WESTERN ATTACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 September 1916, Page 5

WESTERN ATTACK.

AT CLOSE GRIPS. NEW ZKA LANDERS' FIN!S WORK. A TERRIBLE STRUGGLE. GERMANS PANIC-STRICKEN. SUCCESSFUL FORLORN HOPE. 1 Received Sept, 25, 5.3 p.m. London, Sept. 24. Mr. Gi'bbs further states that in the lighting since July 43 there has been nothing fiercer or bloodier than the linnd-to-hand struggles on the left of Flers, where the New Zealanders increased the fame thev had gained at jallipoli as soldiers who had to give up what they gained, and who hold on to their ground with grim obstinacy igainst the heaviest odds. This is the judgment of a British officer who watchid them fighting for the last few days, Hid he speaks with a thrill'of admiration, recalling the stoicism wherewith' ;hey endured the heaviest shell lire, the spirit wherewith they attacked despite intense fatigue, and their rally, though liscouragcd by the loss of officers, which swept back the Germans in panicstricken flight. The story covers weeks if lighting. THE ADVANCE. The New Zealanders, at dawn on the loth, advanced upon the left of Flers on two lines of trenches, which formed part )f the famous Flers line. Our gunfire lad not cut the wires or destroyed the Frenches. The swish of flic machine*uns showed that the enemy were alive md savage. The New Zealand losses would have been serious but for the tanks, which had lagged behind, but arrived in time to attack the Flers line. In the most deliberate and stolid way they sidled along the barbed wires, smashing them into the earth, and then Joked their big snouts over the German sarapets, firing from both their Hanks .ipon the German machine-gun teams. The New Zealanders, following, took the lou'ble trenches and pushed on for an)ther 700 yards across the sunken road, ivith its steep banks of the deepest dug)uts. TANKS DRAW GERMAN,FIRE. The Germans did not stop until they liad established 'ves on a new ine running westwr rrom the top of Flers village, which the English lads had ilready captured. The tanks followed the Germans and drew the fire of the j'ermai} battery 1500 yards away. The 3ermans missed the tanks, and eventuilly the British artillery knocked out the battery. GALLANT FLANKING MOVE, Meanwhile New Zealand infantry were ordered to jjiake a flanking front up the edge of the" valley running northwest of Flers. They did this most gallantly. although they stuck., out like a ;hin wedge into German territory, owing :o lack of support on the right and left, ine to the Englishmen being busy capturing Flers. ' , There was fearful fighting at 'High IVood. INTENSE COUNTER-ATTACKS, ' In view of the hazardous position of :he New Zealanders, they were ordered to fall tack to a line going straight westward from the top of Flers village, from which they helped to hold it on the ■light of the loth and 16th. Thenceforward the enemy made repeated • ; ounter-attaeks. Sometimes these were 'eeble in strength and were shattered prickly, but they grow in intensity as the days passed and it was seen "that the New Zealanders were in a precarious position owing to the weakness of the west flank, ENEMY ATTEMPT A WEDGE. Here the Germans held out in shell ;ratcrs, enabling their supports to drive 1 wedge between the New Zealanders irid the English troops north of High Wood. A brigade of Germans attempted this. They advanced in six or seven waves upon the English soldiers, i\vhc they outnumbered by two' to one. The Englishmen met them in thi open with the 'bayonet in the, old-fash-ioned way. The New Zealandcri watched the fight with enthusiasm unti they saw the German ranks broken ant the remnant Hying. It was a greal struggle, but not so long and bloody a> the light the New Zealanders tlieui selves encountered on the 20th. !A CHAOTIC STRUGGLE. The Germans struck the New Zen landers at their joining point with tin Britishers, west of Flers. file Can terbmy men at the joint were twici beaten back and twice regained tin ground. Throughout the night and until dawi >u the 21st there was violent bomb anc oayonet lighting. It was not a mattci >f the British on one nidi! and the ("Jer nans, on the other, it was a ehaoth jirugglc hetwen isolated bodies of mei ightiug in shell craters, bits of trench single figures lighting duels in groups ind not joining i to form the lines, whicl •.urged backwards and forwards. \ BAYONET FIGHT TO THE DEATH g, . The first line of New Zealanders went orwai'd with hardly a cheek Ger nan switch trenches, five hundred yard; listant. Tiley were the men of tin Uiekland, Canterbury, Otago, and Wei iiigto-i battalions, and put their trust ii lie bayonet. They had their desire ii he Germans' switch trench. The Ceriums defended themselves to the lasl pisp. On'tf four remained alive after the rightful encounter, ft was a light tc -lie death. The New Zealanders losl icavilv. The shrapnel and niaehine-gui ire thinned their ranks. When the) aced a stretch of 800 yards leading tc ■he next trenches, the New Zealaiu: iillcs covered the ground quickly in opei irder, but they kept in touch with end: ilher bv -a fine esprit de corps which 'iva; letter than discipline. The German reaches were deeply dug, and heavilj viral, and proved a great obstacle. A HEROIC LEADER. Mr. Gibbs adds: The scene was horible, with its crash and the cries of the ,ving. A New Zealand officer, a very plendid, heroic man, was the life and oul of the dqfence against the counter-

