NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE SOMME BATTLE.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 18 November 1916, Page 5

NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE SOMME BATTLE.

FIERCE FIGHTING ON THE LEFT. HEROIC STAND B’Y CANTERBURY MEN. CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE HIGH COMMAND. (From Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces.) Divisional Headquarters, 21st September. After the great bound forward by our armies in the battle of the Somme on the 15th and 16th, heavy rain set in, and the weather became bitterly cold. Our men holding the first line had to endure considerable hardships, but they stuck it out splendidly. The roads became deep in mud of varying consistency, and it was with great difficulty that our first line transport was able to get through at all. These roads reminded one of the pioneering days in winter in the backblocks of Te Kuiti and Taihape. But, if anything, these battle-roads were worse than the worst New Zealand road could at any time produce, and in addition the traffic was a thousand times greater. For hours one day I walked over the battlefield, witnessing scenes erf death and desolation. The shell-holed earth was encumbered with all the ruin and none of the panoply of war. Yet all the time the traffic Vent on throng" the soaking rain and sticky mud. Atv every now and then the German shells came bursting over ridge and road and trench. Yet' not even the elements and the German gunners couild stop the set purpose of our brave troops Always the full carts with often eight horse 'teams, went forward laden with shells and ammunition, and food and water. A SCENE OF DESOLATION.

I walked from Montauban along a road on which every now and then a big German high explosive shell came crashing. One gun seemed to be looking for a heavy battery. Other guns were apparently trying to stop the traffic. But our guns continued short Log with a noise that deafened you, and the traffic rumbled on unceasingly. Away ahead was Ginchy, the blood-stained ridge that the Britlsr had gained after fierce and gallant fighting. On the left one looked across country in the direction of Pozieres. Opposite was High Wood, the scene of equally bloody fighting, and along the ridge to the right Delville Wood and the flattened village of Longueval. A constant stream of British wounded was walking back along the road on the crest of the ridge past Montauban. The more serious cases were coming on in wagons. These were the “walk ers” and the “sitters.” Still more seriously wounded came past in the motor ambulances. These were tying on the stretchers' on ivhich they had been borne from the field of battle, their clay-caked boots protruding from the blankets that covered their bodies. And throughout all this long pro cession there was never a moan or a complaint. The “walkers” were mostly wounded in the -hand or arm, or line slight wounds on the head, body or legs. In every case they had rece •

attention and their wounds had been well dressed. Further on a New Zealand tributary joined the main cur rent. They were also uncomplaining, and even in many cases cheerful. “This ought to be good enough for a few weeks in Blighty,” said one humourist who passed me with a bandaged shoulder that protruded from a ripper sleeve. And no doubt it would. Longueval was a scene of desolation such as I had not seen in all the war. We must have had one gun for every few yards of Longueval and Delville Wood. The wood was literally blown to bits the village was in splinters. Men were busy with picks and shovels retrieving the road from the shell holes that pitted it and the debris that buried it. The whole countryside was dotted with shell holes of varying dimensions. Along this bro ken road the traffic lurched and strained, the labour battalion having to stand aside as the wagons came along or a she.ll burst near them. In one place the picks had broken through into a brick cellar where had been a house. The soil had been turn ed over again with the tremendous shelling. So great was the hurricane of iron that covered the face of the earth here that the English troops that took the place were able to walk through Delville Wood in the end almost unopposed. Many German dead and some of their machine-guns musr have been put but of action ho:e and buried by our shelling. Beside the road were dead men. some lying where they fell and some thrown aside out of the way by the workmen. A dead German lay with his wan face staring at the sky. There had been no time to bury them. Those who were still living claimed our thoughts first. On the summTt of the road that led down to the switch trench and the captured village of Flers, the German

