DRAMATIC EPISODES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 258, 10 April 1915, Page 8

DRAMATIC EPISODES.

MAIMED HEROES. Our official "Eye-witness," in his latest dispatch, details some dramatic episodes of the recent fighting around La liassec. It seems that on February i, after r'capturing a trench which the Germami hail taken a fevr bourn before, our soldiers gained by successive attacks turo posts on the canal bank. In the first rush on the nearest work one of those unforeseen incidents occurred which often imperil the best laid Bchemeß. As the storming party ttm on the point of dashing forward, just at t'<<: moment when delay might hare been fatal, for it might just have given the enemv, who wero much shaken by our artillcr- fire, time to recover, a man dropped a box of hand grenades, some of which detonated. For one instant there was bewilderment, and some hesitation, 110 one nuite knowing what had happened. Fortunately the officer leading tho storming party, rushed ahead, and his men followed him and carried the position at the point of the bayonet, with •very slight loss. • After this the Germans .were kept on the run. Our supports eama up, and, pasting through tins first; lino homing the recovered trench, rus'.ied the next post; then the party which had made the original assault adranced through these again and captured tha second post. "Eye-witness" pare no indication as to what regiment or regiments supplied the men for this particular fight, nor does ho mention the nanws of the men whom he tells U9 exhibited conspicuous "allantry. Of ono unknown's dash and pluck lit: writes thus: "Charging ahead of his comrades, lie took up his position on a mound, and shot sereral of tlie Germans at point-blank range as they ran past him. Ho then ran on up to a barricade two of the enemy were manning a machine-gun, and kept them in play until the rest of our men came up and captured it." A DEADLY SHOVEL. "Eye-witness" goes on to relate how a few days later our soldiers caught the Germans napping in a brickfield, and incidentally shows that "Tommy" can on occasion find uses for shovels other than trenching. During the bombardment previous to the assault, the Germans took refuge underground in their dug-outs, and our assault was so well timed and so sudden that when they emerged from their burrows they found our infantry on top of them. The result was never in doubt. Those who showed fight were 'at once bayonetted, but many, realising the hopelessness of resistance, threw away their arms and surrendered, some crying for mercy, and offering their watches, money, cigars, or fruit in order to buy their lives One German officer was bayonetted as he was telephoning—presumably for reinforcements—and four Germans were killed by one of our men who was armed only with a shove), as they were trying to escape past him down a trench

"Eye-witness," in the course of a despatch, states that among the spoils of the brickfield victory was a large quantity of dum-dum ammunition and many cartridges in which the bullets had'been reversed, their bases being where the nose of the bullet should have been. It is said that these reversed bullets inflict worse wounds than the ordinary dum-dum. ■