The sun., 1918-09-20
NEW GLORY WON
BY AUSTRALIANS
INQUARRYFIGHT
Overcame Stiff Resistance
and Took $500 Prisoners
as They Went.
ONE OF WARS BEST FEATS
French Also Had Hard Going,
but Won Through by
Their Persistence.
ONE OF WARS BEST FEATS
by l'ERRY ROBINSON.
Special Cable Despatch to THE SuS from the
London Times Serrice.


London Times Serrice.
Copyright, 1915: all rights reserved.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE,
Sept. 19.--Our whole advance was truly
sensational. The Australians had the
hardest fighting. The various villages
and woods in their path they reduced
by encirclement without great trouble
but the trench lines had to be cleared by
direct attack. They met stifr resistance
In the Cuarries OF Templeux- -Guerard.
and as a result the Australians have $500
prisoners. Their total casualties. in
cluding all the lightest wounded. do not
number \one-half OF that. The prisoners
come from four divisions and include
three battalion commanders. one regi-
mental commander and six stan officers.
When one remembers that the Aus
tralians have been engaged without in
terruption for four and a half months
their performance must stand out as
one of the great feats of the war 1t
was the first week in May when they
began the process Of chipping of bits
Of the enemy front IN the Morlancourt
area. which they continued until the
beginning OF the great offensive on Au-
gust gave them an opportunity for
an advance on larger scale.
Becomes q worthy Climax.
While these were at work other Aus
trallans similarly were eating their way
into the German positions in the north.
at Merris, in the Lys salient. Since then
they have been fighting unitedly on the
southern front. and this latest drive
yesterday Is n worthy climax to their
truly astonishing advance.
In the vicinity OF Epehy tho Lincolns
and Leicesters covered themselves with
glory This Is the fifth time that the
Twenty-frst Division has been men
toned by the commander in chief this
year. Part OF the Seventy fourth Divi-
sion appears in the official despatche7
for the first time; 1t is a yeomanry d.
vision. which has not been heretofore
in any large operations in France. 1t
did finely yesterday and everybody is
extremely glad.
London and Eastern County troops
went through Peizieres and Epehy. At
one time the Londoners had their right
flank exposed. and some OF our trench
mortar batteries did splendid work In
covering the weak spot. The Fourth
Yeomanry Division went to Ronssoy.
where 600 prisoners surrendered after
only moderate fight, and pushed on to
Lempire, a fine performance.
Rccapturcd Four Tanks.
The whole advance In the sector of
Villers-Guslain was accompanied by
hard fighting at every stage. The Sew
enteenth Division alone took more than
1000 prisoners In Gauche Wood We
captured four of our own tanks that the
Germans had taken and converted into
machine gun positions. in which capacity
they gave trouble until they were stalked
ard rushed.
In repellng a counter attack we cut
OF part OF a German attacking force
by an overwhelming machine gun bar
rage. and many surrendered, The Ger
man casualties were extremely heavy,
800 dead bodies being counted in one
narrow area. Altogether the fighting
was very costly to the enemy on all
parts of the front. Where the enemy
fought he was killed in large numbers
and where he did not fight his men are
our prisoners.
Similar attacks extended southwark
against our new positions overNa large
part OF the battle front at approximately
the same time. but elsewhere they did
not have the same weight and determined
character. To strike with all their avail
able strength on the immediate flank of
our attack was in accordance with
familiar principles of strategy and OBJ
viously gave hopes of the largest profits
II successful.
Three divisions of stanchness shat
tered the attack by which the Germans
doubtless hoped to turn our victory into
discontinue. AS IT is the victory re-
mains complete we have all the ground
that We won or set out to win and a
horde OF prisoners At some points the
German casualties were undoubtedly
heavy.
on our extreme right the French had
great difficulty In making progress.
Savy Wood. which the French cleaped
magnificently on Tuesday night. il less
than 1000 yards from st. Quentin. Be
yond II on the right and left of the
wood. like great bastions, rise two ele-
vations, Round Hill and Manchester
Hill. Between these. before the village
Of Francilly, runs a formidable trench
system and innumerable minor works.
while all the roads running eastward
toward St Quentin pass through fire.
quent cuttings. where they are sunk
and give admirable shelter for machine
guns and artillery.
At Hoinon village in many pockets
the Germans held out long after the
adjoining area was In our hands. and
some OF them stili Vere being reduced
ta-day