WESTERN FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

HOSTILE ARTILLERY WORK. London, Jan. 27. Sir Douglas Hiiig reports hostile artilleiy fire in the neighborhood of Ribe•aurt and south-westward of Cambrai. GERMAN ONSLAUGHT. ATTACKS ON CAMBRAI FRONT. WAVE AFTER WAVE ALL DAY. The German attempt to retrieve the tiefeftt inflict,'d by Sir-Julian Byng's surprise attack oil No\ejnl>er 20 whs made 10 days later. Xhe encircling attack, as (Jentral von Jfarwitz described it, was iWivered in-two blows directed at the end* of the Hindenburg salient. He struck first in the south, fending the Thirty-Fourth Division against (ionnelien Ridge, f.nd two " hours later the greater effort became manifest iii the ner.tli, where infantry in mass began the ail-day series of rushes across the opeft irround against Bourlon Wood and southward between that hillock and Moeuvres. Th 4 German commander allowed tilfie fOT ifc to fottfentrale troops to hold :his storm troops south of Cambrai, hoping perhaps that meanwhile the battering ram Jroilt up Ijj- six good infantry divisions Mound fwnrfon would gain sufli•ient impetus to drive through the Britid?: frmit, 'twisting tc> th* Wt as it DhWged forward, and sweeping the t-an-reflfo of the salient into a confused mass between the contracting jaws of the pincers. N The correspondent of the London rimes says the first intimation of a large Tiovement on the part of the enemy was ;lw heavy shelling which began shortly" aefore 7.30 a.m. An immense number of »as shells was used, both oil the northern iide, conspicuously on Bonrlon Wood, ind some sections en the south, and >n the latter side an infantry attack was aurtshed'almost simultaneously with the leginnilig of the shelling. The new line was ndt* "defended by a fonnal trench tyatem with thick wire entanglements. The Germans had practically open positions confronting them everywhere. Tfyc attftek upon the southern side ;com« to have been la (inched upon some 12,000 yards of the front from Crevecoeur So' the east and south of Gflnnelieti Sonnelieu Was the point from which the >xtren>e right of our recent advance rtartnl, and, therefore, was the hinge or ingle formed by our old line and our ieWi "Evidently it Was a point by driving a wedge in which the enemy could iope to gain the largest results. His iopes might have been realised with any troops who fought less well than ours. CAVALRY IN ACTION. ' EXPLOITS BY CANADIANS. GERMAN CONSTERNATION. .Referring to tiie work of the cavalry «i the British attack «>n the Hindenburg ine, the Correspondent of the London Morning Post remarks that it is regret»ble there has not been more opportunity Of doing justice to exploits of this nancfc of the service. Every sqtiadroft .aklug jjart in the drive ioto enetny country did all that could be expected of it, ind sotue did considerably more. Two ; ncidjfnts Will indicate the /diffictjlt and lazardous character of the work tliey jnderfbeit.... . , •Same Canadian Horse which left Masiietes iifter tJAa tanks had flattened the tlmdentiurg wire, charged a field battery louth-eaat of Eumilly. They got through nt\> the Germaa linc3 by gaps made through the wire oil the further side of '.he Scheldt Canal, and, despite heavy machine-gun flre, had only six casualties n the early part of their riJe through >pen. country. The field battery they enin? the first rush; one continued at a the first rush; one cont&inued at jojnjtr-blank range and was ridden down, it! tfce gunners being killed.

(JUT cavalry continued along the road, net fci drtpebment of Gorman infantry, iOd drove into them down a ttfcep ean£> scattering the men with their lakfe*. Later a greater force Was found in front of them, «6 they assembled in Jb«-fnnken road, and fought until dark. fh» "Gfariaan?, realising at last that they ffert'cnly a small detachment, tried to tforlj found and cut them off, but the 2ftnatfians stampeded their horses in one iirection ibid slipped away in another. On the way bad* theycamo against an io*sA/ infantry patrol of nine men, cordmattfcd by ah officer. A Canadian lieuteftsntwho spoke German fluently answered his challenge promptly and went Forward in tho darkness to : hold the of&eet in conversation. Tho suspicions 5f tjte Genus* wero not arowed for a moment. and the few seconds delay enisled tho Canadian troopers* to get forward attack the patrol with their {rilling or wounding all of them, rha Cenum officer was Wean prisoner, *nd the nim«tif«w foand their w*y tack to the gap in the wire which ttor German ton* IB* «4vaJryinta out fear dftar de- « 4 OMBMS boßßbti m the

way, all of them working parties, who I had, after running fights, succeeded in reaching our outposts. In one of these encounters the Canadian lieutenant was shot "in the mouth, but he stopped v.'ith his troopers until he got buck to a headquarters, where he made his report and collapsed. Noyelles was first entered by a squadron of dragoons in face of severe machine-gun and rifle fire. Tliev took the village at the gallop. Mattering the enemy garrison, capturing 40 prisoners, and subsequently unearthing 10 fugitives from the houses. Then the infantry came up and helped to clear the village. The appearance of our cavalry greatly demoralised' the Germans in the bar-K areas, and I have heard more than one description of their yile flight when our horsemen galloped along the roaus.