STORIES OF THE BIG ADVANCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 289, 26 August 1918, Page 6

STORIES OF THE BIG ADVANCE

THE MOONLIGHT BATTLE FOR

BEAUREGARD DOVECOT

HOW A REDOUBT WAS WON

London, August 23. Mr. FiM-cival Phillips ("Daily Express'' correspondent), describing the moonlight battle for Beauivgard Dovecot, says tho German guwiiTa held out most of Wednesday, tmtii the Eiigiish cleared it late in tho afiernoou. "They found two wireless ojanitors huddled amid the wreckage of their apparatus and a solitary'fiVld-g-in. Before tho gun could ho salved, the Germans counter-attacked, and we dropped back, picking oiji- v. : si: auiwisti u hot shelling through i'm\ orators in brilliant moonlight. Tho batteries, concentrating in a kind oi : desperation, put down as heavy a screen as they could beforethe toibew&y to Bapaur.ie. Tho Germurjj'i.litd hardly begun ;:o dispose new machine-guns in tho niches of tho redoubt be-fore they were again overridden. The bayonets flushed in the moonlight, and the English again manned tho redoubt. ■ Tho Germans for over an hour gas-shelled tho redoubt, then fresh troops rcailacked at dawn. Tho impact of this blow sent back some of our men nearly to tho original line, but oven this did not discourage them. They stormed Dovecote a third time, at seven o'clock in the morning,, and got it. Transport Trapped in a Cutting. "Our airmen wcro strafing iUeatre all day long. They caught a transport column in a cutting, and obtained eight direct hits. The remaining wagons bolted, and tried to turn, but became jammed in another angle of the road, where the airmen fell upon them, with excellent results. "Tho prisoners, include an Austrian artillery captain, whose unit came from the Tyrol. It had been in the lino opposite Courcclles. The officer was polite and anxious to please—very different from the Prussians." Tanks Lost in the Fog. Mr. Nevinsun ("Dftii.v Chronicle"), cabling ai; noon or 'Biarsdajr. says:— "The prisoners taken :ii w-day's advance already total 2600. We captur-1 ed three guns, and the number would j have been larger, but tho Germans I .eithdrew their gun's iir::.Tiedi!Uely the I dttack hegan. Miraiimorit has not been j occupied, but is becoming encircled. ! It is full of gas. ■ Some of our tanks ! are reported to be across the railway. ', They wero seen along Uw Bapaumo Road, and their fate is naliKown. Tho heaviest fighting was at Courceiles and Dovecote, which is northwest of Miraumont. Our casualties are slight. The prisoners taken by I most of the divisions outnumbered j their casualties.. » '

"Fuller details of yesterday's fighting show that the mist saved hundreds of British lives, because the German infantry and machine-gunners could not seo the assaulting troops until they were close upon them. Very naturally, however, our tanks and battalions lost direction, and became confused during tho attack. Wβ took Moyenneville without difficulty, and proceeded in the direction of the railway. It is stated that tanks crossed the railway line, but got lost in tho fog beyond. The struggle for tho railway lasted till six o'clock in the evening, when it was gained. We are now holding a ridge a mile beyond it. Some of our troops on tfyo left wero badly gassed by snells during tho assembly, showing that tho enomy on this part of the lino was less surprised than elsewhero. Statements by Prisoners. "Prisoners taken at Logeast Wood, east of Bucquoy, declare that their part of tho German Army is in good condition and well fed, but that there is great shortage of first lieutenants, an indication of the drainage of Germany's best young blood. "There was some opposition at Ablainzeville, Bucquoy, and Achiet-le-Petit, but hardly any at Piusieux. A division which attacked Achiet-lcvGrand did not quite succeed in taking it; the enemy still held the railway and the cutting south of the town this afternoon. This is unfortunate, because the line curves to the wostward, and threatens to' expose our right flank. We put down a barrage. here at midday to-day, preparatory to an assault. We filled the ruins of Irlos, across the railway, and Miraumont with gas. The latter was not directly attacked. No one now wishes to enter that onco admired city. The heaviest fighting on Wednesday, Wednesday night, and Thursday was in the neighbourhood of Serre and Dovecot. Our'forward battery at Serre was heavily gassod. Today's counter-attacks, including one by fresh divisions from Men-is, failed. The aeroplanes have done great service in bombkg transports and communica-. tions. They pursued and destroyed a train."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

WITH THE VICTORIOUS FRENCH

THE FIGET FOR THE OISE.

