NOTES ON THE CABLES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16980, 17 April 1917, Page 6

NOTES ON THE CABLES.

EtShbapnkl.

THE GPOSmON ROUND LENS. The cable messages this, morning do not ', confirm the suggestion that the British occupy Lens.' The most that may be said is that the British are in the suburbs south of Lens, those suburbs being the outskirts of the city. 'While the advanced body entered the southern fringe of Lena others •worked round to the west, betweei/'Liovin and the town, where they found a German rearguard posted with machine guns to ■ cover the ■withdrawal of the main body of the enemy. Iftrrthex reports speak of the British bombarding Lens, of the shells falling in the neighbourhood of the church, and of ?ho enemy retreating hastily. On Sunday morning the Germans wero reported as making frantic attempts to remove their guns from the terrain in which Lievin and the suburbs west of Lens are situated. It is difficult to ,' -know how the guns could have been counted as numbering 150, since there is no definite statement that the guns wore captared. If they were, the importance of the event would hove been made an outstand-

ing item of news in the cabled messages. Mr Philip Gibbs says that "the retaking of Lens will thrill France and be one of the greatest achievements of the war." He goes on to describe how the British entered the southern outskirts of tho town while . othera crept round to the west, where, ho says, the enemy are still in their machine- ■ gun redoubts, and where they will be troublesome, even though they are rearguards only. It is noticeable, that Mr Gibbs •uses the future tense. If the town had been taken we should already Lave heard some comment from the French side. Tho position appears to be that the British from LOO 3 are advancing east of Cite St. Pieivo along the Bethune-Lens main road to the north of Lens, and are within a mile of tho northern side of the town. There are,

however, some awkward places to negotiate among the cross roads. West of the town tho German machine gunners ore holding ' up an advance from Lievin. South of tho town the British are in whai are really the suburbs immediately attached to the town; • and it is suggested that tho Germans are leaving the town in the fear that it will be • enveloped. Unless tho British are advancing across the Lens-La Bassce road on the north side and from Avion eastward to SaUaumines on

the Douai road, the Germans have an open-

ing on the east side, from 4000 to 5000 yards wide, through which they can retreat. As , tho British are not reported to bo moving in that direction, tho Germans in Lens and west of ■■ tho town are not yet in danger of being encircled, though tho retreat of their

main body with most of their guns shows , that they have a great fear of being ' trapped. In the absence of a rapid advance on tho north-side towards the north-east of , Lens and another eastward of Avion and Vimy, tho Germans may hold on in the town for some time.

p ALONG THE HTNDENBITRG LINE. | There appears to be considerable activity oast of Croisilles, •where the Germans are obstinately defending a shallow but fairly wido salient yrhich covers the approaches t both towards Douai and Cambrai. They | are still holding l on, also, in the large i -wood south, of Haurincourt, -which is virtually a.' strong buttress of Cambrai. That wood, covering nearly four square miles of country, protects Marcoing by affording the Germans splendid concealment for many batteries and hundreds of machine guns. Moreover, the Scarpe-Queant salient east I of Croisilles, besides directly protecting' Douai and Cambrai, guards Cambrai indirectly, by acting as a deterrent against i the British who are progressing between Qucanfc and Haurincourt on the north side [ of the large wood. An advance from Bulleoonrt and Quearrt for a mile or a milo I and a-half would make much easier another ' stop towards Cambrai by way of the north i of Haurincourt Wood. South of that wood the capture of Gauzeancourt and the advance from that vilkgo and Metz-en-Conture, if pushed vigorously, towards Villers and across the St. Quentm-Cambrai railway should mako the German hold on the Haurincourt position I extremely precarious. Between Gauzoaucourt and Poutru there seems to have been no activity since the capture of Lempirc except in respect of a small operation castward of Ronsroy, Further south, between Vergm'er and St. Quentin, there is considerable opposition to the British attempt to/cross the St Qnentin-Caznbrai road, and south of St. Qnentin the French havo found strong forces of Germans ready to oppose any attempt of the French to advanco between' the Somme and the Oise. Both sides are heavily shelling each other's Hnes. The opposition of tho Germans there is very obstinate. As St. Quentm is virtually untenable to the Germans, their strong reliance. both north and south against the British.and French would appear to Bo connected with the thorough., looting of tho *° Wn * nd . !***■ <3estrncti °n of public and private institutions, and perhaps with tho planting of extensive land mines.

THE GERMAN" PLANS military correspondent of, The Times, saya the extent of the num- ; : bera engaged and tho armament and equip•i;ment} employed in our new offensive suraU records. He might have added .■■■that the same may be said for Che German .fflde. Ho * of opinion that Marshal' von Hmdonburg baa been taken by surprise at &e rapidity with, which Sir .Douglas Haihis tracks. Tho astonished vHmdenfourg has been compelled to mass 60 : . diyisions-nearly a million and a . qaartcr men-agamst tho British, and is sending to V.tno Bnssran front for more. Tho British , earns are numerous and well handled, and 'the moic mnnerous the Germans the better the target for our long-rango guns and our iumten.

All that is now needed is that General Aleracff shall strongly attack tho Germans ST *£. £ rfp ° t marßheS to the pirrery German part.of tho eastern front and Marshal von Hindenburg will be the most perplexed military commandor in Germany. Tho German General Staff is verv mnoh afraid that the Riga front will be attacked, and » continually demonstrating on the sooth-eastern front in order to draw A , l^ ,an C ?° rt3 upon *ho' unfortunate and thereby save German troops and prevent German defeats on the northern flank.