With Birdwood and the Anzacs in France.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 205, 1 September 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

With Birdwood and the Anzacs in France.

Bivouac Scenes and Trench Tales.

OUR MEN RETURN FROM POZIERES.

Lord Northcliffe has been spending a fortnight with the Australians in France, and has written sonic exclusive despatches for the United Service. Ho writes as follows: — Anzac Headquarters The high hopes of Australian people' arc centred round a bare room in one of the numberless French chateaux, where nowadays the air vibratos with the throbbing* of the guns. In that small room, the principal furniture of winch is the simplest possible bed, a telephone and a map marked with the latest moves on the battleline, is General Birdwood, the idol of the Anzacs. Captain Chirnside received me at the gate, where stood guard two Australia! giants, having before them their fluttering flag with the six stars. It was a muggy morning, reminding Capta'r. Chirnsde of an October in late shearing time. We rassed through a ha'l where numbers rf men of the clerical staff were busy at typewriting at the telephone—and so upstairs to General Birdwood's room. General Birdwood stands oft. 9in. ia height. He has not an ounce of spare fat on him, and look; like a man 'n hard training. He has a strong but gentle voice, a firm month" with a slight moustache, deep-set, pale-blue eyes, and a cropped head. - > looks a light-v every inch of him. He has for si) years been engaged in the business of war (most of his lifetime.) He cats and drinks little, and is up and away at daylight in winter and before 6 o'clock m summer. He pushes his headquarters as near the front as possible ; knows many of his boys, and calls them by their Christian names, and they believe in him as implicitly as he in them As Chief of Staff he has youn-j; White, a Queenslander, known throughout the British Array as quiei: of decision and able at once to grasp the minutest feature of any problem With him is Major Butler, the famous traveller, as Intelligence Officer, Col. Griffiths (of Victoria), and Major Smythe, D.5.0., of Christchurch, General Legge (Senior Australian Divisional Officer), and many other Imper. <1 officers. General Birdwood, erect in a pale khaki coat, with some four rows of well-earned ribbons, cord breeches, and riding boots, is not the man to lose a moment. He was just off to meet the boys back far a rest from Pozicrc? ANZACS IN CAMP. They were camping in the Home Woods, to which we drove in his open car, which flies the Australian flag. Soma had already arrived. The sun. which had been absent for some days, came cut at this moment. Never had I seen a more delightful sylvan sceno than that presented by these battleworn but merry soldiers, with their booty of German helmets, caps, and here and there Germans drums, fieldglasses, riding and wa'king to their huts and tents. Some were boiling ten and making dampers, or cooking beef in cookers extemporised from kerosene tins, or eating heartily after their long, long vigil in the heavily-shelled trenches at Pozier.es. They instantly recognised General Birdwood. Most of them were from New South Wales, and had been engaged, most probably, in their hardest fight s : ncc Gallipoli. They had dui, themselves in deeply on the other side of Pozieres, and had not left tbe trench • cs lor days. "My boys arc good diggers," remarked tbe General. "They dug deep'.v and quickly, and so cleanly that you could cat off tne trench-floors at din-ner-time." General Birdwood addressed his soldier-; simply and truly, drawing first from one and then from another stories of the fierce fighting just experienced. Some were so tired that they had fallen asleep immediately they arrived, others were full of life and gaiety. As Captain Mackenzie, of th? Salvation Army (known throughout the Peninsula and France as "Mac"), said, many were anxious to get back to the firing-line and show the Germans that if they were looking for more trouble ihey could have it. i looked with interest at these already hardened warriors, for whom death, wounds, and the German guns had uc terrors. AUSTRALIAN DISCIPLINE A good deal has been said about Australian discipline. The Anglo-Aus-