London, August '23 Renter's correspondent at French Headquarters, writing on Thursday evening, says:—"The pursuit continued during tho whole of yesterday afternoon and evening. "Wo readied the Oise at" Sampigny just as tho bridges were blown up, but the destruction was incomplete. Further south, as we wore occupying Petit Maupas, the enemy began to retreat in disorder, and numerous trains on the other sf:lo of the Oise wero seen hurrying northward. Throughout the afternoon tho enemy's rearguards fought most fiercely to save important material, but vainly. Our troops at the clq'se of Mhe evening advanced to St. Paul; anil other regiments fallowing up collected a lingo quantity of material, heavy guns, and machine-guns. Our artillery and cavalry pushed ahead lator, and it was soon noticeable that tho enemy resistance, chiefly made by ma-chine-guns, was diminishing. Nevertheless it was desperate at certain points, notably from St. Aubin to north of Hill 140, where we were fighting with bombs. Batches of prisoners arrived throughout tho night, and it was impossible to count them, but thoro are at least soveral thousands. The enemy considers the positions of his first line divisions precarious, bub rests his hopes on his second line divisions, which are ecliolonued in depth in order to resist at all costs. Our advance continued this morning towards the Ailette through the onemy's broken front."—Router.

Retroat Rapid and at Times Disorderly. Mr. George Ferris writes:—"Genoral Mangin's advance east of tho Oiso was sometimes stoutly resisted, but elsewhere proceeded with singular ease. Tho capture af the Mont de Choisy, which is between Caisne and Cuts, and stands three hundred feet above the river galley, was a decisive point in the French success. Tho Germans viciously defended Cuts, but seeing themselves irresistibly pressed into the low swampy land between the hills and the river, accepted the inevitable and beat a rapid and sometimes disorderly retroat. General Mangin's holding the Oiso near Noyon necessitated tho abandonment of the last enemv hold on Jihe Divetto Valley. Thursday was mainly devoted to consolidation work. Many cannon and much material and stores, which had been hurriedly abandoned by the enemy, have been l'ouud

behind the broken Hues. The French cavalry patrols and tanks aro out in all cfiroctions, sweeping the country freo of small enemy groups. Tho French guns arc rapidly coming up, and tho aviators arc incessantly bombing the river crossings. The skill in the plan and execution of movements, and the way each move aided the others, aro striking and big with pro-mise."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. " STUNTS "IYTHE AIRMEN A DAY OF EXCITING VARIETY. London, August 23. Correspondents describe the recent air viflrk. particularly a daylight rn;d on I tho l-Liburdin aerodraroo ; on August 110, .from on average altitude of two I .Yjndrse feet. Tixn-*. jvas. no iuterfer- ! e-noe by enemy awoi/ianus ; but the British spotted two iii the distance. I They attacked, and crashed down on one and drove down t!u> other. They silenced nests, of lr.uchinc-guns about the aerodrome, and dropped hundreds <if bombs, w.hich completely destroyed three largo hangars containing machines, and partially wrecked eight machines in the open. They set lire to the officers' ai'd men's quarters, blew up the officers' niCß.srooni, and /gnited several buildings, including an ammunition shed. There wero many 'lasualties. The airmen completed the demolition of the aerodrome, and went off find chased and stopped a train, over-, turned a Staff motor-car into a ditch,' and forced another to run up a bank. It is believed all the occupants of both cars wero killed. The whole of our squadrons returned.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.