HIGH POSITIONS CAPTURED.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1918, Page 5

HIGH POSITIONS CAPTURED.

GOUZEAUCOURT WOOIJ TAKEN.

BRITISH LINE ADVANCED. f Received Sept. 10, 5.15 p.m. London, Sept. 0, 11 p.m. Sir Douglas Ilaig reports: Early in the morning the, English and New Zealand detachments attacked and carried German positions on the high ground between I'ei/.iere and Havrincourt Wood, After sharp fighting, in which we repulsed a heavy counter-attack with loss, we gained the old British trench lines on the ridge overlooking Gouzeaucourt, capturing Gouzeaucourt Wood. On the left, the attack of other English troops successfully advanced oar lino on the eastern portions of Havrincourt Wood. We captured a number of prisoners in these operations. Me repulsed attacks against posts recently established westward of La BasBee. In wet, stormy weather, our aeroplanes carried out, their work with difficulty. We dropped five tons of bombs In the daytime. There was no nightflying. The enemy's activity was slight. We brought down five enemy machines and drove down two uncontrollable. No British are missing.—Aus. N.Z. Cable Assoc. and Reuter. SANGUINARY FIGHTING. AT THE LAFFAUX RAVINES. FURIOUS GERMAN ATTACK. DEFENCE OF ST. GOBAIN MASSIF. Received Sept. 10, 8.15 p.m. London, Sept. 9. Router's correspondent at American headquarters, writing on the morning of the 9th, states that between the Ailette and the Aisne enemy resistance was stronger, indicating the arrival of fresh troops. The Laflaux ravines yesterday were the scene of sanguinary lighting.' These give access along the ridge to the Cliemin des Dames at Celles. On the Aisne, at the south-eastern angle of the same group of hills, the Germans attacked furiously, revealing that an abundance of artillery is now concentrated at this danger spot in the defeneo of St. Gobain massif. . In view of the difficulty of progress in this region, more success is likely to attend our outflanking movement towards La Fere, but, in any case, this counter-attacking is all to our advantage.—Reuter. FRENCH PROGRESS. AT DIFFERENT POINTS. Received Sept. 10, 10.30 p.m. London, Sept. 10. A French communique states: Our ■ troops to-day made fresh advances at different points. Eastward of St. Quentin we captured Etreillers and Roupy. Beyond Crozat Canal we captured Seraucourt, Clasteres, Montescourt, Lizerolles, and Eeigmy. We .occupied Hill 103, southward of Contescourt, Essigny le Grand station, and Hill 117. North of the Oise we occupied Fordelicz Woods, and north-west C'analers' Farm and Red Farm. We captured, south of the Oise, the brick works and tlie station of Servais. We advanced in the region of LafTaux and: in the region of Glenncs, between the Aisne and the Vesle.—Aus. N'.Z. Cable Assoc. and Reuter. NEW ZEALANDERS IN ACTION. SOUTH ISLANDERS AT WORK. GERMANS TAKE TO THEIR HEELS. (From Captain Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the New Zealand Forces in the Field.) September 3. "This morning I really lived." These words were spoken by one of our fighting brigadiers in. his headquarters under a bank near a broken village, into which he had just moved. He was_ referring to the hurried retreat of the enemy away beyond Haplincourt and Bertincourt, in the direction of the famous Hindenburg line- The longlimbed New Zealanders were chasing them, eager to get into contact again. The Germans had had enough of this severe fighting, and had taken to their heels. The back of the resistance in this sector was broken yesterday afternoon, when, at 1 a.m., this brigadier's menSouth Islanders—advanced in conjunction with the troops on both flanks under a magnificent barrage. Isotli officers and men said they had never seen a better barrage. As a result of this, the Otago and Canterbury men went right through the Ilun positions with very slight casualties, taking over 150 prisoners and 25 machine-guns. In addition, they estimate that they killed about 100. Between '2 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon, machine-gun fire was directed on our new position from the edge of the wood =outh of TTaplincoui't, but the artillerv was turned on to these enemy machine-gunners and tbeir '.firing ceased. Later, abont 9.30, tlie «nciny fired 4.2-in howitzers on to er.r trenches. That was his usual effort "wrfli a iillery. and the .Otago and Canterbury's added further to their toll of prisoners. All yesterday we could see the enemy dumps groins up in smoke, and there were fires well behind bis line- At. night the skv was aglow •with them. At the break of dawn I:liis morning our gallant men pushed on again- The lias cone from Ha-pliucourt, and the New Zenlaudrrs streamed through the wooded village like a pack of bounds hot upon the scentTn the morning some of lis went, across tlie battlefield, and where the! Otagos bad fought so splendidly we found the srround littered with German.' dead. They were lying -about theirs hastilv-dus' machine J gnn positions, sitj the entrance to itheir -dug-outs, ibnuPiiiiti

German push, and since occupied by Germans, Retribution, swift and sure, had overtaken the enemy here. All about were rifles, machine-guns, ammunition, and equipment hurriedly abandoned. On the edge of a sector was a hospital hurriedly vacated two days ago, and was I furnished with old beds and bedding left I by the British in their last retreat. Two woimde- Germans, still an PtreW-ois, were left behind. There was even a sorely-wormded German on an operation table. Nearby were the graves of Germans recently buried. Early this- morning the enemy could he seen trekking away to safer gorund. Tlier? was no artillery fire ••oming bade from the German guns, but our own artillery was quickly on the move following up the retreat. The infantry, pushing on, reached Bertincourt, pushed through it, and on the farther outskirts] of the village again got into touch with the e;iemy. They had marched 7fioo yards, a magnificent feat for troops that had 'icen in battle all the previous day. Before noon t';e brigadier and his staff were riding forward t) new headquarters. In the afternoon the New Zealand representatives, who had arrived at the Divisional Headquarters, were able to go over yesterday's battlefield and get. a glimpse of war such as few, if any, civilian visitors have obtained' on the Western front. They were able to push on to the fringes of Bertincourt, to see villages well behind the German lines, and to watch the enemy's shells bursting over the positions taken up by their stalwart countrymen. September 4. Fresh Otago and Canterbury troops continued tho advance to-day. They got through the little village of Ruyaullourt without opposition, and pushed on in front of tho big Havrincourt Wood. At intervals they were met with slight machine-gun opposition, but this was dealt with by our artillery, and they continued to advance. They were opposed by a new reserve division that was'rushed down from Kemmel. During these stirring days the headquarters are continually on the move, seldom' staying xnore than three days in,one place. Our artillery keeps close on the heels of the infantry, and have been doing splendid work in getting their ammunition up by horse transport. They haye c|sn taken sup-, plies well forward of their guns tinder the enemy's machine-gun fire. To-day there has been 'little fighting. September C. Last evening the Otago troops were still pushing forward, and assisted in the capture of the little village of BourJonval, where they took 2:5 prisoners. To-day other troops from the same district rushett ea3t of Bonrjonval, taking trenches and capturing between CO and 70 prisoners.