FURTHER BRITISH PROGRESS

Nelson Evening Mail, 31 July 1916, Page 5

FURTHER BRITISH PROGRESS

OPERATIONS AT LONGUEVAL. COUNTER ATTACKS AT DELYILLE WOOD REPULSED. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, July 29. Sir Douglas Haig reports that, co-i----tinuinsr vesterday's successes, we captured the last of the German strongholds at Longueval. Hand-to-hand fighting at Pozieres lasted all day. A later report says that last night the enemy made" two desperate attemptto recapture Delville Wood, but were repulsed with heavy loss. ; Hand-to-hand "struggles north aiil north-east of Pozieres and in: tSie neighbourhood of High Wood continue without intermission. We have made progress at each point, despite violent opposition. . Since yesterday the artillery fire on "both, sides has been increasing in intensitv.

There is evidence showing that ih-j losses inflicted on the enemy during' the last few days have been very severe, particularly' at Delville Wood, where two or three regiments appear to have been annihilated.

Sir Doug-las Haig reports that except for minor local actions and heavy artillery fire on both sides, nothing important has occurred on the Somme. The ■usual trench war is proceeding elsewhere. We brought down three aeroplanes and a balloon. A WOOD OF CORPSES. TERRIBLE CONDITIONS AT DELVILLE WOOD. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, July 23. Mt Philip Gibbs writes: On Thursday morning we again too'-: Delville Wood, all but a narrow strip in the north. Our concentration of gun< has secured a most intense series of barrages upon- one position. Since July Ist the bombardment, took line after lir.o from south to north in progressive blocks >of fire. We flung every description of shell into Delville Wood, so that one great volume of smoke arose and covered it -with a dense black piU. The British who returned said it was easily the worst place on earth. It w.t.-, just crowded with corpses, and it -.r.n over these bodies that our men stumbled when they crept forward slowly and cautiously behir.d the great clearing their way. The "history of the fight in this corner since July 14th is one of the most wonderful things, for sheer stubborn courage has done it in this great battle.