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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 110, 2 October 1914, Page 7

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EXPLOITS K THB PACIFIC. THE CAPTURE OF NEW BRITAIN. NATIVES FIGHT LIKE MANIACS. Interesting dctaiU oi the capturo of New Britain, in the Bismarck Archipelago, by the Australian forces, came to hand by the Sydney mail boat. "When the exploits of the Australian Fleet in the Pacific come to be told in full detail, they will form not the least interesting chapter of the war which is now thrilling the whole civilised world," commontcd the Daily Telegraph. "The fleet has not been long in being, it received its baptism of fire in the days of its earliest infancy; hut as details of the capture of the German colonies in the Pacific come to hand, the evidence shows.that the ships and the men are all true to Jype, and capable of doing deeds like, those -which first placed the British Empire where it now is. The capture of German New Guinea, and subsequently of the islands adjoining, has been graphically told by one of the wen who took part. The story is a thrilling one; and typifies- how nobly Australian soldiers and sailors uphold the best traditions of "their race. In fact, the behavioHr of the troops under a withering baptismal fire can only be referred to in tennß of the highest praise. The death of Dr. Brian Pocklcy occurred in a moment of fearless devotion to duty. It was the outcome of an act of bravery and unselfishness, which deserves a high place in the annals of Australian history.- Dr. Pockley was attending to a wounded soWiw when he himself was shot dead." THE NEW BRITADJ FIGHT. Tha first casualties of the expedition occurred on September 11 at New Britain. A naval contingent of 50 men of hhe Australian Naval Reserve was landed at Herbcrtshohe, under the command of Commander Beresford, who had with him Lieut-Commander Charles Elweil, and Lieutenant Bowcn. The party left the warships in the early dawn and hailed the wharf as they approached. They were informed by the Germans assembled there that no resistance would be offered. After the men had "fallen in" on the foreshore, they proceeded along the road through heavily timbered country towards the wireless station, I four miles inland, with the intention of placing it out of action. Although Commander Beresford had been assured that no resistance would be offered, he, like • a careful soldier, decided to run no risks. Fearing treachery, he took every pre- ! caution against any possible surprise. . His action was thoroughly justified by events which quickly happened, for the landing party had not proceeded more than a mile when they found themselves | ambushed. ; The country on each side of the road : was covered with denso tropical vegetation, and from both sides v»lleys were poured into the advancing contingent. ; The Germans, it was discovered, had entrenched themselves at right angles to the road, which had also been mined, though the landing party had already rendered these useless by cutting the electric wires. The Germans had also stationed armed blacks in the trees, and these men kept up a regular fire, which was extremely harassing. Commander Beresford's men, however, behaved with exemplary coolness. First, they returned the fire in volleys. Then they charged the trenches. The enemy stood their ground, and continued to pour in volleys of riile shot, and as a result many j of the sailors fell. DEATH OF DB. POCKLEY. Still the. British msh continued, and ; in a few minutes, the trenches had been | captured at the point of the bayonet. A number of prisoners were taken and placed under guard in a hut. The march was then continued on to the wirless station. It was during this advance that Dr. Brian C. A. Pockley, A.M.C., lost his life as he was attending to a wounded sailor At about the same time Commander Elweil was shot whilo leading the right wing of the advancing party. Lieutenant Bowen, who was on the left wing, was shot while charging the trenches. Dr. Pocklcy was called upon to attend a wounded sailor. Finding that it would be necessary to send him to the rear, he called up another sailor, and ordered him to carry his mate to a safer position. To protect the wounded man he tool-: off his own Red Cross coat, and wrapped it round him. He then proceeded to attend to other wounded. A few minutes later he sustained a fatal bullet wound in the chcßt. "He died Tike a British soldier," remarked an officer. "His act was one of the bravest of the engagement. He practical'v gave his life to save the sailor. It was an action typical of the man. There lie was working away among the wounded in his shirt sleeves without nnv distinguishing mark. He was struck hv a dumdnm. As a matter of fact, dumdnm bullets were freely used." The Gorman officer, a captain, who killed Dr. Pocklcy. was captured shortly nft'jr. and taken on board one of the warship-, where a court-martial was held. This whs done. a« it was thought that the German officer had fired at Dr. Poeklcy while he was engaged on his errand of mercy, but the ofTieer was able to produce sufficient proof to buow that he was unaware that the victim of his shot was other than a combatant, owing to his wearing no distinctive badge. Ho thus escaped the extreme penalty. Many of the wounded were frightfully injured hv dumdum bullets, whilst the German bayonets, possessing saw-like edges, also inflicted very serious wounds on several members of the advancing party. The use nf both dumdum 'bullets and bayonets of this description has been alleged nw.inst the Germans in Europe. Both arc contrary to the stipulations of civilised warfare, but; it was declared emphatically that both wore nsed against the Australians in New Guinea. TIIR GOVERNOR CAPTURED. When the vicinity of the wiiciess station was r< ached, more entrenchments were met. The position was found to he rr> stron;;lv fortified that a despatch runner was sent hack for re-in-Toreements, a holt beinfl called, and a «amp formed. The *iight passed without' incident. Early on the following morning, the reserves arrived, together with several i2-pounders and quick-fiv-ers, and the intention wag to storm the station, but as soon as the strengthened party arrived, the Germans blew up the station and escaped Into the hush. However, the expedition had accomplished the task it had been sent to perform. It had destroyed the wireless equipment. B«t the cost was a fcsavy one. Later the same day the enemy cam« out of their hiding place and appeared at the rear of the town, where they commenced sniping. ■£ few shells from one

