NEW ZEALAND ATTACK.

Taihape Daily Times, 15 August 1918, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND ATTACK.

IN HEBUTERNE SECTOR, SUCCESSFUL ENTERPRISES, August 8« • The New Zealanders, after a spell in the back area, recently returned to the line slightly north of their former sector and for some days now have been acquitting themselves well in minor enterprises, which have resulted in the capture of several enemy trenches and a depth of about a thousand yards on a front of three hjundred yards. Included in the captured area is the famous Rossignol .Wood, where the French fought in the early days of the [war, and where subsequently the British had some hard fighting. The beginning of the matter was with the Rifles, who captured some enemy trenches in front of Hebuterne. An officer and four men went out in daylight, crawled through the wire, and jumped into a trench, where they killed three Germans and captured one prisoner, without casualties. Shortly afterwards Captain Salmond, a young and promising officer, was killed by a bomb at Rossignol Wood. Following this preliminary investigation of the enemy, the Rifles gained some ground in the old British front line by the exploitation. Then two companies of Rifles attacked after ten minutes' bombardment on a thousand yards front, while at the same time .the men in front of another battalion did a bombing attack down some old German trenches in the Gommeeourt sector. The enemy offered resistance in places, but the objectives set our men were easily taken. When the barrage lifted the patrols went forward and succeeded in capturing the whole of the old British front in front of Hebuterne* ■:•••; '• ; j_" ■; BEYOND THE OBJECTIVE. " Not content with gaining their objective, the bombing parties went forwtard /and. '•captured a jtrench .th.'ree (hundred yards beyond the objective. In this operation we took thirty-seven prisoners, eight light machine guns, three heavy machine-guns, and two minnenwerfer, one of which we destroyed with a bomb to prevent the possibility of its recapture. Seventy Germans were .killed. Our men have buried fifty-four, and several others can still be seen lying out in No Man's Land. Next morning, about half-past three, the enemy counter-attacked, and drove in two of our posts, During this attack they captured a New Zealander, who though badly wounded, afterwards escaped and crawled back to our lines. The former situation was promptly restored by a New Zealand counter-at-tack. On the following day, the Brigadier, while going round the front posts, waswounded in the arm and thigh by a German sniper. He was able to walk into Hebuterne, and afterwards was conveyed on a stretcher to the dressing station. His injuries are not serious, and his return is expected

in .a few weeks. While some of these'events had been taking place the men of another —Canterbury's —dash had established posts on the west edge of Rossignol. "Wood. b!ut were held up by 'maehine-guns fired from strongly wired pill-boxes. They escaped .lightly with four men wounded. Our troops started to consolidate the positions gained, and immediately afterwards it was ascertained that the enemy was blowing up his pill-boxes, evidently with the intention of retiring from a spot that was getting too warm for him. Our patrols went out and getting in touch with the enemy, found he was retiring from Eossignol Wood. Otago troops were pushed forward to keep in touch with the enemy. AUCKLAND BOMBERS, Aucklandcrs cooperated on the right and pushed down the enemy's trenches After a certain amount of bombing our men succeeded in clearing the enemy out of three successive lines of trenches, and established a line of posts right in front of the wood. In this advance Ave killed 25 Germans, capturing three prisoners, three machineguns and one grcnaten werfer (bomb-throwers.) The followig day some fighting took place in these captured trenches, and that night Wellington again pushed out their patrols 500 yards without meetig further opposition. Yesterday Auckland and Wellington troops co-operatod pushing patrols forward, and succeeded in forcing the enemy out of the old front and support lines in front of Hebuterne. Wo took more prisoners, who were sheltering, in a, shell hole, and seemed not sorry to come in. A machine gun was captured and two large mortars blown Tip. Afterwards tho enemy she-Hod the wood heavily, but only wasted his ammunition, for we had no casualties. In shelling the trench gained wo naturally had some casualties,, but these were quite out of proportion to tho casualties inflicted on tho Germans. The moral of the

troops opposed to us was poor, and on one- occasion our men stood up in the open and had soiec good shooting at

th. 9 retreading Germans as they fled boforo our barraga, It is officially stated that Captain Salmond's body was found in Rossignol Wood by Sergeant TravTs, shortly beforo the latter was himself killed.