WESTERN FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

1 AERODROME BOMBED. EXBMY RAID BRITISH POST. London, Jan. 28. The Admiralty reports that naval aircraft bombed Aertrycke aerodrome and the Engcl dump. The result is unknown. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—The enemy raided an advasced post north-east of Langemarck. Hostile- artillery is active . south-we~t of Cnrobrai northward of Lens and at Passehendaele. i THE BELGIAN ARMY. , WHAT IT IS DOING. Reuter's Agency has recckfcd from an authoritative Belgian military source tl)e following information regarding the present condition, and—as far as it is possible to state —operations of the Belgian ' army.. Publication of this is regarded as all the more necessary in view of certain unfounded rumors, doubtless of enemy origin. "To-day our army is much stronger and better equipped than at the beginning of the war. Lately, the allied offensive in Flanders has attracted public attention to the sector held by tho Belgian troops, and as the preparations for this offensive have necessitated certain changes in the positions of the Allied armies, it is necessary briefly to state the position as regards the Belgian army. It should be needless to say that Belgian headquarters are in closest touch with the British and French headquarters and are acting in co-operation with them. "Though no soldiers had been withdrawn from the army zone, the Belgian front has been somewhat reduced lately. It used to go from Nieuport as far as Boesingne, 20 miles south, an important sector considering their small strength and lack of reserves. This is the'line which they never ceased to hold, from the end of October, IM4, till the recent changes indicated above occurred. At first, with our forces reduced and more than half of our guns rendered useless, our task was difficult and dangerous, and the Belgian army remained, therefore, mainly on the defensive. But as it reorganised itself and received new recruits, the situation steadily improved. "All Belgians up to 40 arc liable to military service. At first entirely dependent on the Allies for its equipment and ammunition, the Belgian army has become more and more self-sufficient, thanks to the war industries established in France since August, 1015, for which many skilled workmen were taken from the army. Owing to this work of reinforcement arid re-equipment, pursued under very difficult circumstances, even under the fire of the German guns, our soldiers were able to co-operate with such success in the second battle of Ypres, where their counter attacks, on the extreme left, helped to combat the effect of the first German gas attack and to support the heroic resistance of the Canadians. "This sector of the Flanders front is one of the most lively, and our troops have had since to repulse several enemy attacks in this region. Such local incidents are generally overlooked by the great public, and are only briefly alluded to in the official communiques, but they imply fresh sacrifices, and there is not a day when the Belgian army has not bravely paid its tribute to tie war, and taken its share in the common sacrifice. In connection with the latest Allied offensive in the West, it has shown Increased activity. We have organised numerous trench raids, our artillery has been particularly active and our aviators have rendered great service in bombarding the comnmnication lines. "The eagerness, displayed by the Belgian ?oldicr, after two years and a-half of exile, and the moral'suffering caused by want of news from home, is a striking proof of Belgian endurance. The moral of the front is excellent, especially since the British and French successes in Flanders have wrested a piece of our country from the enemy's grip. Our soldiers, Flemings and Walloons alike, are only too anxious to join in the fray, and to get their own back. This spirit is greatly encouraged by the presence of the King, who has never left Belgian soil except to pay a few short visits to the Allied aimies, and who is living constantly with his soldiers and for his sol- i diers. This devotion of the troops to i their chief is only equalled by their worship of the Queen, who, at the side of her < husband, always takes the keenest inter- b est in the welfare of the pounded, and |i endeavors by all ni"ans Tu her power '1 to encourage the men and alleviate their I sufferings."—Ausust 31, !<