Thrilling Story of a Trench Raid.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 281, 1 June 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

Thrilling Story of a Trench Raid.

By PATRICK MACGILL

Tli's story was written by Patrick Mactiill for the Now York 'sun." Mr. MacGill\s thrilling narrative of life in tli<> trenches ;<ml on the Iwttlefields, entitled "The Great Push/' in which ho toid his own experiences as a stretcherbearer, has attracted wide attention.

rpilE night was bitterly cold, and a ■*■ wind, keen as a knife, sweeping across the snowclad levels of No .Man's Land, bit the ears of the sentries standing in the firesteps of tho British trench. Now and again a man would bind down, shelter h's face behind the parapet, and look at his luminous wristwatch; then he would stand erect again and resume his vigil.

and give yourselves up!" the British soldiers cried, and waited until the Germans surrendered. If tight was shown a bomb was Hung into the dugout. And -m) the great game of life and death went madh on.

The young officer who Km! the party across walked along the parapet, a revolver m his hand, directing the attacker?. Ho was in his element. Indifferent, to danger, he took part in the episode with a certain a'r of detachment which seemed to put death out of reckoning. He was a youngster, brave and daring, eager to take any risk, and unwilling to allow his men t'o take part in any hazardous enterprise to which he was not an active party. His men loved li'm. "Look in that dug-out," he shouted down to the attackers as they impatiently waned for the Germans who occnp'ed a shelter to make their way out into the trench. "Every scrap of paper you can find bring with you." The next hay held a still more pretentious dug-out, one with a roof flush with the lloor of the trench and stairs leading down mo remote apartments. "This is interesting," cried the- young officer, springing into die bay. " I must see what is hidden here." THROWS IN THREK BOMBS. He approached the dug-out, and. taking <rare not to stand opposite the door, where he might become an easy target for a rifle, he shouted down in German, ordering the occupants to surrender. There was no reply. The officer reached out his hand for a bomb. One of his men gave him one. He pulled the pin and flung it down. A yell came up from the darkness. A second bomb followed, and a third. "There's a wire leadin' inter this ero duggout," someone whispered, and the officer hoard. He gripped Irs revolver and went inside. "If I'm not back in three minutes clear off out of it,' 7 he said to a sergeant who wan standing at the entrance. " 1 must see what's n\ hiding here.'

In oiio of the dug-outs a dozen men or more were busy, fastening bombs to their equipment and buckling iron rations to their U-lts. They were making ready for a raid, one of those "shows" in which the British soldiers delight and which keep tho Germans constantly apprehensive and jumpy. The attack for which the men were preparing had a definite purpose. A machine-gun had been worrying the sector for days, and ration parties crossing the open at night lied paid toll to the vicious weapon. Its exact location could not l>o determined, but somewhere out there in the confines of the enemy lines it lurked, and though the Engbsh gun-) pounded at the German trenches from tune to time they did not silence it. At midnight, after a comfortable allowance of rum had been served round. tlio raiders crossed the parapet and made their way over No Man's Land. The snow, frozen hard, lay on tin" ground and filled up the shell holes. The advance was made silently, at a slow, steady pace, a yard interval between each man and his neighbour. The men's sheep-skin coats blended with the snow, and at a short distance off the raiders were invisible to an onlooker.

They had just got halfway across when the machine-gun, which had l>oon silent for a good two hours, suddenly woke up and a had of bullets flew ovei the raiders' heads. The men dropped flat on the snow and lay there, their rifles stretched out in front, the bayonets showing like black, straight lines against the whiteness. A messago came from the officer on the right, " Advance !" The machine-gun was merely searching for ration parties, its objective was the road immediately behind the Brutish front trench. The raiders were safe as vet. They went forward for a dczen "yards, then threw themselves flat again'. A star shell h;.d jisen from tiio enemy trench, lighting up the whole vicinity. The men, lying down, peered tensely ahead, their eyes dazzled bv the star shell's reflection in tho snnw.' A m'llion sparks fell earthward and the flnre died down. The men continued their advance.

At the end of two minutes lie returned, holding .'his irevMvor in ono hand, a hunch of papers in the other. As he reached the trench a bomb burst behind the parados, then another. There was the sound (of a scuffle and the report of rifles. A .soldier appeared on the rim of the tre.ich. '■ It's that machine-gun," he said. "We found it and 'twasn't an easy job. Stuck on a moving platform, it wis one that could rflino up and go down. We put it down for good with a bomb. We just saw it., and plunk! The two gunners were damned quiet; thev must have seen us, but they didn't sav a word until we got on top of them. They're out of the doiu's now, anyhew."

They reaphed the rim of the trenches; no wire entanglements obstructed their way : the British gunners had seen to that." The men looked in, down on the occupants. Here stood a sentry half asleep. He looked up, grabbed his rifle, then dropped it and flung up his hand-;. "Kamerad!" he whined. On his right a mate made fight, .a. rifle shot rang out; then somebody uttered a piercing yell. A raid depends for success on its suddenness and swift accomplishment. Of these qualities British soliders are masters. Thov set about their la-bour with zest; "get down to it," as the phrase "RAIDING PARTY IN TRENCH. One squad jumped into the trench jMid moved toward the right, a bayonet man leading and a number of homers following. Another squad went towards the left. A tliird party spread out behind the trench on the look-out for the maehm<vgun. emplacement. The clearing of the trench was done rapidly; the enemy was too surprised at the sudden onslaught to offer a great resistance. The bombers took possession ot one bav, then flung a bomb into the next. The bavonet man was round the corner immediately after the explosion and dealt, w'th the survivors. A halt was called at each dug-out. "001110 out

•\Splondfd!" said the young officer. '•Now. sergeant, we'll get all together, prisoners and men. and get hack to our own lines." The soldiers rliml>ed hastily over the parados. Now that the raid was at an end they were in a hurry to get hack. •• Prisoners in front," sa'd the young offi-er; "make haste there on the right. We'll have all sorts of things flung at in : i wo don't get hack at once. What's thath"

A r'fle shot, followed by a scream, wai heard on the right; then the sergoaiit made hU appearance. "Who fired that rifle':'" asked the officer. " One of our men. sir,' said the sergeant. "A German tried to sroot back. 'Twas the only thing to do." They made their way back, arriving at the home trench at 1 o'clock in the morning. Thirty-five prisoners were taken, tlio papers captured by the voiing officer were found to be very important, and the machine-gun emplacement was destroyed.