THE BRITISH PUSH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16980, 17 April 1917, Page 5

THE BRITISH PUSH.

- HEROIC STRUGGLE FOR LENS BEAINS AND COUEAG-E HAND IN HAND ENEMY AT LAGNICOURT FIERCE ETJT SHORT-LIVED COUNTER-ATTACK THE FEENCH CQ-OPEEATINa EFFECTIVE BELGIAN ATTACK AT DIXMUDE AMERICA'S PART PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE TO THE NATION

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. Australian and New Zealand Cable Association.

LONDON, April 15. Sir Douglas Hadg reports : Eariy this morning the enemy strongly attacked on a six-mile front astride of the BapaumeCambrai road, under cover of a heavy bombardment of our new positions from) Hermies to Noreuil. Their attack failed' everywhere, except at Lagnicourt, where the enemy gained a foothold after heavy fighting. Our counter-attack, however, regained the village, and our artillery inflicted very heavy losses orn the retiring German troops. We advanced on a line eastward of Heninel (north of Croisilles), and progressed northward of the Souohez Eiver. We captured the defences eastward of Lievin (south-west of Lens), from Riaumont Wood: to the east corner of Cite St. Pierre, and our troops are pushing on to Lens. Heavy rain has been falling since early morning. (Received April 16, at 6.40 p.m.) Sir Douglas Haig reports : As .the result of the fighting north-west of St. Quentin we gained ground eastward and northward of Gricourt. We also made progress in the neighbourhood of _ Saitrincourt Wood and eastward of Lievin, approaching the outskirts of Lens. Later particulars show that the German losses in their ,attack on the BapaumeOaimbrai road were heavier than was at first reported. The attack was pressed with great determination under our heavy fire. Three hundred ..prisoners were taken, and 1500 dead were counted. There has been severe air fighting. We destroyed or brought down 15 German machines., Ten of ours are missing. ANGRES. LONDON, April 15. The fall of Angres (four miles south-west of Lens) is implied in the outflanking of Lievin, which has now been captured by the British. STRUGGLE FOR LENS. _. ■ _ _ LONDON, April 15. The Daily Chronicle's correspondent at British headquarters, telegraphing at four o'clock on Sunday morning, says : British patrols have entered Lens. The enemy left a rearguard in the redoubts, and made frantic efforts to remove their guns, numbering 150, situated in the network of mine pit-heads between Lens and Lievin (three miles south-west of Lens). They have blown up the roads, and orders were given to destroy the coal mines bv firing charges into the pits and flooding them. Renter's Telegrams. „_,-_, LONDON, April 15. .Heater's correspondent at British headquarters reported to-day: The latest British captures include great pyramids of slag near the month of the coalpits at Lens, which the Germans had converted ruto fortresses. Altogether the German front has been broken along another four miles. MR PHILIP GIBBS'S ACCOUNT. WONDER OF BRITISH ACHIEVEMENT. TROOPS SHOW CLEAR-HEADED-NESS. AS WELL AS GREAT BRAVERY. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association "'■w t>u-r LONT) ON, April 15. Mr Philip Gibbs reports : The German occupation of Lagnicourt was of the briefest, <ihe Australians recapturing it with the utmost dash. Lens and Lievin were stacked with guns and l fortified in a most formidable way being strongholds of massed artillery. But all these works were threatened by the advance down the northern slopes of Vimy, for the Canadians were unlikely to stay inactive after their great triumph. The defences were also threatened by the British advance from the Loos battlefield. The German Staff knew the peril, and wild scenes took place at Lens during the enemy's efforts to remove the guns by scores of troops. Until dawn on Friday the enemy hoped! that the British would be held back by the German rearguards in Vimy and Petit Vimy villages, but that hope disappeared when, the Canadians swept" down Vimy Ridge and chased the enemy out of those places on the lower slopes toward Douai. Great and far-reaching results followed swiftly on the Canadians' capture of Vimy Ridge. Our troops cleared out the German machine gunners from their rear posts at Lievin on Saturday, enabling our patrols to penetrate Lens. The retaking of Lens will thrill France and be one of the greatest achievements of the war. With cunning courage some of our men entered the southern outskirts of the city, while others advanced cautiously on the western side. The enemy are still •n°V in their ' ma «hine-giun redoubts, and will bo troublesome; but they are only rearguards. The main bod v are already in retreat. " J -

