NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE BATTLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 September 1918, Page 8

NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE BATTLE.

BANCOURT AND FKEMICOUET, ADVENTUROUS FEATS. Special Despatch from the New Zealand Official War Obi-respondent. 'By Cablegram. August 31. Yesterday ended with two more villages in our hands—ißancourt and Fremicourt. As you already know, tuny fell to the North Islanders and the Rifle Brigade. Through the day tha New Zcalanders fought extremely well. Indeed, the more one sees of their work and of the battlefield they had to fight over, the greater one's admiration becomes. Their dash, determination, and initiation are simply superb. They I advance over a wido front and penetrate, deeply, killing many Germans,! making many prisoners, and capturing innumerable machine-guns and some artillery. They do all this in the face of stern opposition, for there is no denying the fact that the enemy in this sector has all along been fighting his rearguard actions remarkably well. His machine-gunners are stout fellows, who fight till we are on top of them; but the German High Command is ruthlessly sacrificing them in order to save the artilleryYesterday the New Zcalanders on the right had very hard fighting, as Reincourt, to the south of them, was still held by the enemy. They went gallantly forward to their objective, in spite of the difficulties that confronted them- It was typically open warfare. [ The men worked as though on a field I day. sections rushing forward under Ifire, then firms? on the hostile machinegunners, and allowing the other seenons on their flanks to move forward. On their left, the Rifles were counterntti.ekcd. and their posts were driven sliehtlr hack: but the troops on the left conformed to the line, and the enemy made no great progress. CasuI pities' were caused by machine-gun fire ! from TVmconvt and from huts to the north-west nf Villers-au-Flos. and the sunken roads in the same Incalitv, one of our best officers being killed. Another was wounded earlv in the moraine", lint, carried on all day. In two dnvs we bad made an advance of six thousand yards, in spite of strons opposition. Notwithctnnrling this speedy advance, nil the battalions had manerred to get their food right up to the front line posts, and men even had hot meals, except some on the extreme left flink. Our artillery, taking a. gTeat risk, have also pushed forward to extreme limits. To-day I saw cookers and artillery side bv side, and one officers laughinslv remarked that the enemv was heincr "chased home by 18pounders and cookers." RIFLES ATTACK AT SHORT NOTICE The Rifles also did splendid work yesterday. Late at night orders came for an attack at 5 am. For this troops were told off who had done two attacks at Pusieu. The order was to take Fremicourt- These troops, who had been bivonacir.g away to the north of Bapaume, moved forward at 3 a.m. for a two-miles' march at a hurried pace, and arrived at the assembly-point just at the time the barrage was due to commence. They waited 10 minutes, as if to get their second wind, and advanced to the attack practically without a halt. Then they fought their way for 2500 yards. The enemy was taken bv surprise, and many were killed and captured in and about their billets on the Bapaume-Cambrai Road, During the day some 250 prisoners were taken. Late in the dav, our riflemen, going into dug-outs to look for resting-places for the night, came upon sheltering Germans and captured them in two and threes. One man found six German officers in one of the dug-outs. In an hour and a half our men were on portion of the ridge 500 yards beyond Fremicourt- The troops on the. left had meantime been held up in the trench svstem near Beuimy, across the 1 Oambrai Road, and our riflemen at the ' close of the dav found themselves on the rid»e with the enemy on the same ridge to the risrhj and left of them. The company commander sat there till near- . llv 2 in the nfternoon. AVhen the Germans came at him, he feli hack reluctantly, but only for a short distance. Owine to the precaution* adopted \>r our troops, and their skill in taking advantage of the ground, the total ca<mMties'for the day were only about 50. Ae-oinst this was the toll of German dead and wounded and the bis haul of nrisoners- Some of these troops had to j force their wnv through a. hi" railway ! sWVukt. in which there were 10 lines ana stacks of timber, ammunit'on. en<rlnr.pr3 ' stores, and huts. Here the enemy had made a stand with one comTinny, many of whom had been put out of action, but he still lield the position Mistinntclv all the day before, and remained there at night We had no baT™<ro on this part of the front, so opr small party of Rifles was told to rush the place at dawn without a bnrraw. 1 This they • did, surprising the enemy,

many of whom were killed and the rest taken prisoner. They were greatly delighted with their adventure. Ahead, the enemy still held high ground, and he was sniping from there during the whole afternoon. Our men dared not raise a finger. We did not shell the village, 'but shelled the area indiscriminately. 'By this time, however, our men had dug in, and were very scattered, so the ciisuailies were not heavy.