WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 August 1917, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

BRITISH GAIN A NEW POST. AERC"LANES FiG'HTLNG INFANTRY London, Aug. 20. Tbe 'United Press correspondent at Jieudijuiirters reports that fighting continues at various points from Lens to tho ■sea. The British during the 'light atah- ' lished a new post on the left flank oJ ' the Ypres sector. Air fighting continues in the hottest degree ail day and all night. The enemy Is evidently trying to conserve his ait fleets and avoids tattles in the daytime, swarming out under cover of darkness iml bombing places indiscriminately beU.ii'l the British lines. As many aa thirty aeroplanes are seen in one fleet, fit least one hospital haa been damaged. In the meantime the British warplaues have tarried out an offensive far behind the German lines, bombing stations, Ti.ilway~, aerodromes, and ammunition depots. The British aeroplanes are fighting the German iniantry ir default of antagonists in the air, even charging ma-thiiie-gun emplacements while barely akin lining the earth. A BATTERY OF TANKS. CAPTURE DIFFICULT FORTRESSES. THE HUNS BOLT. Received Aug. 21, 8 p.m. London, Aug. 20. Mr. Philip Gibbs says the tanks attacked at dawn yesterday, northward of St. Julien. For the first time they were employed in the capture of a position alone. After a barrage, twelve tanks crossed bad {.'round and approached three eo-callcd farms, which were really concrete houses, mounting machine-guns and garrisoned by picked men, who were brave, but their courage ebbed when the tanks crept up, firing furiously. A number of Germans were killed, wounded, and ■ captured. Then the tanks sent a messajje to tho infantry, who advanced and occupied the ground. The operation was completely successful. Rcuter's correspondent at headquarters, describing the attaclc in the St. Julien region, says that the Gennans generally tied before the tanks reached them. The infantry following tEfe tanks occupied a triangle formed by the Mont Busibon and Cockerorn farms, which had given a lot of trouble. Tho total depth advanced as planned was five hundred yards, but the Huns far beyond bolted. i'he whole ;.;fair is a complete vindication of tlu utility of the tank in thia species of warfare, NEW BATTLE AT VERDUN. OX FRONT OF 11 MILES. London, Aug. 20. A French comiruniquo reports: There is _a fairly violent artillery struggle north of Bixschoote. 1 Our troops attacked this morning on both banks of the Meuse with magnifl- ! cent dash. Early reports show that this ■ aew battle of Verdun is developing to our suivautat'e on a front of 18 kilo-

"in auvauiage ou a, iront 01 Jo Kilometres (11 wiles; from Avocourt Wood ■ to north of Bezonvaux. 1 .Many prisoners have been taken, anil the bravery -of our men was beyond praise MAGNIFICENT FRENCH DASH. ! FRONT OF SIXTEEN MILES. ' rLENDID RESULTS ANTICIPATED. Reuter Service. Received Aug. -21, b.u p.m. London, Aug. 21. French headquarters reports: At dawn to-day the French began another battle on tile historic field of Verdun. Fov over .a fortnight batteries on both sides of the Meu.se have been hammering the German line on boln /ides o' the river, from Avocourt wood on the loft bank to Bezonvanx on the right, a distance of fully sixteen miles. X'-'is morning the infantry leapt from thfiir trenches with a rush, and within forty minutes had carried the first line. Ail the objectives of the day were carried by seven o'clock. Reports co'uing in are satisfactory as to the number of prisoners captured by all the divisions engaged. There is every 11 a.-on to hope that splendid results vril! be achieved with relatively small casualties. "IN OUR FAVOR." THE USUAL GERMAN ACCOUNTReecived Aug. 21, 9.40 p.m. Londou, Aug. 21. Wireless German official: The battle at Verdun is going in our favor. The enemy penetrated our defensive zone at Avocourt wpod and Mort Ilomme. Wo repulsed attacks on the eaat bank of the lleuse. GERMANY A BESIEGED FORTRESS. Paris, August 20. A Japanese officer, who participated in the Russo-Japanese war, and has made a king sojourn in France, was in-' . teniewed l>y .Matin and said: — 'Victory is -assured scientifically and mathematically and has been so siuco the H'iddle of I'JIG. Germany to-day is merely a besieged fortress. The criti- ; fa! period in a military sense has pasted. and the oniy ono way in which vic- : can slip from your grasp is that i jou should voluntarily abandon it." I

