WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 May 1917, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

BRITISH FORCED BACK. | ®Y SHEER WEIGHT OF NUMBERS. COUNTER -ATTACK REGAIN'S GROUND. Received May V 7, 1 p.m. London, May 17. •Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig reports: After a heavy bombardment on both banks of the Scarpe the enemy launched a powerful counter-attack in the early morning between Gavrelle and the river, and pressed forward under the destructive firo of our artillery and machine-guns. The enemy for a short period, by weight of numbers, forced us back from our forward positions. Our immediate counter-attack regained all the ground, inflicting exceptionally heavy losses upon the enemy. We took a number of prisoners. We progressed pn the Hindenburg line north-eastward of Bullecourt and repulsed a raid south-eastward of Ypres.

(GERMANS ATTACK. FRENCH THROW THEM BACK. WITH HEAVY- LOSSES. ■ Received May 17, 9.40 p.m. 4 London, May 17. A French communique states: The Germans in the' daytime continued their atacks north and north-west of Lafeaux Mill, as far as the Soissons-Laon railway, and were sanguinarily defeated. Despite the strength of their offensive and the violence of their attacks, we brilliantly counter-attacked at some points where the line was momentarily bent, recovering the whole lost ground. The Germafis lost heavily in attempting to arrest our progress by fresh attacks, which were shattered by the curtain of machine-gun fire. ;

GERMAN FOOD SUPPLIES. ' AMPLE FOR THE ARJIY. Receive/ May 17, 8" p'.m. London, May 17. The Press Bureau states that German divisional orders captured on the West front Say the rations of the troops are ample, and warn relatives not to send them fo6d„ as already there is a shortage in the interior. ,j

TO RECOVER INITIATIVE. GERMANS MAKING UTMOST EFFORTS. London, May 10. A correspondent at headquarters says that the Germans are making the utmost efforts to regain the initiative. This morning they heavily attacked the British positions on the and northwards to the railway. The British mostly retrieved yestertjhy's loss at Bullecourt, establishing new posts westward. A GERMAN RJiPORT. London, M&y 18A wireless German official message says:—Eastward of Laneuville we oci cupied the trenches on a 000-metre front and repulsed counter-attacks.

SPRING ON BATTLEFIELD. Commonwealth Official.—Copywright. France, April 30. The wintry weather was broken finally three (lays ago. The most glorious spring suddenly arrived, covering oven patches of the 'Somme battlefield with a sprinkling of green grass. But shattered trees will mostly never spr<jut again.