GENERAL FRENCH'S REPORT ON RECENT OPERATIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13636, 17 March 1915, Page 3

GENERAL FRENCH'S REPORT ON RECENT OPERATIONS.

BRITISH CONSOLIDATE THEIR LINE. j

GERMANS LOSE HEAVILY IN DESPERATE COUNTER-ATTACKS.

WELLINGTON, this day. Tho Prim© Minister lias received the following from the High Commissioner :

LONDON, March 16, 5.30 p.m. Paris reports that the Belgians have consolidated, positions obtained m recent days. In Cnampaigne there has been new progress north-east of Souain.. At Bois le Petre wo re-took trenches captured yesterday morning, by a mine explosion.

General French reports that since March 11th operations m ( the neighborhood of Neuve Chapelle has continued. The line captured by us on tho 10th and 11th. east of the village has been consolidated and held, despite .repeated efforts to retake it.

During tho night of the 11th and early on the morning of the 12th several counter-attacks east of Neuvo Chapello were repulsed.- Sixty prisoners were captured. The same night a skilfully-executed enterprise east of Armentieres resulted m ouir capture of the village of Lepinette, with small loss. The possession of tho village advances our line m this quarter by three hundred yards on, a front of eij^ht hundred yards. The fighting m tho Neuvc Clia polio area has been very severe. On Friday there was a strong counterattack by the Germans m the afternoon, which was repulsed, 612 more prisoners being taken.. ' The Germans continued eoimitcr-at-tacks during the night of Friday and throughout Saturday, but did not succeed m re-capturing any of the ground lost.

On the 14th fighting was mainly confined to artillery. The prisoners taken by us since the 10th number about seventeen hundred, including thirty officers. Judging by the number of dead counted on the ground, the total number of German