun. where they captured the Douaumont fort. Very much of tile British success is due to the ingenuity and courage of the gunners. MOVING HEAVY GUNS. ENGINEERS SOLVE THE PROBLEM FRENCH TRIBUTE TO BRITISH. OLD METHODS SCRAPPEb. Received July 20, 10.55 p.m. London, .Inly 2fi. 3r. Marcel Rutin writing in L'Eulio de Paris, states that the problem of mobilisation of heavy artillery has been completely solved. He saw engineers lay, take up, move, and then relay railway lines in a few hours, which were sufficient to move 15-inch howitzers, firing 7001b shells every minute, and quick-firing howitzers firing two or three shells a minute, each of HOlbs, whereof 201bs were explosives. General Vcrraux in a tribute to the British says: "To tenacity and method our Allies add the remarkable gift of observation. They quickly recognised the causes of their first checks, which were due to insufficient artillery preparation and rash attacks, reflecting bravery and a misconception of their adversary's resources. As the routine does not oppress them the British do not hesitate to scrap old methods." AT THE SOMME. FRENCH PAUSE CONTINUES. KEEPING THEIR HAND IN. Received July 27, 12.55 a.m. 'Paris, July 20. The pause on the French Front continues at the So mine, except between Eslrees and Ovillers, where a block of strongly fortified houses were assaulted and carried,, by night, GERMAN ATTACK REPULSED. Received July 20, 5.5 p.m. Amsterdam, July '25. Five thousand severely wounded Germans have arrived at Cologne from ths Somme. General Ilaig .reports fierce fighting am bombing at various places all day. The artillery drove back a German infantry attack at Pozieres. BRUSSELS HEAVILY FINED. Received July 20, 7.30 p.m. London, July 25. The newspaper L'Echo de Beige states that the Germans have fined Brussels a million marks ns a result of the patriotic demonstration on fete day, held on the 21st inst. FRENCH PROGRESS. Paris, July 25. A communique states:. Southward ol Estrecs we captured a strongly fortified post anil drove the Germans out of the trenches which t u-v occupied norlliwari of Vcrniaiido'villers. ■Ride fire dispersed many German reconuaisances endeavoring to penetrate our lines at Tracy-lc-Val. Our machine-gun fire stopped a grenade attack against Ilill UOt. There was ; violent bombardment of the region be tween Floury and La Ufe. After artil lery work the Germans in Alsace attack ed northwards of Altkirch. After a lively engagement we threw the Germans out of the trenches penetrated, Our air squadron bombed the stations at Pierrepont and Longuyon and bivouac) at Mangiennes