ANZAC RAIDERS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 268, 20 April 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

ANZAC RAIDERS.

HOW THEY ABE ORGANISED. FULL DRESS REHEARSALS, Field-Marshall Sir Douglas Haig recently visited the Australians. Hia natural sternness broke down, and he uttered a few rare words of great praise —it was impossible that any section of the troops should get .higher. The Australians are certainly taking the fullest share of all that is going in trench work, raiding and building and transport. They are greatly advantaged by the erection of the townships of huts, which, with the sunny and frosty weather, have brought, them back, according to the latest medical reports, to full healt... Sir Douglas Haig was especially interested in their recent successful raid* when several score of prisoners were taken and valuable information gained. Like all Anstralian raids this had been .specially prepared. The battalion commander decided the point of the raid, guided by the reports of his nightpatrols, upon the condition of Xo Man's Land, and location of the enemy's machine-guns. The officer elected to command the raid selects two juniors, who command the right and left. Before the last raid the colonel invited volunteers. (It was a Sydney battalion.) Every man stepped out. The selected party included six non-commissioned officers and 60 men, who had returned to their billets for a fortnight, trained like boxers, with running, gymnastics, bombing, and bayoneting, practising over ground similar to Xo Man's Land. According to the distances judged by the aeroplanes, the commander apportioned duties. Some were bayoneters, some bombers, some carriers, and telephonists and runners, each was trained to exact duty. A full dre.-s rehearsal had been held last night. A Sydney colonel, describing t«he raid, states: 'The preliminary drumfire was wonderful, covering the exact location desired. The Germans opened a hellish bombardment, but it is remarkable how the men in the Australian trenches can escape the shells by lying low and evacuating tlie dangerous spots. "After ten minutes of drumfire, the men crawled forth. The artillery lifted, and provided a box-barrage, covering t-he rear and both sides of the invaded area. Everything depended on the s|>eed and the observance of the timetable. The men got across the wrecked dug-outs with bombs collected at their belts, gun-shields and haversacks. There was a little hand-to-hand fighting, in whic'i H Bodies were killed and three of our men wounded. The German guus wore still pounding the front line, and made the return difficult. The prisoner.-, however, were all safely brought back, hiding together in shell-holes, until the final dash to the -ally-posts, to whii'j they were guided by luminous tape. ••The party hail three killed. Thev motored back to the rot camp. Amongst them they were awarded military crosses and three military medals."