ittaeks. There were moment; wl.icn bis lieu were 'disheartened, because their ino was thrown hack and tin: wounded ay thick on the ground. llii, this ofii■«*r infused new fire by the flume of. his spirit. lie rallied the gloomy ones, and •*as so careless of bis own life, and so iager for the honor of New Zealand, that iliey followed under a kind of spell, be'au.se of the- magic in him. So the enemy vas put to flight down the valley. THE ENEMY RETURNS. The New Zealandcrs were masters of he ground when dawn revealed the hor■ilde carnage. The enemy returned in trong force in the afternoon, under oriel's from the Herman Genera! Staff at ;he end. Despite the telephones, the aslanlters were practically sentenced to leath. They were as doomed men when ;hc captain of the Canterbury's again ed his lads in a great 'bayonet charge 'ight across the open. The-Germans itood and received the charge with ilanched faces. The New Zcalanders :ame at the trot, and then sprang forvard with their bayonets moving' as liiick as knitting needles. The Germans ii'ied out in terror, and those who could escape ran down the hillside, falling as they ran. This rout ended the counterittacks, and the New Zealanders knew ,liey were masters. Seeing the German ;en'or they muttered, "Poor devils!" THE VALOR OF THE STRETCHERBEARERS. The heroism of the bayonet-fighters was splendid, but the valor ol' the stretcher-bearers was, perhaps, finer, rbeir duty, was to go out into the open :ountry, in cool blood, to pick up the nen. They had to pass through salvoes from 3.0 guns, which tore up the grounc ind buried and mangled many of th< stretcher-bearers. lint they went steadi y and quietly on, hour after hour, uiitf sixty had fallen, and carried on the work )1' rescue, careless of their safety. A \*ew Zealand officer said: "I'm not s sentimentalist, but the Work of those men seemed to me very noble and good.' •FULL OF ADMIRATION." Mr. Gibbs concludes this stoi'v, whicl' will be read gladly in every New Zealand township and in all up-country farmsteads, as follows: "If any words of mint lan give a little extra share of glory tc these Colonial boys, who come from sc Far overseas, I shall be glad and proud My heart is very full of admiration foi the valor of these men, who fought these great 'battles as well as any troops vrlu shared the day with them." , GERMAN VITAL POINTS' IN THE HANDS OF THE ALLIES. Eeceived Sept. £5, 10 p.m London, Sept. 25. A correspondent on the Western Head quarters General Staff states that a ma; recently found on a prisonered Hernial officer indicated that eleven vital point must be held while one defender wa alive. Nine are already in the Allie.hands, and the remaining two are out side the scope of the battlejfor the ridge The captured positions are closely crowd ed and obscure the significance of eacl tin* whole ridge being but a continuou chain of fortresses, protecting each othei They were =o interlocked that tnei strength was increased a thousandfold. ARTILLERY ACTIVITY AIRCRAFT SUPERIORITY London, Sept. 24. Sir 'Douglas ITaig reports: There i considerable artillery activity on hot sides southward of the Ancre. We en tered the German trenches eastward o Neuvillc St. Vaast and took prisoners. A French communique states: Our ai tillery was ictive northward of th Somme. We repulsed several derma attacks south-east of Thiaumont. Gei man aviators have been unusually actiy< but we remain incontestable superior. I twenty-nine air combats on the Somin front we brought down ten Genua machines. Paris, Sept. 24. The French casualties on the Somm are proportionately one-half those fc similar attacks in WIS. The minutenes of tlio artillery preparation and aerif observation enables tjie infantry to at vance under a curtain of shells whio moves continuously 2,00 -yards ahead c tliem, AN ASTOUNDING FEAT. CANADIANS CAPTURE COURCELETTE. London, Sept. 24. Mr. Gibbs says that the Canadian capture of Courcelette was one of tl most astounding things in the nafltl After the sugar refinery had been take the unwouiideel officers held a confe ence as to the possibility of takin Courcelette. All seemed quiet in tl ruins, but no one knew the size of tli garrison, though an occasiona l burst b machine-guns showed that defenders n mained.. It was manifest that it was big adventure for the fag-end of a da; but the conference decided to try. Xl)e honor of leading the attack ws given to the "Mop-up" battalion, largel French-Canadians. It was aftenvare discovered that there were 15,500 Uei mans in the village, who greatly oir numbered the stonners. Tiny partie of Canadians dashed into dug-outs fu of Germans. One. boy brought u twenty prisoners, and two German eob nels were chagrined to lind that the had surrendered to such a small force i attackers. The enemy nude seven counter-ai tacks in the night and things ofte looked black, but the Canadian boj came through. £ LABOR BATTALION Malta, Sept. 2-(. In response to Lord Methuen's uppes the stevedores have enlisted, forming Malta labour battalion for general sei rice. t .

