WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 October 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

ADVANCE AT GUEUDECOURT.

1000 YARDS OF TRENCHES TAKEN.

EXEIIY RAIDS FAIL. AEROPLAXE ACTIVITY. ■Jeceived Oct. 21, 8.30 p.m. London, Oct. 2 1 -!. Cleneral Sir Douglas Haig reports: We have advanced our line eastward of Oueudeeourt and Les Boenfs, capturing a thousand yards of trenches. Out artillery stopped the enemy, who attempted an attack southward of Grandcourt.

Two raids were attempted on Sunday night against the trenches in the Gommecourt neighborhood. Our fire stopped one and inflicted heavy casualties; the second penetrated the outpost lines, a counter-attack promptly driving the enemy out. Aeroplanes on Sunday bombed two railway stations behind the enemy's lines, hitting a train in motion, and doing much damage to buildings and rolling stock. Seven enemy machines ivere brought down, and many others ivere damaged and forced to descend. Eight of our machines have not returned.

AT THE. SCHWABEN REDOUBT.

A CASCADE OF SHELLS BAVARIANS SUFFER HEAVILY. Received Oct. 21, 6/20 p.i^ London, Oct 24 While Mr. Philip Gibbs is recuperating in England, Mr. 'Percival Gibbon'represents the Daily Telegraph and Daily Chioniclo on the Western front. Mr. Gibbon, describing the 'fighting at the Schwaben redoubt, saya he had just come from Russia, where he had seen heavy artillery firing, but nothing like that on the Western front, and never anything like this pouring of shells in a cascade or in a cloudburst of steel fire. The Bavarians suffered' -lieaviljy from our machine-like attack, and great numbers of bodies are lying in the open before the trenches. As a net result we gained 200 to 400 yards on a front of live thousand yards.

decline; in British losses

DUE TO NEW METHODS. Received Oct. 25, 1.35 a.m. New Yoi'k, Oct. 24. Figures prove a marked decline in the British losses at the Soinrae, compared with the earlier fighting. Some estimKtes give the German losses at fully forty per cent, greater than those of the British, whose now methods of attacking and advancing have resulted in saving men. It is believed that the "tanks" and other inventions have saved the British nearly an Army Corps.

FRENCH PROGRESS AT MOKVAL.

Received Oct. 24, 5.30 p.m. Taris, Oct. 24. 'A communique snys: We have appreciably progressed" north-wards of Morval. A BRITISH GAIN. London, Oct. 2.1. Sir Douglas Haig reports: The enc-my is shelling between Le Sars and Gueudecourt. We gained the near lip of the two craters formed yesterday on Yprcs bluff. FIRENCH PROGRESS CONTINUED. '■ London, Oct. 23. A 'French communique states: We captured the brow of a hill west of Sailly-Sailiiael and captured a post between the Avre and, the Oise. Eneniy aviators bombed Luneville. We dropped forty 200 kilogramme projectiles 011 furnaces north of Metz, on the railway stations at Thionvillc, Mezieres les Metz, Longwy, and Metz-Sablons, and also irom'bed 1 a munitions depot at enti'eJHaussee, factories at Rombach, and the railway station at Mars-la-Tour.

GERMAN FICTION. ~ London, Oct. 23. A German communique states: Wo bloodily repulsed strong English attacks between Le Sars and Les Boeufs. The French penetrated only the first line, north-east of Saillv. We penetrated Am'bras Wood, north of Cliaulnes. We withdrew east and north from part of the wood voluntarily. We brought down twenty-two enemy aviators.

"A BIT OF A PICNIC."

