WESTERN FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 April 1918, Page 6

WESTERN FRONT.

FURIOUS THRUSTS. \ BROKEN BY THE FRENCH ATTACKING MASSES CAUGHT BY ARTILLERY. London, March 31. [ A French communique reports: Tho -battle begun on the Morcuil-Lassijgny front continued the entire day, increasing in violence and extending over a front of GO kilometres (37 miles). The Germans, despite enormous losses, multiplied their assaults, but the incessant French counter-attacks everywhere stopped the furious thrust. In the region of Arvillers, Le Plemout and Plessideroye especially were the scenes of desperate fights, the villages changing hands several times. Two German divisions gained a footing in Le Plemont and Plessideroye, but wer* swept out by a magnificent counter-at-tack which restored the line.

The attacking masses at certain points were caught in a terrible artillery fire and retired in disorder, leaving the ground covered with corpses. The enemy losses exceed those of the preceding days. THE BATTERED BRITISH ARMIES. | RECONSTITUTED WITH FRESH i RESERVES. ; ' Paris, March 31. The official commentator states that the Allies are securing more favorable conditions for the defensive. The 3rd and sth British armies have been fcntirelv reconstituted with fresh reserves. MOREUIL RECAPTURED. WITH THE UTMOST DASH. London. March 31. The Anglo-French recaptured Moreuil with the utmost dash. The. enemy's losses in killed and prisoners ar» severe. The enemy is firmly held in the Lassigny district.

BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENT. BY AUSTRALIAN BRIGADES. London, March 31. The intervention of certain Australian brigades on the Anere on Wednesday is recognised everywhere as one of the most brilliant achievements amid a mass of heroic effort. The troopa arrived on Tuesday and immediately took up their positions. Next day they delivered a dashing attack from the southern hank of the river. The Germans wore knocked back live miles and the villages of Morlancourt and Chipilly captured. The ground between the Anere and Somme was cleared and the Australians held up the Germans' most direct attacks towards Amiens for two days ana covered themselves with laurels. ATTACKS IN THE NORTH. DEFEATED WITH HEAVY LOSS. y London, March 31. Sir Douglas Eaig reports: North of the Somnje, after a short lull yesterday, the battle broke out afresh this morning. The enemy made repeated costly unsuccessful assaults in the region of Boiry, Bazelles and immediately northward of the Somme, all of which, though delivered with freah troops in considerable strength, were thrown back with heavy losses. Onr positions arc intact. Wc took a number of prisoners. Heavy shelling of the defences eastward of Arras accompanied the above attacks. South of the Somme and between the Somme and the Avre fighting continued incessantly, attacks and counter-at-tacks occurring at frequent intervals. The enmey forced his way to Demuin this morning, but is held up on the western outskirts of the village.

BRITISH AIRMEN. ATTACK ADVANCING COLUMNS. London, Mafeh 31. Sir Douglas* ffaig's aviation report states: Our aeroplanes concentrated yesterday on the battlefront southward of the Somme, where large columns of the enemy were advancing, on which we dropped many bombs and iired thousands of rounds from macftioo-gtzns. There has been a good deal of air fighting, the enemy's low fliers having been particularly active. We dropped 12 tons of bombs on Bapaume and the roads in the vicinity, also on the roads ana villages east ward of Arras, making direct hits on dumps, transport and railway lines. FULL OF MIRACLES. BRITISH BATTERY'S AMAZING EXPERIENCES. London, March 3!. Mr. Robinson' writes: "When the Germans succeeded in crossing the river in the rear of the British the situation was momentarily serious, but the troops faced round to the rear and gallantly drove back the enemy till the guns got away. The conduct of our gunners was full of miracles throughout. A battery of horse artillery, cut off by the German initial advance, was lost for three days and had amazing experiences. It was mostly in the rear of the German lines and generally in action. Finally it found itself among a hard-pressed British nnit and helped to turn the tide. One of the most dashing operations of the week was a counter-attack by a sdhitch force of road-workers, signaller* Hud other miscellaneous units comBttdcd by tftilkijr offlcm.

THE GENERALISSIMO. GENERAL FOCH'S DUTIES. Washington, March 31. President Wilson has congratulated ■General Foeh on his new high command in France. London, March 31. The Star states tliat Sir Douglas Haig's and General Potato's powers are not curtailed. General Foeh co-ordin-ates, but does not possess executive control over both armies. A GREAT STRATEGIST. General Focli was in command of tlie I nth French Army at the beginning of the war and was responsible for" the stroke which did mueh to win the battle of the Marne. Writing of the battle on September 8, 1914, in "Nelson's History of the War" (Vol. 11., page 1155), Mr. John Buchan says: "Meanwhile the commander of the 9th Army had received intelligence from his airmen which suggested another audacious movement. Foeh was of all the French generals the one best known to the world, for his admirable works. "The Principles and Conduct of War" and "Battle Manoeuvres," were military classics in every country. He was how given the chance of showing how brilliantly he could put his unrivalled knowledge of war into practice. It was reported to him that In the alignment of the German armies a gap had been left between von Bnlow's left and von Hauscn's right. The story of what followed is not clear, but that something disastrous happened to the German line in this section of the field is obvious from the nature of the retreat which followed—a retreat too complete and hasty to be accounted for by the mere necessity of conforming to von Kluck's retirement. During the darkness of that night of September S, Foeh seems to have pushed his right wing forward through the western part of the plain of Chalons, and at dawn had driven a wedge between von Bulow and von Hausen.

