SMASHING THE HINDENBURG LINE.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 January 1918, Page 8

SMASHING THE HINDENBURG LINE.

lUTTLE OF Till'. TANKS. j HUN COMPLETELY SURPRISED. j London, Nov. 21. Mr. Perry Robinson, the Times correspondent- at British Headquarters, writes: To-dav's surprise attack was one of tile sharpest, and most bitter the Uer-' mans ever experienced. While they concentrated their attention in Flanders wc attacked their three elaborate, enormously strong, scientifically-perfected trench lines. The most striking feature of the fight after its secrecy was the overwhelming fleets of t-ariks whieji were present in great numbers during the earlier stages. The field, unlike Flanders, was little shell-torn, and facilitated the rapid advane? in the darkness. The tanks at last had their real opportunity. Thev were magnificently used. They crushed down tier after tier of the stoutest wire—lite first obstacle presented, owing to the fact- that there had been no bombardment by the artillery to eleir a course for the infantry.

THE "ROMPING" GUTDE. At many points wo hear intoxicating reports' of the tanks singly or in droves romping freely, and encouraging and guiding the infantry to various villages. ' The rapid-striding dawn the smooth, dry country, and Hip green grass exhilarated the troops, who had been accustomed to the awful wilderness and hideous Klwae of shell-holes. Great precautions had been taken to secure secrecy. After f> o'clock the Germans w.Te. still uncannily quiet. There was occasional desultory shooting. It was hard to believe that we were on the verge of a great battle. The enemy's pent-up nervousness suggested that lie was aware that something was brewing somewhere, but there was every indication that an attack was not expected here, It was astonishingly audacious to send a large, noisy tank to force the teeth of the enemy tines, hut it was not discovered until it was too late. The suns, ammunition, men, horses, and supplies, which were brought up in masses for the great moment, were not betrayed by a single false move. WONDERFUL ORGANISATION. The organisation was as wonderful as the plln of attack was original, bold, and open. It was dawn before the first German great gun spoke. Then red rockets leaped along the whole line, calling for help from the gunners. Very little came. The opposition throughout the attacks was nowhere serious, and our.casualties were extraordinarily light. The tanks'caused heavy losses in the front line trenches, and the infantry found many dead. The survivors at most points surrendered readily. A few isolated machine-gunners and sniper; help out. and caused the majority of the British casualties. IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES. General Byng's stroke opens up immense possibilities. The infantry is still advancing, though sections are far beyond the range of the artillery. Much depends upon the number of regiments the enemy will be able to gather for counter-attacks. The enemy's weakness was doubtless due to the belief that the I "British were too heavily committed in Italy and Flanders for other offensives. The tactics adopted were strikingly similar to those followed in the first Australian battle at Bullecourt, when a few tanks and no artillery were used. The tanks then did not penetrate the line. The Bullecourt battlefield was a mere section of yesterday's great advance. RARELY A MORE DRAMATIC STROKE. Renter's correspondent at British headquarters in France telegraphed this aiternoon:— Rarely has there been a more dramatic stroke in the war than that dealt to the Germans in the latest offensive. The great "impregnable" line has been penetrated at numerous points. It was primarily the tanks that did it. The Germans apparently did not suspect our intention to open suddenly a new scene of activities near the Somme, and the attack was seemingly a complete surprise. Care was taken to secure the greatest secrecy regarding plans. Besides the ordinary preparation for attack a large fleet of tanks had to he broitghi up close to the line. Everything apparently was done without tlie smallest intimation reaching the enemy's ears. This was truly a remarkable achievement, reflecting the greatest credit on everybody concerned. One advantage of the sudden change of scene, apart from the. element of surprise, was that in the region east of Bapaume the battleground is fit for the tanks. The soil is not much cut up by shellholes, for the enemy evacuated this area last spring without fighting, and we never had previously seriously attacked in this section.

The ground was well covered with thick grass, making excellent going, cither for the tanks or the men. Moreover, the enemy had not anything like the concentration of guns on this sector that he has around Ypres and Passchendaele. Many factors, therefore, were in our favor, if only the difficulty of maintaining the secrecy of the action could he overcome, so "that the enemy could not, mass guns and divisions against us. This secrecy, as I have stated, was secured.

THOUGHT COULD DEFY WORLD. On the other hand, we had against lis hero the extremely formidable defences of the Ilindenburg line, which was the °rea.t barrier on which the enemy fell back when he retired last spring. ' The enemy has increased its strength continuously since, having made it indeed into a triple cordon of three separate trench systems. The fiermans helieved that they could hold up the armies of the world here. .Along a large part of the central portion is a great tunnel, with openings at frequent intervals which makes it unnecessary for the troops to move above the ground and keeps the garrison safe from the heaviest gunfire. I believe much of this tunnel is now ours. Each of the three lines was protected with belts of especially stout, wire," in intricate, patterns, and all co-ordinated with machine-gun posts and strong redoubts, so that apparently infantry could not approach any point without being swept by machine-gun fire. FOLLOWING THE LEADERS; On a considerable sector the tanks took care of that wire to-day, and the infantry went through almost unscathed. Perhaps the most interesting part of tha attack occurred bettfscn the vicinity

of Havrineourt, which was defended by the main Hindenburg line, and that of Gonnelieh. The latter village wa3 behind our position. This is roughly the area between the big canals Du Nord and De Lescant.

The rain, which had held ofi 1 for a few days, came down lightly in the morning. The attack, which was launched without a preliminary bombardment by the guns, only started when the tanks advanced.

Prisoners admit, that they were utterly surprised; as a matter of fact we caught the enemy while he was relieving Ilk troops in the course of ordinary routine.

With good ground beneath them the tanks walked up to the tiers of wire, trampling them down and raking the trenches with machine-guns, until resistance ceased and the enemy fled to his dug-outs.

The main Hindenburg trenches had been made especially wide, with the express purpose of frustrating the tanks, but. they were still not wide eiiough. The tanks rolled through, or over, every obstacle, and the Josses of infantry behind was almost unprecedentedly light.