NIGHT ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 217, 13 October 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

NIGHT ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

THE CEASELESS THUNDER OF THE GUNS. WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN THE FIELD. (By Piiilip Gibbs, "The Daily Chronlcla' Special Correspondent.) LONDON, July 26. Alone the front of our attack from eastwards to the north of Baz-entin-le-Graßd and High Wood (Foureaux Wood) and swinging south a little to "the Devil's Wood" and Guillemont, the battle goes on by night as well f.s by day, and the tire of the guns never It is at night that the battlefields assume their full terror to any man who lets his imagination get the better of any courage that is in him; and it is then when tha darkness closes about some of our soldiers, standing alone, as sentries that they see things which are not substantial, and they near strange little noises which startle them more than the tumult of the guns; and amidst all the ashes of bursting shells see, or think they see, dark shadows creeping forward which may he a counter-attack or—steady there, lad--the nearest bushes shivering in the wind. . German "crumps" are crashing over the trenches by Bazcntin, and smashing the trees in the lower end of Devil's Wood. The steady rush of our shells overhead suddenly becomes a pandemonium of artillery. Some signal has gone up, and all our batteries aro answering the call. Jhe red flames of trench mortars are leap.ing all along the line. Hell has broken out onco more, and there is no rest, except for those who will die before' dawn. . . So it was last night again. There were no lights on our car. A sentry had all the light as he swung his lantern, and it gleamed on the bayonets of men standing close to him in the doorway of the barn. It was all pitch blackness, except for red eyes glowing down dark tunnels, where lorries with those dun tail-lights crawled forward through French villages with breakfast for men and guns. There were no soldiers marching, but everywhere behind tho lines there were soldiers sleeping. Through the open doors of barns dimly lit by lanterns I saw their bodies in the straw. Once when I got out of the car to ask the way—the darkness was impenetrable here, and it was impossible to guess the road up to the 0Pip, as the gunner calls his obsarvation post—l heard the sound of snores, very gentle and rhythmic like cows in a field. Good dreams to them!

SHELL-HOLE COMFORT. We left our car along the roadside and climbed a steep bank and went towards the battle of tho night. On the way we passed through small encampments of soldiers. Most of them were in darkness. Only very dimly could one see the shapes of the tents, a few bell-tents, and many strips of canvas just tucked over low hoops to givo cover to six sleeping figures. Some men were sleeping separately, curled up in the depths of shell-holes, as I have seen dead men, but very comfortable and sheltered from the light breeze. But further on there was another tamp. Some troops had just arrived, and were settling down after a lonj; march. They had fires burning which threw a ruddy glare upon their bodies as they moved about dumping their stores.' The cookers were smoking, and there was a smell of good soup in the air. Tho battle was going on, as it has never ceased going on since July Ist. There was never a moment all night when the guns were quiet, never a second when the great tumult of artillerv did more than slacken a little into a quietude that was only comparative between a greater aud lesser nokc.

JUGGLING WITH FIRE. Ail along tho lines lights were rising. Both sides were sendiug up white flares, by wh'ch they could see the hostile movements. It was as though groups of jugglers wero there in the darkness throwing up white balls of fire and trying to keep as many as possible, in the air at the same time. They gave a slow buring and livid whitj. light, which made the darkness seem like a grey fog in London, and ran across the fields like phosphorescent water, giving a sharp blackness to broken tree stumps and ruins. All through the night there were, I counted, only three times when for a second or two there were no lights up. and when for just that time our eyas were bathed and refreshed in the brief darkness. Something big was happening ;n front of us between Longueval and Bazentin. . . I had not slept, because a rat was snuffing about me and poking his nose at me as I lay in the grass, and liecause I was interested to see how the tall thistles in front of me were lit up like a fairy forest every time old Grandmother fired, and because (he noise of the guns is not quite a lullaby. And at about 3 I sat up and stood above the thistles like an ant watch ill!.; a flaming forest.

PANDEMONIUM. A pandemonium of iire had broken out between Longueval and Bazentin, and signalu were rocketing up with ml and white lights as though men were in a great state of excitement. I hen our trench mortars got to work and for half an hour this light artillery flung out explosives which buret up and down tho enemy's tine with continual crashes. As each mortar was fired it shot up :i red ilamo winch spread horizontally *o that all the ground was scarlet. Hut through and above the crashes there was_anot]ier sound. Whatever was happening, there was tho devil to pay. and many men were '*/"« kl lod H' erc unless the German co-diers have dug deeply underground since we ; broke their second line/which li UOllbUul. . .

•H'ST AN EPISODE. The affair was just an episode of tho night in 0n;.. ; part of the line. Not i ni . "". : ' ,,t "V'.'V'tly. lor i„ the nioruui., ">llftin w u«h refers to Po,ier,-s, ]^ ' ;.£ V'| r ° "° m; ; ident of i.'nport-■inc-e lias tak:>n place. .In fie morning, when light P . I)IH , pyiiic a wan bedraggled look i„ the fields, 1 wc„t hack again to the camps We 0.l the „,,„ , v ..„. , |( . ' ; 1 'J' 1 ' '™ts '"' in their sh.-il-holos hut others were awake, busy with the cook A rich smell of rn,vij,,, r |,,,. 0n 'rtteriunn the smell, of tl,-> and the rank vapours of old trem-he* A* soon as 11,.- first aeroplane' o-, 1U v skimm<ng towards the fJorm-m line tho CiinilM»gan to rot busy for Hlmlhv 'II,. Nights vvo-k had been done >.n.-j (he 1 ' VV: '-- Parting again. All over Again.