HUNTING THE HUNS

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 29 June 1917, Page 1

HUNTING THE HUNS

IN A TANK. " A YIYID NARRATIVE. ' Most people have seen the - famous ;anks in action—from a comfortable seat n a cinema theatre—and have read accounts of/how they crash through all obstacles to their objective, disdaining everything in the. way of bombardment except a direct hit 4'rom a big gun. but they can have had very little idea of what it is like to be inside one of the monsters during an advance. A Kentish soldier, in a Tetter to his sister, tells us for the first time what hunting the Hun in a tank really means to the gallant "crew who control the great machine. He vividly describes their experiences from the moment the word is given to advance into the German' lines to the time when, the enemy's defences haying been smashed and the objective gained, they sleep the sleep of com-pletely-satisfied victors.

"LIKE A SHIP IN A STORM." t The Kentish eoldier,- who. was one of the crew of the tank whose advance into action i he describes, is Mr F. E.'' Divall,.of South- ] borough, near Tunbridge Wells, and he is 1 now returning to active service after recovering from a wound. The ' letter, which was sent to his sister at'Kilndown, a village near Cranbrook, -in the Weaid of Kent, is as follows: The order to advance is given.' Steadily the long, powerful shapes move forward i*n the grey mists of dawn. As the weirdlooking forms travel over the front ferencn ■ the troops therein rub their eyes in wonder the strange cube-impressionist coat 6f many colors which the tanks are wearing." Yet they look approvingly at the formidable appearance of the slowly-van-ishing monsters. Inside the tanks-are the 1 keen-eyed fighting men, known as the < " crew," strangely garbed, as becomes their i

strange craft, while around them is a complicated mass of machinery. Now we are passing- over shell-holes, tree stumps, and many other trifles, which nil the. ground of "No Man's Land." The deck\

of the tank rolls and pitah.es like a tor- > pedo boat in a storm. The crew hold on 1 to anything within reach to steady ouri selves while we rush down a large s-hell- ■ hole, probably made by a "coal-box." - But we .are ail old -'hands—full A.B.s, in l fact —and we come safely through without 1 sea-sickness.

THE TANK IN ACTION. Suddenly the gunnery officer gives: "To action." His .voice is only just heard above the noise of the whirling machinery. A few sighting shots, and we have found the range. We succeed in putting out two machine-gun emplacements, the guns of which have been worrying our infantry for some time. And now the action "begins in earnest. Hun bullets are rebounding from our tough sides like hail from a. glass root', while inside the tank the whole uxew are at' various guns, which break forth in a devastating fire which "nothing can live against. And now we are on the parapet of the first Hun trench, just on the outskirts of the wood which js our objective, and as we go bumping u.; w the other side we really m,;., l; = are "'in the wood" in more ways than o-~, for we laud with a terrific bump," whic.i makes us wonder if the piston rings hav« jumped inside the carburetter, or if sometiring even more serious has happened. We hud, however, that it is merely & can 3f petrol which has slipped down its pigeonhole, and come:clattering down on ;o the* 'armored deck, with its stopper shaken out, and the dangerous spirit runling over the floor; just as we were wanting our spirits kept up, too ! However, we just enfiladed that trench, followed up' the retreating Huns for a minute or two, cleared out the nearest dugout, and went an. cur way to the next trench. ■OPPRESSIVE ATMOSPHERE. By this time the fumes from the hun-. Irecls of rounds which we had iircrl. with i-he heat from the engines and the wa*te )etrql and oil, have made the air quite >ppressive and uncomfortable to breathe in.- However, those who go down to the lands in tanks are accustomed to many Strange sensations which would make an n-dinaiy- mortal shudder. Now we are tearing the next enemy trench, and we lear the deep report of bursting bembs, ibove tho pattering of the storm of bullets, striking - o ur armor. We make a fairly difficult target, as our -way lies between numerous tree trunks and battered stumps; also much barbed wire. Our strange craft is battling bravely with the waves of earth-now encountered, and the conditions inside might be better imagined than described. But, thanks to oar° protective headgear we come througn it all, still smiling, to find ourselves on tne' cage of the Hun trench. This proves to ne composed of shell holes of all sizes, just; linked together, showing how severe our previous bombardments-had been. Ine Huns show light here, and we have a warm 10 minutes before thev give signs of re treating. We leave ttiem for a minuet or two in order to ram a machine-gun l-;i-placement, which is still threateni.g uor rapidly-advancing infantry. We just eiuwl over the embankment, giffe and all; it is ' necessary to fire a single shot. * ON TO THE LAST POSITION. ' Now it is time for us to advance to tho next and last position. We have the good fortune to strike a road, which has escaped <seruras damage/-and, making all, speed

along this we make up to the Huns' -who h»ve escaped from the last fcmioh. Bat they have had enough of the all-deTouring monster, and «re ready to throw down their arms and make their way to our infantry, glad to be prisoners. The last trench proves to be the worst, for just a* we are crossing a large hole our bus stops. I believe the sparking plugs have ceased to sparkle, and it is in a very awkward place, as the tree stumps now prevent free traverse of cur guns. Two or three ELung, seeing our difficulty, crawl out of a hole like rabbits, and are brave enough to cxaey on the back of the tank from behind. But we hear them on the armor, and they were doomed not to get the Iron Cross, for we open a small trap door and shoot litem with a revolver. Of course, w* had seen them before they reached the tank, but as our mechanism was giving us a; little change of occupation jiist then we did not

trouble about them. And now the old bus is going strong again. Only just in time, for a Jarge lyddite bomb burl&s against the armored jacket of my gun.- The flare comes in through the porthole, blinding

me for a minute or so, while small splin- . tere stake my face. Hut my gun is still untounched, thanks to tie "armor plate, - and, somehow,, seems to work much better! And now I catch some Huns retreating l along a trench almost in line with a burst , of fire. The Germans are now scattered in small parties. It is almost like playing

hide and seek. . NO MORE HUNS TO HUNT. After a few short runs we find no mo»e Huns to hunt, so, as our objective, tha wood, has been gained, we leave the scene to the infantry, and find shelter from possible stray shells in a, large hole, which has been made by many shells. I believa it was once a large dugout. .It is grand to breathe the air again, though it is fax from sweet. After a little exercise we start to overhaul >the tank and guns, in readiness for the ri«xt*joy ride. Then w* • snatch a few hours of sleep. We have had supper, and cow we prepare our beds—usually an overcoat or small blanket, and the hard, armored floor of the tank. But we are much too tired t» in; ad the hardness of our strange bed, or me scent of our pillow—a petrol can. The engines still give out a little heat, and wo are speedily fast asleep, with the excep- : tion of the guard outside. After an interval, which to those inside seems llk« a few minutes, but is really an hour, wa change guards, and it is now my turn.' All night long there is a bombardment from both sides, and once a large .Hun shell comes whirling along, and, falling' short, - drops with a loud explosion and scattering of earth and stones, which reach the tank 1 and rebound with much force. But my chums inside, fast asleep, are blissfully unaware of the dangerous visitor. And' now it is my turn to sleep again; so I rouse the next men to guard, and retire into the strange monster, only too glad to_ge* . away from the ,awful weirdness of a night on newly-captured, hardly-fought-for , ground.