ENEMY DAZED BY BOMBARDMENT.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 6301, 30 September 1915, Page 3

ENEMY DAZED BY BOMBARDMENT.

Attackers Include Kitchener's Army. Rec Sept 29, 7 15 p m. London, Sept 28. Mr V Gibbs, tho Daily Chronicle's correspondent, says:—The din from the bombardment was doubly iutense at dawn. Our guns had never spoken like this. The attack began in earnest at Ve?milles, south of the L i Basse Canal, and on the plain of Lens, where the men were soon in deadly grips with tho enemy and advancing steadily over the ground which was co longer barred by the impregnable trenches of the enemy, upon which we had peered through loopholes and sandbags, /or many UlODth.B.

The Generals and stall officers gathered on tho rising ground, trying to pierce tbe veil behind, from which masses of brown men were struggling forward. Battalions and brigades vanished in the fog. The Britishers advancing through Loos fought behind (he veil, from which came tho thunder of battle, and later tho first stream of wounded. The positions were only known when tho telephone wire was laid. Huns Stupefied into Surrender. The Germans in the dugouts were dazed by the intensity of the bombardment and were stupefied into surrender. Among the attackers were many battallions of Kitchener's army. All day on Saturday heavy rain fell and the soldiers dug themselves in, the trenches being half-filled with mud and water. Tiie rain ceased at nightfall, the moon ehowing bright above the battlefield, and on Sunday there was brillirtit sunshine and a cloudless blue eky. In a held near the rail aay were fourteen hundred German prieoners. A great mass of slate-gray men were lying on the grass awaiting entrainment. I walked among them and studied the types. There was nothing of hate in the eyes of the flush-faced "Tommies" who stood guard. Tha prisoners had a beaten and exhausted

look. Soma of the Germans were wounded in the arms ar,d leg?, hut not serioudy. I noticed the care taken by prisoners of their womded comrades. Enemy Surprised. Many of the prisoners seemed glad to be pnsoners. Great batches captured at Loos said: "The English at Loos gave us a great surprise. The first we knew of the attack was that the British were streaming ever our trenches. We were surrounded on three sides. Th« position was hopeless, but we fought to the last cart ridge." The German officers spoke with profound admiration of the stoic charges of the British inlantry and their fme showing. Impressive and Awe-inspiring Sight. The battle of Monday was intensity concentrated. We were lying between La Bassee and Lens, with the French on our right, working from the captured town of Souchez. The weather was so bad that artillery observations were difficult. The British and German wounded were lying in pools in a pitinble condition. Although half veiled by a thick grey mist the battleground could be seen from the ridge of Notre Dame de Lorette. It was an impressive and awe-inspiring sight. At Hill 70 a great struggle was progressing. Large bodies of Britishers, who had fought their way through Loos, were confronted with German reserves, which were hurried up, after cur surprise attack on Saturday, across the lower spur of Notre Dame de Lorete. There was a continual storm of high explosive and shrapnel, by which the enemy was trying to thrust back the French advance. Overhead all day our aeroplanes were making reconnaissances. Some remained for hours over the enemy's line j. Results of Operations. Mr Gibbs sums up the results of Saturday's and Sunday's operations thus: ''We emptied the enemy's trenches on a front of five miles soith of the La Bassee Canal, The enemy brought up heavy reserves and checked our advance. We surprised the Germans at Hooge. We trapped many and forced them to surrender, hut the Germans retook Bellewarde Ridge, which we swept over in our first rush.