WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3563, 25 September 1916, Page 5

WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

"A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT."

DEEDS ON " MOVING-DAY."

LONDON, September 23 .Wounded. New Zeaianders are amvino- from -the. Somme front, whither they were transferred .from, the Armentieres sector a inoxith ago. All the r stories confirm the accounts of tneir splendid courage on the morning ot September 15V in the taee ot the greatest trial they have yet oxporiCUTho father of a young family, who is bravely wounded, said: "When our boy°s went over it was a. magnificent siirht Tlie first wave, which consisted of Otagoites and Aucklanders, stopped out fearlesslyv despite a hurricane bombardment and tho incessant whizzing of machine-gun bullets. An onlooker might have thought, by their careless disregard of danger, that they were only engaged in a sham fight. -Ihoso whose sons: and brothers were kitted here can well be proud of them. Theirs was a glorious death. , " The men were heavily laden ana were unable to run. They were carryin"- shovels and equipment, unlike tne raiders 'who go out to return. It was 'movinc day' for these men, and tilings did ' move.' They found a new place to sleep in that night, although there were many gaps in their ranks as the result of those first two hours open walk in extended order through 'No Man's Land,? dodging the shellholes The German dead were lying t-verywhere— the result of the enemy s earlier and fruitless attacks. " English ro'nmonte worn eo-opornfc- {*« on* our' right. ' Several' 'tanks " ■Wwo allotted to our front. We wore vastly-impressed by these now engines, and were delighted to notice the Gorman's 'funk' when they realised their deadly powers. When they first .salhod out, 14 German bombers rushed lort-h, thinking that they wero the ordinary armoured car, and hoping to stop them before they reached the trenches. They threw scores of bombs, wmlh exploded harmlessly, and the ' tanks machino-guns wiped out the whole party. The Germans quickly learned to respect the monsters, which, when they develop greater speed, will be an even more terrible menace to the defenders of trenches." _ "We felt we .were right mto it tins time," said another man. ■"•Although we had lost several., irien, notably n number of Maoris, during the previous three weeks by gas, attacks and bombardments, this was our first proper

action on the Somme front. When we learned the magnitude of the operations and oar important pare is. them, a thrill went all through us. Everyone was cheerful, although all knew for a certainty that many would not survive. Our bombardment was beyond description. The Germans declare that we do not know what fshclifire is until wo have been in their trenches. The German bombardment was severe enough, and caught many of our chaps before the advance.

"The assault on the trendies was quick and rough work. There were few -moments i'or rest., and there was no time to watch the compass of fate. The single thought of every mind was to get ahead. Tho result was that the New Zealanders entered Flers before the Coldstream Guards, the Xrish, the Canadians, tho Scottish, and other English units.

" Wo were, however, all mixed up in the finish. The Otagoites and Aucklanders took the first line, waited for the Rifle Brigade to come up, and then pushed out, making for the second lino with overwhelming dash. Then all the New Zealand forces combined for the final push. The ' Dinkums,' as the Riiles are called, proved themselves among the best. Some of our men got beyond .the village, and suffered from machine-guns. 5'

A Pioneer says: "It was laughable to watch the Germans surrender. They came into our trenches, running, rolling, limping, and crawling." ■ ' •: A llawke's Bay man, with a broken arm, who was hewing to drag a Ihyier din comrade who was more seriously wounded, became indignant on seeing a huge German carried in a stretcher, and? determined that his comrade should bo relieved of his painful crawl. .Ho saw two Germans, scared.to deaths running into a'shell-hole, and shouting " Kamerad." The Hawke's Bay man shouted, " Stop !" As they did not comprehend this, he picked up his rifle, when they quickly understood, approached, . and dropped on their knees. A burly Hun then carried the Dunedinite for a mile and a half to the- .rear.

The l^oheer Battalion suffered while digging communication trenches under a barrage of lire, which was intended to prevent supports, approaching. Before the battle General Birdwood again appeared, unescorted, in almost every trench, renewing his acquaintance with the Gallipoli veterans. The men speak in the highest terms of General Russell.

_ They expressed surprise at seeing a cinema operator in the front trenches on Friday morning coolly filming tho advance.

The men say that it would do.oW people good to see the magnificent steadiness of that great attack. A; Kaitangata boy., who was badly hit in the jaw., speaking, behind his bandages, said: "According to Sir Douglas Haig's latest messages our chaps are still there, holding the line. You can bet your life they will stick it^ns. long as they are needed." The wounded mon arc b.eUng concentrated at the Brockenluirst and.Walton Hospitals. As soon ad they are -■convalescent they will be sent to Hbrnchurch and Codford. Some, owing to pressure, were sent to isolated hospitals, but they were quickly-discovered and transferred to New Zealand hospitals, all'of which, arc; working smoothly. There have been no complaints, and the men especially appreciate tlie New Zealand mutton and butter.