THE BRITISH ADVANCE IN THE WEST

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 155, 30 June 1917, Page 13

THE BRITISH ADVANCE IN THE WEST

Describing the British battlefront at the end of April, Mr. Philip Gibte said:-"More frightful now, even than in the worst days of winter, >s the way up to the front. In all that great stretch of desolation we have left behind us the shell craters which were full of water, red water and green water, are now dried up, and are hard, deep pits, scooped out of powdered earth, from which all vitality has gone, so that spring brings no life to it. Through this vast stretch of barren country our battalions move slowly forward to take their part in the battle when their turn comes, resting a night or two among the ruins where other men who work always behind the lines, road mending, wiring, on supply columns, at ammunition dumps, in casualty clearing stations and railheads, have made their billets on the lee side of broken walls or in holes reported safe for use. —Central Press, photo.