WESTERN FRONT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17644, 23 November 1917, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT.

GERMAN LINE BROKEN. CAPTURE OF MARCOING. ; (Extraordinary). NEW YORK. November 21. Tho Hindenburg line has been smashed, and the British are advancing on a wide front. Marcoing has been captured, and the whole canal line has been taken. Thousands of prisoners have been captured. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S REPORT. SUPPORT LINE CAPTURED. LONDON, November 21. Sir Douglas Haig reports: • "■Between-'St Quentin- and the Scarpe tanks broke through successive belts of wire of great depth and strength. The infantry followed, and Btormed the first! defensive system of the Hindenburg Line. ■< The tanks and infantry pressed on, nnd captured the Hindenburg support Line, more than a mile beyondSeveral thousand prisoners and a number of guns were captured. A SURPRISE ATTACK. OPERATIONS CONTINUING. A. and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. LONDON, November 21. Sir Douglas Haig reports: Yesterday morning the Third Army, nnder Sir Julian Byng, delivered a number of general attacks between ot Quentin and the Scarpe River. The attacks were carried out without previous artillery fire, completely surprising tho enemy. Our troops broke in the enemy's positions to a dopth of between four and five miles on a wide front. We captured several thousand prisoners and a number of guns. The operations continue at the present hour. ; , During the assault! on the principal front a largo number of tanks moved . forward in advance of the infantry, and broke through successive belts or Gor-. man wire of great depth and strength. A DETAILED REPORT. SIR DOUGLAS HAIG DESCRIBES ACTION. A- and N.Z. Cable Association and Eeutor. (Received November 22, 8.15 p.m.) LONDON, November 21. Sir Douglas Haig reports:Following through tho gaps made by the tanks, English, Scottish and Irish regiments swept over the outposts and stormed the first defensive system of the Hindenburg lino along the whole front. Infantry and tanks pressed on in accordance with programme and captured tho second system of defence, over a mile beyond, known as the Hindenburg support line. East county troops took Bonavis and Plateau Wood after stiff fighting. English rifle regiments and light infantry captured La Vacquerie, also formidable defences on the 'spur known as Welsh Ridge. Other English county troops stormed the village of Ribecourt and fought their way through Couillet Wood. . Highland Territorials crossed the Grand Ravine and entered Flesquieres, where fierce fighting took place. West Riding Territorials captured Havrincourt and also tho trench system northwards of tho village. Ulster battalions, covering the West Riding Territorials' left flank, moved . northward up the west bank of tho Canal du Ndrd. After morning wo continued the advance rapidly and progressed at all points. English, Scottish, Irish and •Welsh troops secured the crossings of tho canal at Masniercs and captured Marcoing, Neuf Wood and West Ridge. The troops from Havrincourt made remarkable progress eastward of the Canal du Nord. They stormed tho villages of wandcourt and Anneux, cooperating with the Ulsters westward of the c&n'ffh We carried the wholo German lino northwards to the Bapaumc-Cambrai road. Tho Wcstlandshirc Territorials broke into positions eastward of Epehy uid Irish troops captured important jeotions of the Hindenburg line between BuKecourt and Fontaine les Ooiselles. The number of prisoners, gUns and material taken cannot yet

