SATURDAY'S WAR NEWS

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1918, Page 3

SATURDAY'S WAR NEWS

THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE.

A GREAT BATTLE,

GERMANS THROWING IK MASSES OF MEN.

BRITISH ADVANCING STEADILY.

New York, August 23. The British 'have reached Gonneeourt, Boyelles and ilereatel. The brittle is described as the greatest on the western front.—Aus.-X.Z. Cable Assn.

The British hold Miruumout, after five changes of possession Indications a|re appearing that the Germans will be compelled to retreat along a line of 30 miles. The British liavc captured jseileville and reached a point south of Aveluv.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. Paris, August 22. The French in Plemont are able to see the Germans retreating northward following the capture of Lassigny.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. .

The Echo dc Paris estimates that over 100,000 German prisoners have been taken since July 18.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

London, Au««lisl 23,

The United Press correspondent reports that tlie British to-day took 1000 prisoners and reached lioiry-jiecquer-elles, Haraelineourt and Oomiecourt, while Brav is practically surrounded.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn United Service.

New York, Aiisust 2.1. Oeneral Mangin's army has captured ■"if 1 additional prisoners. The British, between Lihons and the Cojenl River, are lighting a heavy battle on a 23-mile front. The Hermans are reported to be flinging masses of men against t'iie British in the endeavor to stave oft" disaster.

The British 3rd Army gained a mile on a front of seven miles.

The British 4rd Army sained two miles on a front of seven miles, and has taken 2000 prisoners. Already the French troops are across (he Oise eight miles east of Noyon. and the British are Hearing Bapaume.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn.

RECAPTURE OF ALBERT.

5000 PRISONERS TAKEN. London, August 23. Sir Douglas Haig reports that English Eastern County, London and Australian troops, holding the sector between the Somme and the Ancre attacked with the object of carrying positions mi the high ground traversed by the Kray-sur-Sonvme-Albert road. The attack was completely successful and we captured the whole of our objectives at an early hour. We advanced two miles on a front of over si.v miles. We retook Albert.

The enemy strongly resisted at certain points, particularly on flic slopes northward of Bray, which itself did not form part of our objective. Tn this latter section a count-'r-atiack pressed us back 500 yards. The fighting continued for some time in Alberf, until the town was finally cleared by our troops. In this successful operation we took prisoner 1400 men and captured a few guns.

"'.Ye also made progress on the left hank of the Ancre southward of Beancourt.

Xorthwnrd of (he Ancre the enemv counter-attacked heavily at a number 01 points. After we had captured one hostile assault, in the early morning in the iriranninnl sector the enemy again altaeked this seclor and entered our positions. Our counter-attack immediately drove him out. The enemy also succeeded northwestward of Acliiet-Wlrand in pressing back our forward poinK bur n-aTn our counter-attack re-cstablidicd the position and two hundred w\re taken ori-

We rcpuiscd other nllacks eastward of Conrcelles and eastward of Movenncville.

We took prisoner a fol.nl of five thousand yesterdav between the Vomme and Movenpevil'e.

[ On the Lvs front we made progress eastward of Mervil!e anil in the direction of ypiif Berquin. taking prisoners and machine,, guns. We also advanced on a line northward of Bailleu! on a front of 1J miles, taking prisoners. We repulsed a raid in 1 a(f neighborhood of Dickebiisli.—Aus.-X.Z. Cable Assn and Renter.

GENERAL MANGINS ADVANCES

A STOUT KKSTSTAXCK. [ -OUTLOOK WO WITH PfiOMISE. London, Au.sust 2.'!. Mr Perris writes thai Cene.iu Manpin's advance eastward of the Oise was sometimes stoutl resisted, but elsewhere proceeded with singular ease. Tlie capture of Mont de ("'noisy, between tbe Oisp and Cms, standing. 300 ft above the river valley, was the decisive point in the success. The Cermans viciously defended Cuts, but sceinj; themselves irresistibly pressed into low swampy bind between the bills and the r:\er accepted the inevitable and beat ;■■ rapid and sometimes disorderly retreat Ceneral Manfrin holding the Oise near Noyon necessitated the abandonment (i' the last enemy hold on the Divette valley. Thursday was mainly devoted to conolidation work. Man cannon and ••inch material and stores, hurriedly 'handoncd by the enemy, were found 'il.ind the broken lines.

