Colossal losses for enemy on Western Front

The German attacks on Friday last week formed, as is proved by captured documents, a part of a big plan to encircle our positions at Cambrai.

They failed, and enormous losses were inflicted on the dense masses of the attackers.

The Germans repeated their attacks on the Masnieres-Moeuvres front on Saturday, and in the neighbourhood of Masnieres delivered nine assaults, all of which were repulsed with heavy loss to the enemy. He has suffered one of the bloodiest defeats in the war. The whole of Bourlon Wood remains in our possession, and the German dead lie thick on the battlefield.

On Sunday night Sir Douglas Haig announced our withdrawal from Masnieres without molestation from the enemy.

Great stress is laid on the German losses by our officers and men. The dead can be seen round La Vacquerie in heaps and the slopes near Bourlon village are dotted with unburied corpses. This reckless waste of men cannot be continued indefinitely.

Fighting, which Sir Douglas Haig describes as “exceptionally fierce”, took place on the Cambrai front on Monday when the Germans resumed the offensive with great violence. Very heavy losses were again inflicted on the enemy.

The Germans claim to have taken over 6000 prisoners in Friday and Saturday’s fighting in the neighbourhood of La Vacquerie. On Wednesday two British aeroplanes made successful raids on Germany.