DETAILS OF THE BATTLE.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 30, Issue 24, 26 March 1918, Page 3

DETAILS OF THE BATTLE.

A CORRESPONDENT’S ACCOUNT. LONDON, March 23, Mr Philip Gibbs writes: The enemy delivered no infantry attack last night, but heavy fighting was resumed after the fog lifted this morning. Our troops were heavily er gaged near St. Quentin. "Thursday’s offensive was on a colossal scale. The Germans flung in the full weight of their great array, closely (fiowded with supporting troops, advancing in mass after mass. At tep'Sf fifty divisions were engaged, of which forty have been identified. We were much out-numbered, so the troeps had extremely hard fighting. The obstinacy of their resistance was a wonderful feat, and their courage and discipline were splendid under the fiercest ordeal British soldiers have ever had to face. Nine divisions were hurled against three British in one sector, and elsewhere eight German divisions attacked two British. All the Germans were storm troops, including the Guards, who had been trained for many mouths for the great assault. They wore brand new uniforms. They did not falter until they were shattered by our machine gun fire. It was a return to the old methods of Mons and Lc Gateau. The more Germans we shot down the more seemed to come on. If our wire was not cut the German snipers got to work, though they were continually mown down by our fire. The supporting waves advanced over the bodies of the dead and wounded, the German commanders ruthlessly sacrificing life in the hope of overwhelming the British defence. They had an exceeding power cf guns, usually one gun to twelve or fifteen yards. They had a thousand guns opposite throe British divisions, and each German battalion was provided with many trench mortars for wire cutting. During the four hours’ bombaidment they also brought up a number of longrange guns from the Grand Fleet, which shelled to a distance of 28 miles behind the lines in the final hour of the bombardment.

The Germans poured in gas shells, and also concentrated gas on our batteries, reserves and trenches all day long. The defenders for many weeks had been training with gas masks, which were a priceless help. Many wore them for hours, and fought in them. One battalion on the left wing wore them for eight hours. The new respirators proved quite efficacious, and there were only six cases of gassing in one of the largo clearing stations The main object of the enemy’s attack on the left was probably to bite off the Bulleeourt salient and pierce the three main lines of defence below Groisilles and St. Leger, thus turning our line and enabling the Germans to capture Hennisle and the old Hindenburg tunnel trench. A little to the right lay the Bulleeourt salient, smothered in flame, smoke and earth. No wire could withstand the storm, and no man hold on, but eventually, as had been long foreseen, the outposts merely had to fall back to the battle positions, where there were stronger defensive positions, in order to rally for a counter-attack. The withdrawal was carried out in good order and with magnificent courage, in view of the intense enemy barrage. When the enemy followed up, bringing light artillery, our guns smashed their ranks and left masses of dead on the field. The airmen say that there arc large numbers of German dead and heaps of debris in our wire.

Others came on with, fanatical courage, filling the gaps. Our guns and machine guns could not kill them fast enough. After hard fighting at Bullecourt, Ecoust and Noreuil, 3000 enemy were scon on a sunken road between Noreuil and Lagnicourt. This apparently meant that the defenders of Noreuil had been pushed back, and the survivors, after a strong and heroic defence, had been obliged to retire to the line Beaumetb-Morchies-Vdux.

There was another enemy attack in the afternoon in massed formation down the slopes of Sensee Valley from Chcrisy and Fontaine Wood. The guns fired with open sights, cutting the enemy down in swathes and checking the assault.

There was fierce fighting at St. Leger, where wo took prisoners and machine guns. The fighting was equally intense from Noreuil to Langnicourt, on the bend of the Cambrai salient. The outposts were withdrawn in good order. The enemy, by great sacrifices, penetrated our defensive system near Lagnicourt, Bouries, and Hargicourt, after which they were held. The tanks brilliantly counter-attack-ed on Thursday evening, recapturing some of the ground at Doignies. Owing to our withdrawal behind the canal between St. Quentin and the Oise, the enemy are now confronted with a watery, marshy waste in that sector. The spirit of our troops is magnificent, despite the hard fighting, and they are proud that they have broken the backbone of the massed attack on which the German hopes were fastened.