A MIDNIGHT RAID.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1624, 14 October 1916, Page 4

A MIDNIGHT RAID.

GERMANS OUTATTTED BY NEW ZEALANDERS. MACHINE G UN CA PTC RED. (From Capt. Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the New Zen la ml Forces. ) Northern France, 17th August, The latest raid carried out by the New Zealanders against the Germans wa s eminently successful. Shortly after midnight a number of Aucklanders from one of onr brigades left their trenches after a bombardment that puzzled the enemy a good deni, and succeeded in raiding the enemy trenches, capturing- a machine gun and a prisoner. A second prisoner was captured in No Alan’s Land. It was found that excellent work had been done by onr artillery and trench mortars, quite a broad pathway having been cut through 1 ho enemy's wire. Our men gained a favourable position and the moment our barrage hurst behind the enemy trench they rushed over the parapet, and entered the trench. Within the first few minutes one German was shot and another taken prisoner. A New Zealand lieutenant commanding the centre party noticed a machine-gun dug-out just as the signal for recall was given, hut he managed to reach the gun, and, tearing it from its emplacement, he, with one of his party, curried it right into ointrenches. It was a gun of the 191(1 pattern. The main feature of the German Ireiieli was the depth of their dug-outs, The revetting of the trenches was done with wickerwork, and the parapet was about 14ft. thick. The raiders suffered only (wo slight casualties. The captain commanding the raid was eom-

plimented upon its success, and upon the. coolness and bravery of his officers and men. BRAVERY UNDER FIRE. It is now possible to mention the circumstances under which .Serge-ant-Major Edward Frost was awarded the D.S.O for gallant conduct during a raid early in duly. When a party was withdrawing through No Man’s Land under enfilading lire from machine- guns and grenades from the enemy's support line, Frost, who comes from Arlington, twice returned through the German wire to their lines, and under heavy lire rescued and brought hack two wounded men. It was Irage-ly owiiig to his courage, energy. and example- that daring a retirement lasting an hour and a-half sonic thirty wounded men were brought safely hack to our lines. The other evening when the Gormans were- indiscriminately shelling a loevn the- horse of a passing team was hit, and a lieutenant killed. Frost jumped through a window on to the street and dashed off to the assistance- of tlit- driver, and was himself wounded by a second shell. He is now in hospital making satisfactory progress. On the following day he was to go South to receive a further distinction from the hand of the French Gominander-in-Chicf.