VIOLENT ATTACKS NEAR ARMENTIERES

GALLANT LANCASTRIANS

From Philip Gibbs. France, Wednesday.

In my message yesterday I told as much as was known of the attack which began in the morning against the British and Portuguese troops between Armentières and Givenchy, on La Bassée Canal, the strength and purpose of it being then uncertain. It is now clear that this battle, still in progress to-day, is a new and formidable offensive with large objectives, and is not merely a demonstration to withdraw our troops from the area of the Somme. It is also made certain by this new thrust that the German High Command have decided to throw the full weight of their armies against us in an endeavour to destroy our forces in Northern France, instead of dividing their efforts by striking at the French. I believe their plan is to edge off as much as possible from the French reserves holding them in check by defensive fighting and counter-attacks, in order to concentrate their masses of men and guns opposite the British lines and hurl them in a series of blows, now on our right and now on our left, following up each success as far as its possibilities admit. It is a menace which calls for a supreme effort of the armies, the nation, and the Allies. Yesterday the enemy struck north on our left beginning in the grounds opposite Neuve Chapelle as the centre of the thrust, with Fleurbaix north and Givenchy south, and extending this morning farther north still above Armentières and the Ridge of Messines. As yesterday, so to-day, they have succeeded in pressing back parts of our first defensive systems, and their threat this morning was most vehement in the neighbourhood of Messines, although our counter-attacks have since driven the enemy back part of the way. An enormous gunfire was directed against our positions along all this line last night again after yesterday morning’s bombardment, and continued without pause through a very unquiet night, when all through the hours this tumult of great guns beat upon one’s ears with a continued drumfire and all the sky was full of flame and light. This morning again when I went up into French Flanders and through the villages which the enemy has been shelling, regardless of the women and children there, this frightful, unceasing thunder was as loud as ever. The great achievement of the day on the part of our troops engaged was the magnificent stand of the 55th Division – all Lancashire troops – who held our right flank firm against fierce repeated attacks some four times stronger than themselves in numbers, and when the troops on their left were pressed back formed a flank on their left and so withstood the enemy’s hammer-blows that at the end of the day and this morning our line was still unbroken there, and Givenchy was still ours, and the enemy’s waves of men lay shattered in front of them and 750 prisoners were in our hands.