BRITISH ATTACK ON GIVENGHY BRICKFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15950, 22 June 1915, Page 7

BRITISH ATTACK ON GIVENGHY BRICKFIELDS.

EFFECT OF THE INTENSE ARTILLERY FIRE. FRAGMENTS OF SHELL AND BROKEN BRICK. (Received June 21> 10.30 p.m.) London, June 21. A British officer, in a letter describing the assault on La Bassee, says: "Artillery poured a tempest of shells on the Givenchy brickfields. You could see high-explosive shell crash square on the fortlike blocks of brick, baked solid. You watch the great cloud of smoke roll away, and expect to see the brick-stack shattered, but find hardly a dent. Nevertheless, your own experience tells you that the defenders are suffering from" fragments of shell and showers of broken brick, which arc breaking their bodies and shattering their nerves. The bombardment continued day and night, the British meanwhile enjoying the advantage of attackers, and being able to rest in well-covered positions until the moment came to advance. Meantime, the Germans did not know when or where the attack would fall. * " The first infantry rush took place at six in the evening. -Inside an hour the front line of trenches was taken and most of the defenders killed. The fight continued in the darkness, lit up by a constant succession of flares, while the Germans hurried up reinforcements by trains and" motors. We, however, had got our teeth in with a bulldog grip which would not come away without tearing out the piece."