WESTERN FRONT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 163, 8 July 1918, Page 5

WESTERN FRONT

THE HAMEL ATTACK AMERICANS BEHAVE MAGNIFICENTLY. (Rec. July 8, 8.55 a.m.) LONDON, July 7. Mr Perry Robinson writes: —Tlie Americans at Haniol , behaved magnificently. If they suffered some casualties, it was with pressing into their own barrage. A corporal, aged 21, and wounded thrc e times, killed seven Germans. A sergeant captured seven single-hand - d.

ENEMY ATTACKS FAIL

AUSTRALIANS TAKE MORE PRISONERS. FINE WORK BY AMERICANS. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association., i(Rec. July 8, 8.55 a.m.) LONDON, July 7. Mr Philip Gibbs writes: —After the Australian attack' at Hamel, the enemy, whose guns had almost bi_.en silenced, shelled somfe of our new positions rather heavily and made three counter-attacks in the evening on the Australian line, but they were feeble and unsuccessful.

Some groups of German machine guns guns were established within 50 yard's of .the Australians, who. decided not to tolerate them so close. A number of Australians, during the night, drove back the German outposts and captured 50 prisoners. The Americans fighting were not many compared with the Australians, but these few companies were eager to meet the enemy for ' the first time -and proved their fighting quality to the ,hilt, to the utter surprise of the enemy and the silencing of his guns made the battle less fearful than the Americans expected. The intensity of our gun fire was the most horrible feature.

After the barrage passed', Americans and Australians found groups of uncanny creatures with gas masks on and' hands up. Auy who showed fight had not a cliance of life. The Americans were not -tender-heart-ed. They went forward with fixed bayonets, shouting "Lusitania" thening the American souls and- terrifying the enemy. , The Germans might well be terrified, for "Lusitania" is called for vengeance. OVER 1500 PRISONERS CAPTURED COUNTER-ATTACK REPULSED. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter.) LONDON, July 5. Sir Douglas Haig reports • —The total number of prisoners taken in Thursday's successful operation on the Somme exceeds 1500, including forty officers. One field' gun and 100 machine guns have already been counted.

A counter-attack on our new positions eastward of Hamel on the night of July-4th was easily repulsed. We successfully raided BeaumontHamel sector, and repulsed an attempted raid in the neighbourhood of Stra'zceie.

f " Hostile artillery fire is in progress at j Scherpen berg. Our aeroplanes co-operated in the successful attack on July 4th southward of the Somme by heavily bombing the German: positions throughout .tho previous night, and machine-gun-.ning and bombing from low altitude troops and transport during the ; ajctuail operation. . ' We destroyed eleven machines and | ten uncontrollable. Four British machines engaged in t r .-.t area are missing. AH engaged at other parts of the front returned. tWe dropped tons of bombs on July 4th and the nights of the 4th and sth. PATROL ACTIONS NEAR YPRES. 'Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter.l LONDON, July- 6. Sir Douglas Haig reports : —We took a few prisoners this morning in patrol encounters in the neighbourhood' of Ypres. The hostile artillery as active between Villei's Bretonneux and the Ancrc.

FEEBLE GERMAN RESISTANCE THE VICTORY COMPLETE. (Afistralian ancf N'.Z. Cable Association.) \ LONDON, July 5•Mr Percival Phillips says Hamel was as complete a victory as the Allies have

ever won. Th© Get-man resistance wa? feebtlo and spasmodic, and utterly unlike the organised opposition expected Something like a panic slized the enemy. Large numbers of German dead were found, victims of the preliminary air raid, which was As destructive as the artillery, British aviatote dropped 300 large bombs, and before the defenders could rally tiie tanks were' upon them. Many Germans ran away, and one battalion surrendered with its staff. THE AMERICANS AT HAMEL. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association LONDON, Judy 6. Mr Philip Gibbs states' that an Amer {can general addressed the Americans before the battle of Hamel. He said : "You Are going to get a taste of the real thing; You are going in with some of the best soldiers, the Australians, who always deliver, the goods. They are not going to stop until every objective is reached-. We expect you to do the same, and we will be very'' disappointed if you do not fulfil our hopes and the belief we havp in you." There were thousands of other American troops desperately eager to join, and they asked the Australians if they could not lend them a hand. A GERMAN COMMUNIQUE. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and 'Reuter.) (Admiralty per Wireless Press.) EC/-.DON, Jluv 5. A German official report says:— Southward of the iSomme the enemy penetrated: the village and wood of Hamel. Our counter-attack frustrated an attack eastward of Hamel.

