FIGHTING AUSTRALIANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1918, Page 6

FIGHTING AUSTRALIANS.

| TROOPS IX BOTII BATTLES. STEMMING THE GERMAN BUSH. London, April 21. It is no secret now that Australian troops are lighting in the northern as well as the southern battle. Australian infantry, put in one day to dig a trench line in the rear across country, in tiie evening found the battle only a few thousand yards ahead, of them.Next morning a .fierce attack opened. One could hear gust after gust of rifle fire break out ahead in certain parts of the line, sometimes reaching enormous intensity. Here and there retiring British troops passed through them, tut in front and on either iiank stubborn (bodies still ihung on, fighting, though they had 'been pressed day after day. Gradually the Australian line in the centre became the front line, and during tho afternoon the Germans began to press it at one point tremendously hard. The weight of this fell on tihe Virtorians, and by concentrating the fire from trench mortars on two small outposts the Germans managed to blot out these small trendies completely, but got no further. From that time onwards to the present every German who reached that part of tihe line had either been killed or made prisoner. On the flanks British troops were still holding on. On on - ; flank Scottish battalions remained out in the front facing the Germans and refused to bo relieved by the Australians until ordered to do so. On the other flank a magnificent unit which wa-; nisi' -1 three davs before into three days' continuous battle on an enormously extended front, handed over under orders its last advanced position ttfthe Australiahs, thus leaving only Germans ahead of them. CONTINUOUS ATTACKS. Next morning the Germans resumed the attempt to advance. The first to come out was a wave of skirmishers pushing across the country in order to test various avenues' for tin advance. After them came about six waves of infantry. At later stages troops came out in marching column along the roads. At one poin't two platoons of infantry with a field-gun coolly marched out within 800vds of our infantry The main thrust tliis day bore against the New South Welshmen. As the German skirmishers worked towards them, one vonng platoon commander ordered the riflemen and machine-gunners not to shoot until the Germans were" within 30 yards. When the grey uniforms approached through tho hedges across ploughed land, moving nearer and nearer, the machine-gunners asked if t'mv might shoot such snlennid target*. When the word was given, fire suddenly bur»t out. and its eft'eets on the instant were (orrible The Germans ran, but during the nay they again and again driWMcd hp. continuously pressing the attack- Bv afternoon they managed to steal into a farm directly on the flank line. and. from 'buildings and hedges, began to shoot directly down on portions of our position. A GALLANT PLATOON. The situation was growing difficult, so a voung company cemmander conferred with a youngster commanding one of his platoons. This bov, a fine footballer, iind son of a well-known headmaster of a Sydney school, offered to take out his platoon and go straight for the place. 7 hero arc few finer things in the history of that splendid brigade than the mannor in which those twenty to thirty men sprang up and moved straight for tiie farm along deadly hedges in the midst of the enemy's buttle position. Their determination carried them through. The sight of these men sweeping with perfect coolness towards thom appears to havj impressed the Germans with the idea that a far bigger counter-attack was in progress. One who looked on says that the whole section of the German iine opposite this point began instantly to fall back, hundreds of men shrinking hack. Hie Jiandful of Australians struggled through the hedges and scrambled into the farm. Half a dozen brave men fell I there. Several others were wounded but they cleared that house, killed 30 or 40 Germans, captured a number of prisoners, and saved a dangerous situationLater we withdrew from that farm, but by then the danger had passed. Several times since then the Germans have attempted to pierce the line, but our artillbrv and machine-guns broke them up. The only time when tliev haw reached our trench, those who reached it stayed there. The. German attacks arc certainly not finished, but our men are well, and despite, snowstorms, exactly similar to those which drove across the sky between bright intervals this time last year during the earlier fighting at Bullecourt, the men are wonderfully well and in good spirits. It is now possible to state that the Australian divisions which were hurried down in the beginning of (he last week of March to block the Gorman advance on Amiens were the third and fourth. The fourth division holds tho reputation throughout the force as the most-tra-velled Australian division about France. It lias fougbt in every field, with invariably the greatest distinction. The third division, the newest of all. hud never before fought outside Flanders, and came to the Somme country with the keenest enthusiasm. Its battalions had the honor of bestriding a ridge hotwoen the Somme and the An ere in the direct path of the Germans, where they were sent ill "to -battle individually as thov dismounted from omnibuses, and flnn" themselves ngainst the enemy advance guards. The fourth division name iii'o action eontemnoraiie.-iusly west of Albert, after n matmiPonl forced ts-r-eh. One of its brigades wont into action to support a tired p>-;i:.-|. rljvlsim., This, Brigade <'■<> of hert, met'lieavior fighting (hat tho (hi-' division n-.r.n..'.>1!-- yher" i ( was oiillod litnn In withstand Orroan c-a "nils. r ..-, "'■oaf tin "* T " of \ r ( wh"'l "ffr-i- p l\,, v |!, rA , v .'onnin.. infe niv. of fnuv -r.-n d'visii-is. ICfGTJTKKX" HOC!!,'l-'|i::IT[X( April I nml .I wi-vo ( );,»< wiiio'i ..-Ml long live in (lie bM-rv of Au=:ra-inn il'liis-- tbe dav-s v.-l i' - th" fii'v'ivvi; rriol ' '' " " 1 ""e-'i V I ' I :• I '' : 1- ",IV| 1 with them, to 1-a-k a !.» ' •••• .•'■■■■■' -! "V--. 1 , Bretorinci'V tl« r'-'n-h r? , n i,-v j t.fotli a'id "i" a ■ InflV- -'■•rrii 'l odds. The flanks were consistently hard

prsssed, and the town itself, the centre of tjheir position, was delugc-d with shell fire. Nevertheless, giving ground only by inches, and repeatedly counter-attack-ing, they finally saved the position, after IS hours' fighting. An outstanding feature of this fighting is the skill of the Australian soldier with ride and machine-gun. Day after day they sniped Germans in the open like raMiito. O n tfl\p morning of April 12 the Germans launched a heavy converging attack on Tiangard, and moved in one direction obliquely across the front of a New South Wales battalion immediately on the left of the French. This manoeuvre was described by our own men as either madness or colossal impudence. The artillery wrought hmvoc on the long enemy columns which marched as if on a divisional parade. It offered a target to our infantry and machine-guns at various points at a range of 250 yards. The enemy captured the village, but the French farther on, cheered bv the Australians, who furnisihed help on the flanks with machine-guns, advanced and due; in. Inter the same evening they aitadked and retook the village.