BRILLIANT BRITISH ATTACK ACROSS CANAL DU NORD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16969, 1 October 1918, Page 5

BRILLIANT BRITISH ATTACK ACROSS CANAL DU NORD.

SUCCESS DEPENDS UPON OUTCOME OP FIRST EFFORT. GERMAN GARRISONS SURROUNDED UNAWARES. Australian and N.Z. CaW» Association. LONDON. Sept 29. Mr. Percival Phillips writes: Today's attack on the Hindenburg line was more difficult and dangerous than that c Mast November. The plan was to strike eastward across the canal, then' northward, The front lay parallel to the canal, the crossing of which was one of the most remarkable feate of our offensive. It is 16ft deep, and 70ft wide with deep mud at the bottom, rendering it passable only at certain points. Surface bridges were • impossible; the sides were too steep in many places for dropping or climbing. The enemy had the range for every yard, and Bourlon Wood gave most complete observation of our movements. Everything depended on the first rush. An officer said on Thursday night, " Give ub fifteen minutes, and all will be all right.'! The.« men had to be assembled at night, and scaling ladders brought up and flung down and over at the precise moment the first handful of intrepid soldiers descended the yawning chasm. They bore more ladders with which to scale the canal face, carrying heavy packs and loads of bombs. To face t!is enemy machine-gunners seemed certain death to the men assembling on the eve of the attack. Everything depended on those fifteen minutes in which the attackers must descend the dark pit and , reach the other-side after a breathless rush, and yet must have breath enough to begin to fight for life on the other side. Here was an ordeal far more exacting and dangerous than merely going over the top, but the men wont to victory without mishap or pause. ■ ~ < The Canadians, after the passage of the canal at Inchy-en-Artois, had two miles before them. They strode at almost leisurely pace up , the slopes in the direction of Bourlon Wood. It was open country, with several systems of fragmentary trenches. These were the emergency, lines of the inferior Siegfried fortress line. The Canadians went through easily enough and reached the edge of the wood to schedule time. Meanwhile the British battalions on the right of the Canadians crossed the bottle-neck of the canal near Moeuvros with the greatest swiftness before the enemy was able to, put down a barrage. They passed the Hindenburg support line and then some wheeled south behind it towards Graincourt, and had swept the area clear before 10 o'clock, reaching the Bapaume-Cambrai road. The other British troops crossed the canal between Moeuvres and the Cambrai-Bapaume road, where they met considerable resistance from machine-gun nests. These garrisons were not aware that they were already surrounded from the north, but surrendered when they found themselves between two fires. The Germa,ns on Flosquieres ' Ridge had faced south, expecting an attack from the south as in November, but before they came to close quarters they found Bourlon Wood behind them full of Canadians. The enemy artillery was active until 10 o'clock, and practically ceased thereafter, the guns evidently being withdrawn. Enemy aeroplanes were unusually energetic, low fliers attempting to use-their machine-guns against the infantry. Comparatively few prisoners were taken in the morning, and it seems certain that the enemy had withdrawn some troops in the night.