The Blooding of the Trentham Battalion

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 February 1916, Page 2

The Blooding of the Trentham Battalion

—L 4 CMJIMSTMAS DAY MGHTIiNG J.N THE I>EBERT. WUI«Mis,S AAD BRAVERY li '.DEJi l' .I 11 Ji,. A IIAI'PY UiUWD. (From Malcolm Ross, l)liici/al Corral pondent with tlic S.'/j. Forces ) iro, Xcw Vcar's Eve. The First Trentham Battalion rue.', votl it* baptism or liits on Christina* •Way, ami came through its ordeal raobl crotliiHiijiy. 'ihc officers and men •lispla.yc i tJio iii«ioht coolness under lire, ami. great; dash in the attack. The •second "ricni«/ >•.lu> aie at present suiiiyivuere along the line ol coniniuni callous, were not in it, the other l'oreos engaged .being the 15th. Sihk^ : •>ume or tin? recently-arrived Australian Light Horse, who were moun.el, ami .English Yeomanry. Mersa .Matiuh, near where the New /caluuders lu uglu, is a little port 111 the north frontier oi Egypt. Here, at the end of November, the snnt'.er frontier pasts at .Solium and y.di Barm, iiad been concentrated in oilier to avoid possible causes of friction with the tribes, it lias 111 an arid zi.ne with desert sand and barren rocky lulls oeyond. .Near the shore the water, i.s brackish: inland there "are freshwater- wells. German influence lias been at work in this region, the Senu&>i and neighbouring tribesmen beir.g stirred up to open rebeifioh by the arch-eon.sptirators of . liuirope, ulioso wonderful organisation, hacked by a well-lined purse, leaches even into distant Persia and the desert lands i.l' Mesopotamia an:l Annoa. Early in IJeceiniber a reconnoitring force from Alatiuh eatne upon a band of MOD Arabs, who were attacked audi drii en westward. Of these 35 were killed -ind seven taken prisoner. The Bluish casualties were 15 killed and three ollicens and 15 men woundecfT

The New Zenlanders reached Matnili in trawlers and sweepers, ivliifh .set sail from Alexandria. Arrived at their destination tJiey tound permanent barracks occupied by an Egyptian garrison. Tlieir first d/u's were spent in 'fatigues and in making entrenchmeiits 011 the hill overlooking the station. Wire entanglements were erected, iind the position generally was -strengthened. Tlie camp was close lo the beach. Drinking water had to bo conveyed from" Alexandria. Each night a lew -shots were (ired at our outposts by the tribesmen, who used to creep lip under cover of the darkness, and one or tuvo of our men were J)it. The main body of tlie Arab force was encamped in a rocky donga some seven miles away to the southward.' On Uiiristinas Day it was decided to attack the position. The attacking force, consisting of the Sikhs and the New Zealanders, left cump qjb 4 a.m. and m a rolled along a rough road towards the place where the enemy had been spotted by one of our aeroplanes. Tli guns on .the sweepers opened fire and a mountain battery on 6hore was also in action. The first shell from the sea hit the top of the hill, and the eicond went just over it wHere the ; enemy were,congregated amongst the rocks and caves. The- eneifly" replied with a liield piece tiring common shell, but-though their shooting was close it did no damage. Three shells landed on the left of the road about a hundred yards from tiie .New Zealanders. FACING THE ENEMY. Shortly after dawn the Siikhs advanced, the New Zealand A Company leinforceing them. This adimnce wa* the signal for a shower 01 bullets from the Arab snipers, none of whom could be seen. Another section of tlie New was sent to tioke tbe donga, where the enemy, with his camels, was supposed to be. They advanced quickly, in extended order, to within (jl)0 or 700 yards' oi the position, and opened a heavy lire. The enemy, lrom hidden positions,* replied, and bullets were flying all about our men, but were doing little or no damage. Our force then advanced to within 400 yards ol the enemy. From this position they could see numbers of the enemy sheltering behind rocks and in caves across..the dougn, and the order was given to charge down and across it. Led by their officers, the men went at it with dash and enthusiasm. At the bottom ol the donga the little force became bunched up somewhat*, and there was a regular fusillade of eiiemy bullets, but scarcely a soul was hit. In places, the side of the donga was steep, and occasionally the men let themselves go, and slid down fifty feet at a stretch. In this manner t-hey &ot with in 200 yards of the concealed enemy, and the real fighting began. 'J. he Sikhs fought with great dash and courage, standing up boldly in the open and firing. They seemed to disdain cover, and their somewhat feckless (.hiring won tlie admiration ox every Xew Zealander. Both Sikhs and New Zoalandors now began to fall. L.-Cpl. Omiiston fell wounded, and near him S.M. i'urkis, ol Auckland was snot'through the head audi killed instantly. Pte. Leslie Morico feljl wounded in the arm and the chest, and Cpl. Beresford Wilkinson, who went to""te>- assistance, was shot thro- , Ugh .the body while undoing his tunic and died at once. iSergt. Weir, who was killedi early in tlie day, got a bullet in the groin.

.finally the British force advanced, :uid drove the enemy out of their position at the point of the bayonet, ciiasiug them away be.vond the wells. 'We captured heveral prisoners and oamels. A number of women and children were discovered hiding ill the caves. The Arabs had cut the throats of some of their wounded camels that could not yet away. Our men counted, over two hundred dead ot the enemy, and our total cusualties in killed end wounded, including'the Indians, were some sixty of. seventy.* .The section of the Australian Light Horse and some oi the English yeomanry made a sweeping movement on

the left fland. They lost a few men, and tour of the officers were -Wounded. No -Now Zealand-officers were killed or wjounde*!. They nifljioted conaidertaible loss on the enemy. With darkness, the enemy having Ueen driven on, the attack ceased," and our men and the" Indians marched uack to camp (singing. The Now Zealanders had had "a Merry Christmas," and they thoroughly enjoyed it; A Wounded 11011coni, said to mc: "lit was a holiday!'' with the emphasis on the was." "As tliey marched back in tiio night tiu:c singing," he added, "you could not have wished lor « happier crowd." And thus it was that the new battalion was blooded. They have started well, and 1 have not the least hesitation ill saying that they will worthily uphold the reputation that New Zealand has already earned on the battlefield. 1 have just a few minutes ago been Hatching the 7tih and Bth Reinforcements coming brack to camp after ono of their route marches. VVith a band at their head they swung past the New Zealand Hospital with a fine swinging step loudly cheering the wounded (soldiers from Gallipoli who Hocked to the gnteft and on to the balcony to see them pass. They are really a line type of men. AVitli some knowledge of the .English, the French, the German, the Swiss and the Austrian and Hungarian soldiery, and, latterly, the Turk, 1 hare no hesitation in saying that the Australians and the New Ao.ixlanders must Tie just about the finest infantry in the world.