CANADIAN POLITICS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2934, 21 November 1916, Page 5

CANADIAN POLITICS

(Renter's Telegram.) Ottawa, November 19. r Sir Wilfrid Laurier's refusal to agree io an extension of the life of Parliament till the end of the war makes it VBrtain .that a general election will be Seld during the coming, year.

IN THE THICK OF THE

BATTLE

HEROIC DAYS OF SEPTEMBER

15 AND 16

GALLANT STAND BY MEN OF

CANTERBURY

(From Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with N.Z. Forces.) Divisional Headquarters,

September 21". After the great bound forward by our armies in' the battle of tW Sommo on September 15 . and 16, heavy _ rain sat in, and the weather became bitterly cold. Our men holding the first line had to endure considerable bardships, but they stuck it out splendidly. The roads became deep in mud of varying consistency, and it was witn great difficulty that our first line transport was able to get through at all. These roads reminded one of the pioneering days in winter in the baokblocks of To Kuiti and Taihape. But, if anything, these battle-roads were worse than the worst New Zealand could at any time produce, and in addition the traffic was a thousand, times greater. For hours one day I walked over the battlefield, witnessing scenes of death and desolation. The shell-holed earth was enoumbered with all the ruin and none of the panoply of war. Yet all the time the traffic went on through the soaking rain and sticky mud. And every now and then tho German shells came bursting over Tidge and road and trench. Yet not even tho elements and tho German gunners could stop the set purpose of our bravo troops. Always the full carts 1 , with often eight-horse teams, went forward laden with shells and ammunition and food and water.

A Scone of Desolation. I walked from Montauban along a road on which every now a,nd then a big German high explosive shell came crashing. One cun seemed to be looking for a heavy Battery. Other guns were apparently trying to stop the traffic. But our guns continued shooting with a noise that deafened you, and the traffio rumbled oh unceasingly. Away ahead was Ginchy, the bloodstained ridge that the British had gained after fierce and gallant fighting.. On the left one looked across country in the direction of Pozieres. Opposite was High .Wood, the sceno of equally bloody fighting, and along the ridge to the right. Delville Wood and the flattened village of Longueval. A constant stream of British wounded was walking back along the road on the croat of the ridge past Montauban. lie more serious cases were coming on in wagons. These were the "walkers" and tho "Bitters." Still more seriously wounded came past in the motor 1 ambulances. These were lying on the stretchers on which they had been borno from the field of battle, their clay-caked boots protruding from the blankets that covered their bodies. And throughout all this long procession there was never a moan or a complaint. The "walkers" were mostly wounded in the hand or arm, or had light wounds on the head, body, or legs. In every case, they had received attention, and their wounds had been well dressed. Further on a New Zealand tributary joined the main current..; Thsy also were uncomplaining, and even in many cases cheerful. "This ought to be good enough for a few weeks in Blighty," said one humorist who passed me with a bandaged shoulder that protruded from a ripped sleeve. And no doubt it. would.

Longueval was a scene of desolation such as I'had not seen in all the war. We must have had one gun for every few yards of Longueval and Delville Wood. The wood was literally blown to bits; tho village was in splinters. Men were busy with picks and shovels retrieving the road from the shell holes that pitted it and the debris that buried it. The whole countryside was dotted with shell holes of varying dimensions. Along this broken road the traffic lurched and strained, the labour battalion having to stand aside as the wagons came along or a shell hurst near them. In one place the picks had broken through into a brick cellar where had been a house. The soil had been turned over and turned over again with the tremendous shelling. So great was the hurricane of iron that covered the face of the earth here that the English troons that tooK the place were able to, walk through Delville Wood in the end almost unopposed. Many German dead and some of their machine guns must have been put out of acfionTiere and buried by our shelling. Beside the road were dead men, some lying where thoy fell and sopie thrown, aside out of the way of the workmen. A dead German lay with his wan face staring "at the sky. There had been no time to bury them. Those who were still living claimed our thoughts first. On the summit of the road that led down to the switch trench and the captured' village of Fleris, the German shells—shrapnel and high explosives—were falling at irregular intervals.' The farther one went the more dead one saw. Just beyond the tea trench from which our. brave infantry started there was a line of English dead. More to 'the left was a line of New Zealand dead. In every case they had fallen forward on their faces towards the enemy lines ahead. The shelling got worse and worse. The Germans had several balloons up, and one looked right down this road. I took what little shelter a narrow trench offered, and then, waiting for a lull, turned and commenced to retrace my steps. A young cavalry officer going back to get his kit in case his troop .might get through joined me. Then, the Germans shells hegan to drop very near the road a hundred yards ahead. We left the road and turned to the right,, where a red flag waved near ono of our batteries. But it seemed to be the battery that the German gunners were after. Shells began to rain about it, hut it is surprising how near a shell can fall without knocking out a gun or even a gunner. The spot, however, looked decidedly unhealthy, so I went back to the road. And as I reached the bend where tho road turned into what had been the village and the wood, another shell fell, killing a man and throwing the soft brown soil over me. Yet the stream of traffic scarcely stopped for more than a minute, and the roadmenders went on with their >work as if it were no more than a summer shower. For my part I was glad when I had got safely back to camp. Beyond Montauban I got a lift in a Capo cart with two horses driven tandem by a young Now Zealander from the Waikato, another New Zealander riding the leading horse. They belong to the N.Z.' Artillory, and were going back for officers' kit for one of the batteries that had moved forward. We had to go down by the clay roads where six streams of traffic were coming and' going. It was a wondorful sight—limbered wagons, guns, cavalry, infantry, and what not, keeping their place in the opposite currents. It seomcd to bo chaos, but it was organised chaos. Every man in the great pressing throng was going or coming with some set purpose in view under the guidance of some controlling brain behind tho lines. A Fight in the Darkness. During one stag© of the operations after the. two days' great battle it became licccssary For the New Zealanders to capture a trench on their left,. They had to drive the Gormans out of

