THE CUNNING HUN.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 December 1916, Page 5

THE CUNNING HUN.

SOLICITUDE FOR AUSTRALIANS. SAY THEY DO TOO MUCL. (From Captain C. E. W. Bean) ( . British cHadquarters, France, November 28. The fiermans, in statements to neutral papers, are try';— to make use of the fact that the . J '"ns have been engaged in very 1 iting at Pozierea and else win .-y are doing this with one obje. '. , namely, to make n;ischief uetivem Australia .and the Mother Country. This is part of their new effort to leaje no stone unturned during this winter by which they may win the war. But the whole point of the insinuation that British troops have not been thrown into equally hard fighting, but have been preserved while the Australians were sacrificed, is utterly false, and the Germans know it. The Australian divisions have the honor of being counted with the best on this front, and have been used in the same way as have other famous divisions. They would have, been aggrieved, and would be aggrieved to-day, if they were treated as inferior to any others. It is true that recent attacks have been made under very 'heavy difficulties. They were made by the British am' Australians side by side, and it so hap pened that the heaviest of the recent fighting fell on English, Scottish and Irish divisions. The Germans have for some reason from the first tried to magnify the fight, of November 5. They previously stated that it was a battle of the first class, involving enormous losses, and they now state that it was made by three Australian divisions regardless of cost. I myself watched that attack from start to finish. It was made by less than three completo Australian battalions, together with the English regiments which 'had some success near the Butte. The Germans state that the "stupid, futile attacks" now being made are only undertaken to bring in prestige, overlooking the fact that they have also brought in 7000 German prisoners.

The Australians have fought hard, and have suffered along with other good PO'diers, and, the bitterest insult that could be put upon them is that the Germans should take up their case for them. They know perfectly well that any statement the German makes regarding them is made with the direct intention of helping Germany to win and their own side to lose. The statement is made simply .because the Germans do not want more Australians opposing them, and they think that they can cause these divisions to fall fcelow strength by creating dissensions within the British Empire. They know how important it is to do this, and they are trying to harm Australia, not to help her. The Australian has a capacity which Germans never understand, "for standing by 'his mates in a fight through thick and 'thin. He does n,ot speak of them as two German officers spoke to me the other day of Austrians. "Oh! the Austrians cannot fight; thi;y are no good as soldiers."