NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 299, 6 September 1918, Page 6

NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE BATTLE

BANCOURT AND FMICOURT

Adventurous feats

{Special Dispatch from tho New Zealand: Official War Correspondent.) > (By Cablegram.) August 31. ' Yesterday ended with two more villages in our hands—Bancourt and Fretaicourt. As you already know, they tell to the North Islanders and the (Rifle Brigade'. Through the day tho Js T ev Zealandors fought oxtremoly well. Indeed, the more one sees of their work and of the battlefield they had to fight over, tho greater .nne'B admiration bo'comes. Their dasli, determination'; end initiative are simply superb. They advance over a wide front and penejtrnte deeply, killing many Germans; making many prisoners, and capturing innumerable machine-guns and some artillery. Thc.v do all this in the face of stern, opposition, for there is lio idenying the fact that tho enemy in this Hector has all along been fighting his rearguard actions remarkably well. iHis. machincrgunners aro stout fellows, ..fthft'-figh't-'till we are on top of thorn; -but -the German High Command .is ruthlessly sacrificing thorn in' ordor to save tho artillery.

Yesterday the New Zealandors on right had very hard fighting, as Kemcourt, to the south of them, was still ..-held by the enemy. They went gallantly forward to their objective, in 6i)ite of tho difficulties that confronted .jthem.- It was typically open warfare. IChe men worked as though 6n a 1 field ijday, sections rushing forward under ■/fire, then tiring on the hostile machinegunners, and allowing the other sections on their flanks to move'fonvard. ■ Or. their left the Rifles were, counterattacked, and their posts were driven slightly back; but the troops on tho left conformed to the line, and the enemy made no great progress. Casualties were caused machine-gun fire, from Beinconrt and from huts tu tlm irorth-west of Villers-au-I r los, and tho fcunken roads in tho same locality, one of our best officers being killed. Another. was wounded .early in the morning but carried on all day. 11l two flays we had made ' an advance of six .thousand' yards, in spite of strong opposition. iNotwithstaivJing this speedy advance, all the battnlic'iie b"'<l managed to get their food right up to tlrfc front line posts, and men even had hot' meals; except some on the extreme left flank. ,Our artillery, taking a great risk, have' also pushed 'forward to extreme limits. ' To-day I saw cookers and artillery sido by side, and one laughingly remarked that the ..enemy was - boing "chased home by ■ ieighteen-pounders and cookers."

Rifles Mtaclt at Short Notice. The Rifles also did splendid work yesterday., - Jjftte at night orders came for an attack at 5 a.m. Jfor this droops were told off who had done two attacks at Pusieu. The order was to take 'Fremicourt. These troops, who had been bivouiiciiig away to tlie north of Bapaume, moved forward at 3 a.m. • for a two miles' inarch at a hurried pace, and arrived, at the assembly-point just at the time the barrage was due ,to. commence. They waited ten minjutes,.as if to get their second 1 wind, :»n,d advanced to the attack practically without a halt. They then (fought itheir way for-2500 yards. .The enemy ■was taken by surprise, and many were killed and captured in and about their billets on the Bapaume-Cambrai road. During the day some 250 prisoners Were taken. ' Late in the day otor riflemen, going into dug-outs to look for resting-places for the .sight, came upon sheltering Germans and captured them in twqs and threes. One man found six German officers in one of the dug-outs. . In. an hour and a half our men were on portion of the ridge five hundred yards beyond Fremicourt. , The troops on the left had meantime been held up in the trench .systom--near Beugny, across the Cambrai .Road, and our rifle- , men,at the close of the day found themselves on the ridge with tlie enemy on the same ridge to the right .• and left of them. The company commander sat there till nearly two in the afternoon, with the enemy on both flanks; Jlien the Germans came at iliim" again ho fell back reluctantly, but' ■ only for a short distance. ■• Owing.to the precautions adopted by our'troops, and their skill in taking advantage. of : the ground, the total cas(iialtics- 1 for tho day were .only about '• fifty. Against this was' the toll of '' German dead and wbuiided and tho big ji'haul of prisoners. Some of these troops had to force their way through a big railway siding, in which there were ten lines ■ and stacks of timber, ammunition, .engineers'- stores, and huts. Here .the enemy had made a stand with! one company,- many of whom had been put • out of\action," but he still held the poall the day before, and remained .there at 'night. • Wo had no barrage" on 'this part of the front, bo one small party of Rifles was told 1 to rush tho place at dawn without a barrage. This they did, surprising the enemy, many of whom were killed, and> the rest taken prisoner. They were • greatly delighted with their adventure. Ahead the enemy still hejd high ground, and he was sniping from there- . (luring the whole afternoon. Our men , dared not raise a finger. We did not y shell the village, but shelled the area -indiscriminately. By this time, how- <- ever, our men had dug in, and were very ; scattered, so the casualties'- were not . heavy.