shells —shrapnel and high explosives —were falling at irregular intervals. The tarther one went the more mad one saw. Just beyond the tea trench from which our brave infantry sorted there was a‘line of English tu ad. More to the left was a line of New Zealand dead. In every case they had fallen forward on their face., towards the enemy lines ahead. 'j he shelling got worse and worse. hue Germans had several balloons up, raid one looked right down this road. I took what little shelter a. nai.ow trench offered, and then, waiting for a lull, turned and commenced to retrace my steps. A young cavalry officer going back to get his kit in case his troop might get through joined me. Then the German shells began to drop very near the road a hundred yards ahead. We left the road and turned to the right, where a red flag waved near one of our batteries. But it seemed to be the battery that the German gunners were after. Shells begain to rain about it, but it is surprising how near a shell can II without knocking out a gun or eve i a gunner. The spot, however, looked decidedly unhealthy, so I went back to the road. And as I reached the bend where the road turned into what had been the village and the wood, another shell fell, killing a man and throwing the soft brown soil over me. Yet the stream ot traffic scarcely stopped for more than a minute, and the roadmenders went on with their work as if it were no more than a summer shower. For my part I was glad when I had got safely back to camp. Beyond Montauban I got a lift in a Cape cart with two horses driven tandem by a young New Zealander from the Waikato, another Now Zealander riding the leading horse. They belong to the N.Z. Artillery, and were going back for officers’ kit for one of the batteries that had moved toward. We had to go down by the clay roads where six streams of'traffic were coming and going. It was a

wonderful sight—limbered wagons, guns, cavalry, infantry, and what not, keeping their place in the opposite currents. It seemed to be chaos, but

it was organised chaos. Every man

in the great pressing throng was going or coming with some set purpose in view, under the guidance of some controlling brain behind the lines. A FIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.

During one stage of the operations, after the two days’ groat battle it became necessary for the New Zealanders to capture a trench on their left. They had to drive the Germans out of a threatening position—a position that gave them a considerable advantage in holding their lino on our left in view of a further attack, or in view of their attacking the village of Piers, which we had captured. There were two very strong points where cross trenches intersected the main lines. The Canterbury’s had to make the attack,’ and they decided upon a silent attack in the night. Tlie attack commenced at 5.30 p.m. Stealthily advancing under cover of darkness, oun men gained the enemy trench without much difficulty, and,

after a while, communications were established with a rather thin line of troops on the left. These troops, few in number, and apparently in the process of being relieved, fell back, and the enemy managed to get round on the New Zealand left. The opnosing forces were soon at grips, and a deadly encounter ensued with bombs and the bayonet. The Germans, knowing full well that the position was very valuable to them, offered a determined resistance. Bitter bomb fighting ensued, and in the course of time the. trench became littered with dead —many more of the enemy than ours. Twice, with the force of superior numbers, the Germans drove the Canterbury men back. But the New Zealanders gallantly ,led

by a young captain, came at the enemy time and again. This young officer rallied the tired and somewhat discouraged troops, and himself led them to the attack. His energy and bravery were a stirring example to all. All night long the fight went on, and just before dawn the Germans, who had by this time suffered very heavy losses, were hurled back, and other troops coming up on our left somewhat eased the position. By aggressive fighting our men then drove the enemy right off the height, and at once proceeded to consolidate the position. The Germans left ;550 dead and wounded in and about the trench, and we captured 22 prisoners. It was a very determined and gallant piece of work, and our losses were not half those of the enemy. PRAISE FOR THE NEW Z E ALAND - v ERS. Being myself a Now Zealander, I have been somewhat careful not to unduly praise the fighting qualities of our force. So far as the second great effort in the Somme battle is concerned, I am convinced that in anything I have written I have understated the case. It is all the more gratifying therefore to be able now to state that the Force is receiving almost unqualified praise for its dashing work .from quite independent sources. Sir Douglas Haig, the Commandcr-in-Chief 1 him.self telegraphed to our Divisional General as follows: “ Please convey to all ranks, New Zealand Division, my congratulations and thanks £or their successful attacks on September 15 and IG. They showed the

• V> **; *' figliting 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 generons tribute from a neighbouring corps, the commander of which ■conveyed to the New Zealand Division his appreciate!! of the good work done by them on the right, and of the assistance rendered to his corps during the first few days of the battle Later, a special order from the colonel commanding the New Zealand Medical 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 a-anks of the N.Z.M.C. their apreeiation of the work done by them. They stated that the arrangements for the evacuation of the wounded and the succesful way in which these arrangements worked met with their special approbation. They added that the casualty clearing 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, anti-tetenic scrum. 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 j with, it may be stated that the fight- j ing rvas practically all on the down- | ward slopes of the ridges leading into ■ th e enemy’s terrene, and that the guns j supporting the operations had practi- i cally no observation of their own. They j bad to shoot by the map, and the know- J ledge gained by aeroplane photographs of the enemy trenches. These photo- j graphs were certainly marvellously i clear, and being taken by our airmen j 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 ! th e front trenches, so that they might i be ready when the Germans were driven forward and our guns could push «p the hill slopes. Under cover of night and before the attack we had also pushup some heavy howitzers into forward positions, so that they were ready to shoot when our infantry were well advanced. One of the British field guns ® i was pushed right over the ridge and down over the other side to Flers for a special purpose. The New Zealand artillery had done 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. By noon of the linesmen and observing 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 batteries were shooting beautifully, with the fuses the right length and the shells bursting in a row above the German trench -Ear ahead. The battery commanders knew the ground in front of them, and there was now little danger of them Shooting on our own trenches by mistake. Brigade Headquarters was also moved forward once more. “I think,” .said the O.C. in his 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 found its way up to the batteries.

