WESTERN FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

FRENCH SUCCESSES TINUED.CANNY SUR MATZ TAKEN. Received August 18, 11.50 p.m. London, August IS, 12.30 a.m. A French communique states: We continued to progress north and south of the Avre. Wc captured the strongly - held Caeser's Camp trenches, west of Roye, and pushed our lines' south of the Avre to the vicinity of Beauvragnes. Over a thousand prisoners, numerous machine guns and much material have been captured north and south of the Avre since yesterday. Further south we captured Canny sur Mats:. A strong enemy counter-attack at Carnoy Farm was repulsed. North of the Aisne, in the region of Autrechcs we captured positions on a front of live kilometres, and to a depth of fifteen hundred metres. Two hundred and forty prisoners were captured, and twelve German aeroplane* felled yesterday.—Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc. and Reuter.

BRITISH LINE ADVANCED. FUTILK KNEMY ATTACKS. Received August 18, 11.50 p.m. London August 18, 12.30 a.m. Sir Douglas Haig reports: Our line northward of Proyart was advanced slightly. Progress was made on a front of nearly a mile, northward of Lihons. Enemy attacks on posts in the Scherpenberg sector, and a raid in the neighborhood of Locre, were repulsed. Fifteen enemy aeroplanes were downed. Six British machines are missing. Aerodromes at Haubourdin and Lomme were heavily attacked on August 10 and 17 by a large number of our machines. Six hangars at Haubourdin and two machines standing in the open were destroyed at Lomme. Fires were noticed at both places.—Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc. and Reuter.

AMERICANS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED. BUT HOLD ALL THEIR GROUND. Received August 18, 11 p.m. New York, August 17. The New York Times's correspondent at the American front states that the Germans launched a violent combined gas, artillery and air-bombing attack against the Americans on the Vesle section. The Americans held all their ground.—Press Assoc.

A GERMAN REPORT. FOR HOME CONSUMPTION. Received August 19, 12.50 a.m. London, August 18, 12.30 .am. Wireless German official: We repulsed repeated attacks on both sides of Roye, extending northward and as far southwestward as Chaulncs, and southward as far north-westwards as Lassigny. The enemy, near Coyencourt, gained ground in the direction of Roye. Our counterattack regained the lost ground. Repeated French attacks south-westward of the Avre collapsed.—Aus. and N.Z. Cable Assoc. and Reuter.

A BRAVE AUSTRALIAN. EXPLOITS IN RECENT FIGHTING. deceived August 18, 5.5 p.m. London, August 17. Australian headquarters, describing the pood work done by New South Wales men in the recent fighting, gives an instance wherein a prominent cricketer and footballer, when hi, men were under heavy machine-gun fire, took charge of the whole operation in this section. He reorganised his men and rushed two ma-chine-guns single-handed, ahead of our objective. He, though wounded in the leg, hobbled by the aid of a stick for three hours. Ho was again wounded in the thicrh, and carried on for an hour under fire heavier than ever previously experienced. An Australian graphically declared tnat while the machine ffuns were goin» one could not have placed a threepenny piece between the bullets. Thi, officer sustained forty-six shrapael wounds in the Ypres battle. The report adds that, after the Australians' final objective was reached, they came upon several cows calmly grazing in an irehard, and promptly milked t'icm.—Australian Cable Association.

THE NEW ZEALANDERS. A PARTY SURPRISED. Received August 18, 5.5 p.m. London, August 17. lae Daily Chronicle's correspondent at British headquarters states that he visited the New Zealanders, who are facing the Germans where the latter recently withdrew "vrst of Ba/paume. He says the Xaw Zealanders early in the morning of the 14th, found the ground (before them unoccupied- Two large bodies passed forward 600 yards and encountered resistance on the right. Trench fighting continued all day long. One party turned a strong redoubt on the enemy's left and captured it with prisoners, but the enemy held the main positions until dark. Meanwhile, patrols creeping forward north-west of Puisieux found the still in the trenches. Next, day other patrols, cautiously entering Puisei Van*, found the place apparently occupied. The small party laid their arms j aside and were resting when forty Gcr- | mans suddenly sprang from the ruins, wounding a corporal. The New Zealand- ; era quitted the place, taking their rifles and leaving equipment. When they returned the enemy had gone. Puisieux is now ours, and as soon as we choose , will occupy 4t.—{Breaa Mm»

INTENSE FIGHTING. DESCRIBED BY AUSTRALIANS. Received August 18, 5.5. p.m. London, August 17. Mr. Murdoch, correspondent at Australian headquarters, describing the intensity of the fire faced hy the Victorians, in a gallant, hut ineffective, attempt to cut off a large body of the enemy, c a.vs chat aeroplanes, (lying low. ma-chine-gunned and bombed them, while ttie rattle of the machine guns on t.lie ground rose to the intensity of a shrieking wind. Anti-tank guns added to the inferno. Two land mines exploded, hurling soma men into the air. Ncrt'er since Lone Pine and Hie Nek has a consideraMe body of Australians met such intense machine-gun fire, which was at such short range that some bullets bit through the tanks, killing and wounding the inmates. Our men were in a semi-circle of heavy fire, with the heaviest barrage from tiie more distant machine guns, beating across the line of retreat of the tanks as they jrawlcd "Homewards, like ships, with rainstorms of bullets heating against the sides, making tens of thousands of sparks, so that they moved like dazzling patches of brilliant colors. —United Service.

