FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 146000, 5 December 1917, Page 3

FRANCE AND BELGIUM.

VIOLENT GERMAN ASSAULTS. ON NEW BRITISH POSITIONS. REPULSED WITH HEAVY LOSS. LONDON, Dec. 4. Sir Douglas Haig reports:—The enemy resumed his offensive with great violence. To-day’s lighting was exceptionally severe from Connell cu to Marcoiug. The enemy delivered his attacks m great strength, and with large forces, and was repulsed with heavy losses, our positions acing maintained everywhere, except at La Vacquerie and eastward of Marcoing, where our line was slightly withdrawn. The enemy broke tnrough at one point southward of Marcoing, hut immediate counter-attacks restored the situation. A\[c advanced our line slightly northcast of Polygon Wood.

RECKLESS USE OF GERMAN TROOPS. LONDON, Dec. 4. There has been heavy lighting all day, particularly in the ueignbournood of Ga Vacqueno. Von ilindenburg keeps giving Prince Rqpprecht fresh divisions, winch are pouring in from all directions, including, probably, Russia. Prince Rupprecat is Hinging these men in the struggle fifteen waves deep. Inionnatiou gathered in captured documents suggests that the Germans are desperately anxious to force a decision before the American man-power begins to tell, and the question that is being asked is whether this assault is a bid for that decision. The assailants include Bavarians, Prussians, Saxons, and Grenadier Guard ditisions. The fields around General Byng s salient to Vendhuile arc piled with the Kaiser’s dead, while the Britishers are fighting in the. highest spirits and only abandoning ground in their own good time, after repulsing all attacks. As at Masniercs, the slopes are grey with German corpse*. The actual fighting is as heavy as the war has seen, attacks and counter-attacks succeeding each other endlessly.

The Americans, who have had some losses, continue to do their bit amongst the British, and arc proud to be amongst the first to .suffer. Mr. Philip Gibbs says a new German division was brought from Flanders to participate in to-day’s renewed attacks on La Vacquorie and Gonnolieu. The British are holding the lines with heroic valour. The ground is strewn with German dead. 200,000 MEN EMPLOYED. LONDON, Dec. 3. Headquarters reports that it looks as if the German effort on the Carabrai front had temporarily spent itself, although they arc showing aggressive activity round the La Vacquorie salient. Masnieros, from which we have withdrawn, is untenable for the enemy, except in the deep catacombs, with which it is believed it is honeycombed. The recent attack was one of the greatest, if not actually the greatest, the Germans ever launched on the west front. The second battle of Ypres was the only possible claimant of equal magnitude. It is computed that twenty divisions were employed, representing at least 200,000 infantry, HEAVY GERMAN BOMBARDMENT LONDON, Dec. 4. A French communique states: There has been great artillery activity on the sectors north of the Chemin des Dames, and intermittent artillery work on the right bank of the Meuse. The enemy, after a Violent bombardment at M’oenvre. attacked our positions north of Floury, but our fire drove them back, inflicting heavy losses. ALLIES’ UNITY OF ACTION. PARIS, Dec. 3. The Echo de Paris states the difficulties prevented the conference from establishing a single command, hut a great advance has been arranged towards unity of action. RUSSIAN WAR PRISONERS. USED IN GERMAN TRENCHES. (Received Deo. 5, 10.10 a.m.)

LONDON, Dec. 4. Mr Robinson states that the Germans are using Russian war prisoners in the trendies at Cambrai. Some who were captured state that they wore starved and systematically tortured. Many wore bayoneted or shot for refusal nr inability to work. In one camp 500 wore thus reduced to 260. A MAGNIFICENT FIGHT. BY A TANK OFFICER. (Received Dec. 5, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON. Dec. 4. The captain of a tank was billed in the recent fighting, and a lieutenant took command. The tank received a direct hit, but he ordered the crew to hold the trenches a short distance away with a Lewis gun while the tank drew the enemy’s gun fire. Remaining alone lie alternated with several Lewis guns from the tank until all became red hot and the ammunition exhnlisted. Ho then found a German machine-gun, and with this he stopped a counter-attack, holding the trenches fomdmurs- until ‘the infantry

NO INFANTRY ACTION

IN THE CAMBRAI AREA. (Received Dec; 5, 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, Dee. 4. Sir Douglas Haig reports that the enemy artillery was active during the night in the neighbourhood of Bourlou and Moenvrcs, but there were no further infantry actions. DESPERATE ASSAULTS. DUE TO STEADY ATTRITION IN THE WEST. (Received Dec. 5, 1T.2-3 a.m.) s' WASHINGTON, Dec. 4. A communique from Mr. Baker, Secretary for AVar, records that the. Germans arc preparing for a new T offensive on an unprecedented scale. They are resorting to a policy of desperate, assaults, because of the attrition on the west front. The closing of the Swiss frontier moans that Germany is transporting troops and guns westward. [Apparently a cablegram has been received in America tiiat the Gormans have temporarily stopped traffic to and from Switzerland.]