"The German right by the 9th had been reinforced by 40,000 troops that had been left before Maubeuge, and also, apparently, hv divisions brought up from Alsace. Such additions to his sirengtji should, under ri&rmal circumstances, have enabled von Kluck to make a prolonged stand on the Onrcq, had not von Bulow's catastrophe intervened," THE FRENCH ARMY'S WORK. IN THE GREAT BATTLE. * HOW, THE SITUATION WAS SAVED.

A THRILLING NARRATIVE. Paris, March 31. From the French standpoint the. battle opened on the evening of the 21st, when several divisions were rushed up in motor wagons to aid the British right, which was thus enabled to withdraw along the- Crnz.it Canal. Another French force reached Cliauny on the 22nd, and was instructed to keep in touch with the retiring British right. The French on the 24th repelled repeated attempts to cross the Oise, the French line . extending to Noyon and Lassigny. Now that the initial danger is passed it can be said that the Germans were very near breaking the Allied front in this region on the 23th. The pressure increased on the 2Glh and 27th. 'The French front was pushed back to the Avre River and then to Montdidier. The enemy pressure was tremendous.

There was only (i German divisions on the fifty miles of front before the battle. ffindenburg and Ludendorff commenced a great gamble with practically a million men, though the sector was only one-eighth of the western front between the sea and the Alps. French war experts believe "that the Germans will be unable to bring up more that forty divisions more. Tlic slaughter of the enemy is most terrible, the country roads are strewn with German dead and great piles of bodies were collected after each day's fighting in order to keep open lanes for traffic. Only on Thursday and Friday did the enemy begin to burn and bury the dead; previously he had not even time to remove all the wounded. The spectacle of slaughter has an inevitable effect on the freßli German troops, many of whom are youngsters. STUBBORN COURAGE. ■ French offieer3 speak in glowing terras of the stubborn courage of the British. One narrates that when' General Pctain thrust in troops the British were outnumbered four to one. French colonels, told their troops of the seriousness of the position and that their brave British friends were in danger of being overwhelmed. The one unxiety of the Poilus was whether they would get there in time. When they crossed the edge of (he Oisc Plateau the French found themselves amidst a hand-to-hand struggle between the Germans and the British. The nWeomers deployed to get among the British. No orders were necessary, the British and French charged and, though sometimes fighting against eirfit to one odds, they forced back the Bochcs and the original positions were temporarily won back.

The Germans resumed the battle at 4 o'clock next morning without artillery preparation. Ten times in rapid succession waves swept forward and ten times they \yere hurled back in disorder. Twice the British cavalry, who made a splendid spectacle, intervened and charged the enemy masses. Superb in their fontempt of death the horsemen broke up the German columns. The Allies liad withstood terrible assaults, but at last ,saw the French reserves coming up full of magnificent ardour and eager for the fray. ENORMOUS GERMAN LOSSES. Prisoners describe their losses a.-; .enormous and mainly due to machineguns. The 88th Division was almost wiped out and the 206 th very badly mauled.

Correspondents state that all the dead found on the battlefield are stripped of ciothcs and equipment, which tile Germans collect systematically and send to the rear owing to the shortage of clothing leather. British and French uniforms are evidently collected for use in some deceptive manoeuvre. Prisoners wqre astonished at the comparatively small number of British and French dead left on the battlefield. The German commanders are astonished at the Franco-British resistance. They had told their men -it would over in a days.

NEW ATTACK LAUNCHED. FRENCH RESISTING GALLANTLY. London, March 31. A new German offensive has been launched ,south of the Somme. The French are resisting gallantly. The battle-line covers TO miles. The general feeling in London and Paris is that the Germans have virtually lost. AMERICANS ANXIOUS. TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE. Paris, March 31. During a conference between General Potato, M. Clemenceau, and General Foeh on March 24, General Pershing approached General Foeh and said: "I come to say that Amarioa will be greatly honored if her troops can be engaged in the present battle. I ask this favor in my own and my country's name. The only question at the present moment is to fight. All we possess i-: at your disposal. Aericans will be proud to participate in the greatest battle in history,"

| PUSH TOWARDS AMIENS. DENSE GERMAN ACTIVITY. London, March 31. Thero is dense activity behind tha • German line* and apparently a wholesale exchange of divisions. Many signs indicate that "the German celebration of Easter will take the form ot a powerful thrust towards Amiens by the most direct route. It is not expected the Allied commanders will take the initiative until ihis new strong effort has been brokon. Le Petit Journal states that the enemy is entrenching along the whole new front. Tlie comparative calm will be of short duration. ENEMY'S INFANTRY BADLY MAULED. London, March 31'. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—A vigorous counter-attack restored -our line in the Oise Valley. We repulsed heavily two attacks on the front from Mareeleave to the Somme. The enemy's infantry in yesterday' 3 att.fi.cks immediately northwards of tha Somme, delivered in ..four waves, were repulsed at all points by our outpost line. The. enemy's casualties here are estimated at thousands. ,

Wo carried out a local operation in the neighborhood of Serre, advancing our line a short distance. We also advanced the line slightly elsewhere, taking prisoners. Hostile artillery was active last evening in the neighborhood of Bucquoy.