STILL ON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17132, 11 October 1917, Page 5

STILL ON.

ANOTHER ALLIED ADVANCE

FEENCH FOECES CO-OPEEATING AUSTRALASIANS AGAIN TAKE PART HNE PUSHED FOJ&WAftf) ON BIG EKONT CANDID ADMISSION BY HUN OFFICERS NO RESISTING TEE BRITISH ATTACK BLATANT PAN-GERMANS GEBMAN PEACE TO BE FOECED Press Aflsodaftion—By Telegraph—Copyright. 'Australian and New Zealand Cable Association.

THE WEST FRONT

ANOTHER BRITISH ATTACK. PROGRESS ON WIDE FRONT. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Renter. LONDON, October 9. Sir Douglas Haig reports: , We again attacked at 5.20 a.m. to-day on a -wide front north-eastward' of Ypres, in conjunction with our Allies on our left. Reports indicate satisfactory progress at all parts of the front. The -weather is still stormy. ADVANCE OF, A MILE. A WOOD SURROUNDED. SURRENDER OR DEATH. Australian and NIZ; Cablo Association LONDON, October 9. The United Press correspondent at British headquarters states: The British have advanced more than a Bile in places, their front centring on Pas(chandaele. Our troops reached their objectives in good order. Large numbers of prisoners are coming in. i In' Dimsy Wood, north-eastward of Broodseynde, the enemy stubbornly resisted, but the Australians have surrounded it, making it certain that many prisoners will be taken, unless the Germans there prefer annihilation. The allied casualties are light. i BEYOND POELCAPELLE. NEW YORK, October 9. The British have advanced beyond Poe}capelle, on the road to Routers. , FRENCH ACTING IN BELGUBL PARTICIPATE IN ADVANCE. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reutcr. LONDON, October 9. French communique: In Belgium, in conjunction with the British, we attacked at 8.30 a.m. to-day the German positions south of the forest of Houthulstj between Draibank and Weigdendreft. Fighting continues, and it is developing in our favour. On the Aisne front there is marked artillery activity, nptably in the region of the Pantheon. On the right bank of the Meuse there is an artillery struggle on the sector north of Bois le Chaume. ALLIED AIR RAID. .RAILWAY STATION DESTROYED. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. AMSTERDAM, October 9. ' An allied air raid on October 1 destroyed the Wohdellmeen railway station, 1 and of 270 German soldiers (there. 70 were buried in the debris. GERMANS USING NAVAL SHELLS. ELEMT EVIDENTLY NOT COMING OUT. LONDON, October 9. Artillery officers state that the Germans are using naval armour-piercing shells in Flanders, apparently because they are short of ordinary shells, or because they have too large a stock of naval ammunition for probable requirements. GERMAN OFFICIAL REPORT. Admiralty, per Wireless Press. 'LONDON, October 9. German official: The English attacked this.morning astride the Staden-Boesinghe railway and northward of the YpresMenin road. Fighting is progressing. WITH AUSTRALASIANS. GREAT GERMAN BRAVERY. ENEMY ARMY COMMANDERS' ADMISSION. CAPTURE OF STAFF OFFICERS. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association LONDON, October 9. .(Received Oct. 10, at 7.20 p.m.) Mr Murdoch, writing from the Anzac headquarters, referring to last Thursday's battle, says it is noticeable that the men speak very differently of Fritz since this battle. They saw Germans rush singly from redoubts and die fighting. There were thousands of cases of easy surrender but thousands of the bitterest opposition.' Among the nine guns captured by the Australians were two anti-tank. guns. The New Zcalanders struck some heavy, marshy ground, where they sank to the crutoh, but they achieved the largest total of prisoners in the whole battle.The Australians yesterday captured a most important German order, reversing the shell-hole defence policy, as a result of a meeting of enemy army commanders, at which it was admitted that all known methods were of no avail against the British. The prisoners in the Australian sector of the battle were so numerous that guards could not be spared to take them to the rear. The Australians pointed the way, and the Germans started running and did not stop until they were safe in the cages. One hattalion commander and his staff were captured under strange circumstances. The brigadier saw upon a captured map, two hours after the commencement of the battle, a mark indicating that the enemy battalion headquarters were just outside our farthest objective. He sent out two sergeants and three men when the barrage lifted, and they returned with a colonel, five officers, and 70 Hum

WELL CO-ORDINATED WORK. j FORCES GOING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. MAKING NOTHING OF DIFFICULTIES. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, October 9. (Received Oct. 10, at 8 p.m.) The United Press correspondent, writing at'» noon, says: The British, French, and overseas troops attacked on a wide front of the Pas'schendaele ridges, and despite desperate counter-attacks, in which hurricane fighting developed, the fifth battle of the summer campaign in this area went well from the start. Prisoners, frequently without escort, were apparently eager to reach a haven, coming in large numbers. Despite a gale of wind, our airmen observed the fighting like undaunted eagles in the storm. Last night's rain made the Flemish plains and even the Tidges like a bog, but officers and men would not hear of postponement. Moreover, the British weather man promised that it would clear, with high winds, from midnight onwards. He hit it exactly. The troops got away well from the shellhole positions in which they had assembled under cover of a pitch-black night. The British fought stiffly in the region of Beutel for a chateau, from which a heavy machine-gun fire issued. One company rushed and took the chateau shortly after , daylight, but the men were ordered back and sent to dig in 20 yards westwards, in order to conform' to the general ta«tics. Later reports show that the situation about the chateau has not cleared. Daisy Wood was bristling with all manner of German defences and heavily gar* risoned, but the Australians quickly overcame the difficulties, surrounded the wood, and left a detachment to " clean up," while the rest went on. The British, at the .time of writing, are dealing with a heavy counter-attack astride the Roulers railway, and the German waves are breaking under strong shell fire. Visibility is good; and our guns are able to score "bull's-eyes." The French are going strong, keeping shoulder to shoulder with the British left. The French report having captured several hundred .prisoners. The German artillery replied raggedly, and was obviously busier pulling . back guns than firing/ although it was fairly busy at that in certain spots. The Xjermans are fighting hard' for the possession of a brewery in Poelcapelle. The rest of the town is4n British hands. A WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENT. FRENCH DO FULL SHARE. Australian and' N.Z. Cable Association. ' % .' LONDON, October 9. (Received Oct. 10, at 8,p.m.) Mr Philip Gibbs says: The French gained 1200 yards in two strides, taking hundreds of prisoners, two field guns, and many machine guns. They also killed many in Houthulst Wood. The Allies have advanced 1500 yards in. depth along the line from Poelcapelle across the YpresGheluvelt road. It is'the most wonderful achievement since the Highlanders and naval division captured Beaumont Hamel in mud and fog; but this latest event is more wonderful, because on a greater scale, and in fouler weather. SIR D. HAIG'S TRIBUTE. TO GALLANT NEW ZEALANDERS. Australian and N.Z. Cablo Association. LONDON, October 9. (Received Oct.. 10, at 8 p.m.) Replying to Sir Thomas Mackenzie's congratulations, Sir Douglas Haig, says: " Your message of congratulation is much appreciated. All ranks of the gallant New Zealanders took a most distinguished part in the "various, operations."