i tralians amongst them assured me tha f when fighting their discipline is as rigid as the most adamantine commander could wish. They obey their officers imp'icitly from the moment serio is business begins, and their relations with tbe Imperial officers are perfec*. The fact that young English schoolboys and the slightly older lads who man the aeroplanes had driven th.; spying Germans from the sky, rejoices the Anzacs. Gallipoli has made them excellent trench-fighters. I accompanied General Birdwood from one portio.i £o another of the scattered forest scene. In some of the huts the men were ail asleep. General Birdwood would on no account a How them to ht d : sturbed. In other huts they wero merry with mouth-organs, flutes, and captured drums. General Birdwoof peered in, and would not allow them ti» desist. Here and there they formed a temporary line and saluted. He has a simple speech for every group : "You have suffered, but you've done splendidly, arc you ready for more when the time comes?" he asks. There always comes the great shout "Yes!" IX SINGLE COMBAT. Many were the stories told. One was of a mere lad (for some are extremely young) who chased a huge German into the open, and finally settled the terrified Hun after a hand-to-hand duel. Another tale was that of a Ger man machine-gunner, who fired at the Anzacs until he had used up the who!.} of his cartridge belt, when he threw his arms round the nearest Australian and cried, "Pardon, Kamerad!" AM the time the men were talking the clashing and booming of the great guns were reminders of the proximity of the terrific struggle. Men came into the wood in a constant stream. Having seen their General, they went at once to wash, eat, and sleep. General Birdwood had always one piece of parting advice to the boys. " Write home ! Let your mothers know what you are doing, and how you are. for if you don't she will write to me. I get dozens of letters every mail asking about soni." The sharp rattle of machine-guns high in the sky told of a prolonged fight. Afterwards, through the leaver, a German aeroplane was seen to fa!'. It was a rare spectacle, for the Hun is not often seen across our lines these days. I left this simple forest scene regretfully, but glad in heart that 1 had seen these la'ds. Something was In preparation. General Birdwood took me into hTs car, an! we passed more and more Anzacs on their way into and out of the battb. Some were asleep on top of highly packed transport wagons. Some in German helmets were singing. All smiled affectionately as they saw the general, and saluted with a quick eyes right, or raising of the hand, while th \ mounted men dropped their hands sharply to the side. It was a long and interesting cavalcade on its way home from battle. All were in good spirits despite their heavy losses. They had done well. Passing through the ruined towns and villages we reached a divisional headquarters, where, in a small house, some new movement requiring General Birdwood's attention was being planned. It was a ruined building, with a mass of telephone wires pouring in at the windows. There was a busy click of typewriters, and the voices oF men working in the heat in their shirtsleeves. SHELL REACHES HEADQUARTERS. Haro by a gre;.t she 1 ! 'all, wounding several men and cruV.iV mutilating a young English offiesr, whom, during 'he evening, 1 saw being wheeled from the operating theatre at a neighbouring hospital. General Birdwood is one of those soldiers who believe it their duty to be in the firing-line whenever possible. His staff disagree, because two years' acquaintance has so endeared him to them that they would feel lost without him. He has often been far too elose to Pozieres for their happiness. They urged him not to go further, but he took me to the nearest field ambulance (No. 2), under Lieutenant-Colonel Home. The slightly wounded Australian at the gate, replying cheerily to tha

(Written for the Sydney " Sun " by Lord Northcliffe).

General, said: "Oh, we're filling up nicely. General." As the ambulances arrived at the pate the stretchers were carried in in less time than it takes to write, Major Wright and Major Jolly (of Melbourne), classifying the cases, s;ecing that they were fed, and airanging those who were fit to get the anti-tetanus serum injected. This is clone with great speed and care, and the letter marked on each forehead in indelible pencil, whereupon th«s cases are conveyed to the casualty clearing statino. whence they go to one of the beautiful base hospitals, probably overlooking the Atlantic—hospitals which are the pride of the Empire. We went thence to the first Australian field ambulance, under Col. Shaw, of Melbourne. Sir Anthony Bowlby, one of England's greatest surgeons, was inspecting it. I spent the time talking to the wounded lads. Some were sleeping, others lying awake in pain, but most of them were ready for a joke, .1 chat, or a cigarette. BOYS LIKE FrtAXCh. "How do you like Franco?" I asked n young Victorian. "I like it fine," he replied. "They can teach us something i:i farming," said another. "There'n not an Inch of land waster 7 . They work, wet or fine," a young Bathnrst giant said. "The girls are all right, too." "Yes, T would like to take a couple back," chipped in a wounded Adelaide hoy. I was duly shocked, but the compliment to France was sincere. It cxpressel admiration for the French just as the French love tie Australians for their kindness to children. When not fighting they have delightful resting camps, well fitted with canteens and comforts for the "on. Herein one finds all types, clerks, blacksmiths, men from the station and the farm. Many of the officers are of the same class, and so they understand each other and obey each other without question. They have exactly the same rations as the British, and draw only a portion of their handsome pay. General Godlcy commands another portion of the line containing Australians end New Zeahtnders. Here the trenches, unlike those at Pozieres, arc made behind breastworks of rand bags, and are very different to the Somme trenches, which are not unlike the deep excavations at Anzac. It is in General Godley's part of the line that the young Australians are watching interestedly the wonderful French cultivation of all kinds of crops. "We have had no lunch," said a staff officer. "General Birdwood eats nothing and expects us to do likewise." THE CUMBERED ROADS. We drove away from the wounded lads along the cumbered roads, past miles of waggons with the emblem of Australia, the rising sun, or the New Zealand fern upon them, to the chateau. During the ride General Birdwood told me something of Australasia's generosity to its forces, the promptness of the Australian Government in responding to his requests, and the great help given by the Australian Red Cross. These fine solciers are making Australia's history, building u pthe traditions of her future armies. There is hardly one cf them who has not patriotism burnt Into his soul—and burnt into his body, too, for many of them as a pledge have tattooed on their arms the Australian and Allied flags, with the words, "Gallipoli, 1015," underneath this device. After a long drive through the dust I shared a simple meal (tea duly predominating) with the'alert and agile chief and staff. As I drove away for many miles along the lines I could not but marvel at the turn in the world's conditions which had brought these young giants from the furthest corner of the earth to shed the'r blocd to aid the Powers which were gallantly fighting for the greatest cause in the world —freedom as opposed to tyranny.