BRITISH ADVANCE BEHIND CURTAIN OF FIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 158, 4 July 1916, Page 5

BRITISH ADVANCE BEHIND CURTAIN OF FIRE.

CURTAIN LIFTS FROM TRENCH TO TRENCH AHEAD OF THEM. DENSE BODY OF ENEMY SURRENDERS. ENEMY OPENS FIRE ON HIS OWN MEN. OFFENSIVE THRICE THE MAGNITUDE OF LOOS FIGHT. LONDON, July 3. At the order to advance the British rushed forward and worked their way towards the British curtain-fire ahead". Enemy shells poured on the men, but tlu're was no wavering, and gapi were quickly closed. Then the curtain-fire suddenly jumped like a jerky cinema film, rose, and fell on another trench further on. leaving nothing but desolation in front of our men. Everything was flattened out. The men leaped across the ruined trenches towards the wall of smoke and fire. This drama was repeated, again and again. The British approached the curtain, saw it lift, and fall further on. The range of the gunners was perfect. In the cyclone of fire it was impossible to give spoken commands, and everything was done by gestures. A dense body of Germans approached. It looked like a counter-attack, but the British artillery ceased fire, and the British knew that these men bad surrendered. Their boot laces were slit and the Germans, with their hands in their pockets, slouched to the rear, needing tew men to guard them. A German general must also have been surprised at a local counter-attack turning into a procession of prisoners. He ordered the artillery to fire, and many of the prisoners fell. The British found that many of the em'my had been stricken down while praying. Some had prayer books in their hands. Many of the trenches were impassable shambles, and groans came from the wounded buried beneath the piles of dead. The French advance was magnificent. The men went forward as if on parade, and carried the first German line. NO OVERSEAS TROOPS IN THE BATTLE. Renter's special correspondent at the front writes:—"The offensive is roughly thnce the magnitude of that at Loos. The shell-bursts numbered 000 a minute on a short front, from guns of all calibres. British aviators sailed undisturbed through a storm of shells, marking down the enemy."' It is believed that no overseas troops were engaged in the offensive north of the Somme. CLOUDS OF SMOKE SCREEN INFANTRY ATTACKS. The correspondent of the London "Daily Chronicle," Mr. Philip Gibbs, writes:—"For a fortnight plans had been discussed secretly in the mess rooms. Soldiers watching the arrival of scores of guns, smiled grimly. Everybody was aware that the bombardment was preparatory to a great assault, but the secret was well kept. The offensive has begun satisfactorily, but we have not achieved victory. This is only the beginning. Advancing is not easy work, but the British are doggedly capturing strongholds. The German dead lie thickly in the track of our regiment. The attack was preceded by an outburst of trench mortars. Clouds of smoke were liberated, hiding the whole line, and screening our infantry. Only our reserves were visible. A minute after 7.30 came rushing sounds of rifles, machine-guns, and German artillery barraging our lines. There was little difficulty with the earliest attacks. The bombardment had flattened out the parapets, and smashed entanglements. The British swept forward cheering. They encountered no resistance. The surviving Germans hid in their dug-outs, many of which were filled with dead. Some ot the Germans crept out. dazed, and deafened, held up hands and bowed their heads."