STORM TROOPS AT BEAUMETZ.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1917, Page 9

STORM TROOPS AT BEAUMETZ.

AUSTRALIANS SHARE IX THE ADVANCE.

London, April fl.

The share of the Australian troops in the present advance is being faithfully chronicled by Mr. C. E. W. Bean, the official war correspondent with the Australian Imperial Force. Three of his dispatches, which have just hcon received and forwarded to us by the High Commissioner, bring the story of,- their doings up to a few days ago. We take the following from his description of the German counter-attacks -qb Bcaumetz, two days after it had been occupied by the Australians:—

Our posts in the village found, German infantry coming towards them at various points. It happened that the officer of a small Victorian sniping party was' jusfc making his way out with a few men and a machine-gun to a cjay /post in front of the village. ' They found themselves suddenly in the midst of a German storming party, comprising 120 specially trained storming troops. The day party charged through the Germans near to them. Most of the Australians- were killed or wounded, hut the officer and the survivors brought their gun in safely. \ The Germans worked through the Australian outpost line, at several points, and a couple of posts which began to be attacked from behind as well as from the front retired, bub the remaining posts held, and after something more like street lighting than Australians had seen before the Germans began to hurry "•hack from the village. One young officer took 14 men with him and, making his «ay round the south-eastern corner of the village, charged upon a party of the enemy many times that l number and drove them towards the Bapauine road. The first counter-attack upon Bcaumetz had completely failed.

At the same time the next morning the Germans attacked Beaumctz again. Tliey sent out a company of specially trained storm troops, about 250 men, with (Short cavalry rifles,and little bayonets, the size and shape of a small dagger, tq lead the attack. The men wore leather knee pads on their brcechcij and leather pads under their elbows. After them came two companies of an infantry regiment The first they knew of th« attack was when they found themselves marching in columns of fours down a road leading through a ruined village, and a machine-gun opened on them suddenly at close range. Almost before they had time to run 15 men were dead iiiithe road. The rest rushed back to pny cover they could get. In the meantime the Herman storming party had managed to enter the village, but was immediately driven hack into houses at the fur end of the place. For Borne time they held two houses, but eventually were sniping only from one. They shot well, these Germans. To attack the place would have meant n, considerable loss of life, with the prospect of catching not more than a handful of Germans. A held gun was manoeuvred to a point 500 yards away. , It fired a. nigh explosive shell into the house, which collapsed.

Two of the 'Gentian storming party were left in a building from which they were üblo to snipe our men who were moving about. Ten Australians had been shot from this house. The same young Australian officer wlnS had charged through the Germans with his lewis gun the day before determined to go out and litiish these two Germans. He waited till dusk, and then, taking a rifle, stalked the house. As he reached the place he. met one of the Germans in the act of aiming. He shot the uerman in a (lash. The second German, hearing the shot, looked round, and then ran. There was not another shot in the Australian's rifle. He snatched the dead German's rille from him and with it killed the second man as he ran.

On that German was an interesting diary. It *aid:—"Attacked Beauinetz last night, but found the place too strongly held. Wo shall probably attack again to-night, as the place was given up sooner than was intended." When the Australians entered Lagnicourt on March 2(>, after a stiff fight:— There were meals standing ready to be eaten —the big brown loaf on the table, the brawn standing ready out of its tin, two dozen bottles of Kops ale lying beside thein with the seals unbroken. The Germans who lay dead about the streets wore uniforms as''clean and 'neat as those of a battle picture fin a city gallery. They seemed to have been surprised at their breakfast by our bombardment.

The German official wireless states that they counted a thousand dead on the area covered by our troops. I do not know why they 'tell this lie. To my knowledge we lost at the outside a twentieth of that number killed.