WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

1 A VIOLENT BATTLE. ANGLO-FRENCH SUCCESS! HIGHLY FCRTTFIED GROUND . ' CAPTURED J COM2LES ISOLATED Received Sept. 20, 5.5 y.m. Paris, Sept. 20. A Paiis communique states: A violent bailie is raging on the Franco-British Lent. The French extended their linos northwestward'of Combles and captured Rancourt, with four hundred unwounded prisoner-.!. •., * -<-.*■ -i ■■ j jon d on ,«g C pt. 2fi, General Sir Douglas Haig reports: We, today, were every where successful. We stormed positions on a six mile front between Combles and Martinpuich to a depth of more than a mile and captured the strongly fortified villages of Morva! and .bos 3oeufs, practically severing tho communi.-fltions of Combles. The enemy's losses were heavy. Morval stands on the heights northwards, of Combles, and with subterranean quarries, treiKf.es and wire entanglement:; constituted u formidable fortress. The rr.ssossion 0 f Morval and Let Boeuis is of considerable military importance Many prisoners, machine-guns, and other -material were taken. Our losses in relation to the results hcietofoie have been comparatively troa'i. I Siv enemy aerr.planes were destroyed on Sunday, while three were downed in a damaged condition. Three of ours are missing. Paris, Sept. 20, A French communique states: The infai.iry, assuming the offensive towards noon, attacked simultaneously the position between Combles and Rancourt and the defences accumulated between Kancourt and the S'omme. We carried our lines north-eastward ef Combles to the southern outskirts ot Fivzicourt, and conquered the powerfully organised ground from Frezicourt to Hill 148. i VVc extended our positions eastward of the Sethune road to a depth of a kilometre from Combles Road to Bouchavesnes. We carried by assault the height no'ih-eastward of thr latter and reached Hill 130, south-eastward. Wc carried further south several trench systems near the northern canal from Bethuno Road to the Somme. Oir aeroplanes dropped 150 bombs on the railway stations of Bam, Hombleux, and Manacourt. and on tho aviation ground at Vraignc.-,. London; Sept. 25. A French communique states: We repulsed a German attack eastward of Y'aux ChapTtre Wood. There is intense artillery activity in the Thiaumont sec--1 tor. German aircraft bombed Luneville. We bombed the village and railway station at Guiscaid, Thionville and Rombach, and the railway station at Audun le Roman. Sir Douglas Haig reports: The. Ger--1 mans attacked eastward of Courcelette, but -were repulsed. Our mines north--1 w J r 'l. of Jfeuve Cliapelle and northward of ffiulluch caused much damage to the enemy's works. We raided the trenches at several points. Amsterdam, Sept. 25. General von Bissing has ordered the 1 wives and other female relatives of German officers and civil functionaries to leave Belgium by October L' { STUPENDOUS BOMBARDMENT. i ■ .' 1 SMASHING UIP THE ENEMY'S LINES. i PREVIOUS ARTILLERY WORK MERE CHILD'S PLAY. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN? Received Sept. 27. 12.45 a.m Paris, Sept. 20. What is going to happen on the Somme front cannot be foretold or exactly foreseen. For seventy-two hours there has been a bombardment of stupendous intensity, .vhich is smashing up . the German lines. French and British guns of all calibres are belching forth thousands of tons of projectiles. The earth tremors resenvble earth- - quakes. 'Previous artillery preparations in Picardy and at Verdun were mere child's play compared with what is now taking place on the Somme. , Aviators are assisting by dropping hundreds of oombs on points of strategic importance. A great number of enemy ammunition depots have been blown up and stations burnt. .MOUNTAINS OF SHELLS. y GIGANTIC MUNITIONS SCHEME. Paris, Sept. 25. M. Thomas, Munitions Minister, states r that the necessary measures have been ;- taken to still further increase the output )- of munitions, "We must intensify," he says, "the winter output. My scheme is 1- gigantic. Three hundred thousand women I- lave already responded, and mountains s' of shells will arise." r M. Pierre Dupuy, Director of the Tech- )■ nical_ Committee, states that England is now drawing level with France in her a, formidable output. It is impossible to z- publish the figures; but a constant ind crease of heavy artillery on all the i Allied fronts is guaranteed,