HOW LE CATEAU FELL.

Northern Advocate, 14 October 1918, Page 3

HOW LE CATEAU FELL.

BIG SURPRISE SPRUNG.

LONDON, Oct. 11

The British advance between Cambrai and St. Quentin has reached an average depth of ten miles. They have captured Le Cateau. The line runs along the Selle River, from St. Souplet to Solesmes. The French, east of St. Quentin, have advanced four miles. Further south they have captured Cervais, east of the Oise.—Reuter. Reuters correspondent at British headquarters, writing on Thursday, says: The enemy's withdrawal between St. Quentin and Cambrai yesterday was so rapid that our patrols were scarcely able to maintain touch last night, This swift retirement seemed to be continuing on our right, but machine-gun resistance stiffened on the left. Airmen report remarkable confusion among the troops and transport moving east from Le Cateau.—Reuter. Mr Percival Phillips writes: —The Sixty-sixth Division, including Connaughts, Dublins, Inniskillens, Manchesters, and Lancashire Fusiliers, were prominent in' Thursday's advance. The enemy was astounded by the attack. One enemy battalion commander says he heard that peace would be signed Thursday night, and the troops had been told that an armistice was certain, as Germany's offer covered all the Allied demands. The Sixty-sixth Division made a wonderful journey towards Le Cateau. A great wave of enthusiasm carried them forward, though footsore and dazed from want of sleep, anclthe only resistance came from dispirited enemy rearguards. The British swept over the hills with such force that five German divisions simply fled, abandoning their guns. The Connaughts captured three eight-inch howitzers near Serain. The Germans tried to recapture the guns. The inhabitants hiding in Serain cellars heard them rushing machine-guns forward, officers cursing and urging haste. The Connaughts fell back awhile, and then came again irresistibly, driving the enemy in disorder. British cavalry, pushing forward, reached the outskirts of Le Cateau, where they met strong machine-gun opposition. They did not attempt to enter the town. The Sixty-sixth Battalion, astride the main road, reached outlying buildings on Thursday morning. The German Second Army seemed to be standing on high ground east of Le Cateau, and poured in heavy artillery fire, apparently in the hope of preventing us from entering. It came as a shock to see villagers going about their daily tasks, women washing clothes and children playing with dogs. The villagers seemed content to remain, though fields near by were dotted with dead and littered with battle wreckage. One of the foulest German deeds was the deliberate destruction of lace-making and embroidery machinery, whereby the villagers lived. The villagers state that some British prisoners who escaped after the German advance in March and hid in villages were shot when found. A villager in Selvigny saw a group forced to dig shallow graves and made to kneel on the edge, where they were all shot.—A. and N.Z.