THE SOMME BATTLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1916, Page 9

THE SOMME BATTLE.

MORE BIG GUNS. SMASHING A WAY. (W. Beach Thomas, in the Daily Mail). With the British Army in the Field, October 1. Persistent day and night fighting in tangled redoubts and over vague trenches has given us daily a stronger and more regular line all the way from Lesboeufs to the north of Thicpval. The English troops who won Thiepva! itself had some of the most desperate fighting of the war. From their whereabouts comes the story of the three, Australian,l;—one wounded—who liveij for nine days in various shell-holes, quite cut off from their people, tlie two hah members foraging among the dead for food and water. Between Courcelotte and Martinpuieh, where the enemy held an intrusive wedge of trenches, some field guns were "pinched" in a second successful advance past many machineguns. Farther along, where the land is strangely featureless, a considerable body of our men who went forward at night to fill a gap lost their way altogether. They were given up for lost, the whole number of them, like the three Australians. But ihey, too, made themselves at home in shelHioles, some among the very haunts of the enemy, and, left as severely alones as 80-peep's sheep, came home in the end. Brilliant deeds, individual and corporate, have been as frequent as the flashes of the guns and almost as similar. The New Zealanders proved peculiarly successful in breaking up old German trenches: and they were officially complimented ten days ago on the quick'ness and smoothness of their chief advance. .

ACTS OF DARING. I could tell a score of storieL of separate acts of daring by officers, N.C.O.'s antt privates. One of the best is told of a Canterbury (New Zealand) sergeant who snaked his way up to a machinegun emplacement, bayoneted every member of its crew, and then turned the gun witli great effect on the enemy. Middlesex and Leicester regiments have recently done some of the toughest fighting. During our advance two officers, who had dug themselves a little crcvice in a shell-hole, handed over one of their implements to two MeddleseS miners housed in the next hole. Twelve 'hours later one of the officers paid a visit to the miners in the dusk of dawn Then, as he told me the story, "Blessed if I could find them. They were yards out of sight. The Boche has no shell that could have found them. I tell you. there are in troops in the world who fight so hard when there's fighting forward, or save so many lives between whiles, us these Midland fellows."

Only maps of the biggest scale and acquaintance with almost every battalion or even company engaged can give any clear outline e. these bouts of day and night fighting. But the important thing is that each attack has finally made good its ground. We are just outside that group of monastic buildings—now chiefly machine-gun emplacements—which was culled Eaucourt l'Ablmye. We are close against the old trench and complicated labyrinth of L" Sars. We can look along the' valley of the Ancrc on the left and wo dominate the open country on the extreme right towards Le Transloy. All the time \ve are putting many Germans and many Gcrnv.'.n butteries out of action.

Never in the war have the enemy's gunners so suffered. Though others ure in an immensely strong position north of the Ancrc, over the rest oi the, front balt-ry after battery has been knocked out by direct hits. I have seen their field gun's, with much ammunition scattered round them, lying broken in tho coppice under the twisted girders and trunks a; ranged to protect them—and there is no more convincing emblem p.f defeat. Today's advance and the capture of Eaucourt l'Abbays were made possible by the skill nnd dogedncss of these intervals of obscure struggle. GERMAN "NERVES."

The following remarkable German document has been found. We have seen many signs of the "fright" the general refers to—in the sending up of signals to the artillery, in the needless throwing of bombs (oven at an enemy one hundred yards away), and in wild rifle fire. Though such alarms are com mon in all trench warfare, (hay have multiplied beyond measure among the enemy in this battle. German Colonel's Order Found on the Sonime.

"I have occasion to draw attention to the following.—The demand for artillery barrage and the nervous firing of the rifles because an unseen bomber throws a few hand grenades reveals a state of great excitement. The result is nothing; on the contrary, it causes only damage. We waste an enormous quantity of anmiunitioii, and when we want it it is gone. Secondly, we damage ourselves in the eyes of the enemy. It has been constantly stated that troops have thrown an enormous quantity of hand grenades because they heard one enemy' grenade explode somewhere. 1 want,'this sort of thing stopped. It does us a lot of damage. The men must remain calm and keep their presence of mind, f count on the help of my officer* and sergeant-majors. "I have got the impression that a few Englishmen throwing grenades from their trenches can thoroughly frighten a crowd of Ivivarians. This must not go 011 like this. Why always silently acknowledge the superiority of tlu enemy without any reason? ''The artillery commander has assured me that this state of things cannot continue. Both his ammunition and guns are done for. Only company commanders can order rapid lire or volleys of hand grenades. There are plenty of watchful company commanders with presence of mind. If troops open rapid fire or. thei" own it only shows lack of discipline and despicable cowardice. "If we put an unnecessary barrage on the enemy's trenches he retaliates, and therefore we suffer for it. Instead of demanding an unnecessary barrage, or wasting hand grenades, it is much better if we do something useful; strengthen our wire entanglements, deepen our trenches, and build' strong shell-proof dug-outs for the garrison. "This fright or. the Sommc front must be dispelled"am', calm must take its place, "Von Haase, Lieutenant Colonel."