AN AUSTRALIAN ADVANCE

ON FRONT OF 2000 YARDS. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter.) (Rec. Julv 8, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, July 7. Sir Douglas Haig reports :—Australians, on the night of the sth, advanc ed the line north-eastward of Villersv Bretonneaux on a front of 2000 yards.

FRENCH FRONT

PATROL ENCOUNTERS'

(Australian and N.Z. Cable A&sociaiioii and Reuter.. LONDON, July 5. A French communique states : Our detachments and patrols operating between Montdidier and the OSee, in Champagne,./on the right bank of the Meuse, and in Lorraine, each secured prisoners. Tlure is moderate reciprocal artillery fire. It is livelier south of the Aisne, particularly in the regions of Cutry and Mont Gobert. We raided west of Bussaines.

ARTILLERY WORK. (llec. July 8, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, Ju!y Y. Sir D'ougaas Haig's aviation report says:—There has been little air fighting. We carried out a large.' amount of successful artillery work and dropped 19 tons ot bombs on selected' tar g»ts. A FRENCH ADVANCE. (Rec. July 8, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, July 7. A French communique says:—West of •Chateau Thierry we progressed in the region of Hill 204. We took prisoners.. There is quiet elsewhere. Eighteen enemy aeroplanes were felled. Fifty-six tons of explosives' have been dropped- in the enemy zone from the Ist to the 6th.

AIR. FIGHTING. HEAVY GERMAN LOSSES. 'CONSTANT RAIDS INTO GER- % MANY. ' (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter./ LONDON, July 5During the past week the air fighting was intense. An abnormally (high percentage of German machines were destroyed by the British. The British air raids over Germany were increasingly menacing. Large and more distant cities are now in constant fear of attack. This is occasioning rapidlyspreading anxiety and alarm throughOut German v.

The new British independent fighting force was specially conspicuous by a series of heavy and telling blows against the big industrial centres in the Rhine provinces, and t'he naval airmen are also vigorously carrying out daring offensives against vital enemy sea. stations on the Belgian coast. The Air Ministry reports : On Friday morning our aeroplanes heavily attacked the railway " stations at Cobleriz and iSaarbrucken, where we brought down two enemy attacking machines. All ours-returned. •' RAIDS AT ZEEBRUGGE', 'BRUGES, AND OSTEND. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Asnociation and Reuter.)

LONDON, July 6. The Admiralty reports.—We dropped 15£ tons of bombs on Bruges lock gates, the Zeebrugge sh- d's, and warehouses on the quay at Ostend, and also on two aerodromes. Bursts of flames were observed from sheds, warehouses, and hangars.

PALESTINE

PROGRESS OF THE ARABS. .'Australian and N. Z. Cable Association and Renter ) LONDON, July 6. A Palestine official report states that the Hedjaz Arabs captured Kalaat and El Arahar on June 28th and took 60 prisoners. THE DUTCH ELECTIONS. RESIGNATION 1 OiF THE CABINET. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) AMSTERDAM, July 5. The Dutch elections resulted in a draw. The Cabinet is resigning, and it is expected that a coalition Cabinet under M._ iSeemskork will be forcned, with no change in the foreign policy. SPAIN. (Rec. July 8, 9.5 a.m.V (MADRID, jiuy 7. The Chamber adopted' an Espionago Bill without division after Socialist and Republican opponents walked out.