DESCRIPTION OF FIGHTING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13718, 23 June 1915, Page 3

DESCRIPTION OF FIGHTING.

SITUATION AT ARRAS UNCHANGED. AIR SQUADRONS AT WORK. LONDON, June 22. "Eye Witness," describing the offensive commencing on June 15th south of Festubert, says : — After a moderately-prolonged bombardment we immediately captured the first lino of German trenches,, about a mile m length, the enemy retreating towards Ruedonvert on the north and Chapelle St. Rocks on the south. Our men then penetrated well behind the first line, bombing their way literally along the trenches. .Second-line German bombing parties made strong counter-attacks at night, and our troops withdrew to the original position. The British assault on tho right was j prepared by the firing of a neavilycharged mine, which killed a considerable number of the enemy, who were collected there because our artillery fire was less hot on that section. Many bodies were found. On the left we took longer to cross j the "No-man's Land," and the Germans were able to return to the ruins of their first lino of defences and open fire on our infantry stumbling across the ground, which was pitted with, shell craters and cumbered with debris and wire entanglements. Our artillery officer, however, luckily saw what was happening, and when the Germans rose to shoot greeted them with an unexpected outburst of shrapnel and high explosive shells. After a further bombardment on Wednesday, our troops recaptured some points, the net gain at Festubert being 100 yards m depth and 300 yards m frontage. Meanwhile, at Ypres we regained the section of front lost m the gas attacK on May 24. The Germans had constructed the usual network of defences west of Belleward Lake, on a projection extending westwards from the Chateau Hooge to tlie Routers line. Our infantry rushed the German first line on , a front of a thousand yards at 4 o'clock on Wednesday morning, roaching the lake at some points, though we made no progress on the right hear Hooge. Th« fig-lititig continued all day. At i one point the Germans were massed m the woods north -east of the lake, but their advancing infantry was caught by the crossfire of our guns and driven back, leaving a , Large number of dead. By -evening we were driven back to the German first line, having tafcon many prisoners. . Some of l,he Saxon prisoners accused Prussian artillerymen of firing on their trenches when there was a possibility of the Saxons surrendering. Among tho acts of gallantry at Festubert, an officer was seen lying on the lip of a mmo i-rater. where he was hidden' from the Germans; but could bo bombed. The space between him and our lines was swept with rifle-fire. When he gave, signs of life a non-com , under cover of the fire of British snipers, i-rawled out with a, rope, which he made fast to the wounded officer, who was slowly dragged into the British trench. The non-com, stayed behind m his place, being continually bombed, until later he was able to crawl into safety. PARIS, June 22. The situation at ' Arras', is unchanged. Our air squadrons bombarded tho Gorman aviation parks and set fire to four hangars and hit two aeroplanes and a captive balloonThe Germans on the western outskirts of the Argonne violently attacked on Sunday evening, hurling asphyxiating projectiles into our lines, which were bent ba</k at some points, two French companies being buried m the wrecked trenches, but an immediate counter-at-tack enabled us to recover almost the whole position. -