i them, and they again cleared out. A J J daj or two after the Governor and hia> ; suite were captured about ten miles hi' land. THE RAID OX EABAtJL. ' 1 A DARING PIECE OF WORK. 1 One of the moat daring bits of work ' done during the campaign was a naval • raid on Rabaul. With lights out and ' without the slightest knowledge of the ' harbor, its defences, or the possible .' proximity of the German cruiserß, the ' ships dashed into the port and had landed a party before the Germans had rea- ! lised what was happening. A rusa was ' mado for the post office, and this, to- * gether with the telegraph station, was | smashed up while the sleepy inhabitants ,( wondered what was happening. It was J a fine piece of work, cleverly planned and . , carried out. The first visit was made during the time when the Australian Fleet was carrying out a systematic search to find the whereabouts of any German cruisers. The warships arrived off Simpson- i|< hafen on lAugust 10, when the approach- " : es of the harbor were swept for mines. 'i' Early the next morning at 1.30, two Ji of the warships, passing by a - third, t from which they were vociferously t cheered, entered the harbor. All lights f' were out, and the ships moved swiftly a in, prepared to attack such of the en- * envy's llect as were found in the harbor, a ;It was discovered, however, that the '' enemy's cruisers were not there. e j The Australian warships during this 6 J part of the operations, could naturally t not afford to land their crews to garri- v , son any town, however important. Their -^ . object was to run down the enemy's t ' ships and destroy wireless stations. ' i The Governor of German New Guinea |> I whose headquarters was at Rabaul, in- j'

i formed Admiral l'atey that the Germans ; had neither wireless there nor fortifications, neither had tlicy any men. No wireless eould at this time be seen, liut it was supposed possible that it had been I to an unknown point inland. After the first capitulation of Rabaul to the Australian warships, several of the latter left for Noumea, New Caledonia, to pick up the New Zealand expeditionary force on board, and escort them to Samoa. On the warships returning the Berrima, which had been waiting along the Queensland coast with, the Australian expeditionary force on board, was picked up, and all proceeded to German New Guinea. .In the meantime the Germans in Rabaul hud been busy. Trenches*were dug in the bush, and nca«- the wireless station, pits were sunk, and portions of the road mined; trees along the road and in the bush were marked, and these enabled the Germans to estimate the exact range without difficulty, as the intervening spaces had been carefully measured off beforehand. As a result loss of life occurred on both sides. The natives of Rabaul .became very troublesome, and came into conflict on more than one occasion with the Australian expeditionary force stationed there. Mines were laid all round Eabaul. The Australians came into -contact with the natives of New Britain, who fought like maniacs, rushing right up to the i-Vustralian's firing line. Under the command of German officers they showed no signs of fear, although mown I down like rabbits. The natives revelled in sniping, and continually harassed the Australian troops. A German officer was discovered with his left hand blown off. lie had been mining a field, when the charge exploded, causing the injury. Up to the night of September 14, scattered fighting was still going on at Rabaul.

i CAPTURE OF NARAU. NO OPPOSITION OFFERED. The capture of Narau, said to be one •of the moat beautiful spots in the Pacific, and lying within 30 miles of the Equator, was also effected by the Australian fleet. At dawn on September 11, contemporaneously with the capture of Rabaul, a landing party under Lieut-.Com-mander Bloomfield, along with Lieutenant Cooper, Engineer-Lieut. Cresswell, ' and Stair-sergeant Brennand, who acted as interpreter, effected] a landing without any opposition. As a matter of fact, no resistance was expected, as the island is neither fortified nor garrisoned. The only trouble experienced , was in getting the boats through tne heavy surf. However, this was safely accomplished, I and the Stationleiter (station leader or | commercial governor), when called upon to surrender, complied without a demur. Possession was then taken of the island, and the two wireless operators were arrested. The wireless station, one of the most powerful in the German Pacific chain, and erected at a cost of £25,000, was destroyed. As it was not intended to garrison Narau, the British flag was not hoisted, at request of the Administrator, who had been given his parole. The reason for his request was that, as thc-.-e was a mixed colored population of nearly 3000 persons on the island, and only 30 Germans, the Administrator feared an uprising if the British flag was kept flying after the warships sailed. He, However, gave his word that the island would be handed over to the British j whenever demanded. WIRELESS CHAIN CAPTURED. ! MANY PRISONERS TAKEN. I The whole of the German wireless chain in the Pacific has now been destroyed or captured. The stations included Tsing Tail, in China, which was destroyed by the Japanese fleet. Yap, in the Carolines, Uabatil, Narau, and Apia. While the fleet was cruising in the vicinity of Rabaul, a small steamer from Boug.iiiiv'!;« :„ the 'Solomons, blundered into port, and was promptly captured. She had on hoard two Englishmen and several Germans. The Britishers informed the commanders of the warj ships that German warships had been j sighted off Kawcing, the principal station in New Hanover. Tt was snb.se- ! (piently learned that the boat,- hal sailled about a w-ek previously. The German vessels na!J to be in the Pacific at that time comprised a cruiser a:■■': two 1 armed ine«-';:i:amen. Purine the operations of the Australian fleet in the Pacilic, a numh.r of small German boats were capturr.i «nd towed iufi r.mt as prizes of wa \ During the ci.pt.iu' of the various L ;,rian possessions by the Australian f!-..t, many prisoners were taken.