GENERAL WAR NEWS

Southland Times, Issue 17877, 5 September 1918, Page 2

GENERAL WAR NEWS

EARLIER CABLES VICTORY ON SWITCH LINE, GENERAL GERMAN RETIREMENT. (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, September 3. Sir Douglas Haig reports: Monday’s operations south of the Scarpe were completely successful. The enemy was heavily defeated in his prepared defences on the DrocourtQueant system, with the result that he is retiring this morning along practically the whole battle front. In Monday’s battle, besides inflicting heavy losses, we took prisoner about ten thousand. Our troops are now advancing and are reported to have entered Pronvilie, Doignies, and Bertincourt. The Canadians showed the greatest skill and courage on Monday in storming the Drocourt-Queant lines, which had been perfected during the last eighteen months and provided the most formidable obstacle, furnished with every device of modern engineering. The defences here were reinforced to such a degree that on a front of eight thousand yards eleven German divisions were identified. Undeterred by the strength of the enemy's defensive organisation, the Canadians, assisted admirably by the English troops on the left, carried all before them. Southwaid of the Canadian corps, English, Scottish, and naval troops of the Seventeenth Corps, under LieutenantGeneral Sir Charles Ferguson, performed no less gallant and arduous a task in storming the junction of the Drocourt-Queant and Hindenburg systems. These were of a most formidable character, but the troops swept over and around them, encircling Queant from the north. As a result this important pivot fell into our hands by nightfall. The tanks corps again assisted materially in the success of the operations. CAPTURE OF LENS. WITH 10,000 PRISONERS. NEW YORK, September 3. A United Press London message states: “The British have taken Lens and Queant, and are advancing on a twenty-mile front. They have captured 10,000 prisoners. They also occupied Wulverghem and Bertincouit. The enemy is retreating along the whole Drocourt-Queant line. The British have captured Hamblain-les-Pres, and are en route to Douai.” BIG HAUL OF PRISONERS. LONDON, September 3. Mr Philip Gibbs writes: The enemy has massed units from all sorts of divisions, fresh or broken, and is rushing them up by road and rail and in motor cars in order to avert irreparable disaster, so there may be hard fighting ahead, but the Canadians, Lancashires, Scots and English County troops have taken a great number of prisoners and reached country where we have never been before, and where we are nowfighting against desperate resistance. The situation was difficult for the British. Prior to the attack we had to recapture Hcndecourt and Riencourt, which the enemy had retaken. Although the Lancashires had made throe attacks in thirty-six hours they made the fourth on Monday evening and stormed their way into the two villages. They did terrible execution. Next morning the same Lancashires continued the attack with the Canadians. The German High Command was expecting the attack, but not so soon. They collected units of all sorts, combed out from the poorest reserves. The Germans had intended to re-attack this morning, but our blow- fell first. He adds: “I don’t know how- many prisoners we took, but I never saw so many trooping from the battlefield. Many wounded were carried shoulder high by their comrades, our Own wounded being often intermixed in the strange procession. There were seldom any British escorts, the troops being 100 busy fighting.” FOUR MILE PROGRESS. LONDON, September 3. We advanced to-day a depth of four miles on a twenty miles front, the enemy hurriedly retiring behind the Hindenburg switch line. Street fighting is in progress in Moislains and Allaines north-east of Peronne. Our line of advance now runs from Voormezeele to Neuve Eg Use, Steenwerck and Lacouture. Between the Scarpe and the Somme the enemy is strongly reacting in the centre. It is expected he will certainly react against the Hindenburg switch. The weather is stormy and gusty. The enemy has another switch line from Douai to Cambrai, but if is not very good, and is certainly less formidable than the first switch. The region beyond the second line is open country somewhat marshy until tin Cambrai plain is reached. Fighting continues near Lens. Mr Percival Phillips says: We broke the Droaourt line to-day, the British and Canadians driving a considerable distance into the open country- beyond the line. The troops were assisted by a force of tanks which the latest report says are far ahead of the infantry. Thousands of prisoners have been taken. The German Seventeenth Army made a supreme effort to hold General Horne’s army and every scrap of available material was thrown into the battle. Di visions were bunched together indiscriminately, including tired infantry, dismounted cavalry, pioneers, and headquarters’ clerks, all fighting with the energy of despair, SWARMS OF PRISONERS. LONDON, September 3. The United Press correspondent states: Thousands of German prisoners are swarming down the roads like sheep. Such disheartened masses of captives have seldom been seen since the war began. The Gormans in the front line ran screaming before the first, assault, throwing up their hands. They admit that the German? are beaten, but this does not mean that to-day's battle was s. triumphant parade for the Canadians and Angln-Scottish troops. On the contrary, >i the hardest lighting recorded for nu’ s ** , occurred before the important rtro.cn of the Hindenburg line was reported to be crossed. The Gentians threw in great masses to stop the gaps and fought murderously at some points, but the German masses contained elements of fatal weakness, including worn-out divisions from Bapaunie and Bullecourt. Further German masses are still coming up, and much fighting still remains to be done. Our success in overcoming the deep wire barriers was due largely to instantaneous fuse shells clearing the wire but scarcely disturbing the earth, and also to the tanks, which played a big part. As an example of the miscellaneous character of the present German line the Lancashires look prisoners from six different divisions on a front of 2000 yards. Incidents of the day include the performance of a machine gun sergeant who killed sixty Germans at Hendecourt. A MEMORABLE VICTORY. LONDON, September 3. Reuter's correspondent at British Headquarters, writing last evening, says: The attack in the morning was conducted by General Horne’s and General Byng’s armies on a front south of the Scarpe to nearly as far as Queant. This is one of the greatest battles, and there is every reason to hope tha tit will prove one of the most memorable victories of the war. The attack was launched at 5.40 after a short, intensive bombardment, which was effectual in cutting wire, and by 7.30 our troops had broken apparently right through the famous Drocourt-Queant switch line, with ilt fortified system two thousand yards deep. We smashed through nearly everywhere along the front of attack. Two hours later it was rumoured that groups of our motor machine-gunners were seen upon the bank of the Nord Canal, which is nearly five miles eastward of the nearest point of the switch line. These, of course, were only highly

