OUT OF FLANDERS AND FRANCE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10107, 22 October 1918, Page 5

OUT OF FLANDERS AND FRANCE

CONTINUED'SUCCESSES OF THE ALLIES VILLAGES RELEASED On ALL SECTORS _: o • ■ ENEMY OPPOSITION FUTILE ' By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. Australian and New Zealand Cable Association. LONDON, October 20, o.dO a.m. The Allied line has reached the Dutch frontier eight miles east of Bruges The Bel4nt entered Zeebrugge on Saturday. The German evacuated the p when Thielt was taken, blowing up the batteries, including a feat battery at Knocks, which had been shelling Ostend. The Germans destroyed all tlle KftSM&S toKo cuts off six thousand Genu* troops, who mtrst either be made prisoners or walk to Holland, where they, will be British troopsin 'co-operation with. Belgian cavalry followed up the enemy after his evacuation of Zeebrugge. , _ retrainTho main body of Germans is many miles east of Edde, but we are regain InS Engtnd and France are sending vast supplies of foodstuffs to the people ° ! L The Allie?a?etithin twelve miles of Ghent and within five miles of VsUenGerman newspapers put the best possible interpretation on the situation in Belgium, and point out that the retreat is being carried. out without hindrance froS'the enemy, the object being the loss of the »- men. Nevertheless, several journals admit that the t abandonment of the coa^most gainful 0 slack owin to the bad roads and destruction of the railways. The Allies are advancing oarwully in readiness to attack in the event of reaching tho enemy's line of rc-sis-an°eThe Belgians have now outflanked Tournai, to the northward; enemy movements are reported east of Valenciennes. • The German sentries on 'the Dutch frontier have departed. The peasants on both sfdeTof the frontier cheered as the Germans removed the electric fence together with tho German flags.. The peasants immediately hoisted Belg T\ n e that the French north-east of Vouziers -have established positions on the east bank of the Aisne, where General Gouraud s Army has advanced two to three miles. . , .i j. 4.x, „„„ m^ Correspondents on the French front consider it probable that the enemy, owing to the severe blows dealt him during the past tow days,, coupled with the dangerous position in Flanders, will now be compelled to precipitate a genera resistance between the Serre and the Oise involved the heaviest losses. Tho troops fought to the limits of their endurance in an Utterly hopeless battle. Extensive changes on the war map may be expected ill the next few days. Heavy fighting is certain north of Verdun and between the Sambre and the Meuse. ' . a ik n m The "Exchange Telegraph" states that an Antwerp message at 4.15 p.m. says that 15,000 Germans crossed the frontier and have been interned. "STOP WAR" DEMONSTRATION AT COLOGNE ENEMY VESSELS ON EOLOO CANAL SHOT TO PIECES. ! ''' '(Received October 21, 7.15 p.m.) AMSTERDAM, October 21. When the evacuation of the Belgian coast became known, in Cologne "stop war" demonstration, mostly women and older soldiers, gathered around the Town Hall, shotuing, "Make peace; we are beaten!" Soldiers from 'the barracks only consented to interfere on condition that they would not be called upon to shoot. Order was re-established. Similar episodes are reported to have occurred at many places in Germany. The "Handelsblad" states that Germans evacuated the aerodromes at Austruweel and Ghent and transferred the material to Willyk. Five hundred and sixty German officers were imprisoned at Antwerp for refusing to go to Marines at Rowerslinco are taking to pieces thirty-five submarines and thirteen destroyers for conveyance to Germany. Refugees report that Belgian soldiers on Friday "hot to pieoes a number of vessels" on the Ecloo Carnal carrying German officers and water material. Nobody was saved. - DEVASTATION AT DOUAI (Received October 21, 7.15 p.m.) PARIS, October 21. It is stated that the Germans have massed forty divisions on a sixty kilometres