A WAR STORY

Hokitika Guardian, 13 September 1929, Page 8

A WAR STORY

SCOTS and SOUTH AFRICANS RE-CAPTURE METEREN.

North of the River Lys the situation of Meteren, on a slight rise which overlooked our line, made its capture most desirable. The village had been lost during the German offensive in Flanders, but by July I9id we were becoming strong enough to attack in our turn.

Constant shelling had reduced the place to ruins. Having assembled in carefully camouflaged trenches, our infantry—the South African Composite Battalion, 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers, sth Cameron Highlanders and 'Bth Black Watch —advanced in small columns from the north behind an artillery barrage and smoke screen at 7.55 a.m. on July 19. 1 . Taken by surprise some' of the Germans ran, but several machine-gun detachments stood their ground and the South Africans, on the right, killed many of the enemy along the hedges west of the village.

Their attack was a complete success and the Fusiliers who encountered a very obsinate party of Germans entrenched behind a wired hedge, also carried everything before them. Although the Camerons swept tnrough the eastern portion of Meteren and gained ground beyond, the Black Watch, on the flank, did not fare so well. They were hampered by entanglements in the standing crops and lost many officers and men from the fire of machine guns protected by heavily wired hedges. The right of the battalion linked up with the Camerons, but then came a gap in the new line which some of the 7th Seaforths helped to 1111. Nevertheless. Meteren had been taken and a good position reached from which to make a turther advance. About 350 Germans, a field gun, 12 trench -mortars and nearly 50 machine guns were -gathered in on this day.

The four battalions engaged lost rather more than 500 of all ranks, and nearly half of these belonged to the black Watch, who had 13 officers killed or wounded.