WESTERN FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 April 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

DETAILS OF OPERATIONS. TANKS OPPOSE TANKS.. iSRITISII GAIN THE VICTORYLondon, April 2li. Mr. Phillips writes: Villers Bretoiincux is -a substantial town of 5000 inhabitants and built mostly of brick. It is .aid out compactly in the form of a. square, with the Amiens main road an. the northern boundary. On the south the fields fall away to the river Luce at Hangard, three miles away. On the east is the village of Warfusee. On the Amiens side the ground dips sharply and rises again to a dense wood. The" Germans owed their initial success to g;-s shells. The firßt assault, by two German divisions, aimed at capturing the wood, hut only 40 men obtained a foothold and they surrendered later. During the first advance the Germans failed to make any headway against the Australians around Sailly-le-Sec, on the Sommc, and gave up the attack. Two more divisions were then thrown against Villers. Our counter-attack at night was a complete surprise. The German pinners did not know what was happening, and it was impossible to put up a barrage without destroying their own people. Rockets gave the Australians, Berkshires, and Northampton enough light for bayonet fighting, though sometimes we were delayed by the darknws. Our casualties were not light, but nothing like so heavy as those of the Germans. British and German tanks met for the first time in battle and victory was ours. They fought in the open fields around Villers. The German tanks led the attack from the north-east and south, the infantry following with machine-guns, mortars, and light artillery. The Germans used four or five tanks, 'bulky and ungainly, very dissimilar rrom the British, and equipped with a broad turret with quickfirers- They crawled up in a thick mist behind the barrage until close to our trenches. The first, intimation of their proximity was when one dropped into a gully running parallel with the trenches, and turning north, flattened their parapets and fusiladed the infantry. The British tanka then came up. The Germans, when they saw the British approach, advanced to engage them, concentrating their .shellfire on a single British tank, but the other British laudships crawled to the rescue. A brief duel followed until one German was disabled, and the others then scuttled. Later some light British tanks successfully engaged the German infantry, which was massing for an attack near Cachy, south-west of Villers. The tanks slid swiftly forward and returned with their sides covered with blood. They had charged the enemy repeatedly. The lesson of this first engagement is that we have nothing to fear from the enemy tanks, despite their size and the weight of the machine and armament. The attack on Kemmel Hill was carefully planned and included four or s!x German divisions, of which three comprised, mountain troops. The fighting continues We still hold the Grand Bois of Wytschaete. The mountain troops at one time reached the crest of Kemmel Hill, though the French fought with their usual gallantry and determination. The Germans assaulted from two sides, one of which had been swept hare of tree 3 by the artillery and the other was covered by broken trunks and branches. The position was drenched with gas and the timbered slopes held the deadly fumes, so the defenders had to fight wearing gas masks. FIERCE FIGHT AT KEMMEL. ULTIMATE MASTERY UNDECIDED. London, April 2fi. The Germans have captured Kemmel Hill The United Press correspondent, writing at *25 p.m., says the Germans have apparently captured Kemmel Hill. The French remnant on the crest fought all night, preferring death to surrender. The ultimate mastery of the hill is still problematical. The United Press correspondent reports that the fighting continued all day along the heights dominating Amien3 eastward, also round Mount Kemmel. T3ie French are holding Kemmel village and hill while the British hold the Grand Bois northward of Wytschaete. The Germans flung fresh masses against the positions between Bailleul and Wytschaete, to which Hindenburg attaches importance. He made progress southward of Kemmel ridge and apparently occupied Dranoutre. French and British troops are fighting brilliantly side by side, aud the British apparently hold Villers-Bretonneux. Reuter's correspondent at British headquarters, writing yesterday evening, says: "During the last two nights the enemy have attacked the French around Dranoutre in a strength of six (battalions. They gained a temporary advantage tout were driven back by counterattacks. This morning a much heavier assault was delivered by four to six divisions over a front of seven miles on the line •Meteren-Bialleul-Wytschaete. Alpini Corps, the llth Bavarians and the 117 th Division, consisting of mountain troops, were engaged with .Taeger regiments supporting, and an entirely new Division, the 56tb, has been identified. The attack overlapped on our front on the right flank of the French. WHAT THE GERMANS CLAIM. London, April 26. A wireless German official message states that a strong French counterattack against the height of Vleugelhoek failed with heavy loss. We attacked the Anglo-French near and southward of Villers Bretonneux. Our infantry, supported by tanks, broke through the enemy's machine-gun nests. Wo captured Hangard. We advanced our lines north-westward of Castel. The enemy's reserves violently attacked all day long, failing with sanguinary losses. Bitter fighting lasted all night. Wo-took 2000 prisoners and four guns.

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