THE BATTLE OF MESSINES.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1917, Page 6

THE BATTLE OF MESSINES.

HIGH MORAL OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

GERMAN PRISONERS.

(From Captain Malcolm Ross, official N.Z, Correspondent).

Belgium, June 11. As the morning vntr an our barrages lifted over (lie hill, and lliere were momentary bills in the gun thunder. Tlie enemy's reply was not nearly so deadly as we had expected. There, was such a pall of smoke and dust in the air that it was difficult to tell exactly how much stuff he was putting back, but clearly his barrage was ineffective, indicating some disorganisation of his artillery, lie was "crumping" the line in front of Messines, shelling the Stec-nbeck in the bottom of the valley, and bursting five-point-nines 011 Gas Trench just in front of us. But our men were avoiding Gas Trench as they would avoid his poisoned wells, and. instead of using that line of communication, were calmly going ana coming across the open. Already the fi.-niy had lost the high ground, and in any case, even if he had still held it, his eyes were blinded by the great smoke screen that rose from our barrages. After about six hours in this trench 1 went down to the left and found the Colonel of our Pioncejjs, watching where the enemy shells were falling, so that he inigln select, a good line for the communication trench that his brave fellows were to dig up to Messines. He had been shelled out of his "posie" lower down. The first batch of prisoners bad already gone past, and following | them came (he first, two wounded we saw. They walked in across the open, gat down on the parapet for a chat and a rest and then resinned their journey to the dressing station.

In about .'in hour T followed thorn across tin* fields. for the hai tip of Mcssine=. so fur as the Now Zealanders worn concerned. .vas won. Tt only remained |o hold the ground wo had pained, and, with memories of Chnnuk B.iir on C.allipoli. and the I'lors lino on the Somme. one felt our men would stick it out until their relief came. This in truth they did/though the holding on added to our casualties, and we mourned the loss of some brave and capable soldiers. The ni'-'ht had remained fine and mild, with a ni' on. screened for the aroator ■irt of the ninht by fleecy clouds, almost Jit "he full. The day that succeeded Vis' -rflinjdv ,lM - :lnit the " s,m omvs were ' sweat-in? at their «nns. On the roads and tracks and m the fields near the batteries were shell hoi(s, bijr and little. Both poison pras and tear pas shells had been used, and even now. when only an odd shell was falling, scented the air.

THE MEDICAL SERVICES.

As nfiial. our medical services did excellent work, and the organisation was as near perfect as possible. Perfection was, however, trained only after weeks of thoughtful planning and strenuous work. Noodle,* to say. a .ereat deal of the work was carried on under fire, anl the personnel suffered casualties. <>n the whole they were extreinelv lucky. One regimental aid post was hit by a German hi.sh explosive shell, and four olit of seven were killed. The doctor is a modest man, who would not thank me for mentioning his name, even if the censorship permitted it. but I mij?ht state that he was with the Otarros. and that, he gained a well-earned Military Cross on the Somme. After the shell bnrst he and the others who were unhurt L'ot to work with shovels to see if any of the men had been buried alive. Presently they came upon a man's steel helmet, and heard the man's fv eallini. ''l cannot breath; --don't (rouble: I'm all in." However, they du? InnTer than ever, and scraping the earth awav from his head, let him fret some fresh air into his lun<rs. The only air he had to breathe was what was left in (lie little space under his steel helmet that was not filled with earth, and this little he had already almost exhausted. Thev du" on. and presently recognised Iho Chiropodist! There had very nearIv been a -dump in chiropody. The doctor's forethought and energetic action undoubtedly saved the man's life.

the walkixo cases.

Down an emergency track that had (icon -a pond deal shelled in the night anil for Tonic little time previously came numbers of onr walking wounded. It was surprising how many were lightly Mid bow few were seriously wounded in tliis (lav's battle. Two day? .afterwards hundreds who had gone through the dressing stations were able to rejoin their unite. It was perhaps to be accented for by the fact that our own fhell'nv; bad so churned up the ground that it was no longer firm and solid, but ,-implv loose earth, into which the German high explosive shells buried themselves before exploding, with the result that manv of our men were buried or half buricil, their wounds frequently being; nothin? more than bruises. Friends met. unexpeetedly at the little dressing station. "Hello! did you get one?" ,!, heard a man with a bandaged head remark to a friend who had just walked .through the door. "Yes. I pot a nice tittle' One, and didn't pet it running awav either." replied his friend with Hie bandaped arm. At this little dres*-sllg-station tlie wounded pot a drink of cool water and limejuice, and cigarettes. And went on their way cheerily chatting 1.0 friends or chance acquaintances as tlie'T marched towards the main dress-in.'-s'ation. Some there were who could not walk and for these the motor amI bulanc'cs caW. It was marvellous the celerity with "Vfliioh the wounded were •nred for and cieSTed from one post to another ripht along the line. Two of us went to the main dri ;sing'«t,ation to see a fv'pnd who was wounded ill'the morn"inp. Hut we found he had been sent 011 to the casualty clearing-station at a i town a few miles back. We motored in that town, only to learn that he bad already been sent down to the base at a certain seaport. and before another mo'rning dawned he would no doubt find himself" in England.

