WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1917, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

DEVELOPMENTS AT LENS. BRITISH ARTILLERY INFLICTS GREAT LOSSES. GERMANS FORCED TO WITHDRAW. Received June 27, B.lfi p.m. London, June 26. Mr. Philip Giih'bs states that during the past two days a great change has developed in the situation round Lens, the enemy retreating from the suburbs betore our patrols to now defences round the city. This retirement has been forced on him owing to his heavy losses by our artillery ever since the capture of the Viiny ridge, when the enemy, in a panic, prepared to abandon Lens; but we were not forcing the pace, so he drifted back with his guns and held the maze of cottages and works surrounding the city. The Prussians who were holding the suburbs fought well, counter-attacking sometimes very fiercely, but our high explosives caused a constant wastage in their ranks, new prisoners describing the life there as hellish. The enemy is unalblo to repel our constant raids, which are preceded by terrific bombardments. In the recent raid at Hulluch the British stayed for 2} hours in the German trenches, leaving many dead. It is pretty clear the Gel-man command believed that worse was coming, and feared the losses would bo more frightful than they could afford at the present time. Their resolve to withdraw was fastened and made definite by Sunday's sudden storming of Hill 05, dominating the trench, system on the western side of the city. Waves of English, following the artillery work, took possession of the western slopes of the hill without opposition. The Germans remaining on the other side crept back to the ruined streets of Lens and disappeared in the shelters below the"shattered houses, London, June 20. Early this morning the enemy fell back from La Coulotte under the pressure of our patrol*. He had blown up the craters of Avion and all the cross mads, just as we did the country eastward of Bapaume and Peronne before the March retreat. The enemy has blown down several streets on the westward side of the city, and elsewhere is systematically destroying blocks of houses as carried out in all French towns wherefore he is preparing to retreat. ENEMY MOVEMENTS IN FLANDERS. FRESH TROOPS ARRIVE. EARLY BRITISH OFFENSIVE EXPECTED. Australian Cable Association. Received June 27, 8.15 p.m. Amsterdam, June 26. Fresh German troops have reached Flanders and are proceeding to the Ypres, Dixmude, and Ostend districts. The citizens have evacuated Menin. The German supreme command has left Conrtrai for Ghent. There are indications that the Germans expect an, early British offensive. ' EXTENDING OUR GAINS. ASTRIDE THE SOUCHEZ RIVER. A. & N.Z. Cable Association & Reuter. Received June 28, 12.30 a.m. London, June 27. Sir Douglas Haig reports: We gained all our objectives in last night's operation north-westward of Fontairielle-Croi-selles. Our losses were slight. We drove off two strong counterattacks. We extended our gains south-westward of lens, and captured positions astride of the Souchez River on a two-mile front, to a depth of a thousand yards. We occupied the village of La Coulotte, GERMAN LOSSES. INTERESTING FIGURES, London, June 2G. The Daily Chronicle's Paris correspondent states that two-thirds of the German effectives are fighting in the west and one-third in the east. The net transfer of troops from the Russian front to France since the Russian revolution has only been three divisions. The lino had previously been so thinned that it was impossible for tlie Germans to make a larger withdrawal. Since April there has been a total increase of eight divisions of German troops on the western front, and thero are now 155 divisions, of which 112 have been engaged in the sectors of the Anglo-French offensives, 23 being engaged twice over. It is estimated that every time a division is withdrawn from an active sector it has lost on an average 2000 men. Five' sixths of the German army 'have therefore suffered serious losses, and they are using 25 divisions to repair tile losses. Only twelve fresh divisions now remain behind the front. The others have already been used up as reliefs. GERMAN,S~ADMIT REVERSE. London, June 20. A German official says:—There have been numerous artillery duels. The French penetrated our lines north-west of Ilurtebiso Farm, but counter-attacks recaptured the majority of the positions. FRENCH CAPTURE A CREST. London, June 2(1. A French communique says.—We attacked a strongly-fortified crest northwest of Hurtebise, and cached all our objectives. We smashed counter-attacks and surprised the enemy, who lost seriously.