OVER OLD GROUND.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume V, Issue 1427, 9 September 1918, Page 9 (Supplement)

OVER OLD GROUND.

(A. * N.Z.i LONDON", Sept. 7. | Mr Phillip Gibbs writes:-—Ouri patrols are creeping forward with! ! surprising speed in front of La I Bassee. The enemy is going back '• faster than he meant to. It is cer-1 tain that lie intended to hold Hill 63, [ which threatens Messines, but his do-I 'fence crumbled so quickly that we! 1 won the hill and progressed far | dowji the further side. We are ! j nearly approaching the positions; ■held until the battle of Messines. THE NEW LINE. (A. & X.7..) LONDON", Sept. 7. ! ! To-day's progress on practically; ; the whole front from Havrincourt to j the Aisnc is more rapid than was ex- | pected. The British line, starting i from Havrincourt Wood, of which) | we hold the half, runs through Met/. ■■ en Couture, Fins, Lieramont and I ITincourt to Lanchy, where the French lake il up. Thence it runs i to Aubigny and Tergnier, westward lof Amigny, to Bassoles-Auler's, and! i the western edge of Sancy to Cedes,! I where it joins the old line. The I ! capture of the Tergnier railway junoi lion is of the greatest importance, as [the enemy thereby lost the main line j of communication between Laon and j | St. Quentin. In order to get another I line lo those places the enemy must go hack to the single railway line through Ribeeourt. GREAT ENEMY LOSSES. (Renter) LONDON, Sept, (i. Renter's (correspondent at French |Headquarters, writing at night, says: j The enemy is retiring on the line La 1 Fere, the left bank of the Oise, Bari-I 'sis, the lower forest of Coucy and! | the forest of St. Gobain. The enemy j is preparing io flood the country. : General Mangin has occupied Moyen-j brie, 1000 yards beyond Coney,'and: is advancing on Laffaux and the ledge of the valley traversed by the! iSoissons-Laon railway. The Germans are retreating on the whole French battlefront. Their immediate (objective is the line from St. Quentin j across the valley of the Oise. "around', {the forest of St. Gobain to Lafl'aux,! land then past Malmaison lo the: iChemin-des-/)ames, then from Juvin-I court across the Aisnc at Berry-au-Bac and south-east to Rheims, through the hill country, which: i hitherto has proved impervious | lo all assaults. The enemy has ] to-day from 30 to 40 ' divisions in reserve, but his armies iarc being consumed at least at the i irate of a division per day, and the! question is whether the Allies will! allow him to reach his old line ex-j jcepl in disorder and in such a condition that he cannot slay there. The! [next few days will decide.