, 1916-09-20
SUPPLEMENT TO ST. CRoX AVIS, No. 7, 10Th SEPTEMBER 1916

assault close under cover of our field
artillery and barrage. The front of
the German line was carried everywhere,
except at two points. namely on the high
ground between Ginchy and the Leuze
Wood and at the Foureaux Wood. Neglect
ing these places, the infantry swept
forward around them and by ten o'clock
in the morning had captured the whole of
the village of FIers with its strong
points, and advanced to a position beyond
the village. The outskirts of Martin
puich and Courcelette also were reached
about the same time. The latter two
villages fell into our hands in the course
of the afternoon. The Northumbrian and
London Territorials, Scottish and English
new army divisions with troops from Can
adj and New Zealand shared with our guards
the credit Of these successes. On our
right the enemy maintained his hold on
the high ground northwest of Leuze
Wood, and our efforts TO dislodge him were
unsuccessful. At the Foureadx Wood how
ever the enemy began to surrender when
both his tanks were turned, ana by ii
o'clock the whole wood was in our pos
session. We thus gained not only practi-
cally the whole of the ground between
the Combles valley and the river Aucre,
but are we'll down the forward slopes.
Thanks to our excellent artillery observa-
lions thus afforded, we are in IL posi-
ton to infict heavy punishment on the
Germans. Our armoured ear 2aIlantly
led the action, knocking out hostile machine
guns and inficting heavy losses by their
machine-gun fire, enflading The German
trenches and causing indescribable demorali-
zatiou in the %enemy's ranks. On the night
Of the 18th, the enemy began to counter
attack with forces hastily brought from all
directions. TIL counter-attacks continued
throughout the 10Th and were all repulsed
with heavy losses to the enemy. On the
10th our troops made further progress, espe-
cially in the direction of Les Boeufs. In
the course of the above operations and ID
close connection with them, the new army
troops have skilfulIy and CALAMITY extended
our gains south of Thiepval, SEEING trenches
and capturing hundreds of prisoners. The
result Of the fighting is Of great importance,
and is probably the most Elective blow
which has yet been dealt the enemy by the
British troops. The damage to his morale
is probably of greater consequence than
the seizure of dominating positions and
the capture of between 1000 and 5000
prisoners. To date since the LIST of July
the British forces alone on the Somme
battlefront have met and engaged thirty
AfO "a VI va hofO pOSu
already defeated and withdrawn exhausted.
Duti ing the past week in the battle area only
four hostile aeroplnnes have been reported
as crossing our lines, while our machines
have made between 1000 and 1000 flights
across the enemy's lines.
Petrograd, Sept. 18th.-News of a new
series of battles i'll the general neighbour
hood of Halicz in Galicia ends on almost
unprecedented period of quiet extending on
all the Russian fronts, except that in Asia
Minor, where the Turks without marked sue
cess steadily repeated their efforts to launch
an offensive against their left bank Of the Rus
sian Caucasian army. Thus after weeks of
suspended activity general Bruslloff has en-
efgetically resumed his campaign against
Lemberg. Halicz, which obstructs the way
to that city from the southeast is again sub
iected to the most violent pressure by the
Russians who are throwing the most weight
of their attack north of Halicz on the Naray-
uvka River where they are attempting to cat
the railway from Halicz along the Narayuvkp