THE YPRES SALIENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 April 1918, Page 5

THE YPRES SALIENT.

CAN IT BE HELD? MAIN QUESTION IS EXPANSIONReceived April 28, 5.5 pjn. London, April 27. Mr. Murdoch, ~in a special article, says:—Many are asking the /anxious question, "Can tho Ypres sailent be held?'' but stout hearts are facing the grim prospects confidently- The loss of Kemmel threatens, but does not destroy our communications with Ypres. Its loss is less noteworthy than the fact that the fury of another week's great battle has brought us a step nearer the grave moment when the exhaustion of either Bide will begin to be manifest. The prospects of the Germans rending the British and French asunder are unlikely- The great question is one of man-power, and the quick movement of reserves. Reliefs are being worked as far as is humanly possible, while a marked capacity is shown iby the British commanders in sparing their men by relieving them before they reach the breaking-point.' British divisions are fighting magnifi-' cently. On the other side, the Germans' lighting spirit is high, being enthralled by their advance, At last the reinforcements crisis has irrevocably overtaken the Australian force. Our casualties, are not really high as compared with other battles, but we have lost moTe more than 10,000 lately. Let the news sound in Australia that the crisis of their forces has arrived. Strange stories are cabled that recruiting in Australia is affected by the statement that England is keeping an army of a million in Britain. TJhese are lies- England has been drained, Scotland's trusty sons have IoW since pone en masse to the battlefields and our own depots and bases have been. taothcombed for fighting men.

. TWCt GREAT THRUSTS.

INTENSELY HEAVY HOTTING. CONTINUOUS SRUGGLE ON TENMILE FRONT. Received April 28, 5.30 p.m. London, April 27. The 'British Headquarters correspondent says that yesterday's fighting 'was the heaviest' in Flanders since the present offensive commenced. The enemy developed two great thrusts, .the first being a continuation effort against &emreel and the ground and the second being a new attack between Laclytte, which is a kilometre north-east of Scheperiberg Hill, and the spot where his line crosses the Ypres—Commines Canal. The latter, his second attack extended southward and linked" up with the battle proceeding around Dran» court, thus forming a continuous struggle on a front of ten lufle, The enemy, being determined to win at any price, continued pushing forward fresh formations from reserves wherever the front was threatened. The Germans can certainly show a considerable gain - of territory, but they have paid 'the full price for every yard. It cost them three attempts' in mass to get into Loire, and four attacks to carry the brewery south of Voormezeele. Commenting on the position, Renter says it Was admitted that the situation in the north has become seriously 1 worse as the result of the past twi days' fighting, as the enemy has not' merely held Kemmel Hill, but has spread westwards, while he has crept, nearer Ypres on both sides of the canal, south-east of the town. Northwards, however, in the neighborhood of Laclytte and Scherpenberg, the attacks have been held, and the position has not yet been stabili^d. The severity of the German losses have not yet fleen compensated by any strategic success. Even if further withdrawil from Ypres is considered advisable, this will not make any immediate difference to the Channel ports- The Ypres salient was chiefly valuable as a jumping-off ground for the recovery of the Flemish coast, and as this objective is not at present realisable the value of Ypres is now only secondary. . THE GERMANS' MAIN EFFORT. It is important to remember that, though the Germans have, apparently, reverted to attacks on limited objectives, their main effort will probably stijl be made between Arras and Amiens and against the British on the Somnie and further south. ENEMY HOPES TO'EXHAUST ALLIES' RESERVES. Huge German forces are waiting in the hope that the Allied strength will be dissipated elsewhere, the object of the enemy being to use up the Allied reserves. He (has still failed to separate the English and French armies, but a more formidable thrust than any hitherto will probably beNplanned in the direction of Amiens and the Soinme estuary. A WEEK'S OPERATIONS. ENEMY'S! NUMERICAL PREPONDERANCE. ALLIES WEARING DOWN NUMBERS. Wellington, Last Night. The Governor-General has received the following telegram frqm the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the operations to April 25: Raids have been carried out on bot n Bides, chiefly for identification purposes, and the artillery at times has been very active. A new offensive was begun on the night of April 23. After an advance westward on.Hazebrouck was definitely chcoked, the enemy still made very serious endeavors, at different points, to reach objectives of tactical value, and just as he made one final desperate effort in the Sommc offensive before transferring his attack to the north, in this case also he accepted a rebuff for the moment, and centred his energies on the next operations. After general artillery activity dur£3, infantry attacks were launched by the enemy at dusk north-westward of Albert, and in the neighborhood of D|ancutre, whicl were broken up, Aftter general artillery activity during the night of April 23, strong hostile infantry attacks developed (between Albert and the Avre. The enemy mad© some progress, capturing the village of Villers Bretonneux from the British and, os well, the wood northwards of Hangard from the French. Counter-attacks deprived him of the greater part of his gains, including Villere Bretonneux, and his resumption of the fight for, Amiens ha»4iot#eti developed. .Thw^wflwmty,.

