FAILURE OF ARRAS ATTACK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 1 April 1918, Page 5

FAILURE OF ARRAS ATTACK.

FURTHER HEAVY THRUSTS POSSIBLE. BRITISH LINES SPLENDIDLY HELD. LONDON, March 30. Reuters headquarters co-respondent says the enemy's attack on Arras failed after fierce fighting. Prisoners state that the objective, Arras, must be captured at all costs. Specially trained shock troops, were used with that intention. Ine capture will probably not be abandoned, but the losses inflicted are so great that the enemy must bring up fresh divisions before he renews the experiment. Airmen continue to report enemy concentrations behind the lines, foreshadowing further heavy thrusts. Reporting later, the correspondent says that on the whole the British lines along the whole front were held splendidly throughout the day. At one point only the Germans got across the river in force, about Croicy, taking our troops in- the Proyart and Merioourt neighborhood. "We have fallen back. The retirement was particularly well conducted. The men were taken in the rear before they knew it. and in the threatened area the infantry and £uns faced round for a time, the field guns firing with open sights, and the; infantry charged dashingly and drove the enemy, who far outnumbered themselves, back to the river bank till alt the guns were withdrawn. Then this section swung back to their new t>osition by Hamel-La Motte. ' " As evidence of the spirit of the British it may be mentioned that some of the most tired men, after terrific fighting for three days, were ordered to make a new attack. It was a serious iobj for the enemy troops were fresh and twice their number; yet they attacked, singing "Trrmerary," and scored a splendid success.