WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 November 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

THE. BATTLE OF THE ANCRE,

LOSSES COMPARATIVELY SMALL.

A TERRIFIC STRUGGLE.

Loftdon, Nov. 15. ■ T>:»ily Mail states ,that the British 1"- - it the Ancre wer'e small in comi with the magnitude of the vieto:-''. uversea troops did not. participate. l'.!'.j;h>li county regiments largely shared the honors. All behaved magnificently.

Paris, Nov. IT). The Petit Parisien says that Beait mont-Hamel and Beaucourt constituted formidable German bastions for many months.

The- number of prisoners is 6000, and the total enemy losses are estimated at 15,000:

The British penetrated Beaumont.Hamel on Monday morning and a terrific struggle ensued. Gradually the enemy retired; until in occupation of ground the configuration of which favored him, and lie then regained a foothold in the village and opened a withering fire, and in furious hand-to-hand fighting forced the British to yield ground. But the British soon returned to the charge and swept through the village, taking prisoner every German who was not killed.

The British were further engaged m brisk fighting on the Beaumont Road, but the enemy line soon eraeked up ana the British gained the road, linking up Beaumont and Beaueourt. Tiie British entered Beaueourt after 30 hours' violent struggle.

The advance here amounts to 1} milesin depth. British fire now dominates ftrandcourt and Miraumont, which are the outposts of Bapaumc. A communique states: We progressed to flie northern spur' of the St. Pierre Varsl Wood. After an intense bombardment the Gei mans strongly counterattacked the positions captured by us on the 7th, from the sugar refinery a*. Ablnincourt to the Chaulnc? Wood. De spite the obstinacy of the assault ..and the large use of liquid fire and tear shells, tlio enemy was repulsed with heavy losses, though some fractions managed to reach a group of houses east of Pressoir. A bombardment, which w; aj-e effectively checking, continues throughout tlr.* region.

HOW OUR MEN FOUGHT.

CONSPICUOUS SKILL. DASH, AND FORTITUDE.

Received Nov. Ml, 0.30 p.m.

London, Nov. 10. General Sir Douglas Haig reports:— We further advanced our front northward of the Ancre. The prisoners total 5078.

Our troops showed conspicuous skill, dash anrl fortitude. Their success was not won without a hard struggle, owing to the enemy's strong resistance and the condition of the ground.

Our losses, considering the gains, were not high. One division advanced a mile, taking prisoner a thousand at the expense of casualties. We established the positions won on Tuesday eastward of Butte de Warlencourt.

The artillery dispersed the enemy massing at one point for a counterattack.

Our aeroplanes successfully attacked an aerodrome, railway stations, and rolling stock.

ONF. OF THE BLOODIEST OF THE WAR.

GERMANY'S ADMISSION OF DEFEAT. Received Nov. 16, 10.55 p.m. Paris, Nov. 10.

La Liberte says tliat the fight for Beaumont Hamel will go down in history as one of the bloodiest of the war. The Germans regarded the village as even stronger than Thiepval.or Comblo'i. When the British carried five lines of trendies they encountered concealed ma-chine-guns behind the village walls, also intense artillery fire. The hand-to-hand struggle lasted for ten hours. The Germans must have lost at least eight thousand at Beaumont Hamel alone. M. Marcel Hutin, in L'Echo <le Paris says there is no doubt that Germany has made an unreserved admission ot defeat. The heavy losses on the Ancre tended to justify her general mobilisation plans.

A FURIOUS BATTLE.

4GAINST FRENCH FRONT,

F.NEMY GAINS A LODGMENT. Beceived Nov. IG, 10 p.m. x Paris, Nov. 10. A' communique *tates:—A furious battle continued all day on the Somme front. The enemy attempted a 'powerful effort north and south of the Somme simultaneously, but was baffled by the French resistance, and only gained limited advantages at the cost of heavy losses. The attack north of the Somme was made after an intense bombardment of the front from Les Boeufs to South Bouehavisnes.

The enemy gained l a lodgment on the west and north edges of the St. Pierre Vaast Wood, but everywhere else the attacks collapsed under the machinegun curtain fire. Germans south of the Somme renewed their attacks in the afternoon on the front from Ablaincourt to Chaulncs Wood. Desperate fighting ended in the defeat of tho Germans, who lost sanguinarily. They returned to their trenches, except in the eastern part of the village of Pressoire, where they progressed. There was intermittent cannonading on tlie rest of .the [ -ii ont.