THE SOMME BATTLE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 95, 18 November 1916, Page 3

THE SOMME BATTLE.

PRAISE FOR THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

(From Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with N.Z. Forces.) Divisional Headquarters i September 21st. Being myself a New Zealander, I have been somewhat careful not to unduly praise the fighting qualities of our forces. So far as the second great effort in the Somm e Battle is concerned, I am quite convinced that in anything I have written I have undorstanted the case. It is all the more; • gratifying therefore to he now able j to state that the Force is receiving almost daily unqualified commendation for its dashing work from quite I independent sources. Sir Douglas * Haig, the Commander-in-Chief, himself telegraphed to our Divisional i General as follows: —“Please convey i to all ranks, New Zealand Division, my congratulations and thanks forj their successful attacks on loth and, Kith September. They showed fine' fighting spirit and admirable energy and dash.” The Corps Commander, in forwarding this message, added his own appreciation of the excellent work done by the New Zealanders.' Other corps and divisional commanders sent complimentary messages.! Very gratifying was a generous tribute from a neighbouring corps, the commander of which conveyed to the New Zealand Division his appreciation of the good work done by them ' on the right, and of the assistance rendered to his corps during the first ]

few clays of tlie battle. ‘Later, a special order from the ‘colonel commanding the New Zealand tYledical Corps intimated to all ranks ■that the D.M.S. of the Army and the D.D.M.S. of the corps with which we are associated desired to be made known to all ranks of the N.Z.M.C. their, appreciation of the work done by them. They stated that the arrangements for evacuation of the wounded and the successful way in which these arrangements worked met with their special approbation. They added that the casualty, 1 clear- 1 ing stations had reported that the treatment of all cases evacuated -to them had reached a very high standard, and that no case had been evacuated without having received antitetanic serum.

THE ARTILLERY. The artillery preparation for this new phase of our great offensive was {of‘a most complicated and difficult nature, and a very great deal of attention had been devoted to it. It is not possible to go into details, but a few general statements may be made. To begin with, it may be stated that the fighting was practically all on the downward slopes of the ridges leading into the enemy’s terrene, and that the guns supporting the operations had practically no observation of their own. They had to shoot by the map and the knowledge .gained by the aeroplane photographs of the enemy’s trenches. These photographs were certainly marvellously clear, and being taken by our airmen gallantly flying at low altitudes they showed great detail. In the early stage of the fight High

Wood was still in the hands of the enemy, and was an obstacle to our getting good observation. But the New Zealand observing officers had pushed forward right up into the front trenches, so.that they might be ready when the Germans were driven

forward and our gnus could push up the bill slopes. Under cover of night and before the attack we bad also pushed np some heavy howitzers into forward" positions, so that they wore ready to shoot when our infantry were well advanced. One of the British field guns was pushed right over the ridge and down the slopes on the other side to Flers for a special purpose. The New Zealand artillery had clonei fine work from the commencement. Subsequently in the night, through mud and rain, they shifted their batteries forward into action over;ground full of shell craters and soft roads churned into mud. The work of the linesmen and the forward deserving officers had been exceptionally good. By noon,of the | following day all the guns were in action, and registered, except two howitzers and one ■•eighteen-pounder which was over-turned in a crater. From their new positions the hat- j (erics wore shooting beautifully, with j the fuses the right length and the shells bursting in a row on‘the German trench far ahead. The battery commanders knew the ground in front . of them, and thejje was now little | danger of their shooting on our own j

trenches by mistake. Brigade headquarters was also moved forward once more. “I think,” said the 0.C., in a report to his C.R.A., “that an issue of rum would be much appreciated by the men, as they are continually wet.” It is to be hoped the rum foluul its way up to the bat- j

ieriesl'JCj f > Our artillery now held the dominating position all along the crest of the ridge, and could give the Germans what they had been giving us for months past. It must have been I a supreme moment too for our gun- ' ners when they could, for the first time in this war, call up their teams and rush their guns forward into new positions ahead, thus experiencing for the' first time the exhilarating sensation, of fulfilling the true function''of l field 1 artillery.' - 1 ’■CAPTURED BY NEW ZEA-

