THE WESTERN FRONT.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 787, 18 August 1916, Page 7

THE WESTERN FRONT.

BRITISH MAKE PROGRESS. [ j TRENCHES TAKEN AT GUILLEMONT. lliffl, Ccmmisrloncr's Calif. j LONDON, August 17 (3.30 p.m.) j General Sir Douglas Haig reports: —As. the rosull of lighting yesterday, I in conjunction with the French in the region (if Maurepas. we pushed , forward our line west and southwest of Guillemont. West of the High Wood (Four- 1 jeaux Wood) we captured 300 yards of trenches 300 yards in advance of ! our previous line. East of the Mouquet Farm our j machine guns nipped a German atj lack in the hud. The French ollicial report says:— On the Somnic the enemy has shown jno further action. There has been | most violent artillery action north of Mnurepas and also at Belloy-cn- ; Santerre. VISIT OF THE KING. j RECEPTION BY COLONIALS. Australian and N.Z. Cable AssociationLONDON, August 17. Mr Philip Gibbs, special correspondent of the "Daily Chronicle," : states that the King witnessed a j considerable bombardment in the Yprcs salient. There was a great j scene of enthusiasm when he visitjed the South Africans, who broke {into a Zulu war cry with its wild j barbaric noise. The King was stirr- : ed by the tremendous demonstration of loyalty that swept about him. He spoke of Delville Wood, and thanked the men for what they had done ! and suffered. He decorated the Queen of the | Belgians with the Royal Red Cross las a tribute to her devotion to the ■ wounded. He afterwards reviewed the reconstructed Belgian Army. The New Zealanders and Canjadians also gave the King a great [ovation at a united service that was I held. FRENCH SUCCESSES. ADVANCE AT MAUREPAS. Eiph Commissioner's Cable. LONDON, August 17 (12.40 a.m.) A French communique says: On the Somnic front, after a vio- ; lent artillery preparation, we made 'important gains north of Maurepas. | Our troops, in conjunction with the i British, captured trenches on a front !of 1500 metres (1640 yards), reachling certain points on the GuillcmontI Maurepas Road. South of Maurepas, on a front of jlwo kilometres (one mile and a quarter), and to a depth of 400 • metres (437 yards) all the enemy positions east of the Maurepas-Clery I Road were occupied by our infantry, J who inflicted heavy losses on the i enemy. South of the Sonune we carried, with a single rush, powerfully-or-ganised trenches of a length of 1200 | metres (over 1300 yards), south of j Belloy-en-Santerre. THE GERMAN ARMIES. I REINFORCEMENTS HURRIED UP. Untied Service. (Received August 18, 0.50 a.m.) LONDON, August 17. Forty troop trains are reported to have passed Cologne for the Somme front. THE GERMAN LINE. DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS. Australian and X.Z. Cahle Association. PARIS, August 17. | Of 122 German divisions on the Western front, 20 oppose the British I and French on the Somme, 20 are at Verdun, and the rest are scattered lover the remainder of the front, which is now slightly over 550 miles in length.