a threatening position—a position that gave them a considerable advantago_ in Iholding their line on our lefb ™ of a further attack, or in view of their attacking the village of Flers, which 'we had capturcd. There were two strong points where cross trenches intersected the main lines. The Canterbury's had to make the attack, an-d they decided upon a silent attack in the night. The attack commenced at 8.30 p.m. Stealthily advancing under cover of the darkness, our men gained the enemy trench without much difficulty, and, after a while, communications were established with a rather thin line of troops on the left. These troops, few in number, and apparently in process of being relieved, fell back, and the enemy managed to_get round on the New Zealand left. The opposing forces were soon at grips, »d a deadly encounter ensued) with bombs olid the bayonet. The Germans, knowing full well that the position was very valuable to them, offered a determined resistance. Bitter bomb figbtmg ensued, and in course of time the trench became littered with dead-many, more of the enemy than of ours. Twice, wift the force of superior numbers, mans drove the Canterbury men back. But the New Zealanders, S al by a young captain, came at the enemy time and again . This young officer rtllied the tired and somewhat disMuraged troops, and himself led them to the atSis energy and h s bravery wer a stirring example to all. All nigh lone the fight went on, and just be fore dawn tho German*, who badl by this time suffered very heavy losses were hurled back, and other troops coming up on our left, somewJaafc eased the position. By aggressive fighting our mon then drove the oncm3 ' off the height, and at once proceedodto consolidate the position. The ue.r mans left 350 dead and about the trench, and wo captured prisoners. It was a very determined Ld gallant bit of work, and our losses were not half those of the enemy-

' praise For New Zoalarißers. Being myself a Now Zealander, I have been somewhat careful not to unduly praise the fighting qualities of our force. So far as the socond great effort in the Somnie_Battlo_is concerned. I am quite convinced that in anything I have ! written I have understated the case. It is all the more gratifying therefore to he now ?ble ™> state'that the Force is receiving almost daily unqualified commendation for its dashing work from quite h!dependent sources. Sir Douglas Haig\. the Commander-in-Chief, himself telegraphed to our Divisional General as follows: —"Please convey to all ranks) New Zealand Division, my congratulations and thanks for their successful attacks on. 15th and 16th September. They showed fine fighting spirit and admirable cuerg.y and dash.' The Corps. Commander, in forwarding this message, added his own appreciation of the excellent work done hy the New Zealanders. Other corps and divisions] commanders Isont complimentary messages. Very gratifying was a generous tribute from a neighbouring corps, the commander of which conveyed to the New Zealand Division his appreciation of the good work done hy them on the right, and of tlio assistance rendered to his corps during the first few days of the battlo. Later, a special order from the colonel commanding _ the New Zealand Medical Corns intimated to all ranks that the D.M.S. of the Army and the' D.D.M.S. of the corps with, which we. are associated desired to he made known to all ranks of the N.Z.M.O. their appreciation' of the work done by thorn. They stated' that the. arrangements for evacuation of the wounded and the successful way in which tlieso arrangements worked met with their special approbation. They added that the casualty clearing stations had reported that the treatment of all cases evacuated to Jhem had reached a verv high standard, and that 110 case had been evacuated without having received anti-tetanic serum. The Artillery. The artillery preparation for this new phase of our great offensive was of a most complicated and difficult nature, and a very great deal of attention had been devoted to it. , It is not possible to go into details, but a few general statements may be made. To begin with, it may he stated that the fighting was practically all ou the downward slopes of the ridges leading into the enemy's terrene, and that the guns _ supporting the operations had praotically no observation of their Own. They had to shoot by the map and the knowledge gained by the aeroplane photographs of the enemy's trenches. These photographs were certainly marvellously clear, and being taken by our airmen gallantly flying at low altitudes they, showed great detail. In the early stage of tho fight High Wood was still in the hands of the enemy, nnd wss an obstacle to our getting good observation. But the New Zealand observing officers ha"d pushed forward right up into the front trenches, fie that they might be ready when the Germans were driven forward and our euns conld push up the hill slopes. Under cover of night and boforo tho attack we had also pushed lip some heavy ' howitzers into forward positions, so that they were ready to shoot when our infantry were well advanced'. One of the British field guns was pushed right over the ridge and down tho slope on the other side to I'lers for a spocial purpose. The New Zealand artillery had done fine work from tho commencement., Subsequently in the night, through mild and rain, they shifted their batteries forward into action over ground full of shell craters and soft roads churned into mud. The work, of the linesmen and tho forward observing officers had been exceptionally good. By noon of tho following day all the guns were in action, and registered, except two howitzers and one eighteenpounder which was overturned in • a crater. From their new positions the batteries were shooting beautifully, with the fuses the right length ; and the shells bursting in a row 011 the German trench far ahead. 1 The battery commanders knew the ground in front of them, and there was' now little danger of their shooting on our own trenches hy mistake. Brigade . headquarters was also moved f oward once more. "I think," said the 0.C., in a report to his C.R.A., "that an issue of rum would be much appreciated by the men, as they are continually wot." It is to bo hoped the rum found its way up to the batteries. Our artillery now held the dominating position all ajong the orest of the ridge, and could give the Germans what they had been giving us for months past. It must have been a supreme moment, too, ■ for our gunners when they could, for tho first time in this way, call np their teams and rush their guns forward into new ahead, thus experiencing for the first time the exhilarating sensation of fulfilling tho true function of field artillery.