VIVID BATTLE STORY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 248, 29 March 1915, Page 5

VIVID BATTLE STORY.

HOW DAY DAAVNED AT NEUVE

CHAPELLE:

Received March 28, C.lO p.m. London ■, March 27.

An officer gives his impression of the battle of Neuve Chapelle: "It was .light When we stood to arms, in the inky darkness, preparing for the dawn. No sound was heard,' except the purring of a motor supply waggon churning up .the mud by the roadside. The men, heavy after only two hours' sleep, stumbled out into the Toadway laden with ammunition and equipment. The sergeant walked briskly along the line, telling them to liven themselves up. Suddenly came the order, 'March!' Nobody had breakfasted. We traded along the narrow road as dawn broke. Next across the sodden fields a gun boomed miles away. Another answered. The business of the day had be«un. Bursts of rifle fire whizzed across like a shower of rain. The noise increased as our shells screamed across in unending procession, and the whole atmosphere quivered with shrieks and whistles. We made 250 yards under a withering fire, the men falling to right and left. The ground was dotted with holes and shiil pits. No cover was visible. The enemy was now 300 yards distant. I felt a sting in the leg, a sharp pain, and rolled over like a shot rabbit. After wawng hours, I was put on a stretcher and swiftly run in a Red Cross car to a little French town.

The music of battle faded, followed by an almost miraculous silence."