THE FIGHTING AT LENS.

Waikato Times, Volume 88, Issue 13462, 17 April 1917, Page 5

THE FIGHTING AT LENS.

(Australian and N.Z. Cable Assn.)

LONDON, April 15. Mr Philip Gibbs, describing the fighting at JjPOs, continues:— I The 'tcoops gwawned oTWlrii* open ground, in the southern subufb&of Lens in scattered group*, and took cover on the embankment, where other attackers joined them 1 .. After waiting half-an-hour they doubled on the left, and led by an officer who- was well ahead, crossed the sunken road and ascended the slope. They suddenly changed their direction again before reaching the crest, disappearing down a long straight street. The correctness of the manoeuvre was immediately proved. German shells plastered the embankment where they had previously assembled. Other troops crept up, steering erratically in short rushes, until they reached the same street. Lens was being breached at last. The view showed the British shell fire falling heavily about the church and the enemy's troops and transports retreating hastily.

The southern suburbs ef Lens were captured. The British, avoiding a direct assault on the hill, crept round on the left, and gained the high ground on the north-west, whence they captured the Bois de Raiument. The enemy, recovering from his first panic, sent back troops to the trenches and machine-gun redoubts in the western suburbs, finding that there was insufficient time to prepare rearward positions between Drocourt and Queant. Meanwhile two thousand women, children, and old men, unable to escape in the interval, are now taking refuge in cellars, enduring the agonies of bombardment. The Germans quitted Lievin in such haste that we captured vast quantities of bombs, trench mortars, and shells. The German counterattack at Lagnicourt is clear evidence of the enemy's anxiety for this portion of the line. The village faces the important Bastion of Queant.