BRITISH AND FRENCH STILL ADVANCING.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16323, 21 September 1918, Page 9

BRITISH AND FRENCH STILL ADVANCING.

ALL ESSENTIAL OBJECTS ATTAINED. LONDON. September .19. A French Headquarters report issue.! last evening states General s Army continues to advance, in the tion of St. Quentin, m conjunction vnt i the British on the north. They met vigorous enemy resistance » . lew dred vards in front of the H.ndcnb i g lino, which runs west of the town the suburbs of which form part of the defence. Groups of infantry, lav '® hl L!"£; plied with machine-guns, wero dotted everywhere, endeavotinng to op the advance, but m vain, for t.ha French, in alternating rushes with mfiltratinp tactics, are stoa f lly ing. Thev are now only two miles from the St. Quentin suburbs, and already are holding some of their old trenches on a wide stretch of tiont. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) Mr Percival Pinups casualties of the Third and fourth Armies were not heavy. They attacked at 5.20 a.m. on a front offifteen miles, in co-operation with the French on right. Although greater resistance was encountered than during the car Jl e |~ stages of the British advance, the troops of the United Kingdom and Australia made satisfactory progress along the ridgos, protected by well-fortined villages, which give access to our O'rt outpost line immediately before til© Hindenburg line. All the essential objects of the attack were attained, and the infantry are still going forward. The Hun was prepared for the blow, and as he intended to fight stubbornly on bits of high ground, we were up agninst stronger forces than the oius rearguards. The ridges and spurs attacked were seamed "with trenches, which connected Gouzeaucourt with Hargicourt, and the ruined villages afforded ample screen for machine-gun-ners, while the remains of several farms were embedded in the trench eystorn, which ran along the entire front. Ram fell while the infantry were assembling, and made the mound sticky. _ .News came back slowly, and it is 6till impossible to know the full' results attained. Our attack commenced threequarters of an hour before the Germans expected it. I"he enemy batteries across the canal replied promptly, their gunfire being heavier than any since August Bth. . HARD FIGHTING. LONTMDN, September 19. Mr Philip Gibbs says :—The English troops met with determined resistance at Epehy, where the German Alpine Corps put up a hard fight. It is too soon to sum up the results of the day's fighting. It is now raining again, which does not help our troops, but may prevent night bombing over our lines. Lately the enemy has been flying giant 'planes by night. They are monsters, carrying crews of eight and bombs thirteen feet long, containing two thousand pounds of explosives. We destroyed several of them during the past week. The primnry object of the English, Scottish Irisn, and Australian attack was to regain our old outpost line running alonor a ridge from which spurs strike down to the St. Quentin Canal. The enemy has already withdrawn his artillery behind the canal, relying mainly on long-range and high-velocity guns to harass our pasition. He is now strong in gun power, and for the protection of the Hindenburg line has a most unUsual number of long-range guns. The enemy is holding the outpost line with troops who have borne the full brunt of the recent battles, and whoso spirit has been lowered to gloomy depths. The less mauled divisions are being reserved to defend the Hindenburg line itself. The enemy is now giving his troops no rest or support until they are thoroughly worn out, when t.liey are stiffened with material of a better class. This method is merciless, but it is necessary. Among the men fighting to-day were remnants of tho Second Guards Division; who were routed like rats from Mont St. Quentin and Peronne. A rainstorm early in the morning made the ground bad'for the tanks, the Blimy chalk giving no grip, hut after a brief hurricane of fire our troops went forward with perfect confidence. The losses in the first assault? were of meti who were mostly hit by shell splinters, and not machine-gun bullets, showing tho temporary end of open warfare. LONDON, September 19. Tli6 United Press oorre3pondent reports that the Germans vainly threw in forty batteries and six divisions at one point, south-east of Havrincourt. The fighting was the fiercest of the whole battle, the Gorman death-roll being fearful. The British withstood the heavy counter-attacks. At 5 o'clock in the evening, southeast of Havrinconrfc, the enemy, with forty batteries And six divisions—some of these from behind the Hindenburg line—attempted to crush the British who had advanced here during the day. The assault was repulsed with heavy loss. North-east of Havrincourt and beyond the canal and the main defences, where the British recently installed themselves, the Germans attacked and temporarily gained the sunken road. The British soon ousted them, but they still hold Boine. AUSTRALIANS' CAPTURES. • LONDON, September 19. General Monash announces that the Australians on Wednesday took 3000 prisoners, thirty guns, and hundreds of machine-guns and trench morters. The Australians are now right against the Hindenburg line.' PRESIDENT WILSON'S REPLY TO THE KING. (Au&tr&lian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (Reuter'a Telegrams.) (Received September 20th, 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, September 19: President Wilson, replying to King George's congratulations oh the St. Mihiel victory, says: — "The generous rivalry now going on between the forces of the Allied countries against Germany is touched with enthusiasm and heroism, which must ccrtainly bring victory with quicker and quicker pace, and it is one of the happiest circumstances of the war that tho armies can admire each other's achievements."