THE MESSINES FIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 August 1917, Page 6

THE MESSINES FIGHT.

palmerston orficer>.s inter ESTING LETTER.

A\ritin.£f from a stationary hospital in "ranco, L:eu f. Roy Fowler, of Palmerfiton North, gives a very interesting account of tho fight at Messincs. It'wa.s 'luring this attack that lie was twice wounded.

"We started the advanep at .1.10 a.m It was too dark to see anything, and of course the smoke and dust (if tlie barrage only intensified the difficulty. 'lt was on the second day of the advance that 1 was wounded. i»ut they are very slight. I was wounded twice, each time by a shell. The first time a shrapnel shell burst just behind me. and two pieces hit me in the sriNill of the back—very luckily they hit my roll of sandbags. Everybody carries a roll of five sandbar on his hack for use in consolidating in front of our objectives. The thell was very close and the burst just heaved >■ c up and plomped me into a vhell h' close by. While in this shell hole 1 :iiised that I was too close to tur own barrage.

Very - ion the barrage crept on, so I itarted - ;i again with soni? Australians who had a!»o sheltered in the same hole, hut had only pone about 20 or 30 yards, when another shrapnel burst almost. at my feet, and this time I got a email piece in mv jaw just below the left tar, and another piece in the inside of my left left, just above the knee. An Australian put a bandage on the face wound. 1 continued on and reached our objective, almost without opposition. Our barrage was a hellish thintr, and those of the enemy who were not already casualtied came rushing through us with the : r hands up, picking up our wounded and carrying them back as they went. Those Germans who did try to oppose us were mostly occupying tremendously strong concrete and iron ilug-outs, but, these we easily overcome liy throwing a few bombs in the doorways. You may judge the strength of pome of these concrete strong posts by the fact that a v.eek's heavy shelling with high explosive shells up to S-ineh calibre, had made practically no impression on them at all. although the ground all round them was pock-marked with ihcl! holes eight to ten feet deep, and twelve to twenty feet in diameter. STRAFED BY CAS SHELLS. We had a rotten experience when (joing up to our assembly trenches the night Siefore the advance. From our concentration camp in rear, we had to march three miles in the open, and then through about one mile of communication saps, and we were heavily shelled nil the wav v. itli lachrymatory and phosgene gas shells. With the result that tve had to wear our box respirators nearly all the way. They .arc had enough to wear in daylight, but. to march in them at niglit. c-pecially in very hot weather, is ju-t the limit. One of my sergeants, a splendid fellow who won the 'Military Medal at the Somme iast year, I'.T.s gassed on the way up, and a few otheiv were killed or wounded by the shells tficiii.-vlvcs. However, the worst experience "f all was our own minegoing up. We knew they were to be tired within ten seconds before zero time but ivc had often heard rumors that the Hun had our trenches mined too. and the detonation and sickening heaving of the ground that they caused, made us all think it was our own trench that was going up. Whether our trenches v.ere really mined or not, T don't know, but at any rate the llun did not Gro them.

SHOOK HANDS WITH GERMAX You will lie surprised when I tell you that I chook hands with a German. after capturing his trench. We had just taken this particular trench (his support line) and were consolidating in a new line about 200 yards in advance when, on looking up. 1 saw this German coming straight towards me .with his hands up. He beckoned me towards him. and»tlun T noticed that he was terribly wounded. The whole of his lower jii w had been blown oil*. I motioned the poor wretch into a shell hole, and he gave me his field dressing, and begged mo to tie him up. It was a frightful wound, and very awkward to tie up. but 1 did my hest for him. When I had finished, he produced a second dressing and opened his shirt and showed me a bayonet thrust in his chest. This f al<o tied up for liiin. While 7 was at work on him the poor fellow took a crucifix out of his pocket, and gazed intently at it. I felt terribly sorry for him. and just as I left, he held out'his hand. We shook hands, he nodd"d gratefully, and that was the last I saw of him. He was a fine big fellow about -1-2 years of age. !■ suppose he died very soon after this. There were ihundreds of dead and wounded Germans lying everywhere, but our casualties were very light indeed. This was due to the fact that our combined barrages of shells and machinegun fire were so intense that the enemy could not get their heads up to fire at our advancing waves, and our troops advanced so close under the barrage that thi'v were into the trenches the moment the' fcvr.ige lifted to the next German line.

THE WONDERFUL TANKS. There were twelve Tank? operating with II?. anil it was a wonderful sight to watch them in action. No obstacle seems too great for them. It is wonderful bow they crawl along over wire and trenches, and through shell craters, etc.. spitting fire in all directions as tliev go. 'Speaking of shell craters—l don t know bow to describe it. I cannot liken it to anything unless honevcombe. In the ex-German territory I did not see a square yard of ground without a shell bole Our men were magnificent. Tiie moment the barrage cauie down j they got over the parapet like one man and all went forward with the utmost steadiness. It was great the way they attacked the Hun machine gunners with their bombs, and then rushed in and overturned the machine-guns before fresh crews could man them. In inv platoon I don't think we had lost a single man killed before I left, and I only left after we had taken ou» objective and had consolidated in our new lines.