INTO THE INFERNO

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2896, 7 October 1916, Page 10

INTO THE INFERNO

A NEW ZEALANDER ON THE SOMME STIRRING NARRATIVE. Writing to his mother from the Northern General Hospital, Lincoln, England, 011 August 2'2, dolin Arinit (son of Mr. J. B. Armit, Austin Street) tells of the' early days of the Somme offensive: — "Ou July !23 wc.movejl up to Albert and camped on the slopes of a hill for two days. Our big guns made the night hideous. One night at dusk we fell in, battle order, and marched'off'into tho darkness and unknown. That night we slept in the wreckage of the old British front line trench. It ivas a bedlam all night long. Our guns were in action; there were dozens of them just round about us, and the noise was deafening. Thank's to the great superiority of our aircraft, who night and day kept down the enemy's observation balloons and airships, we wore fairly hoc from German shells. The Boches did not know where our men and guns were, and could only fire at random. Next morning wo had a look round. On the top r of one ridge was a tremendous crater —fully half as big as Mount Eden, Auckland. This mine iras exploded on July* I. A wait of ten minutes, then the' British offensive on the Somme opened. We could trace the course of events—the graves with their little wooden crosses, broken rifles, strewn ammunition, stray boots (soldiers haveonly one pair), and many other indications of battle. Tho Hun trenches, with their stench and dead, were appalling sights. Here, and there are bi<; dugouts, going up to 30ft. below the surface, all limbered-up and with winding passages. Here the officers would sleep. Further on, where the Hun artillery used to live,' we,found women's clothing, crockery, and electric light had been put in these dug-outs. Over the hill to our left was the village of La Boiselle. It is only a courtesy to call these heaps of bricks—uot even ruins— a village. Here the stench was sickening. The Germans had made a big hospital under the village, and this was' intact. Our Wounded isometimes had to go miles to get treatment, whereas theirs .were treated in these underground places.

Two Days in a Sap. "That night wo were formed up and told that we were .to go into the trenches and attack at ' midnight. I'lease try to imagine our feelings. It was then that I handed tho Q.M.S. my letter to you. Well, tho attack did not.como off, because our guide lost the way, and dawn found us in a sap right' up against the firing line. Here we stayed for two days: nearly all were buried onco or twice, many were wounded, and some killed and suffocated. Wc ran the gauntlet of a terrific barrage of fire, taking bombs, water, and food to tho tnen in the line. For 16 hours our boys threw bombs at the enemy, sometimes standing' above the trench to hurl tho missiles. No finor decdsMiave ever been done in history than during that time. But fino deeds have their costliness. and our losses were severe.

"Relieved for a few hours, we were allowed down to the cookhouse 'to recover strength. Then once more, in. Three nights after we made an unsuccessful attack, and then for four days made preparations. TJp there one can Jobk 'for miles and not see a blade of ®grass. ■ The ground „ has. been churned and rechurned by shells —woods are a fciv broken sticks. Deep shell holes were the means of saving hundreds of lives. Three nights we worked in No Man's Land digging a trench to 'hop over' from, then came 'Tile Night.' ■ My hand being almost useless to nie, I could have got-out-of-the atta'eki hut preferred to see it through. "A Heaving, Howling Bunch of Savages." "Tho charge over was,to me, a joke. Not many of our men. were hit. We were just a pell-mell, heaving, howling hunch of savages, and the Huns quivered. They nearly all had their hands up or were down in their dug-outs when we arrived. Others were quickly dispatched, and wo took possession. German dead were everywhere, in some places three deep, but in tho darkness we could not see much, and had to dig in preparatory to the morning. The dawn came and the Jiun shells, too. For 16 hours we crouched before halfbuilt parapets, and the casualties were awful. "We were relieved after 13 days in a constant dread and apprehension. The Huns' share must have been Hell absolutely, as our guns were so numerous and never stopped. We could heat the Huns with a stick, hut their artillery still knows how to hurt. About one quarter of the brigade got away that night, tired and wenrv, hut wehad taken Posieres and the ridge, and had proved our manhood." ,