French cavalry patrol.*, ind tanks are >"t in all directions sweeping the eoun■'ry free of all enemy jrrmtps. The French jruns are rapidly coniinj up. Aviators are incessantly bombing 'he river crossings. The skill in the plan and thr«\ sntion of the movement and (he tocb move aided the other ore striking and bin; with promise.—Aus.-KZ. Cable Association. -

ENEMY'S FRONT'BROKEN.

FRENCH ADVANCING SPLENDIDLY,

BIG HAULS OF PRISONERS.

I London, August 23. French headquarters on the evening of the 22nd reported that pursuit continued the whole afternoon and evening. j Yesterday wo reached the line at I'Sompigny just as the bridges were blown up. but their destruction was incomplete.

Farther south, as we were occupying Petit Maupas, the enemy began to retreat in disoredr. Numerous troops on the other side of the Oise were seen hurrying northward throughout the afternoon. N

The enemy rearguards lought their fiercest to save important material, but vainly. Our troops at the close of the evening advanced to St. Paul. -rilie' regiments following collected a huge quantity of material, heavy guns and machine guns.

Our artillery and cavalry pushed aheadIt was soon noticeable that the ecemy's resistance was chiefly by machine-guns and diminishing. Nevertheless it was desperate at. certain points, notably from St. Aubin to north of Hill 140 where we were fighting with bombs.

Batches of prisoners arrived all night long. It is impossible to count them, as there are at least several thousand. The enemy considers the position:; of his first line divisions precarious. He rests his hopes on the second line divisionswhich are echeloned in depth in order tc resist at all costs. Our advance continued this morning towards the Ailette through the enemy's broken front.—Aus. -•■'£ Cable Assn. and Router.

STRUGGLE FOR RAILWAY.

-BRITISH ADVANCE CONTINUED.

MIST SAVES MANY LIVES.

London, August 23. Mr Nevinson, cabling at noon on Thursday, says that the prisoners taken in to-day's advance already total We captured three guns and the number would have been larger, but the Germans withdrew their guns immediately the attack began. Mirauniont was not occupied, hut is becoming encircled: it is full of gas.

Some of our tanks were reported to have crossed the railway, and were scon along the Bapaume Road. Their fate is unknown. '

There was very heavy fighting at Courcelles and Beauregard Dovecote, which are north-westward nf Miranmont. The casualties were lighl, ana the prisoners taken by most of u.c divisions outnumbered their casualties.

Fuller details of yesterday's fighting show that t'i'.i' mtis saved 'many himdr.Js of British lives, because the German infantry and machine-gunners (O'jld not see the assaulting l troops unlil lliev were elose upon (hem. Very naturally, however, our tanks and battalions lost direction and became confused during the attack. We took Moyonncville without difficulty and proceeded towards the railway. ' It is stated that tanks crossed thi> nnlwa* line, hut were lost in the fo; beyond. The stniggle for the railway lasted till mx in the eveuiiur. when it was gairj." We are now holding a ridge a mile beyond.

Some nf our troops on the left were badly passed by shells during the assembly, showing that the enemy at this part of the line were less surprised than elsewhere.

Prisoners token in kogc-ist Wood, declare that their part of the Oerni'ni armv is in good condition and well fed. hut there, is a great shortage of first, lieutenants, which gives an indication of the drainage of Germany's best young blood.

There was some opposition at 'Vblain-•'-eville. Bucquoy nr.d Achiet-le-Petit. but hard I v any a( Pukicwc. The division attacking Ac'-n'ct-le-Grand did not nunc succeed in takins it. The enemy still this afternoon held the railway cutting southward of the town. This is unfortunate, because (lie line curves westward and threatens to expose our right flank. We put down barrage lure at midday preparatory to in ■i^pnlt.

We Tiled the ruins of Trios, across the railway, and Miranmont with gas. Te.c latter was not directly attacked. >'■■> one would now wish to enter that once admired place. There was vor-r heavy fight inn- on Wednesday and Wednesday nig"! and Tbiiv-dav '-n the neighborhood of S-rre and the Dovecote. Au r forward battery at Sorre was heavily gassed.

