FRITZ’S NEW TRICK

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9718, 21 July 1917, Page 7

FRITZ’S NEW TRICK

STORY OF HIS FAILURE. LONDON. July 9. Router's correspondent at French headquarters gives further interesting details of tho big German attempt on the Chemin dos Dames on Tuesday. Tho battle differed considerably from most of the actions of tho kind. It was firstly in the elaborate effort te secure an advantage of surprise, and, .secondly, in the failure, despite heavy sacrifices, to secure any result. General von Boehm on this occasion resolved to tost the dogma of the indispensability of a long.artillery preparation. An uncanny silence of twentyfour hours preceded the attack.- True, the French knew from prisoners that the Gorman front on the California casemate and plateau had been relieved, and that the tired battalion of the 389th Regiment, which allowed the storm troops to go forward unsupported to their death, had been replaced by young troops, and that an attack was* plainly pending, but there was in; clue to the- date or hour. The Germans mustered on the pro. viou-s night- in their trenches on the northern slopes of the plateau. At half-past seven o'clock next evening tho French Divisional General commanding the sector was sitting down to his evening meal and wondering what the silence of the enemy guns ' meant, when a sudden roar of. artillery . supplied tho solution. Tho Gormans had opened a bombardment of stagger- . ing violence along the entire front. Across the plateau ran an unbroken wave of -shell bursts, which cut off all access to the front. In the roar tbo great shells rained on every part of the position, destroying the communication trenches, gijttpig wires,, and, . ploughing up .licu-ilm-momon*—,. tho position- appeared desperate. But the Bodies had .reckoned with-

out their hosts. The roar of theii overture had been board for miles, with the result that every French gun wag turned on to the German departure trenches. The Germans had counted on the immunity of thos« trenches on the slopes of the plateau, because, owing to the steepness of th-i ■ascent, "most of it'had been regarded a s dead ground for artillery purpose*. As had happened the dav before, tho divisional artillery commander, himself adventuring beyond the front trendies, bad worked nut the exact range and angle of file needed to reach the*enemy front line, and’ directly the battle began several batteries of seventy-fives opened a terrific barrage on these trenches, which were naturally crowded with men.

Meanwhile the heavy artillery Wfu raining destruction on the supports he hind and the German communicati'-; trenches and batteries. The Frone’; reply had been so prompt that the attempt failed even before it had properly commenced. The enemy bombard ment died down in minutes, ten minutes after the German infautn left the trenches. At this part of the line the enemy employed stormin; companies, consisting of fresh troop; of the 1918 class, who were full of fire. They came on" very gallantly, but the preliminary decimation by the sev-enty-fives left them too weak to advance far against tho storm of machinegun, trench-mortar, and rifle fire from tho trenches.. They never reached tho French line.

Further west the Germans gained possession of a small salient, but were immediately driven out, A feature of the fight was the Frcitch trench-mortar barrage. From two batteries of these weapons 7CO heavy bombs of terrific explosive effect wore showered on the German departure trench. The battle at the end of the crest was over by ten o’clock. Still further west the fight raged all night, but with no better results for the enemy. Four of his regiments here must have suffered terrible slaughter. It was noted that they attacked carrying their packs, obviously intending to hold the ground. They had hern told that they would find the plateau hold by strong posts, instead of by tinpowerful defence line which they actually encnnntpj-od. General von Bochin’s attempt to dispense with a long artillery preparation failed. It would have failed in any case, but the lack of preparation cost bim even the temporary gain which a well-staged attack almost invariably secures.