GLORIFIED RAT HUNT

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 4 January 1917, Page 3

GLORIFIED RAT HUNT

DIGGING THE GEKMANS OUT OF

THEIR HOLES. WITHIN A FEW YARDS OF THE ENEMY'S TRENCHES. No more interesting letter has been received from the front than that of a Swansea non-commissioned officer who has seen a great deal of service in France, having been wounded. "What a time we have had since I wrote you my last letter," he writes. "We have achieved one of the finest victories of the war by the taking of the town which you read about. My word it was a sight to see our boys going over at them. Grand isn't the word for it. We went into the line the night previous, and after the usual sorting out of places and customary instructions, everybody made thmesclvcs as comfortable as possible, and then came the period of waiting which is more trying to the nerves of men than anything. Hours seemed like years, and still the time rolled on, with our artillery dropping shells of all sizes on their trenches, but Fritz was by no means quiet. as he kept dropping a goodly number on our line.

"At last the order came to get ready. Every man had previously seen to his rifle and bayonet, and also seen that his bombs were in good trim. Our artillery were to open up an intense bombardment of their lines at this hour. While they were doing that our boys got out of their trenches and walked to within a few yards of the German front line, with our shrapnel exploding right overhead them, but always shooting forward. Exact to the minute our curtain fire lifted, and we promptly jumped into their, front line What was left of th e Huns put up a feeble fight against our boys. The majority of them were in their deep dug-outs, but down goes a smoke bomb, and a few 'mills' bombs, and up they come crying ' Merci, merci, camerad,' at the same time hold--?g out Avatch.es and, in fact, all their possessions to be spared. A paTty was told off to attend to a few remaining dug-outs, and away we swept on our way. •

"In a few minutes we had captured the village which had been a sore point for us for quite a long time, but nothing could stop our boys. In a very short time wc were in their third line of. trenches, and consolidating for all we were worth, and waiting for our artillery to lift their fire further on. The fight was becoming now more like a glorified rat hunt, as we had to dig them out of all sorts of holes iu the ground. It was at this point that one of my men was attending to a sevcrely wounded German, when a Hun pokes his head out of another dug-out and shoots my man through the leg. Need-

'"ss to add, he didn't last long. After the curtain fire had lifted Ave pushed still further on and passed over their fourth and filth, and gov up to their •nxth line of trenches, which was our final objective, being on the top of a ridge and commanding all the surrounding country.'"