THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1918, Page 6

THE WAR.

WESTERN FRONT:

THE BRITISH IN IT^AN'DERS. -A RAPID ADVANCE, \ Valenciennes reached New York, Oct. 21. The British east of Courtrai are rapidly advancing along tlie Scheldt, taking many prisoners.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assoc. The British have reached the outskirts of Valenciennes. London, Oct., 21. Sir Douglas Haig reports: Sunday's prisoners northward of Le Cateau exceed 3000. The enemy's positions along the Selle, of great natural strength, were held resolutely. English, Scottish and Welsh divisions launched an attack iat 2 am. in most unfavorable weather. The continuous rain rendered the advance extremely difficult, and fighting was heavy all day, the enemy offering strong resistance in the villages and along the railways. In overcoming this resistance, great assistance was rendered at certain points by tanks, which crossed the flooded river at on early hour. Aa soon as the river was secured a number of bridges were rapidly . constructed under heavy fire from hostile artillery and machine-guns, enabling our guns closely to follow the infantry and effectively support them at short range. Local operations cleared certain points where the enemy was still resisting in the evening, "and a counter-attack from the direction of Romerits was beaten off with heavy loss.

Our advanced troops northward of Denain continue to advance in contact with the enemy and arc nearing St. Amand and the line of the Scheldt northward of Tournai.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. and Reuter.

GERMANS' BRUTALITY.

IN THE EMANCIPATED CITIES. TERRTBLE PEN PICTURES. 1 London, Oct., 21. War correspondents draw terrible pen pictures of the Germans' brutality in the emancipated cities. Mr Beach Thomas writes: The blood and agony of British prisoners and French and Belgian women cry from the streets of all these towns. The British chapjain in Lille, wllo paw the blackhole prison with its shifting population of 800 prisoners, who was present daily at the progressive deaths of starved and bullied men. who read the burial service ovqr 200 Englishmen who died of oppression, has corroboratory from Bohain to Ostend among the selfsacrificing men and women who suffered blows and imprisonment in their endeavors to sav? the prisoners from starvation They saw men tumble in the streets from sheer inanitionThe Germans indulge.! in reprisals for invented crimes. They shelled c-ivilianii in the villages near Lille because a. French ship bombarded Alexandretta. They gave British prisoners no food for three days because, so they said, German prisoners were under elicllfire at the Somme.

I have sworn testimony from Lille, Tourcoing and Roubaix that thev snatched in the middle of the night thousands of women away. Dying men were left alone. Many could not bid farewell to their daughters. For six months they had no news of them. The first they heaTd was the return of their once innoeent daughters, aged, dirty and worn, after months of forced labor in barracks mean, filthv and cold. Roubaix and Tourcoing alone supplied 1809 of these women slives.

The Germans' brutality was only exceeded by their meanness. They* gutted every house and factory, and paid nothing except for focri and drink, for which they paid a quarter the proper price in paper.

I went to a convent of'teaching sisters to Bee a friend. "Is it really four years." I asked, "Since you had newß." She answered: "Four years and seven days." No whisper of the fate of their nearest or dearest had reached them, nor had their letters gone. The Germans sold them special postcards at high prices, and then destroyed the mail. This is the sort of money-grubbing brutality to which the civilians were treated.— Aus.-N.Z. Cattle Assn.' New York, Oct., 21. Mr. Duranty, Times correspondent at the French front, s%ys the Germans at perpetrated a tragedy almost unique even in the records of German cruelty. When the order was given to the inhabitants to leave their houseß because the Allies were advancing, a farmer, his wife and three children remained. The Germans found them and butchered them in their own farmyard, where the bodies were discovered by the French cavalry a few hours later. The majority of the 25,000 inhabitants were compelled to leave Roulers with the retreating Germans nnd only 100 of the popqjation remained.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn.

THE BRITISH ARMY.

A YEAR'S OPERATIONS. SIR D. HAIGH'S DISPATCH. London, Oct. 21. A dispatch from Sir. Douglas Haig, dated July 20, covering the operations since the firat week of December la-at has been published. Its chief interest lies in Sir D. Haig's account of the German offensive on March 21. He begins by emphasising that the difficulties created by the transit from the offensive to the defensive policy necessitated by the collapse of Russia was accentuated by the organisation of the British divisions from the 13 battalions to tlio 10 battalions basis, and by the extension of the british front to Barists. Meanwhile the laTge reserves which the enemy was able"to create bv transfer irimr numerous divisions from the East •nftbM kia to Wttf eut axtnuiro

training with units completed to the es-tablishment.—Aus-N.Z. Cable Assn ami Keuter.

THE MARCH -21 ATTACK

The Intelligence Department on March 19 reported that the enemy would probably attack the Arras-St. Quentin front: on the 20th or 21st. The British dispositions to meet the expected offensive were as complete as troops available could make them. Sir Hubert Cough's nth Army then held a 42-mile front from just south of Barisis to Gouzeacourt. The number of divisions in the line only allo'ved an average of one division to 607 a yards front.

Sir Julian Bvng's 3rd Army held a 27mile front from north of Gouzeacourt to south of Gavrelle, the average length of front held by each division being abniit 4700 yards.

Altogether at least 64 German divisions participated in the operations on March 21, a number considerably exceeding the total forces composing the entire British army in France.

The total British force on the original battle front on the morning of March 21 was 29 infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions, of which 19 infantry divisions were in the line. THE CAUSE OP RETIREMENT. The British plans were laid previously to meet a_ possible enemy attack with the whole of the en.my's striking force. The enemy's initial success was due to the fog. Throughout the retirement there was no panic. The units retreated stubbornly until turned or threatened with isolation. Wherever the enemy attempted a frontal attack he was beaten off with loss. The organisation of Carey's remarkable composite force was the work of General Philip Grant, chief engineer of the Jsth Army, who handed over the force to Carey because he himself could not be spared. General Foeh assumed superior control on March 26 by which date the French were heavily engaged The dispatch explains that Bray sur Somme was abandoned by a misunderstanding, enabling the enemy to secure several gains. With reference to General Rough's removal, the dispatch states that, after confronting for a week overwhelming superiority which was a tremendous strain for General Gough and his staff, General Rawiinson resumed bis old command, and General Gough was entrusted with the important task of constructing new defences in view of future possibilities. Summarising the causes of the retirement of the right wins, Sir Douglas Haig savs the forces at the disposal of the st,h Armv were inadequate to meet and hold such a heavy attack. The extent of the ftont made it impossible to furnish adequate reserves at all points, and there was not sufficient time to complete the defences in the new area. Tlu> dry "pason made the Oise and Somme passable, necessitating extra troons fnr the defence, but these could not ho spared. SOME RELATIVE FIGURES. Sir Douglas Haig gives figures of comparative strength. He says in the Somme battle, by the end of March, 42 British infantry and three cavalry divisions had brought to a standstill 73 German divisions. (

In the Lys battle, by April 13 the enemy had employed 42 divisions against ■25. In the six weeks to the end of April, the enemy employed 109 divisions against 55 of British infantry and three of cavalry. At no time during the Somme batttlp was there anything approaching a breakdown of the command or moral, despite extreme trials.