THE WHITE ARM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17283, 26 September 1916, Page 7

THE WHITE ARM.

A WEEK'S FIGHTING.

THRILLING DESCRIPTION BY \ JOURNALIST.

NOTHING PIERCER YET. Ty- TelefTßph—Prow Association—Copyright Aurtralian and N.Z. Cable Association. LONDON, September 24. Mr Phillip Gibbs writes a thrilling narrative and eulogy of the New Zealanders' bayonet lighting and splendid endurance from September 15 to September 22;

BLOODY BATTLES. In the fighting line since July 1 there has been nothing fiercer nor bloodier than ths hand-to-hand straggles, left of Flers/. where, the New Zealanders 1 have increased the fame they gained ) at Gallipoli as soldiers who had to give up what they had gained, and who 1 hold on to ground with grim obstinacy ". "against the heaviest odds. This is tho judgment of a. British officer who watched them fighting in the last, few days,; and speaks with a , thrill of admiration when recalling the stoicism with which they endured tho heaviest shellfire, the spirit with which - they attacked despite intense fatigue, .fend their rally, though discouraged by the loss of officers, which 6wept back ■. r the Germans in panic-slricken flight. THE STORY. The story covers a week's fighting. Ihe New Zealanders at dawn on Seplenibei 15 advanced upon tho left «>f Flers, on two lines of trenches which ■ y formed part of the famous Flers lino. Our gunfire did hot cut . wires or. destroy trenches, and tne swish " of machine-guns showed that tlw enemy ' were alive and savage. The New Zealanders- losses would jiavo been serious hut for the Tanks, which had lagged behind, but arrived in time to attack the Flers line in the 'most deliberate and stolid way. They ""■ .ndled along'the barbed wire, smashing '.'it into the earthy and then poked their fcg snouts over tho Gorman parapets, firing from both their flanks upon the G(*rman machine-gun teams. , . NEW ZEALANDERS' ADVANCE. .' ' The New Zealanders follqwingf took tho double trenches and pushed on another 700 yards, across a sunken road 'with steep banks and the deepest dugouts. The Germans did not stop until they were established in a hazardous position for the New Zealanders. Our men were ordered to fall back to a line going straight westward from the top of, Flers village, from which they helped to hold the position on the .. ,night of September IS. 1 On September 16 they moved thence forward. The enemy made repeated counterattacks .and sometimes these were of . feeble strength, and were shattered "quiokly, hut they grew in intensity as tho days passed and it was seen that > the Now Zealanders wore in a precariouß position owing to the weakness of the west flank. Hence the Germans held out in shell craters Enabling supports to drive in a, wedge between 1 the New Zealanders and English troops.

THE GERMAN WEDGE. North of High Wood a brigade of Germans attempted this. They advanced in aix or seven waves upon the English soldiers, who were outnumbered by two to one. The English met them in the open with the bayonet in the old-fashioned way and the. New Zealanders watched the fight with enthusiasm until they saw the German ranks broken and the" remnant, flying. It was a great struggle', but not so long nor so bloody as the fight the New Zealander3 themselves encountered on September S 3. • CANTERBURY'S DEFENCE. The Germans struck the New Zealanders at their joining point with the Britiihers, west of Flers. The Canterbury men at the joint were twico boaten back and. twice regained the ground. Throughout the night, until dawn' on September* 21, there was violent bomb and bayonet fighting. It was not.a matter of British on ono side and Germans on another, but was a chaotic struggle between isolated bodies, of men, fighting in shell craters and bits of trench; single figures fighting duels in grcftips and not joining to form lines, which surged backwards, and forwards. < They established themselves in a new line running westwards from tho top of Flers village, which' the English lads had already captured. The Tanks followed the Gormans, and drew tho fire of a German battery 1500 yards away. The Germans missed tho Tank and eventually British artillery knocked out the battery. MOVTNG FORWARD AGAIN.

Meanwhile the New Zealand infantry got the, order to swing to the left to make ft flanking front up the edge of a valley running north-west of Flers. They did this most gallantly, although they were stuck out like a thin

| edge into German territory, owing to I lack of support on the right and left i due to the Englishmen being busy | iapturing Flers. There was fearful I fighting at Sigh Wood, The first line of the New Zealanders * went forward with hardly a check to §| tiw German Switch trench livo nundroti

mrfh distant The men of Auckland, Canterbury,. Otago and Wellington put their trust in tho bayonet and had their desire. Tho Gormans in the Switch trench defended themselves to the last gasp. Only four wore left alive after the frightful encounter. It was a fight to the death. The New Zealanders lost heavily from shrapnel and machine-gun fire, and their ranks we're thinned when they faced the stretch of eight hundred yards leading to the next trenches. The New Zealand Rifles covered the' ground quickly in open.order, hut keeping in touch with each other with fine esprit de corps, which is better than discipline. The German trenches were deeply dug and hcayily wired, and proved a great obstacle. A SPLENDID CANTERBURY CAPTAIN.

The scene was horrible, with the crash and the,cries of the dying. One New Zealand officer, a very splendid, heroic man. was the life and soul of the v "defence during the counter-attack. There were moments when his men were disheartened, because their line had been thrown baqk. Tho wounded lay, thiok on the v ground, but the officer infused new fire into his men by the flame of his spirit and rallied the gloomy ones. He was so careless of his own life and so eager for the honour of New Zealand that they followed him under a kind of spell, becauso of the magio in him. So the enemy was put to flight down the valley and the New Zealanders were masters of the ground when tho dawn revealed the horrible carnage. The enemy returned in strong force in the afternoon under the orders of the German General Staff at the end of a telephone. The assaulters were practically sentenced to death. They were doomed men. When th© captain of tho Canterbury's again led his lads in a great bayonet pharge right across tho open tho Germans stood and received tho charge with blanched faces. The New Zealanders came at a trot and then sprang forward with bayonets moving as quick as knitting needles. The Germans cried out in terror. Those who could escape ran down th© hillside, falling as they ran. This rout was the end of, tho counter-attacks. The New Zealanders knew they were masters, and seeing th© Gernißn terror they muttered, " Poor devils;" -. HEROIC STRETCHER-BEARERS. The heroism of the bayonet fighters was splendid, hut the valour of the stretcher-bearers was, perhaps, finer. Their duty was to go in open .country in cold blood and pick up men. They had to pass through salvoes of five-point-niners, which tor© up the ground and buried mafay stretcher-bearers and mangled many. The stretcher-bearers went steadily and quietly hour after hour, until sixty of them had fallen. They .carried on the work of rescue careless of their safety.

A Now Zealand officer said "I'm not a sentimentalist, but the work of those men seemed to me to be very noble and good." ' , MR GIBBS'S TRIBUTE.

Mr Gibbs concludes: " This story will be read gladly in New Zealand townships and in up-country farmsteads. If any words of mine can give a little extra share of glory to these colonial boys, who have come so far over the seas, I shall be glad and proud. My heart is very full with admiration of the valour of these men, who fought in these great battles as well as any troops who shared the day with them."