be estimated. Fine, dull weather favoured preparations, but broke early yesterday, when rain fell. The night is now stormy. GLADDENING NEWS. MR MASSEY'S REFERENCE TO VICTORY. [Pee Pbess Association.] AVELLINGTON, November 22. Commenting on the latest victory on the west front, the Prime Minister aays:— '' The hews received this morning of a great victory on the western front has gladdened tho hearts of British citizens in every part of tho world, and again proved the superiority of British soldiers over the very best men Germany can place in the field. At a timo like this, when we are anxiously watching the events taking place in Russia and Italy, the victory is doubly welcome, and as it is welcome to us so it' must be disappointing to the enemy. The new tactics must have been a terrible surprise to the German commanders, and coming so soon after their successes in Italy, a terrible surprise to the whole of th© forces of the Central Powers. We may still experience disappointments before tho end comes, but courage and resource such as Sir Douglas Haig and his soldiers havo displayed, backed up by determination on tho part of noricombatant citizens, will without a shadow of doubt see tho war througli to the conclusion which we desire." SECOND DAY'S FIGHTING. MANY VILLAGES TAKEN. TANKS AGAIN CO-OPERATE. A. and N.Z. Cable Association and Router. (Received November 22, 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, November 22. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—lmportant progress was made to-day westward and south-westward of Cambrai, despite continuous rain. Reinforcements for the enemy were hurried up and opposed our advance, but were driven out. A further series of villages and other fortified positions and many additional prisoners were taken. The Tanks were again of great assistance. We made progress on our right in the direction of Crevecceur sur l'Escaut and captured north-east of Masniercs a double line of trenches on the east bank of the Canal de l'Escaut, where there was sharp fighting, and counterattacks were driven off. The village ot Noyelles do l'Escaut, northward of Marcoing, was captured in tho early morning. Hero also there was heavy fighting, and counter-attacks were successfully repulsed. The Scottish troops in the morning, moving north-cast of Cantaing, took tho latter village and continued to advance. They later established themselves upwards of five miles behind tho former German front line. West Riding and Irish troops northward of Anneux engaged tho enemy southwards and south-westward of Eourlon Wood. The Ulsters, further west, crossed the Bapaumc-Cambrai road and entered Mceuvres. Strong counter-attacks made against our new positions in tho neighbourhood of Bullecourfc were defeated. The total number of guns captured is not yet ascertained. Our aeroplanes attempted to work nil day on Tuesday in conjunction with the operations between St Quentin and the River Scarpe, but lew clouds and mist and a strong westerly wind prevailed, with a drizzle. The airmen made occasional raids, the pilots flying fifty feet from tho ground. Even then, at times, they were quickly lost in the mist. Continual attempts to maintain contact With the advancing troops wore rendered almost impossible. Only five hostile machines were seen. Eleven of ours wero lost owing to the mist and tho exceptionally low height at which they were compelled to fly.

THE HINDENBURG DEFENCES. EIGHT .THOUSAND PRISONERS COUNTED. Reuter's Telegrams. (Received November 22, 9.20 p.m.) LONDON, November 21. The Router correspondent at headquarters states that besides tho ordinary preparations for attack on. a large scale a fleet of tanks had been brought close to tho line. Everything apparently was carried out without tho smallest intimation reaching tho enemy. The advantage of tho sudden change of scone, apart from tho element of surprise., was that the ground was suitable for the tanks and was not cut up into shell holes. Tho enemy evacuated the area last spring without fighting, and we have never previously seriously, attacked in this section. The enemy also had nothing like the concentration of guns he lias around Ypres and Passchendaole. On tho other hand we had against us tho extremely formidable defences of the Hindenburg line, tho fitrength of which the Germans had continuously increased since they fell back on them in the spring. They consisted of a triple cordon of three separate trench systems, with tunnels in which the garrison was safe from tho heaviest gunfire, and intricate wiring, all coordinated with machine-gun posts and strong redoubts. The main Hindenburg'trenches had been made specially wide to frustrate tanks, but they were not wide enough. The monsters rolled through or over every obstacle. Tho infantry losses were almost unoreccdentedl'y light. There are evidences everywhere that the enemy was taken unawares. Tho British counted eight thousand prisoners. Many more villages havo been captured and strong counter-attacks have been repulsed.

