ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 11 August 1917, Page 2

ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

THE BRITISH ARTILERY MOST POWERFUL FACTOR. An Auckland soldier, writing from the Western front, says:—You would hardly credit the part that barb wire takes in this war. The trenches we occupied a few days ago before coming out are on low ground, and the Germans occupy the higher ground. One could get a splendid view of the mazes and network of wire that they have placed in front of their trenches. Fritz —to give him his due —is a most industrious soldier when it comes to

making strong defensive positions. Our side, too, contains lines and lines of these defences. Extremely ugly obstructions they are, too, and for miles back they are to be met with. Artillery fire can destroy them, but

sometimes it does not make a clean job of it. Then it is that the German machine guns reap a harvest. The tank, though, can do the barb wire destroying act very effectively, and their machine-guns outnumber the

opposing guns. The most potent factor in the great successes gained was the over-mas-tering British artillery. It has been immensely strengthened during the winter. The country fairly bristles with guns. You want to see them to realise it, and our gunners "have nothing to learn from the enemy now. To see a barrage is a wonderful sight.

Jlt can be switched on just like a searchlight. I have seen several and been in one the Germans sent over. You feel like a fly on a wall that a big whip is trying to flickoff. The world appears ■to be falling about your ears at the same time. That our fellows were so superior with their fire made the infantry work easy at Vimy Ridge. The German gunners were fairly paralysed—firing wildly land shooting many of their own men. It is a fact that when 2000 of the German artillerymen were being

brought to the cages, their own infantry men, who were already in, tried to lynch them. It was rather a pity. I think, that our Tommies did separate them. "Digger' 'is now the common form of salutation between privates. It applied to the Maoris only at on time.

They do a lot of pioneer work, such as digging trenches, but as we all do more or less navvy work the term is universally used among the New Zealanders. Really the meaning is ' Friend' now. "To return to Lord Northcliffe. His

knowledge of the fellows can only be .slight and superficial. He cannot see the real inwardness of things like one who has lived tse life. We are described as being like a "well-oiled machine." This term has quite caught on. especially when things are not going too well. For instance, when wc are perhaps going along a sap with a pack up, forming a line of several, hundred men another line of men will be met coming out loaded similarly and we have to pass each other, and the sap is barely wide enough for one man to pass along. The block and squc-cring to pass each other can be better imagined than described. Those fellows, in the 'rear can always raise a laugh by asking what has happened to the "well-

/ oiled machinery." Then, again, when out on fatigue work at night we cither get lost, land in the wrong place, or perhaps wait for several hours while the heads confer about the work that ought to have been arranged before. The "well-oiled machine" again is especially, if rather luridly, mentioned. "This corner, of Belgium is the highest part of the country, and round here some of the fiercest fighting of the war has taken place. You get a fine view of the country from the little hills. It is indeed a land worth fighting for. In the distance are to been seen famous cities and some of the woods that have been dyed in blood fighting for,

their possesion. The country lands have been intensively cultivated, though the villages in their midst are now in ruins. In these hills are ex-' tensive dugouts. It is marvellous .the amount of work modern war entails. Whole forests are eaten up supplying timber. Armies of men are building railroads and maintaining roads. Sawmills abound further back with bush men or mill hands, all of whom are soldiers. "The spring is terribly late this year. There haa been no growth. All the trees are still bare, and snowfalls p-rc frequent, with bitter, cold and sleety weather. The land is a welter of mud. We have Maori neighours, and one of them in referring to the climate said that we ought to let the German'- have it because it was not fit for decent people to live in, and that the original inhabitants ought to be ashamed of it."