FINE BRITISH AIR WORK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16969, 1 October 1918, Page 4

FINE BRITISH AIR WORK.

NO DOUBT OF A&CENDAMTS

SUCCESSES ON ALL FRONTS

.SSOCIATION.]

[BY TEtEOSAPH.—PRESS

,y ;t ;■ WELLINGTON. M- adsyBritish serial activity is; raferred to in : the weekly war' summary received from the Ministry of Information, , The summan- says :-During the past week British, airmen were heavily engaged.in the km main theatres Of war. From the Bel-, gian e'mt away to the defiles of Samariaand the Syrian Desert they have unmistakablv the ascendency.. - The heaviest fighting took place north oi the ArrasCambrai Road. ? Large <w«my forces were employed and the fighting was bitter, particularly between Cambrai , and ; northeast of Douai. During th, week 46 British machines were reported. t musing, . but;; British airmen ": destroyed, , 69?;;; enemy £3LTd drove down J m vUi anti-aircraft ■ gun* down ftVj machines, the total ben* |J» 'J Rhine front the independent section ox the Royal Air Force made ffi succeasiui; raids aS dropped an exceptionally heavy St of bombs on enemy railways and faZbM centres. All the uto enemy objectives suffered as usual, . ■ \;. ■ -;., Particular attention ib deserve? by the, aerial operations in Palestine. %cx some tune past the Royal Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps have carijed out, reconnaissances on ft wide peaki* the. Maratime Plain from Mount Carnal to the Nabluß-Jaffa Road, over Samaria, and the Jordan Valley from the' edge of the. Mudeari; Plateau 'to I the ' ■ Sea . of ; Galilee. Otherscontingents; flew over the eastern, hills and bombed and fired ;on enemy centres at Amman and Dera'a, ' across the; Hedjaz railway, which runs from Medina through Damascus to the Turco-Germaif Base at Aleppo. All this was in prepare] tion for the triumphant drama of the pas? week. Meanwhile'the British airmen cot operated on the night of September tsm and heavily bombarded . the railway juncj; tion at Afuleh, on the ancient Damae-; ous Road, to hinder reinforcements and. increase the enemy's difficulties. Through" out the next day our aeroplanes perpetually bombed the enemy headquarters; and worried his retreat by firing many thousand*! of rounds from their maanine-guns against troops and transports, while '.more than: eleven tons of bombs,: were •: dropped ori: various objectives behind ;= the lines. : On September 21 and 22 our airmen inflicted enormous 1 damage on the enemy in the congested mountain roads, especially fin the road- from Nablus ito the Jisr-ed-damieh Ford, along which the enemy vainly tried to escape into the J6«dan Valley.| I'^S

On the Balkan front our airmen continue most active. On September 21, British aeroplanes brought '. news'' of the enemy's imponding retirement, having observed large fires at Hudova/. station and other points behind the lines. All day : they watched the road packed with troops and transports hurrying back, and porpetually attacked -them From close above, ; causing wild confusion and much disaster;. Thu enemy's retreat was;; harassed perpetually and vigorously 1 by/the British aircraft. On the Italian front no British machines weriji lost but six enemy machines were destroyed, while three were driven down helpless.;;' ':/.;/.-;.■";///-..;.'/cZ../;/'-;//;/-j|