NEW ZEALANDERS ON THE SOMME

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2976, 13 January 1917, Page 14

NEW ZEALANDERS ON THE SOMME

LAST DAYS BF THE FIGHTING

A TERRIFIC BOMBARDMENT

GERMAN LINES STORMED

(From Captain Malcolm Boss, War Correspondent with tho N.Z. Forces in the Field.) France, November 20.

In previous articles I have written mainly about the taking of tho switch trench and tho long dash by other New Zealanders through tho captors and on through Flers. Those were fino performances. It was not till the second day that tho men in reserve got their chance. As already explained, there had been a gap on our loft along tho siVitch line ; but during the night touch was established with a London regiment that had hard fighting in and about High Wood. Cantcrburys were now garrisoning the switch trench, Aucklands and Otagos having been withdrawn for a well-earned spell, from the swirl of tho battle tide. Others of our troops were holding 011 to a line in front of Flcrs.

It is somewhat difficult without the aid of a map to explain tho fighting that ensued dnring the next few days. On the loft of Flers ran the Flers Trench, heavily wired, and Flers Support Trench joining on to Abbey Road —in which thero were German dugouts—oll the left. Just beyond Flers thero wero two strong points known as Box and Cox, and on tho left of these positions Grovo Alloy and Goose Alley running forward in irregular lines at right angles to tho lino to Abbey Eoad. Still farther ahead and yet more to tho loft was a strong point blown as Factory Corner. And in front of that wero tho Gird Line, well wired, and the Gird Support Trench. These trenches formed a salient, tlio apex of which was level on tho left, with tho village of Gueudecourt, the houses of which wo could see still undestroyed amongst its trees.

Beyond Flers tlio New Zealand attack swung towards the left. Its continuation oil tlie morning of the 16th was timed for 9.25. Just before that Ntimo tho enemy counter-attacked on our front with 500 men. Their attack was beaten off without mucli difficulty, and our advanco was not delayed. Tlio Wellingtons were not long in capturing their section of Grovo Alley, which they did. with little difficulty. The attack by other troops upon the Gird Lino on our right was lield up. By noon.tlio remainder tlio New Zealand attacking force moved up to continue tho advance beyond tlie ground we had already gained, but the checkon our right led to a postponement of tho projected Now Zealand advance. During tho niglit tlio New Zealanders dug a new trench to hold tho ground they had won from the northern limit of their advanco in Grove Alley to Box and Cox, and this trench, as well as Box and Cox, was occupied by a Canterbury Battalion.

So far the weather had favoured us in our operations, and the big attack went rolling on, here swiftly, there more slowly. Dawn oil the 17th saw a changed scene. Hain began to fall, and the outlook became depressing m tlie extreme. After a time tlie roads and trenches wero quagmires. That evening, at about 6 o'clock, tho Gorman gunners opened a heavy bombardment on all the captured lines held by our men. "We wero justified in expecting a serious counter-attack from tlio enemy, but nothing camo of it. On the following day the Canterburys were relieved from their position by men from an English Division, and that night other New Zealand men took over the front lines. Onr casualties, though not great, were mounting up. Tlie 3r<l Brigade had suffered more than others, while some battalions were still fairly fresh and ready for further effort. A Minor Enterpiso. On the niglit of September 20-21 we attempted two attacks agjinst the junction of the Flers lino and Drop A]loy 'on the left, both of which met with resistance, and for tho time were hold_ up, but _ next day they bravely continued their ataek in conjunction with another division. It was during these operations that tho Canterburys so distinguished themselves. This fighting I described in a previous ,articlo, but as I find tliat tho. other Canterburys are receiving congratulations from their friends for the fighting so bravely engaged in by their confreres, I should add that they would bo tho „last to claim any credit for fighting in which they themselves had no liand. The onemy fouglit doterminedly and furiously. All night long tlie bloody struggle continued, and, thougli our men lost about a hundred' men, they had tho satisfaction of inflicting much heavier casualties on the enemy. Twice the Canterbury men wero driven bafek, and it was not till dawn, when tlie gallant captain, who has since been decorated, rallied his men and led another chargo along tho trench, that the position was finally won. There was now a halt in tho advance till the 25tli. In the interval reservemen came up, and exchanged places witli the men in the front line. Further Progress. - Still swinging towards the loft, the Now Zealanders were now called upon to capture a road north-west of Grovo Alley and Factory Corner, beyond the Flers support line, and, that accomplished, to attack portion of a line known as Goose Alley, ancl a section of a road crossing it at an acute angle. After nightfall posts were pushed on to tho rising ground on our front, and a line consolidated there. The attack was fixed for 12.35 p.m.. and all wlio witnessed it were agreed that it was a thrilling siglit to see the battalions going steadily forward to their objective. Again they were in luck's way, the opposition was not great, and -fee positions wero seized with littlo difficulty, and with but few casualties.

