The Picardy Battles.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 265, 25 October 1916, Page 5

The Picardy Battles.

British Capture Another 1,000 Yards of Trenches Towards Bapaume-Peronne Road. Enemy Attacks at Grand Court Smashed [press association —COPYRIGHT.] [.AUSTRAIJAN AND NEW ZEALAND CABLE ASSOCIATION.] London, October 24. Sir Douglas Haig reports'- We advanced our line eastward of Gueudecourt and Les Boeufs, capturing 1000 yards of trenches. Our artillery stopped the enemy’s attempted attack southward of Grandcourt. Two raids were attempted on Sunday night against our trenches in the Gommecourt neighbourhood. Our fire stopped one and inflicted heavy casualties. The second penetrated our outpost lines, but a counterattack promptly drove the enemy out. Our aeroplanes on Sunday bombed two railway stations behind the enemy’s lines, hitting a train in motion and doing much damage to buildings and rolling stock. Seven enemy machines were brought down and many others damaged and forced to descend. Eight of ours have not returned. (Received 25, 1015 a.m.) London, October 24. Sir Douglas Haig says: We secured yesterday’s gains at Gueudecourt and Les Boeufs. Concerning the enemy’s claim that we lost heavily on Saturday, our gains were noteworthy. We took prisoner 1000 and had only 1200 casualties.

CASCADE OF BRITISH SHELLS. London, October 24. While Mr. Gibbs is recuperating in England, Mr. Percival Gibbon represents the “Daily Telegrah” and “ Daily Chronicle” on the western front. He describes the fighting,at the Schwaben redoubt. He says he had Just come from Russia, and had seen heavy artillery firing, but nothing like that on the western front. He had never seen this pouring of shells in a cascade, in a cloudburst of steel and fire. The Bavarians suffered heavily from our machine-like attack, and great numbers of bodies were lying in the open before the trenches. As a net result we gamed 200 to 400 yards on a front of 5000 yards. MARKED DECLINE IN BRITISH LOSSES. New York, October 24. Figures prove a marked decline in the British losses on the Somme compared with the earlier fighting. Some estimates of the German losses are fully 40 per cent, greater than the British, whose new methods of attacking and advancing have resulted in saving men. It is believed that the tanks and other inventions have saved the British nearly an army corps. WEEK IN A TANK. AUSTRALIAN’S DIARY. London, October 16. The “ Manchester Guardian ” publishes the diary of a young Australian who was wounded while serving in a tank. The diary commences:— Monday.—Out for the first time. It is a strange sensation —worse than being in a submarine. Suddenly the tank gives a terrible lurch. We are astride an enemy trench. “ Give them hell!” was the order. Our guns raked the trenches right and left. The Huns were shot down in bunches like scared rabbits. The experience was not altogether pleasant. Tank sickness is as bad as sea sickness. Tuesday.—Off for another cruise. Peppering began at once. The silly blighters thought they could rush the tank like a fort —devilish plucky chaps for all their madness- Then the blessed old tub gave a sudden jerk. I thought it was good-bye to earth, but it was only some Hun dead and wounded over whom we had skidded. Similar experiences were recorded on Wednesday and ThursdayFriday.—We took 200 prisoners, the killed and wounded numbering another 200. Saturday’s entry commences:—We moved on before breakfast. It was rare good sport. We reached the enemy trenches and found the enemy had prepared an ambush for the Yorkshire men advancing to an attack. We waddled into the ambush. I never saw men so frightened. A few chaps stayed behind and tried to stop us with machine-guns. We smashed them to bits, and the Yorkshire men picked up the machine guns. Sunday’s entry says:—We did good work frightening the Huns. \Ve continued to ladle out death as one might vamp out music from a hurdy-gurdy. Fritz got fits and had no fight left. Thus finished an exciting week. One wants a good rest after a spell in a tank. FRENCH KEEP UP WITH BRITISH ADVANCE. Paris, October 24. A communique states: We appreciably progressed northeastward of Morval-