FIGHT FOR KEMMEL HILL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14591, 29 April 1918, Page 3

FIGHT FOR KEMMEL HILL.

A VIVID DESCRIPTION.

ONE OF THE MOST STIRRING

EPISODES OF TPE WAR.

OARRISON FIGHTS TO THE DEATH,

(The rxUneS.)

LONDON, April 27,

Mr. Pirrie Robinson gives a, vivid description' of the fighting for Kemmel Hill. He says:— V; . ■' ; .. An. intense bombardment, commenced at midnijghtj'and continued' till 4 o'clock m the morning. An attack delivered on a. wide front near. Wytsch^ete held the British along the .'front from Kemmel, and west of Dranoutre held the French. Penetration seems to have been made at two points simultaneously — at the Franco-British junction east. of Kemmel and through the French to the west?. The enemy, pouring m on both sides, surrounded .Kemmel and cut off the garrison. Fightings certainly continued on the Mil crest for, from., seven, to eight hours, till the. middle of the afternoon. The gartißon had sworn never to give up Kemmel ' alive. , , , , One can only picture the scene as the C»erman« stormed up „ the hill. The Fr^nch^ taken, bpth in.', .flank, and rear, fought* wiiji lessening pumbers on gra,dnally reduced area, until only the hilltop was crowned with blue,, as tn© defenders, facing ; ,ail ways, made 4 last stand. When all is known I believe that the last n"ght of the French on Kemmel will stand as one of the most stirring episodes of the war.' * ' ' / Kemmel is the first of a chain of iso-, lated MIIb ximniag eastward to Mont- dcs CatWS'and Gagsel, each dominating and giving observation over a; wide, area of country. ' ". „„■'. '•>, ■<.■.--.-■• : (..-.-r •■.>.•" Meanwhile our line, hag fallen back between Kemmel and the .next height

(tscherpenberg}, and thence novtli-eass 10 Vierstraat and thence south of the Grand Bois, near Wytschaete. From the left to here our line has held under very hard fighting. The enemy had penetrat- ! Ed a, thousand yards south-east of Wytschaete before the Royal Scots m the front line knew the battle had begun further north.

[ The Camerons held their line for nine hours of savage fightings till ordered to fall back 'to conform with 'new positions. -r \ Scottish troops, including the Black Watch, inflicted extremely heavy casualties and captured many * prisoners. ■Mr. Robinson states that our new light tanks are wonderfully effective. The crew of . one. which got among two Ger-i man batteries declare that they killed a thousand. Their speed enables them to run down and crush masses of the enemy.