To-dav the counter-attacks, including one bv fresh divisions from Merris ffi,: ed. .Aeroplanes have done great service, bombing transport, and communications. They also nuvsned and destroyed a train.—Aus.-N.Z. Gable Assn.

KEEPING THE GERMANS ON THE MOVE.

FOCICS ,PLAX DISCUSSED.

Xcw Vork, Aujt. 23. The Xcw York Times, commenting on the British offensive, states that Sir Douglas Haig's new ollcnsice is plainly a counterpart of his lale brilliant drive further south. The new drive began in a fog. W'hai is accomplished is not yet fully n-ported. Sir .leiian Byng" is moving with characteristic speed in the direction of Bapaiitne. Ccneral ' Pridi's plyan is evidently to keen the Cermana moving and not to allow them to seleex. winter quarters. The Xcw York Tribune says .Sir Julian Byng has had a chance to enme back ui the Mennans. He is tumble to report" the first day's success at Cambrai, but nevertheless he shook the German lixe at a critical point, makina more than ever likelv a Herman ''etreat.—Aus.X.Z. Cable Assn.

BATTLE IN THE MOONLIGH\

AEROPLANES COMMIT GREAT EXECUTION.

London, Aug. 23. Mr. Percival Phillips, describing a moonlight battle at Beauregard Dovecote, says that German guuners held out most of Wednesday until the English cleared it.

Late, in the afternoon we found two wireless operators huddled amid the wreckage of their apparatus ana a solitary field-gun. Before the gun could be salved the Hermans counter-attacked, and we dropped back, picking oar way amidst hot shelling, through craters in the bright moonlight. The batteries were concentrating .in a kind of desperation, putting down as heavy a, screen as they couid before the gateway of Bapanme.

The Germans had hardly begun f.o dispose their new liueliine-guus in the niches of the redoubt before they were again over-ridden. Bayonts flashed in tae moonlight and the English again manned the redoubt. j

The Germans for over an hou? gasshelled a redoubt, then fresh troops reattacked nt- dawn. The impact of tin's blow sent back some of our troops nearly to the original line. This did. not discourage them, however, for they stormed the Dovecote a third time at' 7 o'clock in the morning, and got it.

Airmen are strafing the ground all day. They caught a transport column in a cutting and obtained eight direct hits. The remaining wagons boiled, tried to turn, and became jammed at another angle of the road, where the airmen fell upon them with excellent results. Prisoners include an Austrian artillery captain, whose unit from the Tyrol has been in (lie line opposite Courcelles. The olriecr in. polite and anxious to please, and is very different from the Prussians. —Aus. N.Z. (able Assoc.

THE GENERAL SITUATION

GERMAN LINE MAY BE OUTPLANKED. Loudon. Aw?. 22. Tim Australian Press Association learns that'll is too early yet to say what tiie ell'eet of the advance between the Aisne and the Oise will have upon the situation, but it evidently constitutes a. serious threat to the enemy positions north of the Aisne, and, if continued, fijrther. will outflank the whole German line on the Aisne and Vesle. It also threatens his line west of the Oise.

The total number of prisoners taken between the Oise and the Aisne from August IS to 20 was over IIi.OOO. while the French losses are reported as small. Our forces in the Ancre sect ion have now advanced practically to the 'hie of the Albert-Arras railway, and the enemy's right liank on the Ancre and Thiepval ridge is already threatened.

The enemy's retirement may be preliminary to a withdrawal on a more extended scale, such as he undertook early in I!)1T to the Mindenburg line.

ft is noteworthy that the attacks by (oh 10th French army on the Oise au'•• Aisne. and the .'lrd British Army south of Arras, completely surprised the enemy. ..ayiug much for the ellieiency of our present tactical methods, and the harmonious working of a French army under Sir Donglas'iraig's orders is a tribute to the \aiue of'the unified command and the confidence the French place in Sir Douglas Haig.

Nothing of importance is happening in Italy, but it is interesting to note that the .'. .slrian losses on (he British front from -Tune !;"> to August 15 are estimated at 20.2(10; ours total 2544.

There is no confirmation of the alleged Bolshevik success over the Czechoslovaks at. various points, or that the Czechs have fallen hack east of the Volga.