SIGNS OF TIRING. lililTLSll CHARGE WITH VI.U. Received Sept.' 23, 9 p.m. London, Sept. 24. Sir. Beach Thomas states tluit the battle for Omens was unusually good. The Germans had withdrawn many guns to the extreme fire limit, lessened their bombardments, and showed nervousness in othei ways. The counter-attacks were vehement, but lacked sting, whereas tile British and Dominion troops charged with a winning side's zest. But before the enemy leaves the last foothold he will wrestle for a heavy fall. Behind the machine-gunner stands'the officer, revolver in hand. ■ The enemy finds it equally to surrender as to light. REPULSED WITH LOSS. HERMAN COUNTER-ATTACKS AERIAL ACTIVITY. , i* —. h Reuter Service. Received Sept. 25, 10 p.m. London, Sept. 23. General Sir Bouglas IH'ig reports: South of the Anere and west of Les Moeufs three enemy attacks >were repulsed jvith loss. There is active artillery work at many points. Our airmen have conducted live raids on railways; stations and enemy communications. . Five hostile machines were destroyed in the air lighting" yesterday, and two others were downed in a damaged condition. Five of our machines art! missing. l'aris, ,Sept. 23. A communique states: There is nothing important to report apart from the artillery duel south of the Somme and east of the Mouse. Two French aeroplane? dropped >h6mhs on Essen and returned safely. The flight was over live hundred miles. Seven aeroplanes dropped fifty bombs on factories at Rombach and Thionville. ' ( COLONEL REPINGTON'S REVIEW QUITE OPTIMISTIC FOE ONCE . Times Service, , London, Sept. 24. Colonel Repington reviews the position favourably to the Allies. There is indisputable evidence that the block' ade is .severely affecting Germany internationally, and the Allied hammering at the Somme is increasing the national de. jection. Other causes of anxiety an the .var loan and the constant shifting of troops on all jfche ■ fronts to repaii deficiencies. When the veil is lifted it will show that Germany has suffered greater mis cry and losses in men, money, ships am credit than can possibly be imagined; The Allies are methodically blasting [ way towards the .Meuse and have en countered and overthrown nearly hal the German western divisions. The fail ures to recover the lost ground an demonstrating the enemy's inferiority The western pressure is adversely affect ing Hindenburg's eastern plans. GERMAN TERRORISM Amsterdam, Sent. 24. Twenty-two Belgians were sentencec to death for espionage on Friday, am] seventeen have already been. executed including two girls. There is tremend ous indignation throughout Belgium. MILITARY ARMOURED CARS. * CATERPILLAR " TRACTORS ... VERY .POWERFUL MACHINES. . Christchurch, September 22. ...(According-to Mr. \V. A. Hyslop, man aging director of the Tourist Motar Co. Ltd., of Hastings, who is at present i: Christchurch, and who possesses a fum of unique information concerning tin military use of automobiles, the armorei cars now in use in France possess mani excellencies, but speed is not one o them. Mr. Hvslop expressed the opinion thai the armored cars to which the cabl< messages refer are of a type kndwn a< "Caterpillar" tractors, made by an Ame rican eomparty. This firm has for somi time been declining orders for farm trae tors ; on the score of having to fulfi large contracts for the British War Of lice, and when Mr. McLean, engineer ti the Tourist Motor Company, rceentlj made a visit of inspection to all tlx large automobile manufacturing plant! in America he was told at the linn': works that 80 tractors a month wen being despatched to Europe to the ordei of the Allies. British illustrated fori odicals of recent date gave photograph: oi these tractors in use at_ Stilonikc and elsewhere, and the ca'blea ''"Scrip tion of the motors used by Sir '?lai Haig's armies seemed to leaw ' little doubt that they were of id'entica. pat tern. In these circumstances tli. script ion of these strange vehicles Mr. Hvslop was able to give is of topi{|J interest. ' METHOD OF PROGRESSION. A The basic principle of the "Caterpillar' tractor is that it negotiates dilltcul country by laying its own lino of rail and running over them. The drivinj gear consists of a couple of endlea bands of jointed steel plates, 2ft wide presenting a surface to the ground aMtt 3ft long." This endless band runs ovc: a couple of large toothed wheels, 'tin -ear one being the irivcr, while tin weight of the tractor is taken on e.icl side by r scries of four-llanged wheels bearing upon rails on the inner surface: of the endless band. In effect, therefore the machine runs a .pair of four-whce'.et bogeys, travelling on the set of rail' carried on the inner side of thejointei plates, which grip the ground. . Tin "Caterpillar'' running gear is well to tin rear of the chassis, and in front is r single pilot wheel'. This is- not use;' for steering, and need not necessarily'ln in contact with the ground at all. II is merely there to prevent the nose ol the car dipping down too far when dc scending a steep grade. CLIMB ALMOST ANY GRADE The engine is an exceptionally large 'our-eylinder one of Tin bora and Oiti