LIFE BEHIND THE TRENCHES. . A VIVID ACCOUNT. Writes a Manaia boy to his parents from France, under date July 90:— Wo have had a fair experience of the trenches in France now, and, in my opinion, it i& far from exciting. • The very small amount of excitement we occasionally meet with is not worth the risk involved. The German infantry plays the role of ra'bbit to our artillery,, who act the part of the man with the gun, and we, in turn, do the ra'bbit act tc their artillery. One advantage, however, a rabbit has: he is safe when in his burrow, but our dug-outs often get smashed like a house of cards. However, we get plenty of good tucker, and, on the whole, manage to keep pretty well contented, though, of course, we do fair amount of grumbling. Now and then one gets the father of a ibig fright, especially when you have made yourself nice anil comfortable and start dreaming of this warbling among the kowhai blossoms, or a Maori tangi at Pipiriki. Suddenly a railway engine seems to start letting off steam, and, before you have time to move, the 'boiler bursts, clods of earth sprint all over the place, and pieces of steel, ranging in size from marbles to soup plates, shower down on the earth in all directions. After a few seconds a general laugh of relief, mingled with uneasiness, enlioes up and down the trenches, and

tho&e men not oil duty make their way to their dug-outs, while those oil duty Miugglo in. closer to .the sandbags and prepare to nia'kf. the best of a one* sicled argument, foi one shell generally means more in the same vicinity in pretty rapid succession. The other shells don't shake one up us- the pioneer docs, however, but while the "straafe" is on one doosn't feel too clever. 'One of the Huns' least lovable instru* nients of destruction' is the uiinnewerfer bomb, which resembles ai». oil drum, and is lilled with a powerful explosive, and which is usually escorted mid introduced by shower of aerial torpedoes and line grenades. The "Minnie" can l)e easily watched in its progress through the air, and explodes with some force immediately it strikes the ground. I had a hot bath yesterday morning and went to a picture show in the afternoon. \\ a have plenty of reading rooms and canteens, and get the London papers regularly, so von will understand why we nier who were at Gallipoli consider this a bit of a picnic, especially.as the climate here is decent, and there is no fly pest. Later,' on August 20, he writes:—We are now out of the trenches in billets, well out of the firing line, getting into fottlo foi another bout with Fritz. The country where we now are is looking well, ifll the (jrops being in stool;, and ironi rising ground one can have a view of miles upon miles of stocks, interspersed with rows of trees, and, in the hollows, villages, with a church spire .running high above, the roofs pf the cottages, in the centre. Every little village, no matter how .small, has its own church, which is often large enough to contain moat of the houses ns well as the people. We have a good swimming pool, which, needless to say, is well patronised. We are now shifted too far back from the firing line to get ICiiglish papers or be as well catered for. The big push seems to be held up while tlie Allies are getting their second wind, but the general opinion among our, troops appears to .be that the flermans have not much fight left in them, although it is . certain that they will die very hard—and take some time to die—though a sudden collapse, should they suffer a big defeat, would surprise no one.

FATEFUL SEPTEMBER

OUR GREAT ACHIEVEMENT, London, Oct. 3., Colonel Repington, the Times military critic, v.iites:— "Field-Marshal von Hindenburg was not far v;rong when lie told a German pressman that September -would be a difficult month. The disconsolate Reichstag aw! t-'e hesitating subscribers to the fifth war loan will be little encouraged if they ;uo allowed to learn the truth. The ucte of distress lias become veryclear. Even the communiques wax emotional over the sufferings of the troops, and letters on prisoners and on the dn.io' almost luridly paint the sufferings at the Sommc. One German places the foe's losses at from 8000 to 10,000 a day-, and, whatever the exact figure, it is evidently very large. The Germans officially complain that the Allies , are fight'ng with the war material of tho world: but our troops are facing HO, German divisions and' 2000 gunß, More than half the German army is on the western f ront.

"Our :-(aff work, co-operating with all arms, is extremely good. The latest successes at the Somme clear tlie British wings and re-establish a close connection witli the French. Wc now hold the crest o? the plateau, and, having superior nrtillcr' observation, can make faster progress. But we must expect fresh lines .from Miraumont towards Bapaumo, and thciice towards Sailly. We shall have lo rt-eommenco the hammering and hacking which have so dismayed the enemy, and rely on the proved skill and courage of the Allies to carry, out all the to»ks, however difficult.

"A small minority is disapproving of this offensive believing that the losses are disproportionate to the gains, When asked to suggest an alternative, it cannot, and admits that the situation in •Tune demanded that something should be done, The offensive has given the enemy's strongest army a rare shaking, and. npait from all the services towards the oilier Allies, has shown that the British armies are capable of overcoming the aennans in the strongest positions and plac'ng the British Empire in an entirely new position in the eyes of the Allies and in hiEtory."