THE PRISONERS. I The prisoners captured by the New i /Valanders wore .1 mixed lot—some imu'li-lookinpr soldiers. and other rather 'lj-. Tlie.v all testified to the terrible ; effort of our drum lire, and the men, at ' least, seemed glad to have been captur- !. Numbers of them were employed in ■--isting to brinfr in their own wounded, :;ni[er escort. One fine-looking young I V.issian officer came swaggering down road, well-dressed and wearing ! -.,-> yes, and smartly painted our General Ik', passed, other officers, who were \v winded, made great objection to being '.cut away in ambulances with the men. ! 'nc protested that he ought to have a car to himself, but our officers did not si*, eye to eye tritit him int&is matter,

and finally a compromise was effected by allowing liim to sit in front beside the driver of the ambulance.

Some of the wounded prisoners liad to be brought in through their own shelling, after our men had passed on. One German who was lying rather badly wounded was moaning and whining amongst the falling shells from liis own side when a New Zealand sergeant came upon him. "Shut up," he said, in hl<, most peremptory tone, ''we didn't start this game, and in any case it's your own—shells that are falling around you How.' Of course, it tro.js without saying that all Germans are not like this. There lire many brave men among them. The Briton, though his nioraie i.-, en a high level, does not hold a monopoly in courage. Some of the German? fought to a finish; others almost to a finish. Among the latter were the machine-gunners. They have a trick of firing at our men till the last possible moment, and of then putting up their bands and crying '■Mercy! Mercy! Jvanierad!" Some fndeavor to clinch their plea by ;he production of photographs ok their wives mid children. They shoot our men down to the very last, but tl'ey always seem to have their little stock of family pictures bandy. But our men in general are wonderfully borbearing ami certainly extraordinarily forgiving. In view of the manner in which British prisoners have been treated on the German fide, our men are kindness itself to the captured. Some of the Germans, when they see that it is all up with- their side, go down on their knees and cry like children. One does not know what ou» men do under the stress and "train of similar circumstances, but one cannot imagine an Englishman doing that, if he did cry mercy he would probably do it in a more manly way.

One German officer apologised afterwards for surrendering. He was near one of* the great mines which blew up numb«rs of his men, and !?f< him da/ed. He eaW he did not mean to suneuder, but did not know what he was doing. Many of the prisoners paid a tribute to tlie effectiveness of our artillery mid to the dash of our attacking infantry.

•Another story that is absolutely vouched for relates how one of our New Zealand officers got the iron cross of the first order. Walking down a road with some German prisoners was one wearing an iron cross on his tunic, a New Zealand officer pointed to it, when the German, suddenly tearing it from his breast, throw it to the officer, remarking, in perfectly good English as lie did so—''Here! you can have it and the Kaiser."

THE SPIRIT OF OUR MEX

There are in every army a certain number of slackers, and many who welcome what they term a "cushy" wound 1 hat will take them to "Blighty." No doubt we have the species in the Xew Zealand Division. But, generally speaking. one must admit that the spirit of our men is truly splendid. On the eve of a big battle one offen finds officers and men who refuse to so sick, though suffering from ailments that at uneventful times would send them into hospital. So it has been on the occasion of the present battle.

As an indication of this spirit 1 have obtained permission to quote from two letters that have just come from wounded New Zealanders in English hospitals. One writes thanking his major for coming to sc<! him in the casualty clearing station. He adds that he was wounded in the head by a shell that hit the O.P. in which he was observing. And then 110 goes on: "I was operated on en the Sunday evening, and greatly regret that [ was unconscious wdien you arrived. I arrived here on Thursday last, and am gradually improving, but they arc still X-raying mv head. I finished my M.O. work on Saturday night, so my accident did not interfere with that matter."

The other writer expresses the hope that he did not'say too many weird and j wonderful things to the ofiicer when lie called to pee liira. lie remembered his sitting on the edge of his lied during' one, brief spasm of consciousness. ''Well,'" he adds, "I have to go through that business again next Wednesday, when one of England's leading surgeons is going to operate. IJow, Major, I would like you to do something for me if you would. It is to ask the N.Z.E.F. in London to get me back to the front as soon as I am clear of this place. If there is a standing order for me to go forward I may have a reasonable chance of getting into the thick of it again almost immediately, without having to wait as I did last time for months. A very sound reason for my request is that I have had only approximately eight months' actual fighting. 'Please do what you can for me, because, after all, I left Now Zealand to fight, and not to be a useless 'dud.' Well, Major look after yourself, and Keep a packet of cigarettes in your gas bag. They help a lot if you get a smack." The more I see of our, men the more I admire the splendid spirit with which they go into battic. One thought that there could be nothing finer than their dash and bravery oif the Somnie. but in this Battle of Messines I think they ex-celled even their former record. On every hand one hears the oft-repeated sentence: "Our men were simply splendid!" And the statement is made with a sincerity and an emphasis that give a meaning the mere words themselves cannot convey. That evening, standing outside our mcssvoom door, we listened to a band playing some platoons along the road tnwards the firing line. The men marched. gailv singing as they went. "That's the thing that will finish the Hermans."' sai.l the General's A.T).C. "There's not the slightest doubt about it," replied the man who was standing beside him. As we went in to dinner the band struck up another lively lilt. Two days later the A.D.C. was on his way to England with a nasty wound in his hip. a Brigadier had been killed with the same shell, and a General walking with them had a miraculous escape. Next day the General, while in ttiK front line, got a bullet through his steel helmet, front and back. It grazed his head, and was a close call. He was at vork a train as soon as he could get back to his headuqarters. But I must not mention his name, If I did he would scarcely forgive me. lint I. may be pardoned if I cite this fact as aii indication of the spirit of our officers. Officer, or n.c.0., or private —it is all the same. It is the very best, and they are out to win.