Our artillery now held the dominating position all along the crest of the ridge and could gi\ r e the Germans AA-hat they had been giving us for months jjast. It must have been a supreme moment too for our gunners when they could, for the first time in the war, call up their teams and rush their guns forAvard into neAV positions ahead, thus experiencing for the first time the exhilarating sensation of fulfilling the true function of field artillery. GERMAN PRISONERS. Somme Battlefield, 28th Sept. For a full day and night now the guns have been beating the air with that unceasing pulsation that Avas our constant Avonder early in July, and that in mid-September we heard again with renewed Avonder akin to awe. It must haA r e been a very long day and night for the enemy. What It is all about avc do not exactly know. We are too near the front. • The nearer you get to the front the less news you get, and the later you are in getting it. But you see more and hear more, though what you see cannot altogether be recorded for enemy information,, and what you hear is largely inarticulate. We can tel] from the direction of the sound that this bombardment is not on our sector— ‘ ‘ up Thiepval way ’ ’ is the nearest we can get to it. The German prisoners marching down, on the roads hear it and seem to pause in the march pondering. When avc are really ready and the guns begin to hum instead of pulsate they will become very thoughtful. There is one other thing that should giAre them food for reflection. It 3s being marched doAvn by a few Tommies Avith fixed bayonets along the aroads they know so avcll and through

country in which for two years they have lived almost undisturbed. Along the roads over which their guns and ammunition and food used to come our guns and ammunition and food are now going. They arc able to see with their own eyes the groat war machine of the British Empire moving slowly but irresistibly onward. But a few days ago I marched beside a smart young officer bogloved and wearing a wcll-eut overcoat of horizon blue, on through Mametz and past Fricourt. This was country every inch of which he knew, country that with its trenches and forts and dugouts and wire he thought impregnable. Yet in a few weeks he had been pushed back miles beyond it all. It was no wonder he looked neither to the right nor the left, but marched straight on busy with his own thoughts.

CAPTURED BY NEW ZEALANDERS

Amongst these arc prisoners captured by the New Zealanders. And very ready they were to put away the rifle and the grenade. In Flers and vicinity in one day the Rifle Brigade captured over four hundred prisoners. These men were all A r ery much shaken by our shell fire, and they Avere 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 thein packs two bottles of soda water. For a day or two the victorious New Zealanders had more fhan enough to eat and drink and smoke. There were, of course, plenty of souvenirs to be had for the pisking up; helmets, bayonets, binoculars, expensiA’e automatic rcvolA'crs, and a few A’cry excellent periscopes that must have cost anything* from £2O to £3O. Often a prisoner Avould offer a medal or a watch or a ring to a man to propitiate him. One German offered his Iron Cross. Generally the German soldiers seemed surprised that they should be so well treated by the British troops. They were Bavarian regiments that Avere opposed to ns here, and though these troops are said to be the finest fighters in the German Army, our men avlio made the victorious onrush from the crest of the ridge across lines of trenches into and beyond Flers had the utmost contempt for them as opponents Avhen it came to close combat. As a rule they either held up their hands or ran. Many of our men avlio took part in the fighting said to me afterAvards that it was like shooting rabbits. In later stages of the fighting the Germans fought gamely, and positions AA'crc only Avon and held at considerable cost. But on no occasion Avas the \ r alour of the Now Zealanders unequal to the task that had been set them. MACHINE GUNS CAPTURED During the first fgav days of the fighting avc captured a number of machine guns, rifles, bombs, hud ammunition. Among the rifles our men brought in Avas one that had been captured from the French earlier, in the Avar. This gun the Germans had converted and Avere using against us. We shall now be able to hand it back to its original owners, or perhaps, if the authorities permit, take it back Avith ns as an interesting souvenir to New Zealand. STRETCHER BEARERS AND RUNNERS I have already referred to the excellent work done by our doctors. Throe of the latter Avere Avoundcd, and two, including a well-known North Island surgeon, Avere killed. This surgeon had gone out to an advanced position where there avos a considerable number of wounded belonging to the Rifles. Practically all these had been got in, and the doctor was having a look round to see Avhat more could be done, Avhou he Avas severely wounded by a bursting shell. He received c\ 7 ery possible attention, and Avas conveyed to the N.Z. Stationary Hospital at Amiens,, where he died —a loss to the Eorce 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 Avere the first out, and had to carry their Avounded 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, on e hears little praise of the runners, and the work is a little apt to be overlooked. The intensity of the shell fire in these latter-day battles makes it quite impossible at the start to obtain communication by Avire Avith the front, and often the lines already in existence up to the fonvard position before an attack are shot aAvay by the enemy’s shelling. Under such circumstances communication can only be obtained by runners. There is never any lack of men for this dangerous Avork. Wearing shorts, and with yellow bands on their tunic sleeves, they hop out of a trench and hop from shell crater to shell crater, bearing back nows to battalion or brigade headquarters as to hoAv the fight is going on or Avhat the position is. They are killed and wounded, and often the wounded peisevere, and i n some instances they 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 Avith a machine gun. One of the stretcher bearers made six journeys —going twelve times through the German shell-fire, and then collapsed at the end of his last journey. It needs a m an with iron nerve to stand such a severe strain.

