WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 September 1917, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

BRITISH BATTERING TACTICS. FORCES NEW GERMAN! STRATEGY. Reuter Service. Received Sept. 25, 8.30 p.m. London. Sept 25. Renter's French headquarters correspondent reports that the terrific bombardment is forcing the German high command to revise its tactics. A recently captured army order admits that the Oerm.in front lines are regularly battered to pieces before tlie actual* battle begins, and urges the necessity of hiding the trenches, batteries, and other moans of defence from being photographed. Therefore, an entirely new system of defence is needed, namely, a zone of organised depth.that is extended toward? tho rear. Such a system, with defences hidden as much as possible, mid the troops echclloncd in depths so that their lines "in their front become progressively denser rearwards, ought to enable us to pass from the defensive to the offensive, with troops occupying more thickly held po.-itions in the rear. That means they must abandon their trenches and retire lo shell er.iters and redoubts held by machine-guns. The order indicates how the craters must be organised and connected as far as possible, stressing tha; the essential point is that the "rater from above must be indistinguishable from thousands of surrounding craters.

ATTEMPTED RAIDS REPULSED SUCCESSFUL AIR RAIDS. FIFTEEN ENEMY MACHINES DOWNED. Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc, and Reuter. Received Sept. 25, 8.30 p.m. London, Sept 25. i Sir Douglas Haig reports: Under cover of a bombardment two attempted raids in the neighborhood of Monchy-le-Preux, and a third southward of the ArrasDouai railway were repulsed. The enemy left a number of dead. Another party raided westward of La Bassce without" result. Our patrols are active, a member of prisoners being brought in. Our aeroplanes were successful yesterday in dropping bombs on billets, hutments, and aerodromes. Fifteen German machines were brought down. Three of ours are missing.

FRENCH REPULSE A RAID. FIERCE ENEMY ATTACK. Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc, and Reuter. Received Sept. 20, 1.55 a.m. London, Sept. 95. A French communique reports: There ha s been the liveliest artillerying on the Aisne. We repulsed a raid" on the outposts north of Braye-en-Laonnois. The Germans on the right bank of the Meuse, after a bombardment, attacked our trenches north of Bois le Chaume, on a front of two kilometres. Four battalions were leading, supported by stassstruppen. The attack was broken by our lire, and did not reach our ]ine 3 except a few elements in the centre, where fierce -hand-to-hand fighting resulted iu the ejection of the Germans. Simultaneously two secondary attacks north of Bezonvaux and south of Beaumont respectively were sanguinarily defeated, pur troops leaving the trenches and risking out to meet the assailants. Two fresh attacks in the afternoon at Bois le .Chaume only increased the enemv losses.

ADVANTAGE OF CAPTURED POSITIONS. Paris, Sept. 24. M. Marcel Hutin says that the positions the British have captured are sc important that the enemy is incessantly attacking, but his attempts, wit 1 . powerful contingents, have been sensationally defeated. The positions occupied by the Britlsn are such that they can, if need be, wai the coming spring and pass the -winter without having their feet in wfltcr, which will be the lot of the Germans in the positions to which they have retreated It is significant that the eighteen-year-old Germans are unable to s'an'. their ground, whilst the officers, instead of being with the men, kept in the lear This accounts for the few officers taken prisoners. Private advices from Havre state that Antwerp is crowded with troops, who arc billeted on the inhabitants. RAIDERS DRIVEN OUT, London, Sept. 24. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—Wo drove out raiders from our trenches near La Basse Ville. The enemy's artillery in active on botli banks of tho Scarpe, southward of Lens, and north-eastward of Ypreß, FAILURE OF GERMAN SURPRISE ATTACK: London, Sept. 24. A French communique reports: There has been violent artillery work in the region of Brave and Hurtebise and on the right bank of the Mouse in the region of the Bois les Fosses awl the Bois 1j Chaume. The enemy's surprise attack on Hurtebise failed. Bombs from enemy planes fell on a group of German prisoners, and two were killed and seventeen -.vcunded. Six German machines were brought down. COLORLESS GERMAN REPORT. London, Sept, 24. A German official report states: There is an artillery battle of great violence on the coast, between Southolstwood and Westhoek, also at Lens and St. Quentin, und in several sectors of the Aisne front, the Champagne and Verdun.