BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE.

Taihape Daily Times, 9 October 1919, Page 7

BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE.

HEROIC EFFORTS RECALLED

GALLANT NEW ZEALANDERS.

Saturday was :the second anniversary of the commencement of rthg I'>as.Schen_ daele operationsgin Flanders, in which the New Zealand troopgtook such 3, pl‘onlillOllt part, and in which many Domini-on soldiers fell. The offensive Commenced wi-t.ll the battle of Abraham Heights and Gra. Venstafel, on October 4, 1917, which was one of the great victories -of the fihird Ypres campaign. This battle was a remarkably successful one resulting in the capture of a large number of prisoners, and_ an advance of about 3000 yards. It was known after the successes of September 20, and 26, 1917, that the enemy was preparing a counter-stroke. The British command deteituiiued to forestall him, and did so by a few minutes. The Prussian Guard was intercepted in its advance by the Australiaris in No-M-a_n’s Land and swept back by fhe eel-onials.

The New Zealanders and Austlralians, 7 forming‘ the greatest oversea, fgmoj which has ever attacked an enemy,s occupied the centre of the battle line‘ from Gravenst-afel Spur’ and Abraham Heights ‘to Broorlseinde and Molen'arel- - flanked on the north ‘by Scottish and English 'l'eginlcn'ts, and on the South by English troops. The attack by the Dominion troops took place to the north of the. Roulers railway. The nrucldy state of the eou-11. try in front of them proved an almost insuperablo obstacle, the swamp of the Hannebeek, which stretched between the New Zealanders and the heights which were theft‘ o'bjee'taive, having been {torn up by the British gunfire. ‘Crossing the level-ground the men sunk to their l~:11ees_; and when shell holes were encountered they went almost Wai'S"t+-deep into the mud. As they struggled gal\lantly over this half-mile of hog in ‘the river valley, the barrage’ went’ ahead of them, -but by a. rnagnifieent effort they caught up. Had they lost the protection of the barrage completelly disaster must have followed, but once having regained it, they went for‘ward to victory. '

Despite theresistence of the enemy, :who had strongly m-ainned this portion ‘of the line, the troops pressed ahead, [and after carrying the redoubt at Oitito farm, which was -bris‘t'ling with machine guns, 50 ofqvhich were cap; ttured, they attaieked the concrete defences of Van Meulan, on the line beftween Abraham Heights and Graven-‘st-afel. This stronghold lasted only half an hour,’ and‘>:in* advance was made on Berlin Fa.r.m., above Gravenstrafel. Two minutes’ attention from the Stokes guns, brought up by the New Zealanders, reduced the fortress, every German occupant -being killed. The defences of Gr.a.ven-stafel Spur ‘were strengthened by innumerable “pill-boxes,” but these were systema-tic-azlly reduced ¢.1.11d-t.h!o‘ Spur e’a.p~ ‘cured. The New Zealanders then went beyond their°objee’r.ives, and crushed a heavy counter-at'ttack. All the New Zealand regiinents were represented in ‘the attiicii, and they took over 1000 1 prisoners. V

The New Zealand army has ‘every reason to be proud of Gravenstafel. In a set. battle, in which the enemy was found fully prepared, and against appalling obstacles, the D~otlYl.i.ni’Oll,S troops displayed an indomitable ‘spirit, and gained a victory which stands out as one of the most notable in. the rec.ord of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The victory, however, cost many lives.