Ahead of all these captured positions was the Gird Lino, already referred to. It consisted of a front trench, well wired, and a support trench, in font and to tho right and left of the village of Gueudecourt. Tho New Zealanders had to storm about a thousand yards of this lino away to tho left of tho village, between tho Ligny Tiloy Road and Goose Alley, tho imta'ken bit of which was also included in the operation.

In tho front line wore Canterbury and Otago Battalions, tho Aucklanders being in rosorve. Again our gallant fellows wont forward as if on parade, slowly, and with heads erect, behind the barrage. Not a single man in all tho lines flinched. Whatever ono says about'artillery winning tlio war, 0110 cannot shut ono's eyes to the fact that it is the infantryman that bears the real heat and burden of tho light. ' Tho Canterburys got up without difficulty, and dug in on a new line just in front of the Gird Support. Less fortunate, the Aucklanders came up against barb'cd wiro that, in a sheltered position, had escaped tho destructive fired of our artillery.

Officers and men began to fall, but, through the lines of dead and wounded, other waves went unfalteringly forward. Eventual)}' tliey gained their objcct, and dug in on tiio left of tlio Canterburys. A company of tho Otagos up Gooso Alley, and succeeded in driving the German,? back to its junction with tho Gird Trench.

There they hoped to meet men of their own battalion, but these had not succeeded in getting up, so tho Otagos put a "block" in tho trench, and held on. A company of the Wellingtons was then sent up in. support, and tho position consolidated. Meanwhile the other companies of this battalion had moved across tho open, but here again officers and men had fallen in considerable numbers under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, and so had been unable to reach tho Gird Lino. For somo timo tlio situation at the junction of Goose Alley and Gird Trench remained obscure. Fighting continued on rather unsatisfactory lines, so far as wo wero eoncorned, and the second and fourth battalions of the Bides were placed with the Brigadier under whose orders this attack was being carried out. Finally, tlio situation was cleared up, fresh communication trenches were dug to counteract an advantage ftill held by the enemy, and 011 the night of the 28th-2!)th the Brigade, in which the casualties had considerably increased, were relieved. Somo time was now spent in consolidating tho positions gained, and hero, for a time, operations remained stationary, preparatory to another atack 011 the Gorman lines. The Offensive Resumed. On September 30 tho enemy was busy shelling our line. I watched the groat crumps, especially about Flers and Factory Corner. By this time there was little or nothing of tlio villago left. But every now and then a big shell would come crunching amongst tho mounds of broken brick that once were houses, and a cloud of red dust would mingle with tho black smoke of German high explosives. On one day when I went with tho general and a staff officer to a forward brigade headquarters this shelling made a spoctaclo that one watched, fascinated. W ( c went through a winding trench that in parts had been recently battered, and wading through tho liquid clay and almost crawling beneath somo head covor, we came at length to the brigadier's dugout. That morning down in the depths there had been a landslide that had partly overwhelmed his bod. Luckily