WHAT WE FIND IN THE GERMAN TRENCHES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 223, 3 November 1916, Page 7 (Supplement)

WHAT WE FIND IN THE GERMAN TRENCHES.

WALL-PAPER AND ELECTRIC LIGHT. By AN OFFICER AT THE FRONT My "CO.'' wished to make an ev . animation of the system of Roche v.Ilago defence, and kindly invited another officer and niys.-li to accompany him. Naturally, as this is one of our jobs, we Ike to see how the Roche carries out Ins and draw interesting comparison*, and, if possible, learn something. Wr made, the usual preparations for such a journey by taking smoke helmets, tin hats, maps, and the like, and elatteiv.i along the dusty roads among the numerous transport trains and marching troops lor several miles behind an old front I'no until we reached the objective, passing through our own "crump''smashed villages en route, until wo ar rived at a point wnere, we had to leave the horses in charge of our grooms an 1 proceed on foot.

The way to the Bocho defences was shewn with discarded tiling l !, hig '"crump" holes, unexploded .-hell-;, an) all the evidence of recent conflict. \\> reached the crest of a hill overlooking a small village and the ires* beyond. For mill's and miles the outline c[ Ironchcs timid be seen, and our own "crumps'' went whiizzling overhead on their fatal journey. In the distance \vn i-oulil see them bursting mid clouds of smoke and debris shoot up in tho air, and we could m-c the black smoke of things coining from "across the way." But what a scene of d,-solution ' No crops had been planted here. Cortimly the ground had been Idled, but not with the plough-share. Rank weeds grew where shell., hod not ivcentl\ fallen.

Wire, tangled and. torn, tripped th.t unwary step, lieyond us lav two euri-nns-looking mounds, a lew stray haltered leafless and l.ranchless trees stood as sentinels in and ahout these mounds. Oieo these mounds were villages, vi >nid the plan; it was difficult to l>e]iev-> '.. Truly it was I lie valley of desolit'on; the shadow and the stihstancc ■ 1

death were there too —freshly dug graves with little wooden crosses above them placed there by some loving comrades with a name pencilled on.

THE GREAT CRATER. On tho right was a curious mound, which -bowed up white in th • brilliait sunshine. We went to exanr'ne : t, ami saw an extraordinary sight. On clim .- ing up it we were on the edge of a crater such as I could not have imagined con;.l have been blown out by man —it seemed more like Nature's handiwork; some mighty subterranean upheaval : but no, it v.'-.s a slent witness ;ii what man can devise with the brains litis given. We computed its diameter -it 70 yards and depth 00 f.-ot- that is >o to say, itw as about 200 yards in circumference. It was right across the Roche Iront trench line. I have not tound out when it was fired, hut it must have shaken the country for miles around and scared many a Roche int > his prop. l ;- place in the other world, in addition to the ones it blew there Wo were discuss.-tig later the feelings of the poor Erciichman who will come when this war is over to till that pie:e of wound.

At first we fell, dreadfully sorry for I.im, lint after some reflection it occurred Id us that really it will ho n little gold mine instead of an and crater. All lie Ins to do : s to collect the scraps of [Joelio wire (hirhcd) tin. arc lying ahont, stick in a few |>os..s ttroiind the crat i\ erect a tea-house and there you are - hut nol lorgettirg the ticket, oll'ue. 11,, might go fjirtlieiif iio is industrious and euchre a scii 's (•i' dug-outs still in existence close hy, niak.' a huge collect-on of Heche monielltocs. and sell them to the visitin ; pilhlic. Cook 'Would iiiidouhtedly it elude this crater m his itinerary. That I'Yenelminii is a he ky man. We dragged ourselves atvuv from th'-s romarkahlo erati r ;ind Jtroi ivdvd to our pilgrimage to the dug-ouis via 'hfront-! rem h lite. At least, it used <e l».' a trench. Siinv our gunners trie! (heir hand on it. il has heroine a series of gaps in the ea.rth, lor not ;■■ yard of it. has eM-apod them. Still, th-Well-constructed stairways down to th * dug-outs remain intact for the most

UNDERGROUND HOTEL.

We went down many. The stairs are very steep and the timberng of tins shaft is very substantial. You reacli the bottom, say about 20ft., and find quite a cosy little entrance hall, with passages leading along to bedrooms and eventually to the next set of steps, }■ that there is at least one '' bolt" hole-: in fact, .several in some cases. Bed 9 are. arranged like bunks in a ship, <<• perhaps it reminds one more of an appie room. The floor is littered with hoclies of wine, beer, soda-water, and tho like (needless to say they are empty), because I know Fritz would be thirstv when those shells of ours were hurtling around. In addition to the tattles, tho floor is littered with d'rty beddm;, empty boxes, ammunition, hand grenades, and other things too numerous to mention but mostly not worth carrying away, and, moreover, we were by no means the first strangers to view Fritz' 3 late habitation.

We got up into fresh an- aga : n and proceeded up trenches into what was once the village. In some places one finds three or four feet of brickwork above ground level, but general'}' speaking the place is levelled within six inches of the ground. Here tin-dug-outs are larger. One was covered witli dirty wall-paper; electric lightwires showed how comfortable Fritz had been: you might easily distinguish a dining-room, bedroom, store, and, in fact, all Ihe conveniences of life as if ho wer above ground. Indeed, so far as I could see Fritz had turned the basement of the village (viz. the cellars) mto the first floor and added sr.'illenes from dwelling to dwelling to replace the streets above. I have i.o doubt he enlarged the accommodation of tint village underground so that if could house more inhabitants than if had ever done before. It wculd take days to explore it properly.

We spent about two very interesti.i; hours wandering up and down. In on' wanderings above ground occasionally we came across some of the recent alien inhabitants. T have no pity for Fritz in the least. Ho : s dirty, tricky, clever as a monkey and with as little sense a* honour. He has got all and more than he asked for on this front, ami if munition workers in England go on as the.: havo been doing and go still one better. FVtz will not only wish he had not been born, he will : n due course cry our for mercy and crave forgivercss. But. as I have said, not yet.