STEADY DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH PLANS

Nelson Evening Mail, 6 July 1916, Page 5

STEADY DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH PLANS

NO GERMAN SURPRISES. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON", July 5. The correspondent of the Morning Post says the fighting on the West front has failed to reveal that the Germans are in possession of any surprises. The much heralded terrible weapons have not materialised, but patience is necessary to overcome their unscrupulous tactics and tricks. The British plans are progressing hot mally, and officers and men are per- j forming .prodigies of valour. The people | at home must patently trust them and not expect rapid developments. Reserves are busy at Mametz burying our dead. The/doctors worked like heroes in separating the living from the dead, and attending to wounded who had j lain in the open for hours. The correspondent was disappo nted in an incident between Mametz and ITricourt. He was posted where he was told he could see a fine scrap. A tew hundred Germans tenaciously clung to j the trenches, but when our infantry, sup- j ported by bombers, dashed at the end of the trench, the Germans threw gren- ; ades and fired a few rifle shots, and : then ran for their lives, with uplifted hands and handkerchiefs, yelling "Ka marad." Some of the dug-outs were palatial, and contained prodigious quantities of sausages, potted meats ,preserved vegetables, cheeses, and casks of /beer, wh sky and .gin. The officers' suite was fitted ] with electric bells to summon the servants from the adjoining kitchen. _ The correspondent adds that, prisoners state that such -\vas the devastation caused by the artillery on the French front that 31 German battalions were completely disorganised, and the trenches were wrecked, preventing control by the high command.