The Daily Telegraph

THE 55TH DIVISION

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The advance of the enemy in the centre put a severe strain upon the 55th Division, who were already sustaining terrific attacks on their right by Givenchy. Many of these Lancashire men had been in their billets sleeping peacefully when news of the battle came the night before last, and they had to turn out at once and go straight to the trenches, under an abominable fire. All of them were like a lad I met this morning, in charge of an escort of German prisoners, sitting on top of a ladder, with his steel hat of the back or his head, while he told me astounding adventures in the dialect of Warrington, for all the world like a music-hall comedian, in spite of the horrors which he had seen. They must have been remarkable fellows. Oppressed as I was with a sense of tragedy, this boy’s monologue, with the snarl of shrapnel as a musical accompanim­ent, made me laugh, as he sat up there with a funny face, saying the drollest things. But it wasn’t a comedy at all for those Lancashire men. It was grim fighting, in a bad little corner of hell. For that was Givenchy yesterday and to-day. The enemy attacked it in crowds, and captured it in the morning, in spite of deadly rifle and machine-gun fire from these men. He was hurled out again by parties of bombers and riflemen, but returned to the attack and regained half the village. In the hard fighting, the Lancashire­s and Yorkshires took most of their men, and these Germans are crestfalle­n, for before the battle a document was read out to them saying that the 55th Division in front of them was not to be feared, because it was very weak and very tired, and the German storm-troops would be attacking in a proportion of three regiments to six British companies, and would have no trouble. In the night these Lancashire lads counter-attacked once more, and drove the enemy clean out, and further back than where he had started. They also took over 700 prisoners, whom I saw to-day, and a very hefty crowd of grey wolves they were, in spite of some boys in glasses, who were under the average size. On the left, beyond the flank of the 55th Division, the situation was more serious, and parties of the enemy crossed the River Lys and got into the neighbourh­ood of Croix-du-bac and to the outskirts of Estaires. They were apparently not in big numbers there, and this morning were driven back over the Lys. In the centre, where the Portuguese were forced to fall back, the weight of the German attack then fell on the British troops, who fought magnificen­t defensive actions. Counter-attacks were also made with the greatest gallantry. Near another place called Huit Maisons, or Eight Houses, some of our men held out in an outpost for many hours, and kept the enemy back by their fire. From captured maps and other informatio­n it is proved that the enemy had most ambitious objectives yesterday, which should have brought him to the outskirts of Bethune, on the canal bank, but owing to the brave fighting of our men he was not able to achieve this purpose. Two German aviators brought down in our lines say that yesterday’s battle was only the beginning of a great attempt north on a 40-kilomètre (25 miles) front, and this is borne out by the extension of the attack to-day above Armentière­s and up by Messines Ridge.

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