WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 October 1918, Page 1

WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

A PAUSE IN THE battle.

/SUCCESSFUL NTOUT FIGHTING

1 (From Captain Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the New j Zealand Forces in the field). October Id. There is a pause in the battle on this sector, and the enemy is feverishly digging in and wiring on the high ground beyond the Sello river. He is shelling the evacuated villages nearest his line hut- is evidently getting short of ammunition. It is clear that he was surprised by our swift advance. The New Zealanders have made night fighting their specialty and this has resulted not only in surprising the enemy and the capturing of villages, hut has saved many casualties, for the country here lacks cover, and any daylight advance J ,is met. with mirchinegun fi.ro from houses, steeples and high ground that command a wide field of firing. Tn one attack so great was the surprise that the food in German officers' messes was found half consumed, or still in the cooking pots. In one locality we found a large French factory utilised as a horse hospital .with an operating room and very complete arrangements generally. Another factory, from which all the machinery had been removed, was at the time of our advance being used as a huge carpenters and metal-work-ers' shop. We are richer, Tor many tables, forms, chairs and cupboards, that the enemy had not time to burn or carry off. At another place, sick, and wounded horses had had their throats- out so that they would not fall into our hands alive. Other horses, killed by bomb or shell, had been ITV and disemUowelled, Mud their flesh was in process of being cut off for human food. GERMAN ILL-TREATMENT AND OF PRESSION. Civilians tell tales of ill-treatment during their four years' bondage ano become voluble in their description of the ill-treatment of British prisoners, : who were insulted and beaten by their guards. For a long time the Germans ! showed intense hatred of the Brit is! : Latterly they had included the Amorij cans in their category of vituperation. | In Caiidrv the women had to work in I factories for a small wage, and their J overseers even went the length of spitI ting in. their faces when they did not I iwork to the pverseer’s satisfaction. I Eventually their wages were claimed j from the commune so that practically j they had received nothing for their • labour. They were paid in depreciated German paper currency, and the town was fined in a large sum prior to the retreat. FIGHTING IN OPEN COUNTRY. The recent fighting has been unlike anything we have experienced in this war. Our men have marched for miles across open country, fighting as they went. There is no sign of wire or trench, sav c for a few hastily dug machine-gun pits, made with the object of holding up our advance. In one fight we had the battalion headquarters close to us. Our commander sat on the road- 1 side with his telephone and staff beside him in full view of all that was happening. His troops moved forward in artillery formation by platoons across open country, taking advantage of the holes in the ground. The battalion staff was on horseback. One could see them galloping up to meet the company, commanders, and the latter, also mounted, galloping hack to give orders to f platoon commanders. No time was lost, and the troops were continually moving forward. It was open warfare as detailed in the drill book, in which our units had been trained during a short spell out of the line. A BRAVE MEDICAL OFFICER. In most of this fighting both officers and men did so well that it was din cult to single any individuals for special awards, but there is one moving incident that stands out in bold relief —the modest hero a medical officer of an Auckland battalion. lie was dressing the wounded in the open while the battle was proceeding. Owing to the exigencies of the situation there was no better place available for his regimental aid post, and with enemy shells bursting over the position lie gallantly continued his merciful work. The casualties were many and as the medical officers of adjoining units had been unable to get up, he had for thirty-six hours to dj-ess the wounded men of three battalions as they streamed in to him. Again, while awaiting his aid, one shell blew a wounded man to pieces, bespattering his uniform, but to all appearance outwardly calm, he went on dressing the wounds of others. In a trench close beside him a salvo blew a man’s head off while lie was dressing a wounded soldier, and he himself was badly shaken. Even this did not deter him, and English, Scottish, New Zealand, and German wounded coniinued to claim his attention. He organised stretcher parties and had severe eases carried down to deep German dug-outs in the vicinity. TTis own escapes were miraculous, for he worked continuously in grave danger, without sleep, for a dav and two nights. GENERAL RUSSET,L HONOURED. OCTOBER. I'll is Majesty the King of the Belgians has awarded General Russell the decoration of Commander of the Order of Leopold with the Croix de Guerre. The ceremony of investiture was performed hv General On, Chief of the Belgian Mission at British Headquarters, who stated that the King of the Belgians fully realised the remarkable generosity with which the people of New Zealand subscribed to the, Belgian Relief I mid He also greatly appreciated the fact that the division which General Russell commanded had won hack the first •' gian town of Messines since the (' man invasion of his country. He added that his Majesty had watched v great interest the victorious career of the division, both in Belgium mid in France