mobile patrols, and are pushing out to try to seize the bridgeheads and destroy communications, but if they got so far it proves the success of our opening attack. Our success may be summed up by saying that we j struck the enemy one of the most smashing and strategically serious blows he has yet received in any one day’s, fighting. The enemy made, and is still making, every eSort to check the advance. The Germans had eight divisions standing in readiness to meet the blow. The German prisoners number thousands, and are coming in in shoals. The prisoners include staff officers and several battalion commanders. We are now not only working behind the Hindenburg line, but have also gained ground which commands a long stretch of the line. The battle is still terrific. SWITCH LINE SMASHED. LONDON, September 3. The English and Canadians attacked at five this morning on a twenty-three mile front southward of the Scarpe River. The Canadians smashed through the switch line, cutting it in twain on .3 six-mile front between Etaing and a point south of Cagnicourt. Our line now runs along the western edge of Etaing, the eastern side of Dury, the western edge of Cagnicourt, and west of Queant. Heavy fighting continues in our favour. The British are co-operating with the Canadians near Queant. A series of enemy counter-attacks expelled us from Vaulx Wood, which we captured in the morning. We are advancing on Rocquigny, eastward of 1c Transioy. FURTHER DETAILS. LONDON, September 3. Reuter’s correspondent at British Headquarters writes; “That the enemy is on the qui vive is shown by the fact that his barrage came within a minute of the opening of our bombardment. It was of the heaviest, but was badly directed and caused great damage to his own men. As our leading waves broke forward many Germans sprang up and came running over with hands up. The outposts and front line trenches were cleared with the smallest resistance. Our airmen, though hampered by bad visibility, nevertheless reported German batteries limbering up and trotting rearwards. By 11.30 we had reached Cagnicourt and were attacking a great concentration of the enemy with machine-gun posts in Bois-dc-Bouche, considerably eastward of Cagnicourt. Dury was captured. Some of the heaviest fighting occurred on Mont Dury, the slopes whereof were honey-combed with defences. A dense mass of Germans were seen debouching on sunken roads near by, and our batteries opened fire, inflicting terrible losses. Our own men were in many places exposed to terribly severe fire. The enemy seems to be organising resistance in echelon at a great depth.” THE TRANSPORT PROBLEM. LONDON, September 3. Presiding at a dinner in London on the. occasion of the conclusion of the Allied Maritime Transport Council Lord Robert Cecil strongly appealed for common Allied control of all Allied resources which he declared would make the economic power of the Allies overwhelming. A great deal had already been done. For example the wheat executive had not only removed the danger of starvation and guaranteed fair distribution among the Allies, but had immensely economised shipping by securing that each Ally got supplies of corn from the nearest Allied source. For example Italy got supplies from India while Britain got hers from America. After referring to the Allied Committees dealing with food, munitions and raw materials Lord Robert Cecil emphasised the magnificent results oi united command on th<?,,.battlefield. L, might not be possible to have an economic generalissimo, but the strength of the Allies would be prodigiously increased if only the Allies could be brought together in some similar fusion of the whole of their economic resources. Lord Robert Cecil concluded by suggesting that this great economic alliance might be turned to use in peace after the war. The French, Italian and American delegates supported Lord Robert Cecil’s appeal. ENEMY’S WANING MORALE. NEW YORK, September 3. Mr Cyril Brown, the World’s Berlin correspondent, lately at Stockholm, has returned to New York. Interviewed, he said, “Six months ago Germany was at the zenith of her fighting power. To-day she has definitely passed the zenith and her power shows a continuous downward tendency. The Germans are now giving up hope of a victorious military decision or an early peace. For the first time in the war they have completely lost the initiative all along the line, and the German people know it. The army’s morale has suffered relatively more than the people’s morale. Only picked shock troops retain the old spirit. The morale of the great bulk of the army has been affected by the fear of impending defeat. The food conditions arc no worse than six months ago, but they will be much more serious in Che summer and early spring, when acute starvation conditions will increase the pessimism caused by continuous military reverses.” RUSSIAN AFFAIRS. LONDON, September 3. The Allies are advancing on Gbozerskaya, 75 miles south of Archangel, defeating the enemy. ' The Red Guards looted the English Embassy at Pctrograd, and an Englishman was shot dead.