BRITISH AND FRENCH REPORTS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 9 July 1917, Page 7

BRITISH AND FRENCH REPORTS

BRILLIANT AIR EXPLOITS

(Australian-N.Z. C.A. and- Reuter.) (Received July 9, 1.55 p.m ) , iIONDON, July 8. Sir Douglas Haig reports: "We successfully raided south-east of Lagnicourt and north of Ypres, and drove olff an attempted raid eastward of Loos. Aerial- fighting yesterday was chiefly- between Lens and Ypres." In this area a large number of the enemy's machines were encountered, but despite in"c enemy's pronounced activity we bombed and damaged aerodromes and carried out successful artillery work and photography. The enemy dropped 144 bombs on our side of the line, and our machines dropped three times that number on the enemy's side. A French communique states: Enemy air forces raided in the Nancy region on Friday. A hospital was 'bombed, and three persons killed and four wounded. Several were wounded at Epernay. Eighty-four French machines carried out a series of brilliant operations on Friday night, some attacking towns far within enemy territory as reprisals for German bombardments. Eleven machines dropped two and a half tons of bombs at Treves, causing fires. Six bombed Ludwigshafen and' the great Baden aniline works. One pilot bombed the Krnpp works at Essen. He started at 9. 20'- in the evening, and returned at 4.15 in the morning, covering 440 miles. Military establishments at Hirson and Thiqnville were bombed. Altogether 13£ tons of bombs were dropped. Two machines have not returned.