THE WEST FRONT

Otago Daily Times, Volume 17149, Issue 17149, 31 October 1917, Page 5

THE WEST FRONT

BRITISH OFFICIAL REPORT. IMPORTANT AERIAL WORK. Australian and N.Z. Cablo Association and Router. LONDON, October 29. Sir Douglas Haig reports: The French and Belgians earned out successful operations northward of Merekem. The French captured Luighem village. The Allies now hold the whole of the Merckem Pcninsult. Tliere is reciprocal artillery fire along tho battle front. Our aeroplanes were busy all day Saturday. They co-operated with the artillery, and fired several thousand rounds at ground targets from heights ranging from 100 ft to 1000 ft. They dropped 29 heavy bombs on Itoulcrs station, and six on Abeele aerodrome; also 121 lighter borabs on billets eastward of Lens. Our squadrons at night time dropped four tons of bombs on seven aerodromes and three important railway stations, several of which burst near the hangars and railway tracks. Enemy aeroplanes repeatedly attacked, but ours never failed to reach their objectives. We brought down 11 enemy machines, and nine of ours are missing.

FRENCH ARTILLERY ACTIVE.

GERMAN ATTACKS REPULSED.

LONDON, October 29.

French, communique: There is fairly great artillery activity in the region of Pinon and Ckavignon and near Epine 3e Chevregny. The Germans at mid-day strongly attacked our positions north of Froidmont Farm, but our fire drove back the waves of the attack with heavy loss. A fairly lively artillery duel is proceeding in the region of the Champagne Heights.

Another French communique states: After bombarding the Bois le Chaum and Bezonvaux front, on the east bank of the Meuse, the enemy attacked, but were driven back, except at a point north of Caurieres Wood, where they obtained a footing along a front of 500 metres. Our counter-attack mostly recovered the ground. AT BELLEVUE SPUR. CANADIANS' FINE WORK. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, October 29. Mr Philip Gibbs states that the Canadians never did better than during the attack on Bellevue Spur. They were beaten back, but reformed, scaled the slopes, and carried the blockhouses, which were held by Bavarians. The position was extremely strong. Bellevue on one side and Crest Farm and Passchendaele on the other support each other, sweeping any attack on the slopes.

Many of the Canadians were obliged to struggle through bogs and seas of mud, but the right flank attacked Crest Farm along the main ridge, where the ground is much better. The slope below Bellevue was reached at a point near Duck Wood. There the position was good, but the Canadians on the left were caught in the mud under a heavy machine-gun barrage from a row of blockhouses on The crest of the ridge. The Canadians strove desperately to reach them, and some of them gained a footing on the higher slopes, but were forced to withdraw from Bellevue almost to the original line. There, strengthened by a small body of comrades, they re-formed and advanced again, and worked forward in small packs. More men fell, but enough remained to invest the forts and silence them. The garrisons were given the choice of death or surrender, and chose the latter. CAPTURE OF LUIGHEM PENINSULA. FRENCH ENGINEERS' BRILLIANT WORK. LONDON, October 29. Mr Perceval Phillips says: There has 'been nothing during the campaign quite like the Franco-Belgian victory on Saturday in the peninsula of Luighem—a tongue of land a quarter of a mile wide at its widest. The first French advance on Friday morning took them through the marshes, where they waded and swam. Their success gave them a bridgehead across the flooded Yser.

The French engineers on Friday night, by a wonderful piece of work, threw pontoons'over the flood, working shoulderdeep, and thus enabled the. infantry to cross before daybreak. The enemy were taken by surprise. The Eighth Bavarian Reserve Division had arrived in the line the previous night, expecting to be undisturbed in this quiet region. A sanguinary fight followed with bayonet and bomb, and the Bavarians were driven from line to line, the French pursuing so closely that the enemy were unable to establish themselves. Thus the French stormed the villages of Verbrandesmis, Aschoop, and Kloostermolen.

The whole region is most difficult country, and lay under water, but the impetuous French toiled on until they reached firmer ground on the outskirts of Meremem. Then they charged with the bayonet, rooting out the occupants from cellars, while others advanced on the Dixmude road to Kippe. These successes ought to have sufficed, but the French waded through a maze of communication trenches fronting Luighem village, which stands on a slight elevation commanding an extensive field of fire. The main road to this place was wired and barricaded, and was conquered only after several hours of hard fighting and repeated assaults.

The Belgians then entered the fight. After crossing the floods on punts they secured a solid footing on the peninsula. NAVAL PATROL ENCOUNTER, GERMANS DRIVEN OFF. Auttralian and N.Z. Cable Association and Reutor. LONDON, October 29. The Admiralty reports: Six British' and French destroyers patrolling the Belgian coast on Saturday attacked three German destroyers and 17 aeroplanes. We obtained two direct hits on the enemy destroyers, which immediately retired to the protection of their land ' batteries. Our anti-aircraft gun-fire broke ur> the enemy aeroplane formation. Their aeroplanes each dropped three bombs in the vicinity of our vessels, but did no damage, though two men were slightly wounded.

NAVAL AIRMEN'S WORK.

ENEMY ORGANISATIONS BOMBED,

LONDON, October 29. The Admiralty reports: Our naval aircraft on Saturday and Sunday dropped tons of bombs in the vicinity of various aerodromes and railway stations, and some direct hits were scored on Dixnmdo (on the Yser Canal).

BAD WEATHER CONTINUES. ' SIR DOUGLAS HAIG'S PRAISE. FRENCH THREATEN ENEMY AT DIXMUDE. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, October 29. (Received Oct. 30, at 7.25 p.m.) The- United Press correspondent writes: The ground eastward and northward of Ypres continues bad, and there is little prospect of much improvement as the winter advances. Sir Douglas Hxiig has chown appreciation of the conditions in issuing an order declaring that the suocreses gained under such, conditions were deserving of the highest praise. All the troops did well, and the results achieved by tue Canadians were remarkably fine," the ground gained beiug of the highest iw~»rtance.

The correspondent states that the sVonch success b' _ veen Honthulst and the Ys-;r directly threatens the enemy in the rear of Dixmude.