CANTERBURY MEN IN ACTION.

Otaki Mail, 10 January 1919, Page 4

CANTERBURY MEN IN ACTION.

FIRST ACROSS T'KE CANAL. FIGHTING TOWARDS BEAUVOIS.. ( FROJf MALCOLM ROSS.) In articles already despatched by mail I have given ilclails of the lighting iu which the Second Brigade took part between tlic Eseaut • Canal and River and the Sells, referring principally to'the work of the men from the Otago Battalions. I purpose now supplementing that' account with some particulars of what the Canterbury men did; The Ganterburys claim to have .been, t,he first, of ouy-.troop.s to cross the canal. They made a precarious crossing (in a small l «Boehe raft, made from a duck board/and four'floats. They established the fact that the enemy had withdrawn from the immediate vicinity ol tile canal bank, which he had been holding iii considerable strength up to.that time. Later, a lighting patrol crossed, and captured four machine gnus and thirty-six prisoners, including an officer. Another officer showed jiglit after hold- ; ing up his hands. He attempted to stab 1 a corporal. The corporal promptly shot him. Other infantry from the South * Island units now, crossed the canal—l have already described the brilliant 1 bridgehead lighting of the Aucklanders 1 —and followed the enemy up to the iVlasuicres line, with its broad belts ol wire. Held by Machine 'Guns'. For a time the Canterbury men were held up at this line of the enemy’s do- 1 fence by strong machine gun lire. They were also shot at from Bel Aiso Farm, ] on the right. . Away on their left was the village of Lesdain, which they had to skirt. - All this opposition they overcame, but not without losses. The loss of a major, a lieutenant, and a corporal occurred just abreast of Lesdain. But the enemy was severely punished, and all resistance successfully overcome. One company took no fewer than three hundred prisoners. In the sunken road to the right of Lesdain there was a congeries of deep dugoufs, and further opposition came from there, but. the Germans were again overmastered. More prisoners were captured, and there was an extraordinary litter of equipment, rifles, and ammunition in and about the dugouis. Included in this was sumo valuable medical equipment, hurriedly aUaudoned. The German cemetery at Lesdain had in it may graves. More ■ were added to them during the next' few days. Some of the enemy ran back from the sunken road, which here had a deep cutting with very steep banks. They made oft" in the. direction of Esiics, i the village th:fl lay ahead, but the Can't erbury Lewis .gunners got on to them, and our men followed them up beyond theiuown objective. Many were killed and wounded. More Prisoners. On the main road between Lesdain and Ernies, and just in front of the lat ter, stood a small cluster, of houses known sis X,o Grand Pont. Mere the enemy resisted the further advance of the Canterbury men. A trench line ran west, of the hamlet,, and both from this | pines and from dug-outs at the Torrent | of Esncs, close on the left, there came | J more machine-gun fire. Again our men I ‘ forced I heir way forward, and added io | l.tlieir growing toll of prisoners. As our j j men were marching through Lc Grand i Pont, our heavies were still shelling | the village, and so were the German jj gunners. A Canterbury platoon com- \ mander sent his sections round each ] flank, and he and his batman went I j through the village, holding their re- | volvers ready to shoot. They found the i place empty. That same, exploiting cotnpauv carried on to the north-west oi Esues, till they got in touch with the Rifle Brigade on I heir left, and then sent our patrols in front. These were tired on by some of our own artillery, who did not realise how far they had gone. They were also fired on by enemy guns at dose range, and by enemy ’planes. Daring Vickers Gunners. | Throughout the day the machine guns were splendidly handled offensively. Two Vickers guns were right up with tlie assauting patrols. One machinegun commander went forward to reconnoitre in front of his guns, and even lin front of the infantry patrols. He spotted two enemy guns—a fi.U and a I -1.-2 —that had just been abandoned. The gunners were galloping their teams away to a place of safety. The Lewis ! ! gunners got'to work on the retreating | /'Germans, and the officer’s.charger was I i shot down. The officer as soon as his | horse had fallen got up and attempted j to run away, but he, too. was brought ! down. Other casualties were inflicted 1 • on the teams. v A Quick Advance. j 1 Next morning, at 5,30. the First Can- : terburys moved .forward for a eonsidcrI able distance, without meeting a single Boche. and with very few casualties, jo I a line- well ahead in front of Beauvois, \ and on the following day they had ptss'ed that village. Then the. other bat- : f aliOTi passed through them,, and so on to the high ground between Qaivey and Viesly, villages well beyond tic Cum-brai-Le Gateau' row!. -V One more incident may be related, A Canterbury section, headed by one of our bravest n.e.o.’s; who had already earned ijic D.C.M., endeavoured to rush a Si.-;chine-gun position in the Masnieres line. Si got practically wiped out. Another sergeant and two of his men saw rhe position, and. with out a'second’s last! iatii?#. took on the job. Wall e the scrgeanC-tried to draw the fire Bf the g!!ii the otiffir, two worked round its., flank, threw- bomb'#,-, and then successfully rushed. the posit io;?/