THE SOMME BATTLE

Taranaki Daily News, 25 November 1916, Page 10

THE SOMME BATTLE

NEW ZEALANDERS' PART. HI'I'OIC STAND liV CANTERBURY W.X. (From Malcolm Ross, War Correspon<l fnt with the N'.Z. Forces). !sivisinnnl Headquarters. September 21.

After Hie great bound forward by our armies in the battle of the Somme on the 15th and ftith, heavy rain set in, and the weather became bitterly eold, Our men holding the first line had to endure considerable hardships, but they sti-ek it out splendidly. The roads became deep in rand of varying consistency, and it was with 'great difficulty that our first line transport was able to get through at all. Those roads reminded one of the pioneering days in winter in the back-blocks of Te Kniti and Tailiape. But, if anything, these battleroads were worse than the worst New Zealand could at any time produce, and in addition the traffic was a thousand times greater. For hours one day 1 walked over the battlefield, witnessing scenes of death and desolation. The shell-holed earth was encumbered with all the ruin and none of the panoply of war. Yet all the time the traffic went on through the soaking rain and sticky mud|. And every now and then the German shells came bursting over ridge and road and trench. Yet not even the elements and the German gunners could stop the set purpose of our brave troops. Always the full carts with often eighthorse teams, went forward laden with shells and ammunition and food and water.

A SCENS OF DESOLATION, i walked from Montauban along a road on which every now and then a big German high explosive shell came crashing. One gun seemed to be looking for a heavy battery. Other guns were apparently (trying to stop fthe traffic. But our guns continued shooting with a noise that deafened you, and the traffic rumbled on unceasingly. Away ahead was C. ; nchy, the blood-stained ridge that the British had gained after fierce and gallant fighting. On the left one looked across country in the direction of Pozieros. Opposite was High Wood, the scene of equally bloody fighting. and along the ridge to {lie right Delville Wood and the flattened village of Longueval. A constant stream of British wounded was walking back along the road on the crest of the ridge past Montauban. The more serious cases were coming yn in waggons. These were the "walkers" and the "sitters." Still more seriously wounded came past in the motor ambulances. These were lying on the stretchers on which they had been borne from tlu field of battle, their claycaked boots protruding from the blankets that covered their bodies. And throughout all this long procession there wap never a moan or a complaint. The "walkers" were mostly wounded in the hand or arm, or had light wounds on the head, body or legs. In every case they had received attention and their wounds had been well dressed. Further on a New Zealand tributary joined the main current. They also were uncomplaining, and even in many cases cheerful. "This ought to be good enough for a few weeks in Blighty," said one humorist who passed me with a bandaged shoulder that protruded from a ripped sleeve. And no doubt it would.

Longueval was a scene of desolation such as I had no£ seen in all the war. We must have had one gun for every few yards of Lougueval and Delville Wood. The wood was literally blown to bits>; the village was in splinters. Men wore busy with picks and shovels retrieving the road from the shell holes that pitted it and the debrist that buried it. The whole countryside was dotted with shell holes of varying dimensions. So great was the hurricane of iron that covered the face of the earth here that the English troops that took the place were able to walk through De'.ville Wood in the end' almost unopposed. Many German dead and some of their ma-chine-guns must have been put out of ration here -md buried by our shelling. Betide the road were dead men, some lying where they fell and some thrown aside out of the way of the workmen. Those, who were still living) claimed our thoughts first. On the summit of the road that led down to the switch trench and the captured village of Flers, the Geman shells—shrapnel and high explosives—were falling at irregular intervals. The farther one went the mora dead one saw. Just beyond the tea tiench from which our brave infantry started there was a line of English dead. More to the left was a lino of New Zealand dead. In every case they had fallen forward on their faces towards the enemy lines ahead. The shelling got worse and worse. The Germans had several balloons up, and one looked right down this road. I took what little shelter a narrow trench offered, and then, waiting for a lull, turned and commenced to retrace my steps. A young cavalry officer going back to get his kit in case his troop might get through joined me. Then the German shells began to drop very near the road a hundred yards ahead. We left the road and turned to the right, where a red flag waved ne.ir one of our batteries. But it seemed to be the battery that the German gunners were after. Shells began to ram about it, but it is surprising how nc,iv a shell can fall without 'knocking out a gun or even a gunner. The spot, however, looke.l decidedly unhealthy, so' I went back tu the road. And as I reached the Dend where the road turned into what had been the village and the wood, another shell fell, killing a man and throwing the soft brown soil over me. Yet the stream of traffic scarcely stopped for more than a minute, and the road-mendtrs went on with their work as if it were no more than a sum.mer shower.

A FIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. During one stage of the operations after the two days' great battle it became necessary for the New Zealandcrs to capture a trench on their left. They had to drive the Germans out of a threatening position—a position that gave them a considerable advantage in holding their line on our left in view of their attacking the village of Flers, which we had captured. There were two strong points where cross trenches intersected the main lines. The Canterbury's had to make the attack, and tlicy decided upon a silent attack in the night The attack commenced at 8.30 p.m Ki.-althily advancing under cover of tik. darkness our men gained the enemy trench without much difficulty, and, a) tor a while, communications were established with a rather thin line of troops on the left. These troops, few in nrmber, and apparently in process of being relieved, fell back, and the enemy

managed to get round on the Xew Zealand left. The opposing forces were smm at grips, and a deadly encounter "i:Micd with bombs and the bayonet. The (ie 1 mans, knowing full well that the position was \(ry valuable to them, offered a determined resistance. Bitter bomb fighting ensued, and in course of time the trench became littered with di id —many more of the enemy than of our- Twice, with the force of superior numbers, the Germans drove the Canterbury men back. But the Xew Zealanders gallantly led bv a young captain, came at the enemy time and again. This young ollicer rallied-the tired and somewhat discouraged troops, and. himself led l).em to the attack. Tlis energy and hi« In-;', very were a stirring example to all. All night long the fight went on, and iusl hefm-c dawn the Hermans, who had by this time suffered very heavy losses, W' l'e hurled back, and other troops coming up on our left, somewhat eased the position. By aggressive fighting our hit then drove the enemy right off the height, and at onco proceeded to consolidate the position. The Germans left .'i.Ki dead and wounded in and about the trench, and we captured 22 prisoners. It was a very determined and gallant bit of work, and our losses were not half those of the enemy. Being myself a Xew Zealander. I have been somewhat careful not to unduly r,raise the lighting qualities of our force. So far as the second great cfl&t in the Snnirae Battle is concerned, I am quite convinced that in anything I have written T have understated the case. It is all the more gratifying therefore to be ioiv able to state that the force is receiving almost daily unqualified commendation for its dashing work from quite independent sources.

THE ARTILLERY'. The fighting was practically all on the downward slopes of the ridges leading into the enemy's terrain, and that the guns supporting the operations had practically no observation of their otfn. They had to shoot by the map and the. knowledge gained by the aeroplane photographs of the enemy's trenches. These photographs were certainly marvellously clear, and being taken by "our airmen gallantly flyinj at low altitudes they showed great detail. Under cover of night and before the attack we had also pushed up some heavy howitzers into forward positions, so that they were ready to shoot when our infantry were ivell advanced. One of tho British field gens was pushed right over the ridge and down tho slopes on the other side to Flers for a. special purpose. The New Zealand artillery had done fine work from the commencement. Subsequently in the night, through mud and rain they shifted their batteries forward into action over ground full of shell craters and soft roads churned into mud. The work of the linesmen and the forward observing officers had been exceptionally good. By noon of the following day all the guns wore in action, and registered, except two howitzers and one eighteen pounder which was overturned in a ers'.ter. From their new positions the batteries were shooting beautifully, with the fuses the right length and the sheila bursting in a row on the German trench far ahead.

Our artillery now held the dominating position all along tho crest of the ridge and tould give the Germans what they had lSjen giving us for months past. It must lulve been a supreme moment too for our gunners when they could, for the first time in this war, call up their teams and rush their guns forward 1 into new positions ahead, thus experiencing for the first time the exhilarating sensation of fulfilling the true function of Held artillery.

xrw ZEAL AN DEES OX THE SOMME. GERMAN PRISONERS. fn Flers and vicinity in one day the Rifle Brigade captured over four hundred prisoners. These men were all very much shaken by our shell fire, and tliev were glad to surrender. They seemed to have been fairly well rationed, mid they had good cigars and cigarettes. Fur a day or two the victorious New Zc-alanders had more than enough to eat (inet drink and smoke. There were of course plentlv of souvenirs to be had for tlii' picking up—helmets, bayonets, binoculars, expensive automatic revolvers, ni.d a few very excellent periscopes that must have cost anything from £2O to .€3! i. Often a prisoner would offer 5 medal or a watch or ring to a man to propitiate him. One German offered his Iron Cross. They were Bavarian regiments that were opposed to us here, and though these troops are said to be among the best fighters in the German Army, our men who ltiade the victorious onrush from the crest of the ridge across lines of German trenches into and beyond Flers had the utmost contempt for them as opponents when it came to close combat. As a rule they either held' up their hands or ran. In later stages of the fighting, however, the Germans fought gamely, and positions were only won and held at considerable cost. But on one occasion was the valor of the New Zealanders unequal to the task that had been set them. MACHINII-GUXS CAPTURED. During the first few days of the fighting we captured a number of machineguns, rifles, bombs and ammunition. Amongst the machine-guns our men brought in was one that had been captured by the Germans from the French in the earlier stages of the. war. This gun the Germans had converted and were using against us. We shall now bo able to hand it back to its original own-' er.-, or perhaps, if the authorities permit take it back with us as an interesting souvenir to Xc w Zealand.

STRETCHER BEARERS. Our stretcher-bearers, as they always do, worked herocially. They were the first out, and they had to carry their wounded a long distance uphill through a shell-swept zone. They never for one moment spared themselves, and quite a number were lj.lled and wounded in tlieir gallant efforts to save tho lives of their suffering comrades. Men of the Rifles have assured me that 011 one occasion the Germans deliberately fired on our stretcher-bearers with a n.nehino-gun. Cue stretcher-bearer made sire journeys, going twelve times through tic German shtll-fire, and then cullapseo nt the end of his last journey. It needs li man with iron nerve to stand such a j severe strain. I