FERRETING OUT THE HUNS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 244, 12 October 1916, Page 6

FERRETING OUT THE HUNS.

TRAGEDIES OF THE DARK. i LONDON, October 2. The "Times" correspondent at British ! Headquarters on the Western front, dealing with the capture of Thiepval, writes:— "Untold tragedies- went on in the dark, underground labyrinths of the village, and countless, unseen deeds of heroism. The Germans kept rising up 'from unexpected boles, machine-gunning our men, and then disappearing, it was impossible to ascertain whither. The only course, therefore, was to dear out every bolt-bole and warren. Once a detachment of pioneers saw a party of Germans disappear in a nest of holes. They chased them underground, and a dreadful fight, lasting six hours, ensued before the pioneers emerged with four times their number of prisoners." The correspondent lays stress onmore on the comparative wnattnesa of j the British losses. He goes on to say that British airmen saw a splendid spectacle when flying above the fight, our troops going forwards in swift, unending, unbroken lines. The German guns killed numerous German prisoners, while the latter were being taken to our rear. | The British line now runs north of ! Thiepval village, below the cemetery, I where the foe is. holding on. He ie certain to make a desperate effort to recover Thiepval. Mr. Beach Thomas, the "Daily Mail's" representative on €he Western front, gives a graphic description of the capture of Thiepval. "I saw a tank go into a machine-gun emplacement like a scenting boar," he writes. "It crumpled up the guns, crushed the trench, and roHed on the troops within the trench before the delighted Tommies could come up. - "Another tank advanced along the sunken road, nosing its way into the trenches, clearing out the enemy nests, and spitting fire perpetually. A number of affrighted Germane rose up and-tied handkerchiefs to, their rifles in an endeavour to surrender the place. "The Wurtemsurgers, who were at Thiepval, had begged that they ebouH not be relieved. They thought the fortress was impregnable. They had lived in it in comfort and hrrary, with good food, good cigars, plenty of liquor, and the daily newspapers."