lie had just left it. On regaining the light of day wo found that some, men who were clearing the parapet of debris beside us had been spotted, and presently the enemy began to snipe at us with cannon. A couple of shells whizzed over our heads and burst just beyond the trench. The earth rose in showers and fragments fell 011 us, hut neither the- general nor the brigadier ducked. Tliev went 011 with their conversation as if nothing had happened. On October 1 it was evident that something was due to happen from our side of the fence. There had heen preparations. Ammunition had been coming up to the guns. Day and night horses and mules wero straining at the weight of the limbers as they ploughed or plunged axle-deep in mud. Some of the guns had registered on new targets. There had also been a change ill tho disposition of certain of our troops. And there hnd been other preparations of a sinister kind. In conjunction with an Knglish troop on our left, we were to capture a series of trenches from a point on the Gird Line westward to a strong point known as "Tho Circus." We were to ."Hack on a somewhat, limited front. The operation wis a liHle difficult and somewhat complicated, because the line on which our men wero formed up was curved, and the barrage could not be a straight one. A Wonderful Sight, As wo watched, tho bombardment seemed to grow in intensity, if—that wero possible. Craning our heads above tho trench, in comparative safety except for a chance shell, wo watched tho flashing fiamo low down on tho ground, and tho over-rising columns of black and grey that rose to thicken tho screen, till slowly, but surely, the hinterland was smudged from view. Never beforo had I been witness _ of such a. bombardment. So enthralling was tlio speetaclo that throwing discretion behind • the parapet of chance we .climbed nut into the open for better view. 111 our own terrain tho enemy was now throwing his high explosives mid a barrage of bursting shrapnel mingled with tear gas shells to break or stay the advance. But his effort—though it, too, took its toll of dead and wounded —was futile. Ono. got spattered with tho spray of dirt from shells that burst near by, but so loud was the din of battle that often wo did not note where the shell had burst. Tho noise of its explosion was* merged in the continuous roll of this devil's tattoo that mado the air tremblo and pulsate. Later, as wo walked along ono part of the trench we .hoard tho swish of shrapnel and the stutter of a machine-gun fired high above us from tlio air. A chunk of ragged iron flew past my companion's head and hit- tlio side of tho trench with a dull thud. Wo stopped and look round, hut could not see from whence it had come. I picked it up and dropped it suddenly, for it was quite hot. It was only possible to. carry it by changing it hurriedly from hand to hand. Round a bend a subaltern was leaning against the side of the trench observing. I pressed tho hot iron against the back of his

hand, and 110 jumped in surprise, and chased 1110 laughing along the trench. Crouching 011 tho rim of a shell crater in tho open, we watched the long line of battle. Over our position far on tho right some clouds of grey-green snioko appeared, spreading and rol.ling, beautiful in form and colour. They wero tho. bursts from some particular kind of German shell. Slowly, very slowly, they lost form and mingled with tlio screen of grey that now hid tho distant villago altogether from view.

