THRILLING DETAILS OF FIGHTING.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15496, 27 April 1918, Page 5

THRILLING DETAILS OF FIGHTING.

(Per United Pro Received April

a Association.) 27, 9.25 a.m.

LONDON, April 26

Mr Perceval Phillips writes:— Villen Bretonneux is a substantial town of 5000 inhabitants, built mostly of brick and laid out compactly In the form of a square, with the Amiens main road on the northern boundary. On the south the fields fall away to the River Luce at Hansard, three miles away. On the east Is the village of Warfusee. On the Amiens side the ground dips sharply and then rises again to a dense wood. The Germans owed their initial success to gas shells. The first assault by two German divisions aimed at capturing the wood, but only 40 men secured a foothold* They surrendered later. During the first advance THE GERMANS FAILED TO MAKE ANY HEADWAY against the Australians around Saillysiec, and gave up the attack. Two more divisions were then thrown against Villers. Our counter-attack at night was a complete surprise to the German gunners, who did not know what was happening. It was impossible to put up a barrage without destroying their own people. Rockets gave the Australians, Berkshires, and Northanrptona enough light for bayonet fighting, though sometimes we were delayed by the darkness. Our casualties were not light, but were nothing like so heavy as the Germans. British and German tanks met for the

FIRST TIME IN BATTLE, AND

SPLENDID COURAGE BY AUSTRALIANS. ANOTHER GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THEIR DOINGS Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. Received April 27, 11-30 a.m. LONDON, April 26. Mr Philip Gibbs writes; After writing yesterday’s despatch many things happened. \Ve lost .Villers Brettonneux completely, and the enemy was iu possession of the village long enough to stuff it with men and machine-guns. Till ten o’clock on Wednesday night the Germans belipved they held it firmly and permanently. Then came a brilliant counter-attack. Australian troops by a most

SKILFUL AND DARING PIECE OF

GENERALSHIP

were sent forward in the darkness without any preliminary artillery preparation, relying absolutely on the weapons they carried to regain the important position, which gave the enemy full observation of our positions on both side of the Somme and Velley, beyond Amiens. The splendid courage of the Australians, the cunning of their machine-gunners, and the fine leadership of their officers achieved success, and in conjunction with English battalions they spent the night in clearing out the enemy from the village, where he made a desperate resistance. We brought back between seven and eight hundred prisoners- It was

A COMPLETE REVERSAL OF FORTUNE for the enemy, whoso bodies lie in heaps between Villers Brettonneux and Warfusee, anti all about the ruins and the fields in the neighbourhood. That sector of the Valley of the Somme is no longer under fire, indeed our guns and the enemy’s alike have declared a truce, because Australian, English, and German soldiers are mixed up so closely that shelling is impossible on both sides. German machine-gunners on Wednesday morning at many places were entirely cut off by the A*ngloAustralian counter-attack. Small parties of Germans are resisting behind ruins ai;d ranks, while our men are engaged in routing them out. The roads behind the British lines are much cut up by the MURDEROUS GERMAN ARTILLERY FIRE. Passing along the broken roads were living men with the ash grey colour of dead bodies. They were German prisoners under the escort of English and Australian soldiers. Throughout the morning 1 saw groups of prisoners limping along the roads, sometimes carrying stretchers with wounded officers. The men had been many hours without food, as they were cut off from their supplies by our artillery firev ENGLISH TROOPS FIGHT SPLENDIDLY. The English County regiments holding Villers endured a terrible ordeal of a monstrous fire, which many say was the worst seen in the whole war. Finally the enemy turned the western side of the village. Four German divisions, each of twelve regiments of full strength,- managed to fight their way into the village. A Middlesex regiment, the West Yorks and East Lancashire* put up a great fight, but were compelled to retire to the edge of Abbe Wood, while the enemy crammed Villers Brettonnenx with men and machineguns. The moon was veiled by a thick wet mist. The Australian general decided that the mn should go straight into the attack with bayonets and ma-.chine-gnns without waiting for artillery preparation, which would tell the enemy what was coming. The plan of attack was to push forward two bodies and encircle ViUers, while the Northampton and other British troops in the centre fought through the village from the north. This manoeuvre was carried out owing to the magnificent coUrage of each Australian.

THE BATTLE OF THE TANKS. BBITISH MACHINES PROVE SUPERIOR.

VICTORY WAS OURS,

ATELY

They fought in the open fields round Villers. German tanks led the attack from the north-east and south, infantry following with machineguns, mortars, and light artillery. The Germans used four or five tanks, which were bulky and ungainly, very dissimilar from the British, and equipped with a broad turret with quickfirers. They crawled up in the thick mist behind a barrage until close to our trenches. The first intimation of their proximity was when one dropped into a gully running parallel with the trenches and, turning north, flattened the parapets and fusilladed the infantry. The British tanks then came up, and the Germans, when they saw the British approach, advanced to engage them, concentrating their shell fire on a single British tank, but the other Britslh land ships crawled to the rescue. A brief duel followed until one of the German tanks was disabled, and THE OTHERS THEN SCUTTLED.

Later some light British tanks successfully engaged German infantry who were massing for an attack near Cacy, south-west of Villers. The tanks slid swiftly forward and returned with their sides covered with blood. They had charged the enemy repeatedly. The lesson of this first engagement is that we have nothing to fear from the enemy tanka, despite the size and weight of the machines and their armaments.

THE GERMANS FOUGHT DESPER-

when they found themselves entrapped. They had nests of machine-guns along the railway embankment below the village. These they fired fiercely, sweeping the attackers. Those who worked round north-east of the village also came under bursts of machine-gun fire from the ruins, bid; they fought the enemy from one bit of ruin to another in the street. FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORT. (Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn. & Reuter) Received April 27, 11.30 a.m. • LONDON, April 26. A French communique roports; There is great reciprocal artillerying iu the region of Hangard and on both banka of the Avre, but no infantry action. Tho Germans in the Woe re, after a furious bombardment, attacked the sector at Ihgieville, and gained a footing in our advanced linos, but were promptly ejected and the lines restored. Wo took prisoners. An artillery duel is in progress on the right bank of the Ivlcuse and the Yosges. GERMAN VERSION OF FIGHTING. LONDON, April 26. A wireless German official states: A strong French counter-attack against the height at Yleugelhoek failed with heavy loss. We attacked the Anglo-French near and southward of Yillers Bretonneux. Our infantry, supported by tanks, broke through the enemy machinogiyi nests. We captured Hangard. We advanced our lines on heights north-west-ward of Castol. The enemy’s reserves violently counter-attacked all day long, fading with sanguinary losses. Bitter fighting lasted all night. We prisonered 2000 and took four guns.