STRONG POINTS GAINED. OVER 4000 PRISONERS. AEKOPLANES CO SPLENDID WORK. Received Aug. 21, 10.30 p.m. London, Aug. 21. A French communique says; North of Verdun we carried ttie enemy defencen on both sides of the Mense, on a front of eighteen kilometres to a depth of I over two kilometres op the loft bank, We particularly hold Avocourt wood and both the summits of Mort Homme and the Corbeau and Cumicres woods, on the right bint. We carried Tallow Hill, Uiampoleuville, Hill 344, Moront farm, lind Hill 240, to the north of LouveInont. On the right we considerably advanced in Bois des Fooses and lo Chaune. The total unwounded prisoners exceed four thousand. The Germans violently counter-attack-ed at Avocourt wood, (Mort Homme, and Mill 344. Our fire everywhere nullified their eiforts and inflicted heavy losses. Our aviators played a brilliant part, machine-gunning enemy gatherings by i flying at low altitudes, thus contributing to repulse the counter-attacks. Our pilots brought down eleven machines with their special two BRITISH LINE ADVANCED. London, August 20. Sir Douglas Ilaig reports:—Aftet tharp fighting wo completely repulsed a counterattack at niyht against tho positions we captured yesterday morning south-eastward of Epehy. We made ii successful raid southwards of Lena and slightly advanced the line on tha Ypres battle front south-eastward of St, Janshoek, FRENCH CROSSES FOR NEW ZEALANDERS. . Paris, August 20. President Poincare has conferred tha War Cross on General Plumer, Com- , mander of the Second Army, and say ', oral New Zealand officera and men ia , commemoration of the capture of Measures. | USEFUL AIR-SERVTCE WORK. London, Aug. 20. Tli" Admiralty air service on Satur< ■ day night dropped many tons of bombs . on the St. Pierre station at Ghent, i Tho'irout strtion and dump, and Bmgea i docks, and ako raided Sneileghen aeroi | drome, directly ..ittinj; a large shed, i l The Fioyal Flying Corps assisted the I returning machines to beat off hostile aircraft, and all our machines returned. ThE ANZAC GUNS. ■ GREAT WOEK BELOW YPRGS. WHOLE DAY, UNDER FIRE. (From Captain C. E, W Bean, Australian Press Representative with the Commonwealth Forces). London, August 0. On August 5 I mentioned some Australian artillery having been involved in the great battle of July 30, but only yes' . terday did 1 hear what a splendid pari > that artillery had placed. The guns were ordered to advance at a stated time ir x accordance with the plan. In most parti . where the battle went as planned, thii s advance was carried out Bmoothly anc a punctually. One portion of the Aus . tralian guns was in action in the nev

position within less than an hour after they had ceased liring from the old. It so happened, however, that a couple of other brigades were behind the por- j tion of the line where the chief trouble 1 was met with. When these guns were I due to advance the infantry was still held up by formidable opposition not far beyond ihe German frunt line system. The situation was obscure, but so far as the artillery knew, the battle was proceeding according to programme here as elsewhere. At the exact moment the teams came up batteries limbered up and filed off at a walk, men and horses looking magnificent as they came down the *l<'-e, passing other batteries drawn up waiting to join the column. As they advanced they ccme in view of some of the enemy's positions at a considerable distance. Scattered shells began to drop round the teams, not doing any harm. But when the leading batteries began to come over the ridge, immediately behind the new positions, they suddenly came under observation of the enemy, who was still holding a portion ,of the heights beyond. "SPOTTED" BY FRITZ. Almost immediately shells began to drop more thickly. As the news got round among the group German batteries covering that part of the line, one jitter another turned their tire on to tiie crest over which our batteries were firing. Then, for the drat time, the column broke into a trot, coming with perfect .steadiness through a tornado of shell fire. The leading batteries made their way through a maze of sheil-holes 1.0 the new positions, the gunners flogging and almost lifting the horses by iheir immense effort, through deeply - pitted ground. At that moment the tail of the column was blocked by a gun sagging into a sbell-hola. A 5.9 shell -plunged fair into the midst of one of the waiting teams, killing and wounding pvery horse. Not a minute did the work falter. Those batteries which had already down trails continued to steadily pick up their task exactly where arranged. Machine-gun fire was hissing on them ■in constant burst" from gune they could •not see. The limbers had just moved and the guns were in position, when, with a whirr overhead a German aeroplane, flying under the low clouds, wheeled over them. They couM see the pilot in his seat and the bombs as he dropped them one after another over the batteries. But his journey was too hurried for aim. Every bomb fell wide. He then turned to his machine-gun. 'Six times during the day German machines, among the whirling' collection which '. circled low overhead, fired on to the gun crews with machine-guns. The Australians rigged up a Lewis gun which ' they found in a crater, aad a Vlckera 1 gun left in the trenches. These, with ' batmen as signallers and spare men using rifles, were turned on the attacking 1 'planes, whilst the battwy continued its ' work. So thick and so low under tht ' clouds were the machines that it geemec barely possible for them to avoid eact other or distinguish the enemy. Throng! all this, under the fire of heavier shells as the day went on, the Australian bat tertes carried out every order whicl 3 reached them through the long day d exactly as if on tins practtee ground. y '1 liked those first six hours,' sak ■ I one of the jnen to me, "better than an] 1 rJAw dar 'of my life-"