FLANDERS BATTLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17082, 14 August 1917, Page 6

FLANDERS BATTLE

STORY OF THE ATTACK. OVERWHELMING ARTILLERY FIRE. Tho details of tho opening of the battle of Fla'ndcrs, as described by Mr Philip Gibbs, were more comprehensive than thoso supplied to the New Zealand papera. Mr Gibbs's message, dated July 31, says: Tho battle which all the world has been expecting lias begun, and stretches roughly from the River Lys to Boesingho, above which the French ure fighting shoulder to shoulder with ourselves. We thrust back tho enemy in a wide stretch of country between Pilkem and Hollebeke. Tlio enemy is desperately fighting, and flinging up reserves in counterattacks, which are intendod to check our sweeping advance. Many tanks, which are preceding and following our infantry, did marvels against strong points, where machine guns momentarily held up tho attackers. British correspondents in tho field during tho past few weoks have not hinted at the approach of tho battle. Others were not so discreet. The enemy himself sounded tho alarm. Wc have seen many preparations for this terrific adventure in the north. We counted the days as all the men wero seen advancing along tho roads, as all the guna and the tidal wavo_ of ammunition wero flowing northwards, in readiness for a conflict more formidable than' any since April. Somo of us shuddered at the frightful tning ripening for history. v Th.e difficulty of tlio ground between the coast lino and the newly-captured hills, like Wytschaete. was horribly apparent. Those swamps, north of and around Dixmudc and tho Yser Canal, which must bo bridged, and around Ypres, like the well of an amphitheatre, with the enemy abovo on Pilkem Ridge, wero so full of peril for the attackers that even optimists wero cautiously reticgnt. Tho enemy had. massed a groat gunpower, and he poured out his fire with unparalleled ferocity. Our bombardments wero terrific, and along tho roads always wore guns, guns, guns, going up to increase tha relative powers of the two artilleries. There was little doubt that in tho long run ours would be overwhelming. Meanwhile the enemy, atrong, destructively inclined throughout 1 , puzzled and nerve-racked, made many raids, mostly unsuccessful, to discover our plans; while we raided him day and night to see what. strength ho was massin"against .us. ° Russia lured him, and, despite our threat, ho sent off six divisions to the eastern front. But simultaneously he relieved many divisions which our lire had broken, replacing them with (the freshest and strongest troops. They did not remain fresh after a few hours undiT our guns. Chir guns caught the Germans in tho relieving trenches. Thus the 52nd Reserve Division stepped straight into an inferno of fire. The weather was against us. The attac.n started after a day of rain and heavy, sodden clouds, rendering aerial observation j almost impossible, and greatly hampering the artillery. The night was dark and moist, but luck was with us. A threatened storm did not break, and tho men kept dry. Tho darkness was in our favour. Our assaulting troops formed up for the-attack very close to tho enemy's lines, which were merely fields of craters from which our stopns of firo had swept away all trenches, buildings, and trees. Tho forward positions wero held by small groups, who kneiw themselves doomed, and were awaiting their doom in tho pits like animals in deathtraps. The enemy, in the less damaged second lino defences, appeared to te in greater strength, as the flare; from "that line ascended all night, the blurred -white light rising high in the cloudy sky. Scorcs of thousands of our men, lying in the wet earth, and in puddles and mudholes, watched tho flares, and hoped they would not bo discovered before the order to advance came. They lay silently, not stirring or coughing, and not making any rattle of arms, while tho shells passed over or smashed arnong them, killing and wounding those who wero lying close t The enemy's aircraft, bolder than in the daytime, came out at night and swooped over the places where they imagined our batteries wero Hidden, and. dropped bombs; but. as thoy saw nothing, their aim was bad. .and tho damage done was not important So tho hours of the night crept by. They wero enormously long for the men awaiting tho call to rise aid go forward. Our gunfire had been ceaseless for weeks, steadily 1 slogging and hammering; but shortly after half-past 3_ the noise of the artillery quiokencd and intensified to a monotonous overwhelming tumult, which was so great that 12 miles behind the lines big houses moved and wero shaken