CHEERING UP THE HUN ARMY

Hokitika Guardian, 17 September 1917, Page 4

CHEERING UP THE HUN ARMY

AIRMEN MADE TO ATTACK

(From IV. Beach Thomas.)

War Cork esi’ux i *e-nts’ Headqfa rtees France, July 9

We all know wliat a blow was struck against German military pride by the Battles of Arras and Alessines. Since these battles every other letter from or to German soldiers makes some allusion to the morale, whatever the word may mean, of the. Army and j the people. This blessed phrase “ German morale ” is at least as much discussed in the British Army, and views on it are very divergent. I have no theory on the subject, bat I can, 1 think, mve some facts from the battle front which are worth attention. At tho Battle of Alessines German aeroplanes were swept clean away, leaving- onr men a clear sky. At the same time the German guns were so hammered that their batteries made no effective answer to our advance during the battle itself. No German infantrymen, as a score of letters witness, have any doubts on the subject; they curse and complain against the cowardice both of their own airmen and of their gunners. Their Higher Command is perfectly aware of all this, is certainly greatly 7 exercised l>y r it, and, being a very adaptable and elastic organisation, is taking extreme measures to stop tlie rot.

You may to-day 7 climb up Alessines or Vi my Ridge and see before y 7 our eves just what measures are beingadopted. At no time durin.r the war have German airmen been so bullied into taking the offensive. "Immediately after the battle the “ travellingcircus was summoned to Alessines and let loose. This circus is a special mobile unit of picked airmen, some of whom pilot scarlet planes, playing the flamingo in order to be conspicuous to their own men and a terror to ours. These airmen have on several occasions since the battle copied our airmen’s role and dived down to within a few hundred feet of oar trenches, facing a storm of rifle and Lewis-gun bullets'. This It at been done under the orders of the High Command.

At the same time their aerial photographers have been much busier over both the Arras aud Ypres ar- as, and our “ Archies ” (anti-aircraft guns) have seldom been more active. The air has fairly hummed with fall ing fragments of shrapnel. A esterday an attack ' was ordered against our observing balloons, and it was carried through with more than usual vigour. Again, since Alessines, the number of the enemy’s balloor-s lias been much multiplied, especially towards the south, and in tlie neighbourhood of Bullecouri- Iff, for example, could Le clearly 7 seen from one point. SMOKE SCREENS FOR GUN'S

Such are some of the efforts made during the last week or two to restore the .Army’s trust in its air service Nothing has a worse effect on troops, as the Germans know, than attacks from the air. The artillery are being urged and encoinngod in different way's ; stern instructions have been issued to gunners to go on firing wliat ever the risk, and iif the last extremity 7 to defend their guns with their lives. New defences are being made for them ; chief is the multiplication and the commoner use of smoke screens. On the new model, Herman batteries are flanked and, indeed, encircled at a fair distance by numerous smokemaking- stoves, which are lit directly a British airman is seen or it is suspected that tlie Hash of a gun may 7 be observed ; indeed, so extreme is tlie care taken to defend guns from our attacks that often batteries are not allowed to lire alone and unless neighbouring batteries tire. In some cases batteries are scattered and sill the trouble of controlling widely separated gains faced in order to diminish the chance of a concentration of onr heavies.

In general it may be said with some assurance that- the German Higher Command is very much exercised over the question of maintaining the spirit of Hie troops. They have not taken tlie offensive anywhere all this year, which is itself depressing to troops, and have experienced one half voluntary and two wholly compulsory retreats in front of us. The newest troops have not the zeal expected of them, and as-to the rest no badly beaten troops are ever the same again.

, NO DEMORALISATION. But we have certainly not yet reached the date when the German soldier is demoralised, He is fighting very well on the Arras front, and desertions are not common. We have beaten him because we are a better army 7, not because lie has lost spirit, and sve must beat him again for the same reason and on tho old handicap. The measure of our victories of this year is not German weakness but British strength, and that strength has to vise to ■ meet greater, not smaller, efforts and more not less, cunning in the enemy.