THE "JUGGERNAUT."

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3558, 19 September 1916, Page 5

THE "JUGGERNAUT."

A WEIRD AND WONDERFUL MACHINE.

! LONDON, September 18. Mr Phillip Gibbs, writing in the "Daily ( aronicle," says:—"The British went over the parapets on Friday .exalted and excited by the smell of victory. They were. laughing as they ran, because a new toy in|vfl«inedv their fancy.. They were enormously cheered and amused by the new .'weapons so dully described by the official bulletin. "The secret of these extraordinary armoured motors has been jealously kept for months. All manner of marvellous powers have been attributed to them—that they wore proof against bullets, bombs, and shell splinters, and took ditches like kangaroos. "In actual sight they are monstrously comical —like enormous toads --but they did good work, and scared tho Gentians dreadfully. "Their utility was proved near Courcellete, where our infantry was hold up at a German redoubt in tho ! ruins of a sugar factory, which was full of machine-guns. It was one of those deadly places which had previously cost so many lives. " Th">n .over the British trenches, in the half-light of the dawn, the mew monster crawled to the rescue of tho troops, who cheered and even laughed with tho' blood streaming down their faces. This creature, which was named tho 'Crcme do Menthe,' waddled forward over the old German trenches toward the redoubt. " The enemy was-momentarily silent, and then"*«pasms of machine-gas fire splashed the sides of the.'Creme de Monthe,' bul| they fell harmlessly to the gronnd. Tho ' Creme de Menthe' julvitnasd i:pon the broken wall and Jos)nod jignin«t it. The bricks crashed <.l,uvn, Vlul Imc'3 i-ie jr.rtcr ,\v;illifttl

into the heart of the factory . ruins. Thn motor poured fort}) n .stream of bullets, trampled.the ■machine-gun emplacements, 'crushed:,tho «n;achine-guns,-and killed the. tfliiins.

'* Our. infantry ' followed, and occupied the redoubt.

"Similar scenes occurred at High Wood, -where our men wore for a-tin?o driven back. Thou then?, v/as greatjoy on their seeing several ' tanks ■ advancing through the wood and on each side of it. . .

! " Wounded soldiers, relate extraordinary stories. ■ They ;decla.ro that the." ' tanks ' broke down trees ftnd mounted barricades. There was a stampede out of the dug-outs; and the Bodies, thoroughly soared, ran about shouting like demented men. .

" During the attack on Martinpuich, ■ machine-guns held up our infantry on the outskirts of the pillage.' Two 'tanks' which had already passed the. British front line in. the darkness' now crawled through 'No Man's Land,' and nosed into the walls of Martin-' puieh, testing their strength. They were broken down like, wooden barns; i and 20 minutes later our infantry was ! inside the first trenches of Martinpuich, with the monster still v/addlinsc ahead. . .\ . • " One hundred Germans confronted another 'tank,' reuniting 'Mercy.' The ' tank' led a procession of its prisoners to the British linens. "The' first news of the' success, which had been won at Flers was an airman's / wireloess messago: "A 'tank' is walking np the Flers High Street, with the British Army cheering. Vhind it." "TEis was an actual fact. One of the motor monsters was there enjoying itself thoroughly, and forcing' the ,- enemy to keep their heads down. It ■ had hung out a large placard-on which were the words: ' Great Hub defeat. Special !', , -""' ■'[

" Meanwhile, aeroplanes flew over the seared Germans, who were fleeing before the.-monstrous apparition, pouring in a. deadly machine-gun fire." '