set himself limited objectives, and aimed/Jags iat points favoralWe for 'tion. "jb *JB The use of tanks by the GennanH«Si« m the first time in the aitack gave tf<jsss impression that the operations were perimontal. In this case he aimed afc4isi| the Cachy Fouilloy road, about westward of his former positions. *|s In the "renewed fighting on April S&mfim the French were gradually driven a short distance from Hangard, "f|j had already changed hands but they retajned possession of and the Senecat Wood. Although! to* 'Sjl| French are involved in this fredh tho blow is still directed agaanst* tblt£Sl| The enemy, who has now launched 2f|g *'Ws new offensive, after a pause Jwi was able to some extent to rest his troops and organise his supply, haft She battle froijts the same li) 0 There are, in addition, some other e&Jjfjl hausted? divisions, and also fresh ffivMSjifl sjons,,, in reserve, but it is donbtii||s» whether he can effect the same concTOp||| {Ration as on March 21, partly becfctifpiil of the exhaustion of many units', chiefly because, of the, disposal' of ',jSr&M effort by withdrawals from the. e&&]lM He now, however, has acquired arical preponderance over the and French in the West. He also- Mfej|j| the advantage of interior lines tiative, and can, therefore, obtain Superiority, and it is the Allies' to wear down his numbers by defensive methods. This local ority is all the' greater now .he, singled out the British Army for tion, but, so far, although ottr have naturally been drawn on, and lw||l| French have shouldered their share *Hsf(i| the burden, he has neither worn the British nor used up their i3tnrtqra|flS| reserves as he had hoped. ' **„j»J m PALESTINE. « sh| ~ On the other fronts there no special features, except in Paiesfe^ f sS| where the Hedjaz railway was raided by, |B|| Arab troops on the night of April THE ZKEBRUGGE OPIKAIIiQiISBSfjI,^OT Operations were carried out *£Wfl|Psil enemy bases at Zeebruggo and fof the purpose of sealing the to the channels by means of Six obsolete cruisers—the Brilliant, rius, Intrepid, Iphigenia, Thetas, Vindictive—and two old submarines, tf|'i|J| gether two auxiliaries—the &iß'ajs' lv 4j| Daffodil—participated.. The first J6$2KFi cruisers, which were filled with were to be sunk in the charmeU *nd (MaSI trances to the ports. Light forces and monitors, motor launches, BfW«J|f coastal motor-boats, also 1 French, Bsi,3lf; stroyers, co-operated, and the was made under cover of a smoke screffltMwl At Ostend the Mock-ehips ware* ih|| ashore and abandoned, after being Momw|| up. At Zeebrugge, two of tho ttaj»f§|| block-ships which attained their <*W.M'| tive were sunk and blown up in tibe flfe|Jft| trance to tho canal, and tint' grounded on the way in. A amount of damage was done by'gsst-i Jjl fire and by torpedo attack on destroyers and other craft lying side the mole, also a coastal reports having torpedoed an enemy <{■> stroyer which tried to escape fm One of our old submarines succeeded ts*';K| attaining its objective, and blew Tfl£*s| and destroyed the piling of the to the mole. Storming parties from s&»#'■> J Vindictive, Iris and Daffodil under extremely heavy •fire, maintaining/.' ''M their position alongside the mole for tat' 'fy hour'and causing considerable The Vindictive, Iris, and Daffodil, after . 