THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

Taihape Daily Times, 15 November 1918, Page 6

THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

BATTLES IN MANY LANDS Hew Zealand has every reason for pride in the share she has taken in the war.-Her military effort has been remarkable for a small country so situated, and the achievements of her soldiers rank with the proudest deeds of arms in all history. On August 15, 1914, a force of about 1400 men, under Colonel Logan, styled the "Advance Guard," sailed in two troopships from Wellington for an unknown destination. Soon after it was; announced that this force had landed at Apia, in Samoa, without opposition, the island being annexed in the name of Great Britain. in the meantime the mobilisation "of the 8000 men who were to form the Main Body was proceeding in New Zealand, where.war fever was at its highest pitch. Instances of men travelling long distances on horseback from the back blocks to enlist were frequent. The Auckland infantry and mounted forces went into camp at Epsom, and troops from the other

•centres were accommodated in camps in their own district. . On September 24 two vessels with the

Auckland regiments on board mailed north from Auckland to meet other vessels at sea, but. as the Government had reason to suspect that the German warships were, within striking distance of the Dominion, and as it was-evident that the escort was not adequate, they were recalled, and the other ships remained in Wellington: On October 11 the Auuckland ships. left for Wellington, and five days later 10 vessels sailed, the main escorting vessel being a Japanese battteship It was during the voyage across that one of the escorting warships, the Sydney, destroyed the' German raider Emden. • The first engagement in which the ■New Zealand infantry participated "was the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal on February 3, 1915. The attack, which was carried out in a halfhearted manner by ill-equipped Turks, was repulsed without difficulty by the naval and military forces, and the . New Zealand infantry returned in high spirits to Zeitoun, where they remained until April 9th. On that date they lefi Alexandria for a destination then unknown, but destined to be the scene of one of the most famous military exploits in history—Gallipoli, the gateway of Stamboul. The historic landings were made on April 25, the Australian and New Zealand forces being associated in seizing, in the face of deadly fire by the enemy, the beaches north of Gaba Tepe, afterwards known as Anzac. In spite of heavy losses, lack of water, and the most rigorous campaigning conditions the Anzacs consolidated their position on the first ridges, and clung to them tenaciously in face 'of strong Turkish opposition from the dominating positions above. A week later the New Zealand infantry were sent south to I Cape Helles, where on May 8 they made a costly and indecisive advance at a spot known as the "Daisy Patch." On May 14 the New Zealand Mouunted Bifles Brigade landed at Anzac without their horses, and took over a portion of the line. Both side's then settled down" to trench warfare of a rather desperate nature, the opposing trenches in places being as close as 20 yards. On May 19 the Turks, under General Liman von Sanders, launched a general attack all along the line, with a view to pushing the British into the sea, but they were repulsed with heavy loss. The next operation in which the New Zealanders took part was one which pratically put the seal of failure upon the campaign. To support the new landing by British troops at Suvla Bay, New Zealand, Australian, and Indian troops launched an attack on August 6. The final objective of the New Zealanders was Chanuk Bair, part of the ridge which forms the back bone of the peninsula. Position after position was taken, and on August 8 the crest was gained, the Gloucesters Sbeing on the left of the New Zealanders in this terrible assault. Next day. the Turks, strongly- reinforced, attacked and overwhelmed tne men who had

taken over the crest from the remnants of the attacking force. In the absence of-reinforcements and newsupplies of gun ammunition, no further British attack could be made/ar'' the campaign declined into a secondary 'operation. In the latter days of August the Anzacs secured an important well and Hiir 60, making impregnable the line from Anzac'to Suvla, but nothing beyond trench warfare is to be recorded until the evacuation, which at Anzac was completed by December 20. So ended one of the most brilliant failures in history—a failure which will never be forgotten by New Zealandfor the proud part her troops played In it. After the evacuation the New Zealand troops went to Eypt, and established a camp in the canal rone. The Mounted Rifles were soon mounted and ready for their work in the Sinni. On .Christmas Day. 1916, the newly-ar-xievd Rifle Brigade had a share in the ■defeat of Sennssi at Glbel Medwa, in tbe T,ibvan Plateau.

By the ,end 6? March, 1916, the reoranisavion of the New Zealand Infantry Division had been completed, and it was despatched-to Prance, arriving in the second week of April. The division was taken to Armentieres, where, it spent some time undergoing strenuf ous training. In the middle oT August the New Zelanders were withdrawn from Armentieres. At daybreak on 15 September they went "over the top" to the attack at Flers, and long before the darkness fell that night they had , proved themselves wcrthty to stand with the finest troops in the British Army. For 23 days the New Zealard Division remained on the Somme, making fresh advances and withstanding violent counter-attacks. Finally on October 7 they were withdrawn, having advanced over two miles. The division later occupied the trenches in Fleurbaix. ,

This section they occupied "without being engaged in anything but _ raiding, until May, when they moved north to the rear of Messines sector. After careful preparation they launched this great attack in company with the Australian troops on June 7, the Dominion troops taking this formidable ridge within 100 minutes. A feature" of this battle was the preliminary firing of a huge quantity of explosives, which had been placed in long tunnels the New Zealand Tunnellers had help* ed to drive beneath the ridge. For its thoroughness and precision , in • this great action the division received'the highest praise. The next operation in which the New Zealanders were engaged was on July .31, when La Basseevillej, about two miles south;, east of Messines, was finally secured after it had changed hands twice.