front between the Oise and Le Cateau. . The Germans sacked Douai perhaps more completely than any other town. The contents of the houses were destroyed and many houses burned. The streets were strewn with furniture, all shop windows were broken and two-thirds of the pictures in the musum are missing. Stained windowsand organs in churches were smashed, and sacred ornaments were flung on tha flagstones. BELGIANS HUSTLING ENEMY REARGUARDS - NUMEROUS VILLAGES LIBERATED. , LONDON, October 19. A Belgian communique states:—Our troops have continued to pursue the enemv They havo occupied Zeebrugge and Bruges and thave passed the Bruges-Ghent Canal in their progress towards Aoltre. * (Received October 21, 10.40 p.m.) ; s LONDON, October 21 ' A Belgian communique states:—W© continued our pursuit of tho enemy hustling his rearguards. Our cavalry frequently charged their machineguns taking prisoners, guns and machine-guns. Towards the north tho cavalry is advancing along the Dutch frontier southwards. We are over twenty kilometres eastward of Bruges. We liberated numerous villages crossing the lino MoerkorkeJMaldeghem-Ursel-Aeltre. Considerable booty was captured, including numerous coastal guns, amongst which was a long-range gun, undamaged, which bombarded Dunkirk. FLANDERS COAST COWLETELY LIBERATED LONDON, October 29. Sir Douglas Haig's report of tho Belgian operations states:—"The British Belgian and French armies, commanded by King Albert, to-day developed the results of the last six ofays' fighting. The Belgians orossed the Bruges-Ghent Canal. Their left has reached the Dutch frontier, while.their right is at Aeltre, half-way between Bruges and Ghent. The French carried Thielt and tho adjoining high ground despite a stubborn' resistance by the enemy, who endeavoured to bar the way to Lys. lhe French lino at the end of tho day reached Hullevincat and along the Lys to Grammene, Gotthein, and Wielsbeke. . Tho Second British Army has completely cleaned up Courtrai and advanced six kilometres to the east of it. Southwards they reached tho. CourtrmTournai road, and although the enemy destroyed all communications, iney have advanced almost to tho Scheldt. Since the beginning of the .operations m Flanders this group of armies has advanced 30 miles on a front of 37 miles. The Flandors coast has been completely liberated; also the whole of Weste:n Flanders. ' , FIGHTING ON THE SELLE RIVER MANY VILLAGES OCCUPIED BY BRITISH. Auntralian and New Zealand Cable Association -ind Router. LONDON, October 20. ' Sit Douglas Haig reports:—Early this morning wo attacked the enemy's positions on the lino of tho Sello river north of Le Cateau, and crossed' the river, desnito considerable opposition. Further north the advance was continued yesterday afternoon and evening. Wc completed tho capture of Denian and reached tho general lino of Havehiv-Waiidigncs-Hamagc-Brillon-Beuvry. The enemy's resistance is increasing on this front. j The enemy has commenced to withdraw north of the Cambrai-Bayay road. | Wo have occupied Saulzoir and progress has been made towards Denian from j the south. North of the Sonsee Oannl wo havo already entered Denain and reached Escaudin Somain. On tho loft tho FJnglish Division has taken Mar-j chinnos and during tho past ten days, in tho course of tho advance 'of over eighteen miles, thoy took prisoner several hundred of the enemy. Further , north wo steadily continue to advance, and have reached tho general line Orchies, Cbbrieux, Bourchellcs, Templeuvo (southward of Rouzaix), and Nec- ' Sir Douglas Haig, h> a special dispatch detailing tho operation of tho 27th and 39th American "Divisions operating with the Fourth British Army during the Inst threo weeks, says: "In the course of tho fighting thoy display-) cd soldierly qualities of a high order, and materially assisted in the success of our attacks, especially in breaking the Hindonburg line on Sop'tcmbc?- £otb, , when thoy fought with tho utmost dash and bravery and captured Bollionurt and Nauroy,!' !

