THE ANZACS AGAIN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14284, 28 April 1917, Page 4

THE ANZACS AGAIN.

GEHitfAN* PLAITS TAIL. AUSTRALIANS ROUT -ENEMY. ' (Cfcmmoiiwealth - Correspondent. ) . ' . ""■ tX)NI>ON, Apri) 18. Yesterday V pionijiig; about da^il 'the Germans attempted the " ; biggest and one of the .boldest raids yet .known; m; this ! war against the V Australian.- ■ troop* Qpposite? them, Tlie Third Guard Division, waa specially- ' .broughjb - up- ajid, squeezed? iiito.the Gertiian froiljS', near Queant,' » aiid '-then. the troops of two Guard dLvisiqiis and another division be•nSegValtac&ed.V from 16 different ; baittalious" ai'e amongst the prisoners .m Australitjwi -jianda. r- . /' - , "nus'force-cariie suddenly out. .agajngt the advanced posts, of « tho Aufilr^ians, w|th*insti*uctioiis -to cut them out*, push. j tlwough to -tlie- -guns, seize the village of , Norcuii; hold 'it foi* 24 hours till tie! guns couldi -, be destroyed by special parties, ransack headquarters for papers, and then withdraw. Thb large, picked force, by slider weight, surrounded several of our advanced pbstsj and, though driven off elsewhere, broke through the village of Lagincdurt, and reached som9 of the niore advanced field guns. The

gun crews dismantled these guns m J order to prevent, their- immediate, use by the Germans. The Germans were m the process of placing charges undei 'some of the' guns when the local comj manders, without waiting for orders, i comnter-attacked. I

' The Australian infantry, mostly Queensland - and New South. Wale* troops, advanced magnificently, sweep; iiig the Guardsmen before, them. By 8 o'clock the Germans were retreating ,by hundreds, utterly broken, the, Australians enjoying such shooting as they never before had against -the- Germans. Supporting troops were- standing up watching as if at a football matoh. In the height of the retreat two Australians ran out from the rest, to collect 70 prisoners. These two never- to .take rifles with them, and their only weapon was a book. die platoon of Germans ' marched m- m fours, with hands up. By the middle of the morning all our guns had' been not only recaptured, but, with the exception of, five. Were all firing on the Germans, who had retreated as' best -i-hey could through gaps iii theix* own Wire entanglements, while our great guns laid down on them sUch/ai barrage as has seldom before been seen, , '"*.

' Four hundred * prisoners • remain m oui' hands, v| r hile the German dead lie scattered across miles of country.' 1 have bsen round our gains. The Germans b.lew -up foui*, broke the wheel of .a fifth, and lefi all the others absolutely undamaged, though m some cases charges had 'been lai dl' "ready, but had not time to explode.