OLD BATTLEFIELDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23662, 22 May 1940, Page 10

OLD BATTLEFIELDS

CAMPAIGNS OF PAST SCENES OF NEW STRUGGLE FRENCH AND BELGIAN TOWNS Battle-grounds where succeeding generations of enemies have fought at intervals for hundreds of years are mentioned again as scenes of fierce warfare in to-day's news. Many of the place-names quoted in the latest despatches describing fighting in France and Belgium were familiar 25 years ago as localities in which Allied armies were facing those of Germany, and the fate of towns and territories that changed hands several times between 1914 and 1918 is again in the balance.

Two names stand out conspicuously in connection with the present drive of the German armies into northwestern France. They arc those of Cambrai, which was occupied by tho Germans for over four years in tho last war, and Peronne, which lias been won and lost and won again by tho French throughout the centuries.

Great Battle of 1917 The great battle of Cambrai in November and December, 1917, has been described by war historians as "a tragedy of errors and missed opportunities" on the part of the Allies, but victory there pointed the way to final victory in 1918. Tho battle has become a landmark in the history of warfare, because on November 20, 1917, the British Third Army attacked successfully, using a new method, without weeks of prior bombardment. Tanks played the largo part in this action, and although tho Germans later counter-attacked successfully, the lesson had been learned by tho Allies and its results were successfully applied to drive out the invading armies. Tho Germans took Cambrai on August 26, 1914, and it was not until October 8, 1918, that they were finally driven out. When they retired they left the town heavily mined, and the central portion of this historic spot was wrecked as a result. Cambrai is an important road junction, as no fewer than eight highways, running from all points of tho compass, meet there like the spokes of a wheel. It is also important as a railway junction and through the town Hows the Canal de l'liscaut.

Many Vicissitudes Peronne, another French city of the north-west, in the direct path of the German drive, is on the right bank of the Somme. It has been fought over for hundreds of years. In 1815 the British, under Wellington, captured it. The Germans took Peronne first in 1871, and again in 1914. The French won it back in March, 1917, but lost it to the Germans once inoro oxactly a year later. The French finally retook Peronne in September, 19.15, aided by an Australian force. In Peronne there aro crossings over the Somme, giving access to Amiens, the most important of the railway junctions in north-western France. It was while the Germans were marching on Amiens from Peronno in 1918 that they met the Australians at VillersBretonneux.

In the same area is Caudry, a town near Beauvois and La Fontaine, where the New Zealand Division received the news of the Armistice in 191 S. Valenciennes, north-west of Le Quesuoy, was the objective of the Canadian corps in the autumn of 1918. Present indications are that Le Quesnoy and the great forest of Mormal will again be in the battle area. Ancient Fortress Town Further north, where the British and Belgian armies are facing the German attack in Belgium, tho ancient fortress town of Ath is mentioned in connection with the latest action. This town, in the Belgian province of Hainaut, was a fortress as long ago as tho year 1150, and tho last of the old fortifications disappeared only last century, when a boulevard was built on their site. Ath is still a fortified town, and is one of tho strong points on which tho Allied armies are relying to prevent further German advances across Belgium to the sea. Through it runs the road from Brussels to Tournai and Lille. Also in the latest news is the River Scheldt and its tributary tho Dendre. Both rivers run through country where great conflicts of the past were decided. The Scheldt rises in France and enters Belgium to flow past Tournai, Oudenarde, Ghent and Termonde to Antwerp, so that tho Allies hold one portion of the river, and tho Germans the section nearer the mouth.