AS AT ANZAC.

Taihape Daily Times, 14 September 1918, Page 6

AS AT ANZAC.

j DIGGERS IN OPEN TIGHT. LONDON, Aug. 27. Admits the mighty rOar of the guns, in the grey light, for 6000 yards south wards from the winding, swampy, dank Somme, there came the brown lines of the vertean Australian formations, with bayonets fixed and bombs hanging at their sides, and thickly armed with Lewis guns, revolvers, rifle grenades, trench mortars, with some dozens of tanks nosing ahead and a force of kilted Scots assisting on the right.

Victorian units advanced astride the Peronne road, whilst men from New South Wales cleared the ridges south of them. It is hilly country dotted, with thick woods, and hamlets not '"mentioned on the maps, and larger 1 villages and quarries intersected with old Trench trenches. The whole is easily defendable, yet the Diggers and Scotties plugged their way through indomitably, roiling up the Germans, who proved to be the remnants of five divisions, including the Hessians, Brandenbuxgers, and Rhinelanders, with orders to fight to tho death.

It was a great day for the Australian arms. The enemy had made elaborate defensive preparations and captured battalion commanders admitted that troops had been brought twenty miles by motor, in order to beat the Australians, the artillery had been increased and a deep system of machine-gun posts organised. •The prisoners looked unusually stout and doughty, yet the system of defences collapsed. The explanation lies In part with th(T tanks, some of which climbed the ridges, ahead of the Diggers, playing round amongst the German machine-guns, and partly to the clear moral superiority of the attackers. Officers and men agree that it was the most difficult fight for many months. Bach ridge was lined with machine-guns and some were stormed under conditions reminiscent of the landing at Anzae Cove, except that before the Australians were half-way up the Boches became distracted and fled, or cried “Kamerad.” A New South Wales officer describes 'the exhilarating spectacle of six Australians chasing 50 Germans over a knoll.

Here are two instances of German moral. A young Marickville lieutenant found 13 Boches in a sunken road. He carried a single revolver, and they had trench-mortars, but they surrendered. A Mudgee sergeant, with a private, had to work, round a ridge and shot two machine-gunners with a revolver, who held up the whole line and fought till death.

The battle had three phases: First, the capture of the main objectives, including the villages of Herleville and Chuignollcs and the neighbouring woods.

Then the phase of exploitation which was most difficult, the men stealing forward with little artillery help and making frontal and side attacks on the ridges and knolls under the eyes of the Boehc gunners. Thei third phase was a sweeping advance by Queenslanders and Tasmanians, assisted by West Australians in the full light of day, under an improvised artillery barrage. The evening found us 2500 yards ahead of our morning lines with some 2400 prisoners and much booty, including a 15 in. captured by New South Welshmen, 14 lighter guns and 250 machine-guns. The loin, gun had been damaged by shell fire and wias immovable. During the afternoon of the attack the Bocho could be seen moving eight guns away with teams which bad waited behind the woods.

The Queenslanders and Tasmanians’ feat was specially notable, because they suffered from prolonged drumfire before they advanced.