BRITAIN’S TRIUMPH.

IN ANCRE BATTLE. ONE OF GREATEST OF WAR. TOO WET FOR THE TANKS. LONDON, Nov IC. It is only now that the public is beginning to fully realise the magnitude of the British victory. The latest accounts by correspondents emphasise the completeness of the triumphs and the extreme difficulties or the attack. Though the conquered sector Avas described as one of the strongest on the West front, first-hand accounts shoAV that the mazy intricacy of the trenches baffles description, and for places of over a mile in breadth the pattern is compared to the tangle of a quicßset hedge in- winter. The barbed wire defences consisted of four systems, tAVo hundred yards Avide. The weather added enormously to the difficulties of the attack.

Extraordinary stories are related by the attackers of the difficulty in keeping touch in the darkness and fog. It was impossible to tell whether the next trench was full or deserted, or how much wire remained standing. Accurate reporting was scarcely possible, especially in the absence of aerial observation. These difficulties often accounted for the attackers miss ing batches of Germans, necessitating a methodical rounding-up all day. The mud was not bad south of the Ancre, but was serious in the lower ground, especially north of the Somme. The trenches were full of water, and there were several escapes from drowning., The darkness and conditions rendered the “tanks” unsuitable, and the work of the infantry units was all the more meritorious. All correspondents on the nonchalance and cheeriness of the British troops. Some sat carelessly on the parapets, others strolled in search of relics with the .greatest serenity past all precedent, but the same quality alone enabled them to reach the goal in the face of unprecedented difficulties. The absence of German artillery retaliation is not explained, since it is known that recently they had about a thousand guns on the Ancre sector. Though there is no disposition to depreciate German troops generally, trie victory again proves the waning of the German moral. Never have such numbers failed to offer resistance. Thirteen hundred men and 29 officers were rounded up in a series of underground refuges on the south bank of the Ancre. and they made no attempt to fight. There were remarkably few bayonet wounds in the first two days, the vast bulk of the British casualties being due to shrapnel and machineguns. One correspondent sums up the victory as one of the most brilliant successes of the Somme offensive, if not of the whole war.

KING THANKS HIS ARMY. GALLANT WORK ON THE ANCRE. LONDON. Nov 16. His Majesty the King sent the following message to General Sir D. Haig: “I heartily congratulate you on the great success of your' gallant troops in the past three days on the Ancre. This further capture of firstline trenches, under the special difficulties of the recent wet weather, redounds to the credit of all ranks.” General Haig, in reply, expressed his most grateful and respectful thanks. HEAVY FIGHTING CONTINUES. LONDON, Nov 16. A Russian communique states: “The Roumanians repulsed with enormous loss attacks at. Kimpolung. where the enemy were employing many heavy guns. We progressed to the southward in the Dohrudja.” A Roumanian communique reads: “Enemy attacks in Western Moldavia and Dragosla vele were repulsed. We retired on the left hank of the Alt and hi the dinl Valley region.”