During the past few (lays several of our batteries had moved forward, and away on tlio right, between Flers and Lesboeufs, wo saw at intervals the orange llame of batteries daringly flashing in tlio open. They had moved well into tho devastated fields far beyond tlio crest of the ridgo wo had won 011 tlio memorablo loth. Men, too, were walking about there without any trench protection. AYhcthcr they were reserves going up towards the lino or men sou-venir-hunting, or a. burial party, ivo could not decidc. The interesting thing ivas tho unconcern with which they seemed to bo wandering in the open during the fulness of the fight. The German gunners thought it strange, too, and opened on them with high oxplosivc, followed by shrapnel. But still tho men took 110 heed. Nearer and nearer the shells' fell, and presently we saw the men scatter for a shelter that did not exist. Black smoke ami clouds of dirt blotted them out of tho' landscape. When the smoke cleared away thcro were not so many men. , Behind us 011 the ridge over which we had come, bearers, carrying shoulder high their folded stretchers, wero silhouettes against tho uostera sky. They came boldly across the opon, scorning tho shelter of the long winding communication trench, no doubt because tlio route was quicker and their mission urgent, Thoy, too, wero sniped at with cannon, hut walking singly f.nd in pairs, they seemed to bear a charmed life. All this timo tho din was terrific. We had to shout to make each other heard. The air was alive with travelling shells. They shrieked and whistled overhead, At times there was tho ominous 'swish of shrapnel, and almost involuntarily one looked overhead!' instead of fonvard. Big crumps -were bursting in Flers. The red brick dust was still flying there in clouds, hut the few men wo had in what had been the village could seek safety in a deep German dugout that had withstood both our own and the enemy's shelling. To tho left of the battered villago was one of the "tanks" in a shell crater. And near it -lay a lonely pathetic figure in blue dungarees. He had been lying there now for days—unburied. Turning my gaze back to the front line, a burst of flame seemed to 6pread along tho trench, and almost at tho same instant rings of black smoke rose high above the line. Thc-y rose, curling like the rings blown from the mouth of a smoker. For a long time they hung thus above tho battlefield like an ill omen. But their presence there gave one a strange feeling of satisfaction. The Infantry Attack. Through the grey veil of smoke on our loft front wo could row see dimly the advancing waves of our brave infantry. Thero seemed to be four waves of them. The second , wave joined the first before reaching the objective. The barbed-wire entanglements in front of' the position tad) previously been cut by a bombardment by our trench mortars. Under cover of our own barrage tho men from Canterbury and Otago went forward calmly aud 'steadily, rifles at the slope. The Boche, knowing that all this intense bombardment heralded ail .attack, was on tho look-out for tk6m. As each wave loft the parapet it came under heavy fire — rille, machine gun, and) artillery. The left companies of tho Otagos had to move across a sight hollow in the ground, and suffered less than the other two companies, who had to take higher ground on the right. The latter had a difficult manoeuvre to carry out, for after advancing to their front for somo two hundred! ycrds they had to change direction to the right. Despite heavy enemy machine-gun fire from the direction of the Gird Trench, this movement was carried out in splendid style. The Ganterburys on the right had a difficult piece of ground to: take, and while advancing across the open they suffered from rifle and ma-chine-gun firo. Tho German guns were also on to them as they approached the enemy trenches. Severe fighting ensued there, but the splendid physique and determination of the Now Zealanders won the day, and l those of tho , enemy who were not killed or wounded were driven out.

At one point the objective was bo obliterated by our intense artillery bombardment as to be unrecognisable ;is a position to be attacked, and some men of tho OtaßOs overran tlieir objective for a considerable distance, and wore followed by a considerablo number of Taranaki men in one of tho supporting waves. Tho second wave of one section of tho attack coming upon a section of the German trench, found it full of Germans, dead and alive. About forty of those who were still alive were collected and sent back with an escort, and steps were at once taken to consolidate tho position captured. Meantime the, men who had marched past their objective had in the keenness of their advance sot right into our own shell-fire, and were gradually withdrawn. One by one they came back to the thin line that was holding the trench behind them—a welcome addition to that little band. No timo was now lost in sending men right and left to feel for the companies on tho flanks of the Wellingtons. Tho cajStain in command could seo tho Canterburys fighting along tho Gird Trench, but for a considerable timo he could not get in touch with, their, left. Eventually, however, tho necessary touch was established. Lewis guns and two captured enemy machine-guns were used to strengthen tho position. In tho advance on "The Circus," which was undistinguishable, tho Otago men again overshot tho mark. A captain of the lluahines coming up with somo of his men also had great difficulty in finding anything on the ground that resembled "The Circus." But tho Otagos were occupying a lino ahead of their objective, and tho officers present, on their own initiative, decided to join forces and to hold that line. Eventually tho troops on our left linked up with the New Zealanders. Tho attack had been succossfnl. Darkness fell, with the stretcher-bearers still succouring the wounded, and tho tired living making tho position safe against counter-attack. At 11 p.m. the enemy commenced a half-hearted bombing attack, but it was checked without difficulty by the Canterbury men who were holding Gird Trench. There followed occasional exchanges of bombs, but the sorely stricken Germans had had enough for one day, and did not again that night make any further attack 011 our line.