"AUSSIES"' STUNTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 196, 8 May 1918, Page 5

"AUSSIES"' STUNTS

SOME DARE-DEVIL EXPLOITS. It was on a level stretch on the West front, -where the British relieved the Australians some time ago, that an Australian signaller, who had missed tho road during the relief of his battalion, lately captured a German r.risonor under circumstances which would be scaicely orediblo if the prisoner bad not confirmed the story (writes the Sydnoy "Sun's" special correspondent in London). The signaller went 'ijack to fetch a- lump of chalk which he had been carving as a. souvenir . Ho took tho wrong turning, and found himself in a trench occupied by a battalion of Sherwood .Foresters. Apparently the "Tommies" told him "there tro plenty of souvenirs out. further." He expressed tho calm intention of going cut to fetch cno. He knew that prisoners wero wanted, because tho Germans certainly intended to attack tho British front with|in a few days. Ho strolled out along a road until he saw men working beside a road, apparently a working party. The Australian, his bayonet fixed, started to yell and cheer "demonstrate with his bayonet." Moro Germans appeared. He ordered them to go to their dug-outs. He only wanted one. Whether they understood or not, they ran off, except one very young small German, whom h,e cut off and steered with his bayonet .back to the estonished Tommies. He would not give up the prisoner, but guarded him that night by buttoning the prisoner's eoat to his own while ho slept. He delivered the Hun at divisional headquarters next morning. I would not have believed this story had it been an isolated instance, but. dnring the past three weeks thfre have been half a dozen undoubted instances of similar feats by these astonishing men, Three of them walked out in broad daylight the other day to a German machino-gun position. Tho gun fired there at night, and they leckoned that the crew would probably bo nslesp thero by day. This turned out to bo true. Tho Germans, awakened, resisted, so they threw in a bomb and brought tho survivors back as prisoners. Another man out scouting found a GTrman patrol in behind him, He did not attempt to get out of their way. JT<> simnly killed ono or more and brought in the rest. Whether this was duo to tho fact that they wero irore or less fighting in thp open for tho first time, except for last jsprine, or whether because their pride in their force is higher than ever it has been before, for some reason or otheT the pnst four weeks have bpon responsible for moro completely reckless and astonishing feats of this sort than any ofchpr period of history of the Australian Imperial Force.