PRAISE FOR NEW ZEALANDERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3564, 26 September 1916, Page 5

PRAISE FOR NEW ZEALANDERS.

A STIRRING ACCOUNT FROM

l?HlLffi GIBBS

LONDON, September 2:1.. Mr Philip Gibbs sends a thrilling narrative in eulogy of the Now Zealanders' bayonet lighting, and. splendid endurance from September 15 to 22. He says :r— . "In the fighting since the first of July, therehas been nothing, fiercer or bloodier than the, hand-tdrhand! struggles on the left of: Tiers,;; where the New Zealanders increased the fame they gained.at Gallipoli as soldiers who cajtinot be made to give up what they gairij a*d who hold on to. ground with grim obstinacy against the heaviest I odds.. This is the. judgment of a British ! officer who watched, them, fighting during the last row days. He speaks with a thrill of admiration in. recalling the stoicism, with, whicl» they endured the heaviest shell-fire,, the spirit with which they attacked, despite intense fatigue, and- their rally, though discouraged by the loss, of. officers,! which swept back tho-Germans, ia panic-stricken flight. "His story covers the week's 'nghti ing.. Tho New Zealanders at dawn on the 15th.. advanced upon the; left, of Flers'j. where "two lines,of..trenches formed part of the famous Tiers lino. Our gun-fire had not cut the wires or destroyed the trenches, and tho swish oC machine-gun bullets showed thtit the enemy wtis alive and savage. "The first line of Now Zealandors went forward with hardly ." check to the German ' switch' trenches 500 yards distant. Tho men of Auckland, Canterbury., Otago, and "Wellington put their trust in tho bayonet, and they had their desire. The Germans in the ' switch' trench defended themselves to tho last gasp, and only four wcro takon alive. It was a' frightful oucounter —a fight to tho death-r^-in which the New Zealanders kist hwivily. " Under shrapnel ahd machine gun firo, the ranks thinned when they faced the stretch of 800 yards loading to the next trenches. The New Zealand Rifkie covered the ground quickly and in open order, but kept in. touch with ea-ch other with a fipo, osprit de corps which was better than discipline. Tho . German trenches were- tlooply dug and heavily wiied, and proved a groat obstacle.

" The New Zealanders' losses would have been serious, but for the ' tanks, 3 which had lagged behind, but which arrived in time to attack the Flcrs line. , . "In the most deliberate and stolid 1 way they slid along the barbod wire entanglement, smashing it into the earth. Then th«y poked their bis snouts over the Gcfntnaai parapets, firing from botb their flanks upon tho Gorman machine guft teams. The New Ziealanders. M-

lowing them, took the double trenches, and pushed on for another 700 yards across a sunken road, wiLh steep banks containing the; deep dug-outs of the Germans. They did not stop until they, had established themselves in a now lino running westwards trora the • top of .Flora village, which the English lads had already captured. "The 'tanks" followed tho Ger,mans and drew the fire of a German battery 1500 yards away. Tho' Germans missed the ' tanks.' and eventually the British artillery knocked out their battery. '. "Meanwhile tho New Zealand infantry were ordered to swing to tho left so as to make a flanking front up the edge of a valley running northwest of Flcrs. They did this most gallantly, although they stuck out like a. thin edge into the German territory, .owing to lack of support on the right and left due to the Englishmen being. ' busy capturing Flers and the fearful" fighting in the High Wood. "It was a, hazardous position, so tbo New Zealandcrs were ordered to fall back to a line, going' straight westward from tho top of Flers ' village, 1 from which they helped to hold back during tho night of the -loth and 16th and .thenceforward,' repeated enemy coun-ter-attacks. Sometimes those werefeeble, and their strength was shattered quickly, but they 'grew in intensity as the days passed, and it was seen that tho New Zealanders were in a precarious position, owing to tho weakness of, - their west flank. • Here tho Germans ■■'■ held out in shell critters, enabling supports to drive in a wedge between the" Now Zealanders and the English troons north 1 of High Wood. "A. brigade of Germans attempted ' an-assault on this position. They ad- l vanced in six or seven waves upon the English, soldiers, who wero putnumber4ed by two to one.

" The Englishmen met'them in the, open with tho bayonet in the okl-fash-ioned way. The New Zealanders watched tho fight with enthusiasm until they saw tho German ranks broken and the remnant flying. It was a great struggle, but not so long and bloody as tlTc light tho New Zealandera themselves encountered on the 20th. The Germans struck the New Zealanders at the joining point with' the Britishers west of Fler's. The Canterbury men at tho joint were twice beaten back and twice regained their ground throughout tho night. Until dawn of the. 21st there was violent' bomb and bayonet fighting.. It was not a matter of Bri- . tish on one side and Germans on an- ■ other—it was a. chaotic struggle between isolated bodies of men fighting in shell craters and bits of trench. It ■ was single figures fighting duels and" in groups, and not joining - to form ' lines. "The scene was a horrible one with the crash of artillery and the cries of the dying. A New Zealand officer was v.cry splendid, and showed himself an heroic- man. He was the lifo and soul of tho defence in the counter-attack. Tho.ro were moments when his men wero disheartened because tho Knc was thrown back and the wounded lay ihick on the ground, but this officer infused now firo in his men by,tho flame of his spirit, and rallied tho gloomy j ones. He was so careless,! of his own , ' lifo and so oagor for the honour of New .-', Zealand that they followed him tinder.'.- v jj. kind' of spell because, of tho magic in him. So the enemy was put to flight ' " down> tho valley, and the New Zealanders were-masters of the ground when dawn revealed the horrible car- . nagc. "The enemy returned in strong ■foro^ in the afternoon under'the orders ■ of the Gci-n._in G-eneral Staff to fight to tho end. Tho assaulters wero practically sentenced to death. They were doomed men when' the Captain of the Canterbury men again led his lads in :i great bayonet charge right across the oprai. The Germans stood and received tl)t< charge with blanched- faces. The New Zoalandcrs came on at a trot; and then sprang forward with their bayo nets moving as quickly as knittingneedles. Tho Germans cried out iv

terror, and those who could escape ran down the hillside, falling as they ran. "■ This put a rude end to the counterattack. The New Zealandors knew that they were the masters, and on . swing the German terror, muttered, ' Foot devils.* " The heroism of the bayonet fighters was splendid, but the valour of tho stretcher-bearers was perhaps finer. Their duty was to go over the open country in cold blood and pick up tho men.. They had to pass through the salvos- ©E s~9in guns, which tore up tho ground and buried many stretcherbearers and mauled many others. Yet the stretcher-bearers went steadily and ,

quietly on, hour after hour, until 6l> , had fallen. Still they carried on their - work of rescue, careless of their own:' safety: A«New Zealand officer, said:..Tm" not a' sentimentalist, but th© ■' work of'those men seemed to- m« very " noble and good.' " - '- ' r .-. Mr Gibbs concludes:—" This storywill be read gladly in New Zealand townships and on up-country farm- ■ ■steads. If any words of mine give it little extra share of glory to" these colonial boys who have come bo far over the sea, I am glad and proud. 1 My heart is very full of admiration for ' | 1 the valour of these men who have I fought in these great battles as well a« , any troops who shared the day with them."