German Trap Exposed

Taihape Daily Times, 23 January 1918, Page 6

German Trap Exposed

WIDEAWAKE SCOT SPOILS EN-

EMY’S PLAN,

How a new German dodge was exposed by the British troops is i elated by Machine-Gunner Thomas McKilop, of the Royal Scots, who hails from Montrose. One of the most exciting things, he remarked, that ever appened to us was along the Menin road. W r e had taken a big stretch of trenc It struck us as strange that ere were very few Germans in it, and, stranger still, that only a few dead were about. So we were on the lookout for a trap. We weren’t disappointed, but the Germans were. In front of us we saw a line baystacks. It seemed queer to have stacks of hay just behind the first line. *■ One of our chaps was so much impressed with the queerness of it that he took a shot at the nearest stack. It was one of 'the luckiest shots ever made. Immediately a yell came from the stack, and from behind came a bunch of the Germans. They saw the Scots coming towards them and bolted like frightened rabbits. We were after them like hounds, and when we got to the line of haystacks we had an explanation of the German zeal for hay-making. The stacks were hollow, and in each were

paities of -the enemy, waiting with the intention of cutting us off when we least expected We thougm it as well to go in for a bit of haymaking on our own, and we soon tossed all the hay up in the air with cur bayonets.

As a mere detail, I may say that we tossed a few .Germans up as wen. When we had done hay-making there were not many Germans left. That v.asn’t as much of a lesson'to them as you’d think, for they tried the same dodge next day. It was worse for them. We had tumbled to it, and were advancing against the stacks with the idea of having another bout: of hay-making. That was the moment selected by the Huns for getting on the move with their liquid-fire outfit, and something seemed to go wrong with it, for the blessed stuff fell short and set fire to the stacks of hay That broug-nt on a lot of yelling and screaming, for parties of the enemy were set alight as they sheltered in the hollow of the stacks. Some of our boys were so sorry for the poor devils that they rushed forward and helped to extin-

guish the flames, . And what do you think the Germans did 1 Though they knew we were trying to save them they didn’t scruple to fire on our chaps. That settled it. We let their chaps look after themselves and got busy on the devils who had opened fire on the rescuers. We got the whole bunch of them, and it served them right for playing such a scurvy trick on Scotsmen_