After a spell out, of the line the New. Zealand Division again participated in an important operation—the attack against Passchendaele Ridge, to the northeast of Ypres. Attacking on a front of 2000 yards on October 4, the division captured Gravenstafel Village, Abraham Heights, and other positions, and all the objectives were taken according to timetable. The German positions were penetrated to a depth of 1700 yards at some points. October 12 was a dark day for the division. On that day it was ordered to the assault of Bellevue Spur. The men leaped to the attack with their accustomed enthusiasm, but the ground was a sea of mud, pitted with shell holes brimful of slush. Owing to the state of the ground, artillery had difficulty in moving into,- position,,: and as' there was no grip In the ground, accurate shooting became • extremely difficult. In No Man's. JLand the gallant men were faced with a wide belt of uncut wire and concrete pillboxes, from which machine guns poured a devastating fire upon them. The task was an impossible one, and had to be abandoned, the two battalions having suffered most severe casualties. After the Passchendaele fighting th 6 New Zealanders spent three weeks in recuperating, and then returned to the line not far from Ypres, where they spent the winter without being seriously engaged. The next task of the New Zealand troops was in Picardy. On March 26, 1918, they went into action on the Hebuterne front, in the Somme area, when the great German offensive had reached the limit of its striking strength. They repulsed four German attacks on March 27, 28, and 31, and then made an advance, capturing a ridge north of Serre Road, taking prisoners and many machine guns. On April 5, the division met another

heavy attack along its whole front, and again repulsed the enemy. A few of'the Cyclist Corps and Otago Mounted Rifles were also despatched to join the forces under General Berthlot- who was in command between the •Marne and Rheims, While Hhe Main Body of the New Zealanders were engaged south of Arras, the Germans opened their attack against Meteren, further north. To meet this new onslaught it was necessary to gather up every possible man, and a New Zealand depot was called upon to send as many men as it could. Within.six hours a composite force, including the Second Entrenching Battalion, the Cyclist Corps, some artillery details, and even cooks, had been equipped as infantry and thrown into action, and gained high praise for their work. During this action some New Zealanders were captured.

The main New Zealand force remained in the Hebuterne sctor, and they followed up the German retirement, which commenced on August 14, and fought a number of short, but intense local actions.

On August 21 commenced the great offensive of the Third Army, of which the New Zealand Division formed a part, on the front north of the Ancr£. By August 24 the division was within half a mile of Bapaume, heavy opposition having been encountered and gallantly overcome at Loupart Wood. By August 26 they had outflanked Bapaume, and on August 29 captured the town, The attack was pressed on, the New Zealanders doing their share of the fighting. On August 30 Frenucourt and Baumourt fell to them. Haplincourt was taken by the New Zealanders on September 3. They continued in pursuit of the retreating enemy to Bertincourt. The action would permit of no rest for the division, and weary but eager they pressed on. On September 11 they entered the village of Peiziere. By this time the division had captured 2400 prisoners and a great number of guns. Soon Trescaut Ridge fell, and on September 29 the New Zealanders dashingly attacked strong positions southwst of Cambrai and drove a wedge into the enemy's line, taking 1000 prisoners. In October they crossed the Scheldt Canal in the face of strong opposition and captured the village of Crevecour. Welsh Ridge was taken by the Dominion troops on October2, La Vacquerie on October 6. They pushed on through Beauvois. Fontaine, and Vlesly, and on October 11 took Biastre, on the River Selle. Soon afterwards the division was given a rest, which it had richly earned. In eight weeks and a half it had advanced 40 miles, fighting its way the whole distance. It had captured 6000 prisoners, 59 guns, and 100 machine guns. Between August 21 and October 21 it sustained a total of 6900 casualties.

On October 22 the New Zealanders were engaged in the fighting in the neighbourhood of Beaudignies, overcoming strong resistance and captuuring a nuumber of batteries. The following day they captured bridgeheads on the Ecaillon River, and further advanced. Their last feat in the war was the capture of Le Quesnoy, described as one of the outstanding feats of the war. The New Zealanders stormed the outer ramparts with scaling ladders and made breaches in the walls. A section of the New Zealand force was also fighting in Palestine, and were with General 'Allenby in his victorious march through Palestine, being with him when he finally ousted the Turk from Palestine.