BATTLE OF CERNAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1915, Page 5

BATTLE OF CERNAY.

NARRATIVE OF FRENCH SOLDIER.] GERMANS MARCH DOGGEDLY TO DEATH. \ Tlie official communiques of the French Army have alluded recently to severe Jig Siting round the village of Cerr.ay, to the east of Albert. It is a renewal of tin; struggle which began when the enemy was forced to retreat from Amiens, and fought very desperately to retain possession of lVronne and Koye. Since then their attacks weakened and languished, and during the winter campaign there was only the monotony of siege warfare, with sapping and mining, on both sides. Lately, however, the enemy have become active again in this region, assembling some of their best regiments to put a severe pressure upon the French lines. A CRITICAL AFFAIR. The episode of Cernay was a critical affair which tested the endurance and courage of the French troops who had been for many months in the trenches. Shortly after nightfall a tremendous explosion took place somewhat in advance of the first line of French trenches, the enemy having failed to sap their way quite far enough. Wishing to profit, however, by tins upheaval of earth, they leapt from their own cover and rushed towards the French infantry, some of whom were half buried. A fierce fire welcomed them- and did a deadly work among their advancing ranks. FIELD LIT BY ROCKETS. ■-'They shouted as though to encourage each other," says a French soldier, who gives a grim narrative of this attack. "It is useless to deny that those fellows inarch doggedly to death. The attack had been prepared in the true German style—that is to say with attention to the last detail. The time was well chosen and the scene was lighted up by rockets and searchlights, which gave fantastic lights and shadows

to the battle. Now and again every light went out, and one fought on without knowing upon whom we were firing. All the Germans were carrying hand grenades, or a kind of explosive bomb which had a very disagreeable, etl'ect. It was a new machine—these blessed fellows are always inventing new waya of killing me-71—and was in the form of a ball fastened to a stick. OATAHACT OF SHELLS. "The stick is thrust into the rifle, and on pulling the trigger the ball goes off like a grenade. Owing to the number of assailants, we had to yield ground. It was the wisest tiling to do, as it was in our interests to give way for u short j space. Our artillery was in position, and we had hardly fallen back before the ground was swept with shells which burst amid the exultant Germans. Mora murderous even than the hand-to-hand lighting which had proved to the newcomers in our trenches that they had made a mistake in ousting us. They realised that so well that thuy tried to retire. This attempt had been foreseen, and was made impossible by a cataract of projectiles which formed a curtain of flame and iron behind the fugitives, at the same time separating them from their reinforcements. "Meanwhile our men had recovered, and reformed for the counter-attack. A* soon as our artillery, marvellously handled, ceased ,to play upon the trenches we flung ourselves upon the demoralised Germans, thrusting our way among tlie dead and wounded. Not only did we get back our trenches, but we went beyond the tunnel of the German mine, and when morning came we had OHly to bury their dead, pleased with the fact that they were tiriee as numerous as ours."

The village of Cerno/r, which gWca its name to this fierce action, is only "a col : lection of broken -walls and brick heap's on the edge of the trenches, where for o*Ten month* both the French and Gerniaiis have lived is burrows.