WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 October 1916, Page 7

WESTERN ATTACK.

, FRONT STRENGTHENED. * TO INCREASE GERMAN TROUBLES. 1 Australian-N.Z. Cable Association. New York, October 27. s Advices from London state that the . Aides' operations in France are seriously - adding to the length of frontage the . Germans have to defend with fast wast--4 ing reserves. Every wedge into the Herman, lines, like those at Thiepval and t Douamont, makes the front zig-zag ine stead of straight, thus increasing the • ][. linage of trenches in which the. Germans must have additional men and guns j or retreat. It is estimated that if 50 6 miles can be added to the German front rr in this manner they will require 300,000 t new troops to defend them, t [The value of this argument is shown t by the fact that the entry of Roumania into the war extended the line 400 miles, 1 requiring, according to the above figures, i- 2,400,000 additional men, which the Ceni, tral Powers have provided with ease.] s A GERMAN PLACARD. t 'Paris, October 27. t M. Marcel Hutin, writing in the Echo di* Paris, says that three French divisions at Verdnn completely beat seven Ceiman divisions. There was no question of a surprise, except regarding the j direction of the attack. More than a fortnight ago the Germans were exhibiting placards asking, "When is the attack coming? We are waiting for you. Regard yourselves as corpses."

TREATMENT OP PRISONERS. 1 EFFECT OF REPRISALS f SAVAGE TORTURES. i 7 Paris, October 27. '• The French Government lias published 0 a report concerning the treatment of prisoners in France and Germany, sliow- ; ing how reprisals secured a mitigation of brutalities practised upon prisoners. The Fr< nch commenced feeding the Germans lavishly, but when detailed reports of the miserable conditions in the German pr'son camps arrived, Germany was informed that the methods would be alteri'd unless there was better treatment. For a fortnight the Germans did nothing, so the allowance of meat to German prisoners was reduced from 12oz. to 4Joz., and that of bread from 240z, to lOJoz. Typical menus from German camps were secured and duplicated in France. When the Germans stopped parcels and letters the French acted similarly until the Germans altered their conduct. Frenchmen. however, did not give decayed food or mix prisoners with others infected with typhus. The German commandant of tb? camp at Cassel met the protests with the'ferocious remark: "I make war in my own way." Several cases of murder are recorded, including that of a soldier who was bayoneted for misunderstanding an order. Savage tortures included brushing the bare flesh until the blood flowed. The report includes many photographs and German letters. VERDUN AND SOMJIE CASUALTIES. *■ . - .. Paris, October '27. A Luxembourg message state that 43 Red Cross trains full of wounded from Verdun passed in six hours in the direction of Treves. The French casualties for 115 days on the Somme were only half those suffered in twenty days in the autumn offensive of 1915. FRENCH PROGRESS. ; London, October 27. ' A French communique says:—Our artillery exploded a munition depot in the Gcnermont-Ahlaincourt region. Wc progressed west and south of Fort Vaux. A German communique says: —We repulsed a French attack east of Douau- | mont Fort.