The onlv change in Persia, and (he Cnttcasn., is Ihc defeat of the Jclus bv lh» Turks were of Lul.t Urnmiah. The Turk* have laken ihc town of Urumiah. I'his caused a wholesale emipiMiion of the .Icln population closely pursued by the Turks, until a British cavalry force dispersed the enemy, enabling the fugitives to psr-ape—Aus. X.Z. Cable Assoc. IX TTTK ATR

GREAT ACTIVITY.

GERMAN TOWNS ATTACKED.

London. Aug. 23. fir Douglas Haig's aviation report states that thick, mist prevented aeroplanes participating in the early stage of the attack northward of the Ancre on August 2-2, but when the weather cleared their participation became active. The airmen attacked hostile troons and transport at low altitudes with bonuv. and machine-guns, scattering ammunition wagons and marching columns, and also in several cases silenced guns firing on our tanks, by means of bombs and machine-gunning from the air. We dropped twelve tons of bombs during teh 'lay ami destroyed twenty-one aeroplanes. Eight British machines are missing. Our night bombers dropped 25.! tons 0 „ ,ij[V 01 ,p nt targets. Cambrai and Mareoing stations were heavily attacked, also a number of bridges, lines, aerodromes, and billets. We broke down the Aubigny-au-Bac. bridge on the Douai Cambrai road.

The Air Ministry reports that despite (lie enemy's determined protective efforts, consisting of large numbers of aeroplanes ami an increased numbp'r of anti-aircraft, guns, we heavily attacked five important German towns and five aerodromes. We attacked Frankfort and Cologne on the nights of August 22 and 23, with very good results. Bombs landed all round the stations and barracks. We also successfully attacked Treves railway junction. We heavily bombed four aerodromes, hitting many hangars. We attacked chemical factories at Mannheim. On the morning ot August 22 we' successfully bombed objectives. The fiercest fighting occurred on the return journey, as a result of which five British machines are missing.

An American official message states that they carried out a successful raid northward of tap Vesle. Their aviators on August '2l and ii successfully bombed railway yards at 1 nngayon. Andon le Romman. and Conflans, with many direct hits.—Aiir. X.Z. Cable Assoc.

OFFICIAL REPORT, GOOD PROGRESS MADE, Condon, August ?';. Sir Douglas Tfaig reports that fighting is proceeding practically along the whole front between Lilious and the Cojetil River. We are progressing at a. number of points. Wc repulsed two attacks during the night, in the neighborhood of Baillesc.ourt Farm, castward of Bcii.uconrt. We slightly advanced our line: eastward of T/eionrct, north-west, of Xenf Bcrquin, an<i eastward of Otttterstoene. A local hostile 1 attack north-westward of Bailleill broke, down before our positions. A French communique reports: Yes'terday we several times caught the retreating enemy under machine-guns in the region of Lassigny and between the Disc and the Aisne. We dropped during the day 34 tons of bombs on the region Cliatrnvt-Mairgieal-Vausai'Tlon-An.' zizy In Chateau, and during the night at Thioaville, Conflans, and Mezeres, also in the battle zone. Numerous bursts on objectives and fires were ob--aewai oa tie stations at Conflans,

Ham, Guiscard, Chauny, Thionville, Thiancourt and Pontaevrt. I Inst ovoning tlie Germans Jsombed Dunkirk with shells of great calibre. Seven civilians were killed and one injured. During the day we continued to progress along the whole battle front between the Matz and the Oise, we sicirting the Divette from its mouth to Evricourt. East, of tlie Oise we carried our lines to the outskirts of Quierzy. Between the Ailette and the Aisno we captured St. Aubin, Silens, Bagneux, Epagny, Bieuxy, Vaurezis, and Pomniiers.

The enemy abandoned a great quantity of material between the Aisne and the Oise. . Over 200 guns have been counted since August 20.

A wireless German official despatch says:—Tlie British and New Zeiilanders attacked between Moyenneville and the Ancrc. Their first onslaught broke down before our battle positions. We recaptured in counter-attacks portions of the ground which we had ceded. According to plan we retired a short distance south-westward of Noyon and also withdrew our troops from Carlepont Wood to behind the Oise. . The enemy gained ground at Blerancourt. «The English made large scale attacks northward of Bapanme and between Albert and the Ronmie, but failed.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn. and Reuter.