NEW ZEALANDERS' RAIDS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3019, 5 March 1917, Page 6

NEW ZEALANDERS' RAIDS

GREAT DASH AND BRAVERY

CAPTURES OF HUNCRY GERMANS, (From Malcolm Ross, AVar Correspondent with the N.Z. Voices in the Field.) Northern France, January 9. On two occasions recently the New Zealand Rifles raided the German trenches. The raiders showed great dash and bravery, and both raids were eminently successful. In tho first of these raids it is estimated that fifty of'the enemy were killed and wounded, and nine prisoners were brought back. The prisoners were not at all loth to come away. This was not surprising, for their trenches were in many places found to be in a deplorable condition, waist deep in water and badly shattered by our trench mortars and artillery. In suchi bad condition were these trenches that they could be held only in isolated posts. Our engineers blew up a' pumping plant and a .section of trench tramway. One section of the raiders threw three hundred bombs, and disposed of about twenty Germans. All this, was accomplished.with a loss of one man killed and four wounded.

Another raid referred to in Sir Douglas Haig's latest communique wasequally successful, and more interesting on account of the information obtained. Again the toll of killed and j wounded Germans was about fifty, j while no fewer than nineteen prisoners'! were brought back. Our losses'were- i only one killed and three wounded. I For a considerable time past the le- ! port on raids in our sector has'invari- i ably been "identification normal." On | this occasion, however, there' were sew troops opposite us. Again the prisoners were only too glad to surrender, and not at all inclined to. put up a fight. They were mostly young men of from 19 to about 25, and quite good material. They were well clothed, but they were without exception thin and hungry. They carried with them back through No-Man's Land the uneaten portion of their bread ration, evidently loth to he parted from.it. They stated that they had been suffering from colds, but that there was no prevalence of influenza or other disease. They said the only disease they were suffering from was.hunger, and their looks did not belie tho statement. Our A.P.M. at onco proceeded to draw rations for them, for always the enemy prisoners are well treated, and not only well, but kindly treated by British armies in the field. This important evidence about hunger 'in the ranks may explain on some degree the strenuous attempt that is being made on the part of tho German authorities to obtain a premature peace, and the furiousness of the Kaiser and of the people of Germany at tho failure of the Allies to fall in with their proposals. Another important fact as that though these-young soldiers complained cf hunger they stated that their rations had not yet been reduced in bulk. They said they were getting the same ration now as they wore getting in tho summer, but they attributed the fact of their present craving for food to the idea that in order to.stave off hunger a larger ration was needed in the winter than was necessary in the summer. The chances are, however, that what has happened is that though their rations are the'same'in bulk, they are very, different now in quality/ In other words, they are lacking in the main elements of sustentation. If this is the case it would tend to confirm information that is coming to hand from other sources, and would account to some extent for the steadily declining morale of the German armies on the Western front. At tho samo time, this information, valuable though it is, does not warrant any'slackening of our efforts, for there can be little doubt that the enemy is busy with an increase of armament and of munitions, and that he will still make a tremendous effort to stave off ultimate and disastrous defeat. That ho fears such' a defeat is clearly evident. That the Allies can accomplish what, the enemy now dreads is also clear. All that is ■needed is united and co-ordinated effort. Speaking for the New Zealanders, I can say that they, like everyone else, would be glad to see the war ended; but they are prepared to fight until it is 'satisfactorily ended. "I ■believe," said one officer to mo only the other day, "that if peace were declared to-morrow every man would throw his hat in' the air, but most of thorn would be grabbing them again before they got very far up." That, I think, expresses tho general feelingpeace as soon as possible; but .not until we have given the eiiemy a bigger beating than we have already given him.