BRITISH OVERCOME GREAT OPPOSITION AT SOLES^ES

ADVANCED TROOPS NOW WITHIN TWO MILES OF rOURNAI. Australian and New Zealand Association and Iteutcr. , (Received October 21, 11.20 p.m.) LONDON, October 20, 11.20 p.m.. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—This morning;'s attack by the British forced the passage ol the. Selle river between Le C'axeau and Denuin. Having captured the villages in the river valley and driven the enemy from Solesmes, we fought up tne slopes eastward of the Sell© and established ourselves on the high ground overlooking Harves Valley. ■ We encountered determined opposition, especially at fcolesmes and btpython. We overcame this opposition after hard fighting and repulsed a number of counter-attacks. This operation was carried out in heavy rain. V. e Took 2000 prisoners and some guns. Our advanced troops are withm two miles of Tournai, and are in contact with the enemy eastward of the general lino, Denain-Bois des-Eclusettos-Landas-Mouchin-Marquain. ENEMY'S OPPOSITION~ON THE SELLE DESPERATE Australian and New Zealand Cable Association. (Received October 21, 10.40 p.m.) LONDON, October 20. The British have crossed 'the Selle along the whole line, and advanced an average depth of upwards of a mile. The enemy's opposition )* desperate. AMERBGMS REACH SAMBRE-QISE CANAL HEAVY FIGHTING WEST OF THE MEUSB. I LONDON, October 19. An American communique states: —To the west of the Meuse there has bean heavy infantry fighting in the Loges Wood, with heavy artillery and ma-chine-gun firing elsewhere, to the north of Verdun. The cooperating with the British to the norta of Wassigny, have reached the Sam-bre-Oisa Canal. ENEMY ON TIfEjjsfTHROWN BACK HUNDING LINE PIERCED ON A THREE MILE J ; RONT. ''j "~~ LONDON, October 30, 5.30 am. A French, communique states: —The enemy on the Oise front has been completely thrown back east of the river. The right wing of the First Army continued, the pursuit between the Oise and La Pere, and captured Ribemont «nd Villers-le-Sec. The Tenth Army on the Serre front attacked Hunding's line between Pouilly and the Sussonne marshes, and pierced this powerful lortification on front of three miles, shattering a stubborn resistance, advancing twelve hundred yards and taking a thousand prisoners. The enemy counter-attacks west of Barenton Brook were repulsed with heavy loss. The fighting was equally severe between Sissonne and Chateau Porcien. We made important progress by local attacks reaching the Sissonne-La Salve road and capturing several fortified works. i ■, t West of Chateau Porcein we also attacked the Hunding line and captured the ridge north of St. Germainmont, taking 700 prisoners. The battle in the Vouziers region continued all day. On the hills east of the Aisne we .captured Macquarp Farm, and Hill 193, and east of Vandy we captured and passed far beyond the village of Chestres, taking 400 prisoners and ten gunt,. There were numerous tights in the air between the Aisne and the Argonne, where the German aircraft were concentrated. LONDON, October 20, 4.20 p.m. A French communique states: —Yesterday evening the enemy made two violent counter-attacks between the Serre' and the Aisne; one in the region of Venouil and the othr of St. Germainmont. We repulsed them. The enemy in the night time vigorously reacted with artillery at different points of the i:o:ii. . -. FRENCH EXTEND THEIR POSITION Australian and New Zealand Association and Reuter. LONDON, October 20. A French communique states:—AVe extended our positions between the Oise and the Serre. We crossed the Chantruti brook eastward of Verneuil and obtained a footing on the ridges west of Granulup, maintaining our gains despite violent counter-attacks. We reached the outskirts of Perron, east of Vouziers, and progressed in the region of Handeves and Falaise, capturing twenty guns. GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORT Australian and New. Zealand'Association and Reuter. ■ ■■•■•■ ! (Received October 21, 9.85 p.m.) LONDON, October 20. A German official message states: —We evacuated Bruges, Thielt, and Kortrik. On both sides of Vouziers the enemy established himself on the east bank of the Aisne. JUBILATION"ATJELIEF OF LILLE REJOICING OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS. SALVATION FROM A REIGN OF TERROR. Australian and New Zealand Cable Association. | j LONDON, October 19. Mr Philip Gibbs, who visited Lille, states:—"l saw the joy of hundreds of thousands of people who, during the war period, have suffered tragic things and unforgettable outrages to liberty and spirit. Although it was early morning, the streets were thronged with well-dressed women and children and black-coated men. The city's broad avenues, streets, and parks were everywhere draped -with English and French flags, which had been hidden carefully, for it meant prison for any civilian to possess such symbols. They are now .being waved from every balcony. "The blew up the bridges around the city a few hours before fleeing, but the British built foot bridges on which they entered the town. The people opened their arms in a great embrace of gratitude and love for those who ltad helped to rescue them. It was an overwhelming and uplifting sight. Before I had gone far up the first avenue I was surrounded by a great crowd, and a lady broke through, and, clasping both my hands, she said, '1 embrace you for the gladness you have brought us.' She kissed me on both cheeks. It was a signal for general embracing. Pretty girls offered their cheeks, and small boys pushed through with upturned faces to kiss the soldiers, while old men joined an and mothers lifted children to be kissed. This lasted not for, a few minutes, but for hours. EVeryobdy had learned a few words of English for greeting, and the people constantly cried. 'Welcome, Welcome; long live England.' Nearly one hundred English people were liberated at Lillo. •'Tho inhabitants of Lille will never forget the German crimes. They recall the reign of terror at Easter in 1916, when 8000 young women were forcibly sent to work hundreds of miles away. Machine-guns were posted at each end of tho street, and officers ordered the families to gather in the doorways, and they made arbitrary choice. Some women were dragged from bed screaming, and unspeakable things happened to them after their removal. Twelve days later 12,000 men and boy#were removed. It is generally known that the Germans removed millions of pounds worth of textile machinery from Lillo and a neighbouring town and smashed what remained. It was a deliberate plan to kill tho industry, but Lille to-day is a city of thanksgiving." DEVASTATIONS OF7RANCE NOT DISCONTINUED Router's Telegrams. ■„ ~ A , ! , AMSTERDAM, October 20. A Berlin report states that the German\press has• published a communique which regards tho announcement of the ceasing of devastation as witlnv.it foundation.