'I re-embarking their landing parties, wifjth ",\Ri drew. This attack was primaiSy r fe tended to engage the attention of tjjp ,'| garrison on the mole, thereby 'aßc<wijjg jf, the block-ships to enter the harbor, aa(f».*Aj) as the attack on the mole accompanied 1 its main object it was a successful om.' V| A British destroyer was sunk by gajsßggi/'M. off the mole. The coastal moWSwatfcf'jvi and two motor launches ore musing. A., "jk clear break of twenty yards wide mK/Hf subsequently observed in the Zecbrngjp iy«i mole by aircraft. / *k Oi OPERATIONS M ADRIATIC. . ■ ,** «f 'a Five Austrian destroyers, were efl^'ya gaged by British ajad French deatroyev in the Southern Adriatic, and th» enemy rt§ retreated to Dorewo, pursued iby Alfieft-/a vessels: -'-U AIRCRAFT ACIIVmBS. ; ",,,'J . Activities of the Royal aircraft weij» M hampered in the week under review by *l Adverse weather conditions, and aerial ,'.: l operations were conseqnentjy restricted, it being impossible to under. | fj take long' distance raids into many. During the operations on Apiil ! / ! iK 17, at Keteren Wd Wytechtfete, our men continually attacked the infantry, guns, and transport. Thiuc j ( . dropped over 500 bombs in ttir neigfe*, ;* boraood, and ifired a large quantity .awmuaition at different ground targets *-jr with, excellent effect. Xhjhit bombinfl squadrons, whenever the w»wither mkted," continued to harmss the enemy's ;■ opnunumcfttions and hamper the ing up of vitally iniportan*t suppjieej;;' »i\:t ateo allowing the troops which had mthdrawn to b]llets no rest AerTaJ ' K combats were lew, but the enemy suffered irreplaceable Jobs in the deejtfo on -t April 21 of their foremost fighting pilot, , Baron von Riehthofcn, who was brought :, V down as the result of a fight betweca _<? our own and the enemy ll * scouts in the' "''* gomme area, constituting a.' heavy t blow to the morale of tho enemy . ' ■'* The weather in. Italy has been un-, j fttvorajble, but on April 17 British air- .J, men brought down eleven machines gnd'■*■■>/<{ drove dqwn another, in addition to those * k A brought down by Italian pilots at Aden. «■< A The value of aircraft in the outlying theatres has been strikingly demon- j;i strated. In conseqnence of our aerial *\u activities, the enemy has been coia»'',| petted to scatter his caaiips and '', largely in dugouts. ,*&/>/ TRANSPGRT AND GOODS, -'.';ss! The congestion on tJie tenda to, throw a greater ,A den on transport by road and cifnal, * /•? and depleted man-power increases tha % -i*l difficulty of the railway. Tho Board' '1 of is tackling both problems,, through the Oanal Control Committee and tho Boad Transport Board, by pro-.»t"a moting tlie most economical uso of boats i * and vehicles to meet the requirements of food and munitions and transport. j^S The Food Ministry reports that the i,>u national meat rationing scheme is work* ing as BmootWy throughout the country, ', -f, as the local scheme previously worked '55 in London and the Home counties, attdi the rationing of tea is under wmßidisnfcv ~, tion. Improved weather encourages ',,* hopes regarding the Home meat tapply, and the improved milk yield is ', ■> satihfaotory, enabling; a greatly needed -j increased ration of fate. Impwrod 3 sugar imports are being utilised «s storis,' .- against the winter of short nap- 1 plies. There has been no increase in * J bread consumption, Ibiit increasel imports 'of 4 cereflla ats ■'"'j