RAIDING ENEMY LINES

Taihape Daily Times, 18 June 1918, Page 3

RAIDING ENEMY LINES

DARING NEW ZEALANDERS

WORK IN BROAD DAYLIGHT

Though recently the New Zealanders have not been in severe fighting, it will have been noticed that they have been getting a great many immediate awards. This is largely the result of their daring i.nd initiative in successfully raiding the enemy, even in broad daylight. Some of our units have made a specialty of this work, out- j witting, killing, and capturing" the enemy time after time, and escaping I themselves with barely a scratch. The fame of an Otago man, who goes out with a mate or two when the' spirit moves him, and invariably comes back with some prisoners, has spread even to adjoining divisions. "If the general wants a prisoner he can have one any time for the asking,' 'was a recent remark of his. Frequently such raids are planned by noncommissioned officers and men themselves, and the battalion comimcndcrs and brigadiers know little or nothing of them till they are over, and the men produce the captures in the shape of anything up to half a dozen very much surprised Germans. Some daring New Zealanders go out at night to mark down an enemy post, and on the following day creep up an old labyrinth of com-

munication trenches or across No Man's Land, armed with revolvers and bombs The Germans are as a rule taken by surprise and surrender. If there are any who refuse to come in they are promptly dealt with by means of bomb or bullet. The other day some of our men came upon one of these enemy outposts, and quickly had it at their mercy. One German who was writing a letter or reading a paper in the trench knew nothing of the raid till a stalwart New Zealander jumped from the parapet on to his chest.'

At two o'clock one afternoon two of our non-commissioned officers crept up within ten yards of an enemy outpost and then, hearing a movement, jumped through the wire and captured two prisoners. On returning they were heavily bombed by the enemy, with the result that the Germans killed one of their own men and wounded one of i ours in the arm. With the exception of the dead German the party reached our lines in safety. The last of these raids was carried out on a beautiful sunny morning by two non-commis-sioned officers and four men. They worked dqwn.by a hedge till they got a full view of.,the enemy post. They saw three. men shoulder high above the trench. The New Zealanders then moved down anothei trench, leaving two men on the watch. The other four worked down beside the heTTge, crossed over the enemy wire, and jumped right into the enemy pest. Two Germans were immediately captured. Within a further 150 yards three bivouacs yielded five more prisoners. The raiders, ,with r their prisoners, then made their way back across country to their starting point, thence along the southern'side of the.hedge and' so into their own lines without casualty. This method of capturing the Germans without preliminary bombardment saves a lot of money as well as casualties to us.

The following questions are worth thinking ever for any dairy farmer: What is your time worth per hour today? What time do you spend daily getting your milk to the Factory? What does it cost you in repairs ai:d upkeep of horses, harness and carts? Figure it out carefully for yourselves and you will be astonished. We can save ycu all this if you instal a separator on your farm and rail your cream, once or twice a week to us. You will have time to attend to your cattle and pigs and cultivation of your farm, and altogether your returns from your land per acre will be better. Our factory receives every day in the year and we shall be pleased to get your support. Write us for further particulars at once, Box 185, Wanganui.—Moariland Dairy Coy., Limited.