OUT UNDER THE STARS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2885, 25 September 1916, Page 4

OUT UNDER THE STARS

INFANTRY AT NIGHT TESTS

LOOKING AND LISTENING

(By Will Lawson,) \

I' It is a still, stncr.v night, with the J lulls on cither side of the valley looming black against .the purple sky. In the , starlight tho ground shows grey Vhen the oyo has become accustomed to the dim light, and there arc mo artificial gleams to dazzle or baulk the vision. On the battlefield it is part of a soldier's duty to be able to seo'in the dim night greyncss. Therefore, the training of New Zealand soldiers includes night work. Within the. rails of the wide, racecoriise.> company of infantry.is undergoing part of this training. " Each platoon works separately at first, and the men move with confidence, their eyes having become accustomed to tho light-. • To them tho . landscape, though vague in definition, is clear enough. But more exact lostß than a survey of the general lay of the land are to be applied. '■Seeing" the Enemy. A platoon is drawn up in double ranks, and one man is ordered to march-forward into. the-:dimness,.count-ing his paces as ho goes. Like most orders given in night manoeuvres, tho words of command are whispered. Even* ove of tho-platoon'is watching the khaki figure pacing slowly away. Having focussed their ovtfs upon the soldier whilo .he was clearly visible, all the men'are able to seo him, as ho grows less and less distinct, until he has paced nearly one hundred yards. Jiut it .'is a hard visual test, Suddenly a low voice says:"Lost him, sir. 1 ' . Another and another reports his inability to distinguish the-vanishing soldier any longer. Tho officer keeps count of the number who report that they cannot see iiie man. When the last whisper has been recorded, ho calls to the invisible soldier. : . "Halt! How many paces!"' _ "One hundred and ten, sir, the answer comes out of the vagueness. "Who was that last man to-sneak? asks tho officer. A corporal answers. "Very good," comments the officer, mentioning tho man by name. The soldier who marched away is now told to turn about and pace slowly back to his platoon. This is a much' harder test, as the eye has to fiud tho khaki figurcwhen still quite, indistinct; and, moreovcr,:though each man thinks he knows exactly where the figure will reappear, most likely the evo has erred in the strange light. There is absolute silence in the ranks. Air interest is centred on the fact that a soldior—some"" day, it might bo an enemy soldier—is approaching; and that it is' necessary to locate him at the earliest - possible moment. Seconds seem long-drawn out in tho siloncc. "I seo him, -sir," tho same sh.arpsightod soldier exclaims, almost forgetting to su'bduo his voice. "Hart!" the order sounds again, just loud enough for the solitary soldier to hear it. "Now, pace in.' Tho soldier obeys, and one after another the men whisper, "I seo him." Tho soldier halts at the front rank. "Eighty paces, sir," ho reports. . Then he falls in, in his proper place, and raises a-' giggle, that is.promptly smothered, by remarking hv a hoarse whisper. ..- , "You, .blokes..,sounded . like a ,Black. Hand - crowd from out 'there;;.'>'. ... Listening In the Darkness. Another platoon marches- out of the greyncss and.halts while tho two commanders confer. Then it passes on and, is lost from sight again. But it is' out there and the business of the first platoon is to find its whereabouts-by listening for the sound madobytha fixing of bayonets. _ The other platoon is tho enemy creeping up to attack. Before charging'they must fix their bayonets. Perhaps, some day, the lives of tho men will depend on their quickness in liearinp: the slight sound, for the attackers will fix bayonets with as little noise as possible. So they stand very still and listen. For a time, though the invisible platoon,- at a considerable distance; fix and unfix bayonets twice,.-no man reports hearing'anything. Then one of the attackers accidentally clinks- the bayonet bu'tt';on the riflo ring. .' "I hear, sir," men report. The distance is. Daced in. Then the two platoons, with tho other two that have been practising iirtlio same way, fall in for a route march along the main road. All o.rders are whispered and no man is allowed to strike a light or do anything to give notice, of the passing of the body of troops. Two scouts march ahead Hnd two behind, to give notice" of the approach of vehicles, and between each platoon—in a full route march, they would 'be companies—runners ar.e kept busy _in conveying orders that have been whispered down the-fines, from platoon to platoon. "Loffc wheel,"-is the-first-of these. It' ispassod in whispers and a runner Daises it', to the next platoon. Ere it has reached tho rear ranks another order is whispering its way along:. The tramp of the -111011. in the darkness is a queer, sound, when they can scarcely make out- tho men-in the rank ahead of them and. cannot see.the faces of those who tramp by their side. Shi-is That Pass. The scouts at the roar have heard I and seen something that must be reported. Ono of them runs up to the roar rank. "Motor-car!"- he whispers, and 1 "motor-cur," ."motor-ear" the whisper runs like a wind in long grass, till it reaches the O.G, . He sends an order hack. "Keep to the left." and it travels in the same way, while the company sidles to the roadside to let the car pass. It lias powerful, lamps, and, swinging round a curve, it suddenly illuminates the marching men. .Belts and buttons and brass titles gleam like gold; the whites of the men's eyes flash while as they ,turu glances to-, wards tho light, and the rifles and bayonets glitter in the vivid rays. A surprised, exclamation comes from a girl in the car. _. ' . "Soldiers marching now! Why. li thought they always wont to bed very early, and got up very early in the morning." The troops . are plunged into utter darkness again, but the whispered jestis passed along. ' "Why ain't you boys in bed 3" "Silence, silence in the ranks," is the return whisper that this,sally provokes. And tho troops go marching on in the uloom.