THE CHESHIRES.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 September 1917, Page 4

THE CHESHIRES.

GREAT PERFORMANCE ON

THE RIDGE

(From W. Beach Thomas.)

War Correspondents' Headquarters,

France, June 15

The first "wounded soldier I met •coming away from the Battle of Messines was a Cheshire boy _of whose experiences I wrote something at the time. Ife had advanced 2,000 yards in two hours Ogl'd ns t stilt resistance, and in oiie place past, uncut wire. I heard to-day the fuller story of his unit, and can tell a tale which even m its bald cLtails should pel; manently swell the country pride of every Cheshire man. and other English counties share. In the .scheme of advance these troops were given the longest course to run, and iu the sequel had also to cover the broadest froiit. The troops on their left had Wylschaete ho take, the troops on their right MOsfeiiies, and the west countrymen had the duty of attacking a score of thorny farms and strong poind; and trenches. They were, as the English have been throughout the war, the cement ol the battle anil proved ngaih of true Por'd arid quality. They beat all records on the night the battle opened by such an adventure as the Leiceatershires and others successfully attempted in fibnt of Goiriinecourtdast June.

As soon as if was dark they went forward quietly into Ao Man s Land and, protected by pickets, dug in a few hours a tri-brill l,o* - >0 yards long arid 4ft (»in deep, and did it almost without loss. Having thus reduced the distance, when A I<> came they were inti the German front line like a flash, and through it and beyond it at the first second tlio barrage permitted. THROUGH UNCUT WIRE. Soon they met an obstacle before which the best troops in the woild quail. In a dip of the grourd, concealed from our observers, ran a well garrisoned German trench, with wads of thick wire uncut. They con'd see German heads over the trench ; they could see our barrage breaking far behind, ancl they cotild hear the German machine guns beginning their bestial rattle. But they were out fori death or glory. The men went straight over the wire, some wading through it, some using the tauter stands as stepping stones, some tralripiing if down. And the Germans stood their onset bravely enough but quite in vain. When it was over 300 German dead marked tike place of this single stretch of undamaged trench. Alt the while on both wings the fighting was complicated, since their neighbours were forced to concentrate on two German fortresses, so that necessarily much of the work of keeping in touch was left to this intermediate unit ; but when they had to overflow their proper boundaries or lend a hand across the border they did it with equal .good heart and most soldierly adaptability. They fought the enemy behind Litem as well as in front.

During the advance one body of 100 Germans attacked their left rear from the ambush of Hell Wood, but before tlie charge wiis well begun a young officer, taking in the position, instantly switched a machine gun into position, took very heavy toll, and desisted only because a group of his men counter-charged with the the bayonet. Not a single Crerman escaped. The wood, though a great place to defend, finally trapped the enemy. These English troops penetrated it, taking 14 machine guns in the lower part and another at the top corner, along with come 50 prisoners.

I should doubt if the Third Bavarians. who were first-rate Troops, have ever been so contemptuously rushed. The Che,shires —1 use that word to cover a number of different regiments—went through them so fast and far that thoy ran into Saxons who had just been relieved, and took prisoners of both. I saw mixed squads coming back oh the afternoon of June 7 and wondered at the time how it had happened. The theory was tlnit the relief was not complete; the tiuith seeins to be that onr men charged through, lip to, and over the line held by the relieved troops. Gallant actions both by single men Slid units were fought at a succession lof highly defended farms at an early period of the advance. A regiment oh the left found themselves “ iii the air ” (with an open flank) and no barrage, and a number of the enemy threatening their left from what is called Liiinm Far hi, The ti’dops were so weil instructed ih the topography of tlie battlefield, which they liad studied bn raised maps on a huge scale, that they knew their boundaries exactly and they knew this was not their allotted task; but they were always ready to expand, so they stormed the farm and charged and destroyed a force of fleeing Gormans merely ns a side incident in their proper advance.

Almost exactly the same episode was repeated at Swayne’s Farm, I which was stormed and held and then | handed over to others. After a nutri- | ber of stiff little fights a halt v. as at I ; last called and the cehse-fire sounded, i The troops liad reached their due line at the exact, mordent, in spite of sideshows and other lhiiirles. j WATCHES Sr.VCIihONISfb. ' About this time a fighting colonel saw a number of the enemy making off from a farm on the right of the front. To see Germans escape was more than.he could endure, so he rushed with his men forward, took the farm and tired with good effect . into" the retreating enemy. Then he t looked at his Watch the synchronis- (

irig of all watches was one of the j greatest little triumphs of organisation throughout the whole Army—and he saw with horror that our next barrage was due to fall on this exact spot within a few seconds. The space gave him just time enough to gallop his men into cover, which was happily at hand. As the last man went to ground our barrage, true to the second, as the colonel noted on his watch, descended straight as a portcullis on the devoted place. The Chcshires had a terrible few minutes to endure, but escaped with two casualties.

Soon after, the diemy gathered for the only counter-attack of the day. He emerged in two waves, followed by groups In what is called artillery formation from a strong and halfhidden trench known as Blanport Beek. The attack was so quickly organised and launched fliai Llierri was no time to warn our artiUbry; arid tiie infantry instantly took the affair into their own hands. The rifle, in which the troops of all the Second Army have been inost rigorously trained, once again justified itself. The men used a good proportion of their 100 rounds, and a Miiiber of Lewis guns, placed with a 'good field of fire, rattled off a succession of their circular drums. It was a courageous charge, well snStainrid nikier orders from tlie High Coninritnd to retake the lost ground hereabouts costs, but no troops could stand that fire. It is believed that the greater part of a whole battalion fell, and a very small remnant crept back to their trenches. ONE OFFICER TAKES TWO GUNS. ' Our troops had, now advanced so far that they could see the Geririaii guns oh tlie eastern slope of the ridge, and one machine-gun officer, looking through the curtain of our shell-fire, caught sight of eneiny gumiers lim bering up and preparing to haul off their battery. Tlie idea of the loss of those «uns was more than he could contemplate with comfort, so, regardless ot the curtain .of our shells between him arid tlioni, lie rushed forward among and past our shells, fixed up his machine gun, shot both gunners and horses, and so captured a pair of guns—one of the proudest possessions cf the battle.

Among other trophies are remnants of 26 new machine guns hurried up by the Germans the night before the battle, but never allowed an opportunity to lire. The number of prisoners taken by the unit was SOO.

Such are a few of the more outstanding episodes: of the advance of the English troops south of Wytscliaete on June 7. Their deeds have been a little overlooked, because they took no village or wood with a famous name, but they fought not less hard and advanced farther, I believe, than any other unit, finally making good a trench on Messines Ridge 2,000 yards from the starting-point. They arrived there exacts to time. These were indeed as “ Crowded hours of glorious life” as ever any soldier lived.