LANDERS. Amongst the prisoners captured by the New Zealanders wore runny very, ready to put away the rifle and the grenade. In Flers and vicinity in'one day the Rifle Brigade captured over four, hundred prisoners. Those men were /all very much shaken hy our shell fire, and they were glad to

surrender. They seemed to have been fairly well rationed, and they had good cigars and cigarettes. There is apparently a “ration” cigar for the German troops. Many of the German soldiers carried in their packs two bottles of soda water. For a day or two the victorious New Zealanders bad more than enough to eat and drink and smoke. There were of course plenty of souvenirs to be had for the picking-up; helmets, bayonets, binoculars, expensive automatic revolvers, and a few very excellent periscopes that must have cost anything from £2O to £3O. Often a prisoner would offer a modal or a watch or ring to a man to propitiate him. One German offered bis Iron Cross. Generally, the German soldiers seemed surprised that they should he so well treated by British troops. They were Bavarian regiments that were opposed to ns here, and though these troops are said to he among the best fighters in the German Army, our men who made the victorious onrush from the crest of the ridge across lines of German trendies into and beyond Flers had the utmost contempt for- them as opponents when it came to close combat. As a rule they either held up their hands or ran. Many of our men who took part in the fighting afterwards said to me that it was like shooting rabbits. In later stages of the fighting, however, the Germans fought gamely, and positions were only won and held at considerable cost. But on no occasion was the valour of the New Zealanders unequal to the task that had been set them.

i MACH IN E-G UNS CAPTURED. I During the first few , days , t/f , the fighting we captured a. puiubjer oJ j machine-guns,, rifles, bombs,,, find jam- ! munition. Amongst the- machinei guns our men brought in was one that bad been captured by the Germans from the French in the earlier stages of the war. This gun the Germans had converted and we're using against us. We shall now be able to hand it back to its original owners, or perhaps, if the authorities permits take it back with us as an interesting souvenir to New Zealand.

STRETCHER-BEARERS AND RUNNERS.

I have already referred to the excellent work done by 6ur doctors. Three of the latter were wounded, and two, including a well-known North Island surgeon, were killed. This surgeon had gone out to an advanced position where there were a considerable number of wounded belonging to the- ‘Rifles. all these had been got in, and the doctor was having a look.around to-see what

more could ho done, ■ when lie was j severely wounded hy a bursting shell, j Ho received every -possible attention, and was convoyed to the N.Z. Stationary Hospital at Amiens, where he died—a loss to the Force and to New Zealand. His brother-doctor fell at the same place where he was hit. Our stretcher-bearers, as they always do, worked heroically. They were the first out, and they had to carry their wounded a long distance uphill through a shell-swept zone. They never for one moment spared themselves, and quite, a number were killed and wounded in their gallant efforts to save the lives of their suffering comrades.

As a rule, ohe hears little praise i of the runners, and the work is a lit- ' tie apt to he overlooked. The ini' tensity of the shell-fire in these later- ■ day battles makes it quite impossible i at the start to obtain communication by wire with the front, and often the lines already in existence' up to the forward position before an attack

[ are shot away by the enemy’s shcllI ing. Under such circtiinstances comI munication can be obtained only by runners. There is never any lack of men for this dangerous work. Wearing shorts, and with yellow bands on their tunic sleeves, they hop out of a trench and sprint from shell-carter to shell-crater, bearing back news to battalion or brigade headquarters as to-how the light is going, ’or what the position is. They are killed and wounded, hut often the wounded persevere, ami in some ■ instances they i have struggled on and delivered their messages, and then dropped from exhaustion or loss of blood or both. As in the case of the stretcher-bearers, their work is hard and their bravery unexcelled. .Men of the Rifles have assured me that on one occasion the Germans deliberately fired on our stretcher-bearers with a machine gun. One stretcher-bearer made six journeys, going twelve times through the German shell fire, and then collapsed at the end of his last journey. It needs a man with iron nerve to stand such a severe strain.