THE GERMANS' DEFEAT

Evening Post, Volume xciv, Issue 73, 24 September 1917, Page 7

THE GERMANS' DEFEAT

REPEATED VAIN COUNTER-ATTACKS

ENEMY WORSTED IN THE AIR

(AUSTRALIAN-NEW ZEALAND CABLB ASSOCIATION AND EBTTTBR.)

LONDON, 22nd September. Sir Douglas Haig reports : Further evidence shows the continuous and obstinate nature of the counter-attacks yesterday, in which the enemy suffered exceptionally heavy losses, while not gaining any advantage. Minor fighting occurred to-day at different parts of the front. We advanced our line.at a number of points after we had beaten off counter-attacks. This morning Eng-lish-County troops on our right captured a collection of trenches and strong concreted points southwards of Tower Hamlets. The enemy later launched a powerful counter-attack'against the Tower Hamlets ridge, which we repulsed after heavy fightin". Liverpool and Lancashire regiments eastward of St. Julien gained possession of a fortified farm, and cleaned up a number of dug-outs and strong points fronting our new position. Our artillery broke a. counter-attack eastward of Langemarck. , The prisoners taken in yesterday s fighting so far reported exceed oOUO. . During the first two hours yesterday low clouds and drizzling ram made flying almost impossible, but our aeroplanes flew low, bombed an aerodrome near Courtrai and attacked bodies of infantry. The. weather improved later, and contact was maintained-with the advancing troops. Aeroplanes and balloons carried out observations of locations of troop's preparing a- counter-attack and reported these to the artillery, which dealt-with the situation. During the atta-ck our. aeroplanes fired 28,000 machiue-gun rounds from a height of a hundred to a thousand feet at infantry, trenches, shell-holes, and approaching reinforcements. . ... The German aircraft in the middle of the day were active in attempting to interfere with our artillery, by bombing and flying' low. The machines, when: the weather improved in the evening, kept well to the eastward of their lines, and were disinclined to fight. Ten enemy machines were destroyed and six driven down. Ten of ours are missing. < _ Hostile. counter-attacks by considerable forces continued last evening on the Ypres front, without result, except a heavy increase in the enemy's, losses. A powerful counter-attack in massed^ formation on a wide-front eastward\of St. Julien penetrated at one point a short distance into our new positions, but the attackers were immediately driven out. We repulsed the enemy at all other points with' great loss, and our whole line is intact. At the end of two hours fierce fighting an attack was delivered with great determination,, the enemy losses being exceedingly severe. We completely repulsed a strong attack on both sides of the Ypres-Menin road, and crushed a counter-attack eastward of Langemarck.