ENEMY'S SECOND LINE ATTACKED

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 168, 15 July 1916, Page 5

ENEMY'S SECOND LINE ATTACKED

THREE VILLAGES CAPTURED DEPTH OF THREE MILES PIERCED ITALIAN ATTACK DEVELOPING RUSSIAN SUCCESS AT CHARTORYSK The British troops, keeping up their relentless pressure on the German position, attacked the second line of defence to the eastward of The attack was a bril-liant-success, the enemy's line being penetrated to a considerable depth, as evidenced by the fact that several howitzers, kept far behind the first trench line, were captured. The losses sustained by the British were small, while, in addition to ground and guns, they took many prisoners. The villages captured include Bazentin-le-Grande and Bazentin-le-Petit, and Longueval, three miles to the eastward of Contalmaison, while the village of Ovillers, on the northern end of the advance, passed almost entirely into our hands. The progress made will go far towards bringing our line into accord with the French advance further south. On the French front there is little new to record, no advance having been attempted on the Somme, while on the Verdun front the struggle was confined to patrol work in Chenois Wood. Cheering news comes from the Russian front. The Germans, who yesterday declared that yon Bothmer was-threaten-ing the Russian line in Polesia, now admit that Bothmer is on the defensive, and that their first line was penetrated, adding that it was subsequently cleared. In the Chartorysk sector the i surrounded an enemy force on three sides, bombarded it heavily during the subsequent retreat, and subsequently captured positions which were deemed well-nigh impregnable.