The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1917-11-29
DETAILS OF THE FIGHTING.
By the Associated Press.

British Army Headquarters in France,
Nov. %, Friday-The main attack on
the opening of the offensive Tuesday
was along the western bank of the
canal Du Nord, which rum almost due
north and south from a point a little
west of H~avrincourt. The main Hin
denburg line trenches We're built along
this water way and the British had to
fight their way up the big ditch.
There was intense hard work almost
from the start as the Obstetrics, who
undertook this task, got in among the
German defenses. Because of the secret
nature of the attack no artillery could
be used to cut the tremendously
strong lines of barbed wire in front Of
the trenches and the tanks were not
operating in this section. Therefore, it
was necessary for the Irishmen TIC
charge the entanglements and bomE
them to pieces in order to force their
way through.
Charge Without Tanks.
1t was a big Undertaking, for the Irish
came under concentrated rifle and ma
chine gun fire as soon as they began
to advance, but they maintained their
reputation for valor and bombed their
way with such grim determination
that they drove IN entering wedge into
the trench system near Havrincourt.
Northwest Of the town is a high bank
on the west Of the ana This eleva-
ton was strongly fortified with dug
o0AS SAAA SAkSAS ~ 90 SAN0S -
ton of machine guns. The British had
no alternative, but to charge the posi-
ton up the slopes and this they did.
The crest was gained in the face of a
heavy fire, and desperate bayonet
fighting followed.
The Obstetrics hurled themselves on
the Germans with such fury that the
latter were compelled to desert their
machine guns and abandon the hill, and
many of them were shot down as they
fled northward along the canal. A
large number of prisoners We're cap
tured in the dug outs, on the hill and
beside the canal. h fight occurred
at 8 o'clock Tuesday morning. Mean
eastern side of the canal were giving
much trouble, and as soon as the high
bank was captured, British engineers
began building bridges oversthe water
infantry. They undertook to have these
bridges completed by 8 O'Clock and by
a remarkable piece of work the task
was accomplished. Previously they had
repaired a causeway in the same vicin-
ity and the troops were able to get over
the canal to the eastern bank. The
Irish infantry was then advancing.
northWard on both sides of h canal
with the main Cambria apaume high
way as their immediate objective.
Wait on Ammunition.
During the afternoon the Irish were
AtSAA Up ~ y @DCCduSe OF tue
shortage of ammunition near a sunken
road southwest of Graincourt, where
the Germans were established in con-
siderable force. This position was rem
dered doubly strong by a machine gun
concentration north of Graincourt
which could sweep the British lines
near the canal. The ammunition came
up and the British charged forward
again. They overcame the resistance
south of the Cambrai-Bapanme high
way.
The Germans then were firing with
machine guns down across the Cam
brai road. Hand to hand fighting oc-
CURED at positions below the road. but
the finally were forced to
withdraw. Dugouts lighted by cleo
tricity were found in the chain OF de-
lenses along the highway. BY $40
O'Clock in b evening the Irish troops
had crossed the Cambrai- Bapaume
highway on, both sides of the canal and
taken a stand south Of Moeuvres. This
was the situation here at the end OF the
first days fighting.