WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1917, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. HAIG'S ACCOUNT OF OPERATIONS. „. London, June 19. fcir Douglas Haig, in a dispatch covering the operations from November IS to the commencement of the. present offensive, affords a connected story and valuable historical record eluci'datinn much which has hitherto been obscure and revealing tho strategic plans behind the apparently isolated attacks and raws which continued throughout the winter. It shows that all fitted into a comprehensive and systematic scheme in order to prepare a favorable situation lor tlio spring advance, Owing to the Somme battle the enemv in the region of tho Ancre Valley had been forced into a pronounced salient between the Ancre and Scarpe valleys: therefore a further short advance would give command of the Beaumont-Hamel spur. Accordingly an attack was delivered against the defences overlooking the villages of Pys and firandecourt on November 18. The object was to advance within assaulting distance of the to Transloy-Loupart line of 5000 yards. Valuable positions were acquired in January. The weather then held up onerations .until the end of January, when the whole Spur was captured and we advsaced 1000 yards up tho Beaucourt Vallev with exceedingly light casualties owing to the close and skilful co-operation of infantry and artillery and fine aircraft work. The possessions of the high ground opened up an extensive artillery field and further successes on February 3 and i gave us an important section of the Herman second lino north of the Ancre, making the evacuation of Grandecourt inevitable. 'The next task was to drive the enemy from the Beaucourt Valley, which began on February 10. PRESSURE ON SERRE SALIENT. The capture of 1500 yards of trenches lying at the southern foot of the Serre Hill ma4o the village of Serre a pronounced enemy salient and furTKer progress in the Ancre Valley would make it untenable. Therefore a larger operation was begun with the view of acquiring the northern, extremity of the Mor-val-Thiepval Ridge, which commanded the southern approaches to Pys and Miraumont and observation of the upper Ancre-Valley. Simultaneously there was a smaller atteck 1 designed to capture the road north of the Ancre, which controlled the yrestern armrofl"h tn Miraumont. During the night' of February 17 1 assaults were utiiveml. JJenite the heavy ground, thick mißt and the alert enemy, who set up a barrage, the troops assaulted with great gallantry and we succeeded in completely gaining the desired observation points and also command of the enemy artillery positions in the upper Ancre Valley and his defences of Pys and Miraumont. Our subsequent bombardments, as anticipated,, forced the evacuation of Pys and Miraumont on February 24. THE GERMAN RETREAT. The following day the positions from nortli of Gueudecourt to west of Serre were captured. The weather favoured the enemy's retirement as a thaw broke up the roads, the sides of the trenches collapsed, and the acquired ground became a worse quagmire. . On the other hand the roads behind the enemy improved the further he withdrew and a succession of misty days prevented rapid pursuit. Consequently it is greatly to the credit of all ranks that constant touch with the enemy was maintained and that continuous and systematic advances drove out the enemy from successive positions until March. 2, when we reached the Le Transloy-Loupart line except at Irles, which formed a salient. } Seven days were then devoted to improving communications and bringing up guns and on March 10 Irles was captured. Our casualties were leßs than the number of prisoners, who numbered 289. The way was thus opened for attacking the Le Transloy-Loupart line, which wasshellod so effectively on March 11 and 12 that the enemy fell back to parallel lines, whereupon Grevilliers and Loupart Wood were occupied and methodical operations begun for attacking the next time. THE HINDENBURG LINE. Prior to this there had been indications that the German withdrawal would extend further. It had been ascertained that he was preparing a new defensive system and we knew of the Hindenburg line running from Arras south-east to Queant and thence west of Cambrai towards St. Quentin. Various switch lines branching off this line were also under construction. The enemy's immediate concern appeared to be to escape from the salient between Arras and Le Transloy, which had become increasingly difficult to hold. Received June 20, 5.5 p.m. London, June 19. The despatch continues: It i s also evident, however, that tho enemy contemplated eventually the evacuation of the greater salient between Arras and the Aisne valley. DIFFICULTIES OF PURSUIT. The despatch then deals in detail with the operations between the fourteenth and nineteenth April. On April 19 the advance reached a stage whereat there was increasing difficulty in maintaining communications compelled the slackening of the pace of the pursuit. South of Peronne the lack of 'bridges, which the enemy destroyed, presented formidable obstacles, while north of Peronne the wide belt of devastated ground over which the Somme battle had been fought, offered even greater difficulties for the passage of our guns and transport. ENEMY HAS ADVANTAGE OF POSITION. ' We were advancing, therefore, over country \vherein # :u, means of communication had been destroyed against an enemy whose army was still intact and capable of launching a vigorous offensive should favorable opportunity offer. Strong detachments of his infantry and cavalry occupied vantage points along the line of our advance, keeping the enemy informed of our progress and screening his own movements. His guns had already been withdrawn to previously prepared positions, and were available at any moment to cover and support a* counter-stroke whilst the conditions