with a great trembling. People farther away, awakened with fear, went to their windows and stared into the darkness. They saw tho wild fireballs in tho sky, and knew that men wero fighting and dying in Flanders in ono of tho great battles of tho world I watched this morning the fires of the battle from an observation post on the edge of tho Ypres salient. I know what I would have eeen had there been light, for I saw thoso places a day or two ago from tKe samo spot-. ~ I should have seen the ghost city of Ypres, the curve of the salient round Pilkem. Saint Julien, and Zillebeke, and then. Warneton and Howtem, below Messines Ridge. There were hundreds of sharp red flashes from great gulfs of black smoko and black mist. Tho flashes came from our forward batteries and heavy guns, and throughout the 'battlefield, where hundreds of thousands were at death grips, and heavy smoke-laden vapours of battle and the morning fog swirled and writhed between clumps of trees and across familiar places. Tho hammering and thundering of our 2000 guns or more were answered by the enemy's barrage. The railway whistles screamed from trains taking up moro shells, and always more shells, to the very edge of the fighting lines and in between* tljo massed batteries, which were using them as fast as they could be unloaded. Over at Warneton and Oostaverne, in tho valley below the- Messines Ridge, the enemy was placing an appalling fire aloing our line. Shells of' the heaviest calibre burst momentarily, and raised great .pillars of white smoke. It was a Death Valley, in which our men were fighting for the slopes be-, yond. It is too soon to give details of the battle, £>r a full account of tho progress made. It is a battle in which tho English, Scottish, Welsh, and some Australians and New Zealandors, all along thc Jine, fought hard and with good success. Tlio ground is as difficult as any that has ever been a battlefield, owing to the canal, tho swamps, and tho hollow cup of the Ypres area., with the enemy on the rim thereof I was glad to get the first tiding 3 from the long streams of lightly wounded. Though they wore lightly wounded, it was pitiful to see the blood drenching them, their blpody kilts, bloody khaki, bare arms and chests, and tired eyes. Ono would not expect good tidings from such sufferers, but they spoke of a good day, good progress, many prisoners, and an enemy routed and surrendering. It was indeed a good day, though with them it meant the loss of a limb, or great pain, and remembrance of the blood and filth of battle. They were eager to describe their fighting. I saw the prido of the men in their comrades' courage, forgetting their own, which was as great. The enemy wero quickly ojected from_ the front line shell craters, but were thickly massed in the second line. But some threw up their hands immediately, crying for mercy. The Scottish camo up against a strong emplacement of machine guns, where tho gunners fired rapidly, checking our men. But the Scottish rushed tho place, and finally the Germans hoisted a white flag. Even then, others fired. I met a young Scotchman whose comrade was killed after the sign of surrender. Beyond Ypres, on the Menin road; was a big tunnel, where tho British lads expected > trouble. They found only 41 men, who forthwith surrendered. Some of the enemy's troops were young boys of the 1918 class. Tho majority were older and tougher men. The French who are fighting with us kept pace, with their usual gallantry, carrying all their objectives according to time-ti-blc. The troops of tho two nations, in one great, irresistible assault, rcached the height of the Pilkem Ridge. Tho Guards, Welsh, Scottish, Australians, and New Zoalandors fought abreast with equal heroism. Tho Welsh wiped out the most famous Third Guards divisions. The success was as great as we dared hope. -The Lys Valley is a flat, which tho recent, rains have converted into thick mud. Tho' country is always so water-logged that it is impossible to dig deep trenches or dug-outs. The enemy instead is using concreto cupolas for machino guns. The artillery preparation and barrage were unprecedented. The first enemy lines were obliterated. In the Yser area the Allies "met slight resistance, but heavy fighting occurred as they penetrated where the Germans resisted stubbornly, especially from tho concreto " pill-boxes,''' as the machine-gun turrets are called. The enemy's barrage was feeblo and erratic. British airmen swooped under the clouds, which were scarcely 500 ft high, and machinegunned the startled Teutons. They did great service, and reported progress which observers wero unable to see.