A TANK ATTACK. STRANGEST BATTLE IN HISTORY. LONDON, November 21. Tho United Press correspondent says that Sir Douglas Haig attacked through the Hindenburg lino with the ■army tanks, penetrating the muchvaunted trench system on a wide front. No barrage preceded tho infantry and there was no artillery preparation. The tanks, which wero berthed behind the lines, crawled out in the morning darkness, advancing and blazing a trail through tho Hmdenburgian maze. The artillery, during the night, fired sleepily on tho front, which was one of the quietest along the entire line, and if anything quieter than usual. On Monday night the attention of tho Germans and British seemed to bo concentrated on Flanders ; yesterday morning the batteries wero lot loose over more than thirty miles. No Man's Land shimmered, sparkled and sizzled under a rain of fireworks. Between Lens and St Quentin there was a continuous shower of sparks and flashes; then sparks and flashes; then gargantuan monsters of steel crawled forward through the smoke barrage, trampling line after line of entanglements, whose wire was tho size of a finger, each line being scores of yards across. \\ hen tho widest trenches were reached the tanks, by a clever trick, furnished their own bridge, and crossed as smooth as silk. The infantry then followed. , These tactics entirely surprised the Prussians. Ono division was hi process of being relieved by another at the. moment of tho attack. The battle was the strangest in the world's history. When tho world was saying that surprise attacks wero no longer possible, when the Prussians were thinking the same and wero sleeping comfortably in their dug-outs, tho Army Tanks, cammouflaged behind tho lines of British infantry, rose up from tlv ground magic-like, smashing tho Hindenburg Lino. It was the most wonderful performance in the war. Everything*was absolutely normal until the kick-off, and then hell was turned loose. Guns bellowed. Tanks crawled forward, Tommies followed, impatiently shouting "Come on." Germans crawled from dazed and terror-stricken. The British casualties wene few. PART PLAYED BY CAVALRY. FIGHTING SINCE TUESDAY. (Received November 22, 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, November 22. Thousands of cavalry were hidden close to the front of tho line until the Tanks broke the Hindenburg line. The cavalry have been fighting,on the Cambrai plain since midday on Tuesday, widening tho salient and capturing villages. GERMANS BOLT PANIC-STRICKEN STORMING OF NEUF WOOD. (Received November 22, 9.5 p.m.) LONDON, November 21. , Tho United Press correspondent says: —As the weird fleet of leviathans loomed through the misty dawn the Germans in several places bolted panicstricken, but after recovery from their first surprise the fighting was desperate. The British stormed Neuf Wood, a mile northward of Marcoing. full of old quarries and underground defences, and considered as one of the strongest points defending tho Hindenburg lino. Wo substantially advanced beyond this. The booty includes a score of guns. THE GERMAN VERSION. (Received November 22, 7.20 p.m.) LONDON, November 21. A wireless German official message states: — Main English attacks under tho protection of armoured cars strovo to break through to Cambrai, and succeeded in capturing villages in tho ficrhtinrr zone, including Grainccurt and Marcoing. and also portions of our permanently established 1 matorial. Our reserves arreted tho thrust in rear positions. The enemy has not advanced beyond our foremost line between, Fontaine les Croisilles and Remoourt. His attack southward of Vendhuilli?i collapsed. "STRONG FRENCH ADVANCES." NEWS FROM GERMANY. A. and N.Z. Cable Aoaocifttion and Reuttr. (Received November 22, 9.20 p.m.) LONDON, November 22. A wireless Gorman official message states:—The British since noon havo re-attacked with strong forces southwestward of Cambrai. Tho fighting continues. Strong French advances wero commenced this afternoon on the Craonno to Berry an Bac front. FRENCH SUCCESSFUL. ALL OBJECTIVES GAINED. A. and N.Z. Cable Association and Router. (Received November 22, 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, November 22. A French communique states: —West of the Miette stream we attacked the German salient, south of Juvincourt,

on a kilometre front, to an average dopth of four hundred metres. We attained all our objectives, carrying strong defences.. FRENCH ACTIVITY. SUCCESSFUL RAIDS REPORTED. A. and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. (Received November 22, 8.15 p.m.) ' LONDON, November 21. A French communique states:— We made several successful raids north and south of St Quentin. A violent artillery struggle is in progress in the region of Cha'urao Wood. FRENCH POLITICS. M. CLEMENCEAU'S STATEMENT. THE GOVERNMENT'S RESOLVE. PARIS, November 21. M. Clemenceau made a ministerial declaration in the Chamber on his acceptance of the Premiership. There had been, ho said, mistakes, alas crimes, against France, which would call for punishment. "Tho new Government," he said, "pledges its word that justice will be done to tho utmost •rigour of the law. Neither personal considerations nor tho sway of political passion shall turn us from our duty. Weakness in us would be complicity. Let there be no moro pacifist campaigns, treasons and German conspiracies. Instead, war and nothing but war. Wo have paid for our liberties too' heavy a price to yield in any direction." Tho censorship, ho said, would bo maintained in diplomatic and military matters, and reports calculated to stir up civil strife would not be tolerated.