Meanwhile our men were advancing from Lievin and through it, and -were having a hard, costly task to root out the machinegun emplacements, especially two terribly strong redoubts called '"' Crook" and " Cragy." Each group of streets had separate dofences, consisting of barbed wire and sandbag barricades, with a nest of machine guns. A quick advance through Lens would have been a great and needless sacrifice of life. I witnessed the attack in the southern suburbs of Lens. Hie troops swarmed over the open ground in scattered groups, and took cover under an embankment, where other attackers joined them. Waiting half an Hour, they doubled half-left, led by an officer well ahead. They crossed a sunken road, ascended the slope, then suddenly changed their direction before reaching the crest, disappearing down a long straight street. The correctness of this manoeuvre wa3 immediately proved, as the German shells plastered the embankment where they had previously assembled. Other troops crept up, steering in erratic short rushes until they reached the same street. Lens was being breached. The last view showed the British shellfire falling heavily about the church, and the enemy's troops and transports retreating hastily. (Received April 16, at's.s p.m.) [Section of message is missing.] A later message states that the attack on the southern suburbs was successful. The British, avoiding a direct assault on the hill, crept round to the left and gained ground to the north-west, from which they captured Bois de Riaumont. The enemy, recovering from their first 'panic, sent back troops to the trenches and machine gun redoubts in the western suburbs. Two thousand women, children, and old men, unable to escape in the interval, are now taking refuge in the cellars and enduring the agonies of bombardment. The Germans quitted Lietin in such haste that we captured vast quantities of bombs, trench mortars, and shells. The German counter-attack at Lagnicourt is clear evidence of the. enemy's anxiety at this portion of the line. The village faces the important! bastion of Queant. HUGE BRITISH GUNS. . . WASHINGTON, April 15. It is stated that Britain is -using 22in guns, with an effective range of 25 miles'. GERMAN REPORTS. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. Admiralty, per Wireless Press. LONDON, April 15. . A German official message states: In consequence of the removal of our line northward of the Scarpe only, minor engagements occurred l , in which' the enemy suffered heavily. From) the Scarpe lowlands to the ArrasCambrai railway there was .violent fighting yesterday. British massed divisions attacked several times, and were sanfuinarily repulsed. p The artillery duel continues in the Western Champagne and between Soissons and Rheuns. The French, British, and Americans lost 21 aeroplanes and two balloons. HINDENTBURG'S MISCALCULATION. TROOPS BEING HASTENED FROM RUSSIA. Tho Times. LONDON, April 15. (Received April 16, at 7 p.m.) Colonel Repington writes : « The extent of the front, the numbers engaged, and the armament and equipment in our new offensive surpass all records. Marshal von Hmdenbttrg apparently thought that by withdrawing some 10 miles and devastating the intervening space he would give the submarines time to harm us, gaining further time by further withdrawals. This migiht have succeeded! had he not inaccurately gauged our offensive capacities. 1 bei transfer of German troops from Russia to France has begun. The Germans are already as thick as peas on the British front; indeed, thicker than anywhere else numbering 60 divisions. ' ATTACK BY THE BELCBANS. SECOND LINE PENETRATED AT DSXMUOE. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. m '■ j a LONDON, April 15. (Received April 16, at 6.40 p.m.) A wireless Belgian communique states • After a violent _ artillery preparation we, penetrated at Dixmude the second enemy line. There was an artillery duel of the most lively description on the whole Bolgian front to-day.

After the British and Canadian success on Friday the enemy saw that their last chance for a successful counter-attack was foiled. They were, immediately seized with fear, and prepared for instant retreat m wild confusion.

One of the first & igns of the German retreat was when they began to shell their own front lines outside Lievin and Lens. All night long the sky was aflame, and in the morning I saw the enemy making a "merry little hell" in the Lens suburbs and dependent villages'. The explosions continued through the morning and afternoon.

GREAT HEROISM. BRITISH AIRMAN'S FORTITUDE. THE GROWNING GLORY. Tho Times. LONDON, April IG. (Received April 16, at 11.15 p.m.) The Times correspondent with headquarters relates: One of the most gallant deeds was that of a solitary airman returning from a distant trip. He was attacked by a large party of enemy machines, and fought until bis ammunition was exhausted and he himself and his machine were almost shot to bits. One of his eyes was literally shot out, there was a bullet in his body, and one foot was smashed. Despite all this, he made his report and apolo° gised for making a rough landing be= cause his smashed foot impaired his control. Then, his duty done, he died. No honour, whether the Victoria Cross or anything else, could adequately measure such a dced. T THE BRITISH TACTICS. GERMAN MACHINE GUNNERS NONPLUSSED. DESPERATE GERMAN DESTRUCTION. TO GAIN TIME. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. , LONDON, April 16. (Received April 17, at 0.45 a.m.) Correspondents give a graphic description of the attack on Lens. It was evident on Friday evening that the enemy were quitting the town with the utmost speed, but the events of Saturday showed that .they still maintained a ring of strong machine-gun redoubts. Consequently when the attackers on the south side disappeared in the street near Eois de Riaumont the utmost caution was necessary. They wriggled through back gardens until they reached another street behind the wood, vyhich they attacked fror- the north. The German-machine gunners were nonplussed. The British meanwhile posted machine grins which enabled them to snipe tho entire crews from the new vantage points. The enemy on Sunday threw their entire weight on the inner defence in the desperate hope of checking tho advance until their guns and stores were removed and the destruction of the mines had been- completed everywhere. The same methods were used by which they sought to hamper the pursuit further south. The pioneers are exploding craters along the roads to the eastward, blocking the streets with the debris and houses. VBMY RIDGE. HOW THE ATTACK WAS PLANNED. MODEL IN PLASTICENE. Reuters Telegrams. LONDON, April 15. (Received April 16, at 7 p.m.) Reuter's correspondent with the headquarters states that there is unimpeachable authority for saying that the victory of. Vimy Ridge is directly associated with a pretty little model on a wonderful scale of reproduction in plasticene of the neighbourhood and ridge, on which model a clever artist, furnished with a mass of aerial iphotographs and information by local inhabitants, worked for months prior to the attack and from which the staff officers were most carefully instructed. Canadian and British officers and nan-com-missioned officers were selected for the assault. Every detail of the ground was reproduced with amazing fidelity, greatly assisting the operations. WITH fHE FRENCH. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reuter. LONDON, April 15. A French communique states: North and south of the Oise last night, our reconnaissances everywhere found the enemy trenches occupied". ' East of Maison-de-Champagne our reconnaissances penetrated the German trenches, which were found utterly wrecked. On the right bank of the Meuse two German attacks, at Bois de Caurieres and in the direction of Les Chambrettes, were broken. We brought down 21 aeroplanes, and four more were compelled to land badly damaged. ARTILLERY. ACTIONS. LONDON, April 15. (Received April 16, at 6.40 p.m.) A French communique states: There haive been violent artillery actions at St. Quentin, north of the Aisne, and in the Champagne. Our batteries caught and dispersed enemy elements north of Saitrincourt.