HUNS START DEFENSIVE WORKS

ON RHINE, COLOGNE!, AND AT KARLSRUHE. Publishba in "Tho Time*" (Received October 21, 7.60 p.m.) LONDON, October 20. Reports from The Hague state that defensive works along the Rhine, Collogue, and at v Karlsruhe have started. Life at Efesen has become terrible, owing to nightly air raids. Many factories have been wrecked, and workers crowd underground. There is a shortago of material. The Allied advance towards the Briery mines is also reducing the output. No doubt Germany's munition crisis is acute. Krupps are accused of using odds and ends from rubbish heaps, with disastrous results, at we front. Scenes in the streets beggar description. There are sobbing women and screaming children. Violent tirades are heard against the Kaiser and the Crown Prince, but tho people do not seem to have sufficient physical or moral stamina left to take matters into thoir own hands. Complete despair reigns, though hero and there there aro little bands of stalwarts who wish to die in the last trench.

RUSSIAN CHAOS EX-MINISTERS SHOT. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. AMSTERDAM. October 20. Moscow reDorts that the ex-Minis-ters of Finance and Commerce have been summarily shot by order of the : People's Court. . DEFEAT OF BOLSHEVIKS IN THE TJBALS. j Eeutcr'e Tole&rama. (Received October 21. 7.15 p.m.) , LONDON. October 21. A Shanghai message dated October , l!2th states that 8000 Bolsheviks ad- , vancing on Ekaterinburg were severe- , ly defeated bv the Czecho-Slovak and Siberian forces. Three armoured trains ' were captured. . .. j WHEREABUTS OF \ UNKNOWN. i Australian ami N.Z. Cable Association. t (Received October 21. 7.15 p.m.) : ROME. October 21. ) The Pope, through the Austrian Con- : Bul at Moscow, requested that the > Czarina and her daughters bo removed > to a neutral country. The Bolsheviks replied thev did not know of their whereabouts. Tho Popo doubts the ! truth of tho reply.