Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-09-23 | Page 2 | Hard Fighting at Various Points during the Night

HARD FIGHTING AT VARIOUS POINTS DURING THE NIGHT WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM, Sept. 22. (By the Associated Press.) Hard fighting developed during tho night at various points along the front of the new British offensive east of Ypres as a result of several heavy counter-attacks by the Germans. But while local battles are still continuing the enemy was thrown back in most places with severe losses. Generally speaking, the situation remained unchanged. One of the heaviest counter-attacks made by the Germans was , west of Graveustafel ridge, about a mile and a half north of the Ypres-Roulers railway. rail-way. The enemy surged forward from an elevation in mass formation and hurled themselves against the British along a front of nearly a mile. It is reported that the Germans advanced under a white f lag, and if they did they were fully rewarded for their treachery, treach-ery, for they were repulsed ' with very heavy losses. The assault here was most determined deter-mined and sanguinary fighting followed. fol-lowed. At one point the onrushing enemy penetrated the British line for a distance of a fifth of a mile, but was quickly driven out at the point of the bayonet and the whole attacking force was compelled to retreat, leaving the ground strewn with dead and wounded. Another small counter-attack which was attempted in an adjacent sector was ,.jKen up by artillery fire before the .rmans even came in contact with the British infantry. Shortly after 8 o'clock last night the Gormans launched strong counter-attacks on a mile and a half front astride the Y'pres-Menin road, along the British defenses east of Iverness copse and Dumbarton lakes. The fighting here was severe and at latest reports was still raging on the right in the neighborhood of Tower Hamlets, which have been tho scene of almost continuous continu-ous strife since the offensive began. On the left of this attack the British line was reported intact, but no news had been received about the situation on the right up to the time of sending of this dispatch. A hostile counter-attack east of Laugemarck was shattered by the British Brit-ish artillery and in the same section the British improved their positions in the j neighborhood of Schuler farm. When i the advance began Thursday the Brit- ish purposely pushed by on both sides of a German redoubt at Schuler farm ! and left it in a pocket. This was be-: be-: cause of the marshy nature of the ground around it, which made infantry j work difficult.