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Show Emu! PAYING ncmnii British Troops Exacting Heavy Toll as Foe Counter-attacks. Despite Hindenburg's Ef- forts, Haig's Men Overlook Over-look St. Quentin Ruins. By PHILIP GIBES. (New York Times-Chicago Tribune Cable, Copyright.) WAR CORRESPONDENTS' HEADQUARTERS, HEAD-QUARTERS, Sept. 25. British troops on the extreme right of our line in touch j with the French near St. Quentin, are still fighting on the outskirts of Pontruet and Gricourt where the German rear guards have been defending their earthworks earth-works stubbornly with the usual machine gun fire. It still seems doubtful whether the enemy has been cleared out of th ruins of Pontruet, but it is not likely that I he holds more than a few outposts and some sniping posts in that ground. The : fighting here and particularly near Seleney ! and Gricourt has been severe and the enemy made several counter-attacks during dur-ing the past forty-eight hours to their 1 own disadvantage because they were repulsed, re-pulsed, and this cost them a heavy prica in men's lives, as the commander in chief mentions officially. Two companies of the second royal Sussex met the enemy with the bayonet and inflicted heavy losses. In the combats com-bats over 1000, prisoners have been taken by our men, many machine guns, trench mortars and one field gun. The French on our right captured 500 men and made good progress about Epine-de-Dallon. though this morning I hear they were-held were-held up for this at Manchester hill redoubt. re-doubt. Regiment Overwhelmed. It was on the morning of March 21 that the- enemy In enormous strength came through the fog and broke through on both sides of Epine-de-Dallon and Manchester hill, driving forward between our Ulster divisions and Lancashire men of the 13th division. Our outpost line was held by a series of redoubts, including in-cluding those I just mentioned, and a race course redoubt was held by the Innisitillinge fusiliers. These places and others like them were quickly surrounded, but our men held out In them with heroic courage until they were utterly over powered. Nothing aould be nobler nor more tragic than the last stand of the lfioth Manchester Man-chester in that Manchester hill redoubt where the French are now fighting, when the enemy was all around them. They held on here, serving their machine guns. By means of a burled cable they ' were able to get messages through for some time. The last words came from the commanding officer at about 3:20 in the afternoon. When he was slightly wounded, wound-ed, he spoke calmly, even cheerily, but said they could not hold out much longer as practically, every man was hit and the Germans were swarming around. "The Manchester will defend the redoubt re-doubt to the last moment," said this gallant gal-lant officer. These wer hfs last words and the dedoubt was overwhelmed. Old Line Reoccupied. Now we are back agai n on on r old line after retreat and advance which have filled five months with the wild vicisitudes of war, and have ca rrfed us on the high wave of fortune. A f ter the wonderful turn of the tide once again, our men are staring out of the holes In the earth and from the observation positions posi-tions in the high ground at the ruins of the fair old city of St. Quentin. where the cathedral stands massive, like a medieval castle, with scarred walls about the mass of gray and broken buddings. French t roops are fighting their wa y close to it and our men on their Irft are due north of it, nnr Pent rue t and Gricourt. Gri-court. Ehse where on our front t here h-no h-no great change, but our line wan ad-f ad-f vaneed slightly on a front of Li'i yards near Tnchy, which looks eastward to P.our-lon P.our-lon wood of old ih fame m the day? of our i. 'a mbra i atl ventu re b st Nov em tier, and many Germans were killed in their res is Lance. |