OUR GUNNERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1916, Page 3

OUR GUNNERS.

FRENCH AND GERMAN PRAISE

The outstanding feature of the present, offensive has assuredly been the indomitable gallantry of oiir infantry. Next to that must stand the wonderful efficiency of our artillery. German prisoners are unanimous in their testimony to this effect, and we have taken enough sinca July 1 for the evidence to be pretty conclusive. They say they had never imagined it possible that the New Army could have been trained to such proficiency in the science of gunnery in so short a time; that tactically as well as mechanically our batteries are wonderfully good, and that as the contest has from the outset been one of preponderance in shells, the odds hive been heavily against them. More signiffcant still is the unvarying tribute paid to our shooting by the French, themselves the best artillerists in the world, and therefore the most exacting cr'tics The experience of a lieutenant of a Bavarian battalion which has been sent to reinforce the enemy conveys a pretty good idea of how out artillery is punishing the Germans. "We detrained at Bapaume," said he, "into which place the English were throwing 12in shells. It was not a nice reception, so we began to march down the main Albert road as soon as pos sible. But this was being regularly dusted by what we took to be Gin naval projectiles, and our men began to drop, By the time these had ceased, we found ourselves in the zone of your heavy field guns, which crumpled the road' more rapidly. Then we had to pass through the curtain fire of your l'S-poundo-s, and a huricane bombardment of your trench mortars, so that by the time we had reached our destination the battalion had casualties amounting to about onethird of its strength." Another German officer, now one of our prisoners, bears witness to the work of our gunners. He was sent with his battalion from Verdun to Contalmaison, and was detrained at Bapaume. There he began a painful experience of shellfire through an accident to one of the German 12in guns, which burst and blew up several carriages of the train, kill-1 ing some of his men. But the rest of his journey was made terrible by Bri tish gunfire. With his battalion ho came down a road which was being flung up by our loin and 12in guns. Some more of his men were, killed, and he eamc on towards Bazcntin, where he was under the fire of our Sin howitzers and nine-point-twos. More of his men were killed, but he went on until near Contalmaison he came within the range of our 18-pounders, and lost the. command of his men. At Contalmaison he was immediately taken prisoner by our attacks, and was rejoiced to come to his journey's end alive. "Your artillery," he said, "is better than any'tning I had seen before, even at Verdun, and worse than anything I had suffered."

All the captured German officers ar» surprised that an "Army of amateurs," as they call us, should produce such scientific artillery work in so short a time, and they also pay tribute to the daring of the field gunners, who go so far forward to support the infantry attacks. "They came up," said one of them, speaking of the Mametz Wood | attack, "like charioteers in a Roman circus, at full gallop. Many ot their horses were killed, but the "men were reckless of danger, and placed their bat teries in the open as though at manoeuvres." The field observing officers are audacious almost to the point of foolhardiness. Before the ground of attack had been cleared of Germans they walk calmly up with a telephonist, sit down on a crest or a knoll commanding a field of observation, and send backmessages to a battery a mile or so be hind,