of the country in which we were moving made our progress and that of our artillery slow. The bulk of the enemy's forces was 'known to be holding a formidable defensive system whereupon they could fall back should his counter stroke miss its aim. Contrarywise, as our troops moved forward they left all their prepared defences further behind. Under such circumstances caution was obvious. Meanwhile, despite the enormous difficulties which the condition of the ground and the ingenuity of the enemy placed in our way, the work of preparing tfie construction of bridges, roads and railways was carried on with commendable rapidity. THE OUTSTANDING FEATURES. The enemy resistance increased as we neared the.Hindenburg line, emphasising, the great* costliness of many of his counter-aftacks, particularly in the attempts to recover Beaumetz. Speaking of the outstanding features of the five months' fighting from November 18, Sir Douglas Haig says:— "Despite the unusual severity of the weather the winter campaign was conducted, to a successful issue under the most trying and arduous conditions. The activity on our battle front was maintained from the conclusion of last year's offensive to the commencement of the present operations. The successful of this part of our general plan has already enabled us to realise no inconsiderable instalment of the fruits of the Somme battle, and has gone far to open the road to their full achievement. "The courage and endurance of our carried them triumphantly through periods of particularly trying fighting, in which they were subjected to the maximum of personal hardship and physical Btrain. I cannot speak too highly of the qualities of all ranks and the ability wjth which the troops on the Ancre were handled by Genera! Gough and further south by General Rawlinson, which was in all respects admirable. "The retreat to which the enemy was driven by our continued success reintroduced conditions approximating to open fighting, in which the cavalry were given an opportunity to perform speejal duties. The enemy's withdrawal enabled him to choose his own ground for resistance and employ every> device to inflict losses. "Our casualties, which were exceedingly moderate throughout the operations on the Ancre, became exceptionally light during ithe retreat. The prospect of a general resumption of open fighting can be regarded with great confidence." ENGINEERS' WORK PRAISED. The systematic destruction of roads, bridges and railways made unprecedented demands on the Royal Engineers, who were already heavily burdened by the work entailed in the preparations for the spring offensive. Our Bteady progress in face of great difficulties bears testimony to the energy andjthoroughness wherewith those demands were met. The bridging of the Somme at Brie (?Bray) is an example of the nature of the obstacles with which we were confronted, and the rapidity of their removal, hi this instance six gapß had to be bridged across the Canal and river Somme, whereof a considerable width was over the swift-fiowing stream. The work was commenced on the morning of March 18 and by ten o'clock the same night the infantry footbridges had been completed, while by five o'clock on the morning of the twentieth a medium type of bridge for horae transport and calavry was completed, and 'by two in the afternoon of the twenty-eighth a heavy bridge, capable of taking all forms of traffic, had replaced the lighter type. TRANSPORT PROBLEMS. Throughout the Winter the transport problems were serious, both in the battle area aM behind the lines. On the rapid solution thereof success or failure necessarily depended. At the close of last year's campaign the steady growth of our armies and the corresponding expansion of material and resources had already taxed the roads and railways to the utmost. The existing broad and narrow gauge railways were insufficient to deal with the increasing traffic, an undue proportion whereof was tliroVn upon the Toads, which winter conditions were deteriorating. The difficulties of maintenance and repair became almost overwhelming, so that the increase of railway facilities of every description on a large scale was, therefore, imperatively and urgently necessary. Great quantities of material and rolling stock were required immediately, while subsequently these wants were considerably augmented. A large programme of new construction in the area of the enemy's withdrawal, and the task of obtaining the amount of railway material required for carrying out the work of construction at a rate consistent with our plans, was rendered necessary, besides providing labor and material for the repair of the roads, one of our very greatest difficulties. The successful accomplishment of this work reflects the highest credit on the transportation services. LOYAL CO-OPERATION OF ALLIES. The despatch concludes: The loyal co-operation and : complete mutual understanding (between our Allies and ourselves throughout the Somme battle continued to be strengthened by the events of the winter and particularly by the circumstances attending the enemy's withdrawal. During the latter part of the period under review a considerable tract of country was won back for France by the combined efforts of the Allied troops, and this is regarded with satisfaction by all ranks of the British army and France. At tho same time we wish to express our feelings of deep sympathy and profound regret provoked at the sight of the destruction that the war has brought to a once fair and. prosperous countryside. FURTHER RAIDS. London, June 19. Sir Douglas Haig reorte:—We raided last night south-east of Le Verguier and near the Bapanme-Cambrai Road. THE GERMAN REPORT. Received Juno 20, 5.5 p.m. London, June 19. A wireless German official report states: Eastward of Monchy we threw tho English out of trenches which remained theirs after tho battles of the 14th. We twice repulsed French attempts on recaptured trenches northwestward of iHurtebise farm. The enemy penetrated a salient in the Champagne, but an effort to further extend bis gains feu*.