THE BABE'S BARRAGE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 295, 2 September 1918, Page 6

THE BABE'S BARRAGE

A TRUE STORY THE DOWNING OF AN AIRMAN (By Lieut. C. D. Stelling.) They christened him tho Babe at first sight, and beforo they really got to know him, because he had blue oyes and golden hair and a nose that pointed heavenwards arid a dimple in his cheek, and beoauso he looked quite tho youngest thing in subalterns, that had ever happened. It was not until they had heard him in the mess exchanging back-chat with tho quartermaster and capping all the best and bluest stories of' that Sudan-Indian Frontier-South African veteran (who could tell you off in lo'languages and five distinct Kaffir clicks) that they realised there was less innocenco in the Babe i than his face seemed to reveal. But it was too late. The name stuck to him. It went with him to Gallipoli, followed him to hospital at Cairo, accompanied him on the home voyage, and never left him when as a war-worn, veteran of some 22 summers ho came to France.

They made him Lewis-gun officer there, for they found he had too much "ginger" in his composition to he happy in the command of a platoon. Ho had ridden a motor-cycle in civil life ever since he had attained to years of indiscretion, so that the complicated mechanism of the machine-rifle seemed but child's play to him. He quickly mastered the intricacies of that whimsical weapon, arid was not slow in acquiring the 57 .methods of overcoming its tendency to "jam" at critical moments. Moreover, ho proved himself a tactician of no mean order, and his ingenious, if not always practicable, schemes for Carrying tho Hun evoked the admiration of his commanding officer, another enthusiast liko himself. Ilih great day was the day the British took the village of Guemuppe. You can sec for yourself on tho maps of the Srras district where that is, and n filance through the communiques of Sir Douglas Haig will reveal the exact date of his exploit. A sister battalion had gone over the top early that grey morning and captured the village, but had teen specdilv driven out again by the Germans. The Babe and his battalion counter-attacked with' dashing success, chased'the Bocho out of Guemappe, and occupied a position on the ether side of it. Then the infantry stood by for a while and the guns tc ok up the tale. Tho Germans reckoned that the Babe and his battalion wero organising a trench that they themselves had dug a few days earlier on their of the village. They plastered the trench with shrapnel and ether unpleasant stuff for quite a long time until there was little left of that tfuiich of thoirs. Unfortunately for tho Hun, the Babe's battalion,'had taken up their .position about 800 yards nearer Germany in a lino of craters, and tho bombardment left thorn entirely unto'Kiied, and rather amused! than otherwise. By the time tho Boche had discovered tho futility of his gun-strafe, ho had not the least idea of what had happened. It was a misty morning and his observation balloons, even if he had dared to put them up, could not havo told; him very much. So. to elucidate the situation, he sent a low-flying aviator to explore the ground. Even then tho carefully camouflaged British positions would have escaped observation but for somo enthusiast in a shell-hole, who fired a couple of riflo shots at tho flying man, They, of couso, did not the slightest harm to the flyer, but they gave away the British position to him. Flying at less than a , hundred . feet, lis steered a .straight course over the heads of the men in the shellholes. The Babe was annoyed, more than annoyed. With a handful of his machine-gunners and a couple of Lewis guns ho nad installed himself comfortably in a shell-hole and hoped to be left in peace for an hour~or two. And now somo blinkin' idiot—only his description was much more incisive—had gone and given the game away. • • "Hand over one of those guns," he said suddenly to his corporal.

"What 're ye gain' to do, sir?" asked the corporal obeying him. "Put up a barrage my son," explained the Babe tersely

Ho lay on his back against the sloping sido of the crater and carefully judging his time and range put up a little screen of bullets in front of the oncoming 'plane The machine flew into tho Babe's miniature barrage and through it, continued on its course for twenty yards or so, and then seemed suddenly to bump like a motor-cycle that has hit a stone. (This ,was how the Babe described it to rae the other day.) Then it took a wide curve, back towards its own lines, evidently searching for a suitable landing ground. In its course, just within the Cerman lilies, lay a cluster of buildings known as Cavalry Farm. The machine climbed to avoid these, and the Babe, to his ■utter joy, saw black smoke emerging.

"Crimes, I've hit it!" be bellowed, and leapt up out of the hole to see where it would fall. Just behind Cavalry Farm he saw it crash, bursting into flames. The Babe danced with glee and attracted to himself the unwanted attentions of a machine-gun, which drove him to earth, though not soon enough to prevent him seeing a portion of the farm buildings catch alicht. The farm burnt all that day and far into the night. The Babe's barrago had destroyed not only a Bochc aeroplane,'but a strong machinegun nest of the enemy as well. Tho same day the Babe was wounded, and had to give up war ns a recreation, but be is glad to thinfc Hint he wound up Jlis experience like this. It is almost as cood as though he had scored Hie winning trv in the last minute of his last football game at school.