ENEMY'S UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION. HIS RAILWAY CXDMMUNIOAXIONS USELESS. Received August I<B, 5.5 p.m. London, August 17. General Maurice writes:—A month ago the whole German front between the Argonne and Ypres was an offensive front- To-day the withdrawals show that the greater part has become defensive. Tt is now a question of the Germans balancing their loss of prestige against their loss of men. If he likes, lie can stay at the Roye-Lassigny-Noyon-Kesle quadrilatteral at ( a price, but the position is most uncomfortable. We are able to render his railway communications useless and boirib the Somme bridges incessantly. The Lassigny massif dominates the positions along the Divette, which are taken in reverse from the high ground at Boulogne and Lagrasse. AVhatever the result, we can watch the eneNy's solution of the problem with quiet satisfaction.—Press Assoc-

HUN FIENDISHNESS. PRISONERS DELUGED WITH LIQUID FIRE. TERRIBLE TORTURES IN A TRENCH Received Aug. IS, 5.5 p.m. London, Aug. 17. Details have been officially published of gross outrages, perhaps of unparalleled fiendish cruelty, upon British prisoners and wounded men in March last. The facts have been authenticated by sworn statements made by Scottish soldiers who were o>f the party maltreated. Private Ronald, of the Highlanders, tells that he and a number of comrades were surrounded and compelled to surrender near Monc'hv on March 2S. "Our rifles and equipment were taken from us. We consisted of an officer and 10 men, 10 of whom were wounded- We were lined up in the original front line trench and left without a guard for some time, and then a German officer and two men appeared on the edge of the trench. One man carried a container on his back, and tie other was armed with a rifle and snort bayonet. The officer carried a revolver. The officer gave an order to the man with the container, who turned a stream of liquid fire right down the trench in which we were standing. He could plainly see we were unarmed, but he continued to play on us for six or seven minutes." Witness added that he and a few companions who were able to move scrambled down the communication trench and got over the top to the British lines.

A private says that after lie and some other prisoners were captured and disarmed, they were marched down a trench to an emplacement about six feet deep, nine feet wide, and from nine to twelve feet long, the sides being perpendicular, except at on* end Tne prisoners were tightly packed in the enclosureTwo Rermans appeared at the entrance of the emplacement. One, who earned a revolver, appeared to be an officer, and the other had strapped to his back a cylinder with a flexible pipe, the end of which he carried in his hand. .Tust as he reached the mtranco of the enclosure flame spurted in a stream from the pipe, and caught the men who were nearest the entrance. I immediately dropped and got my face on the ground. The other men lay in heaps around, partly on me. I heard a hissing sound for a, little while, and then it stopped and restarted. During this time the men were shrieking and writhing about. The flame reached the right lvank, where I was, and mv overcoat and tunic caught fire. By this time all the men were oil the ground. This soldier managed to crawl up the slope awl get away. Another private shows tliav an officer who was wounded in the head and foot, four wounded men and three unwounded, including the narrator, were in an old trench when the Germans came- One stood with a revolver in his hand, and ordered the ipartv. to <ret ibsicik to the German lines, and the other man squirted liquid fire over all the partr. The narrator's hands and ear were 'burnt. Three of the rnrty managed to run and reach the "British lines. The Germans must I either liave suffocated or -burnt all five of the wounded men, as nothing further w.tq heard of them. Tho British Government has protested to Germanv nminst these outrages.— Aus. and N.Z- Ca>ble Assoc- and Router.

ANGLO-FRENCH ADVANCE. ENEMY PREPARING TO EVAQOATE' JUS N®W LINE.

Received Aug. 18, 5.5 p.m. New York, Aug. 1:7. The Anglo-French advance is continuing. Tile British are pushing eastward and north oT the Amiens-Roye road. The ]lcho de Paris announces that tha urermans are preparing to evacuate flu. Rnve-Lnssigny-'Noyon line.—-Press Assoc. Received Aug. IS, 5.5 p.m London, Aug. >l7. The latest reports state that the Germans have retired from the of Sftrre, Puissieux, Beaumont 'Hn l and Bupquoy, and also retired slightly eastward of Vieiixftierquin and Mctercn. The French are now 5% miles from Noyon, which is completely overlooked. —Press Assoc 0 IMPORTANT POINTS GAINED. ENEMY'S LEFT ENDANGERED. | Received Aug. 18, 5.5 p.m. London, Aug. 17. A French headquarters report of the evening of the 15th states: General Humbert's troops gained ground to-day. The most important, though small in extent, is the Thiescourt massif, capturing the Attiches position, so called after Attiehes farm, and Monolith farm; which crowns the crest of a height of odO feet and which dominates the Divette valley and all the German positions and roads below- A couple of miles to the northwest is the crest crowned by the chapel of St. Aubin, which the enemy holds, overlooking Plemont. With Attache Farm and Monolith Farm in our hands, we are very nearly masters of the massif, and the position may become so difficult for ';he enemy that his whole left to Novon and the Oise will ibe endangered. —Reuter. : ; WEST cmfw

GERMAN CASUALTIES. NOW AMOUNT TO SIX MILLION. Received Aug. IS, 55 p.m. Paris, Aug. 17. The latest statistics show that German casualties prior tc the March offensive give six million, including 1,400,000 killed. Between March 27 and June 17 the Germans lost 120,000 killed alone.— Press Assoc.

HUN DEATH TRAPS. Received Aug. 18, 5.5 p.m. London ,Aug. 17. Corres/pondents record that the retreating Huns left many death-traps, mostly ordinary objects, which they expected the advancing Allied soldiers to take as souvenirs- These articles were electrically attache/! to mines and bombs. One chateau was completely wired with death-traps.—Press Assoc.