MEMORABLE SCENE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1918, Page 2

MEMORABLE SCENE.

LIBERATION OF THE FRENCH. -PROMINENT PART BY NEW ZEALANDERB, (From Captain Alalcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent wit'ii tlie New Zealand Forces in the Field.) October 10. Continuing their advance to-day, after occupying Eontains and Beauvois, tile fltago and Canterbury troops, swinging to the right, captured Herpignes Farm, and are now at Viesly and on the hills overlooking Selle River. From the heights beyond the Cambrai road we saw Quiovy burning, and still further on there were fires about Solesmes. These are most probably dumps that t'iie enemy cannot get away. In to-day's advance our men had practically no fighting. In the captured villages, where we found French civilians, there were memorable scenes. We found some who had been for ten days hiding in cellars and living on potatoes in order to escape the Boehe captivity Daily they could hear the sound of our guns coming nearer, but t'hey judged our advance best by the fact that, whereas the enemy balloons were gradually going further back, the English balloons same day by day nearer. The inhabitants of the liberated villages greeted our soldiers with tears jf joy in their eyes. This morning when they first saw the New Zealandera advancing, they felt sorry for them, fts they thought they must be prisoners. Then they noticed that they were carrying rifles, and slowly it dawned on. them that, after your years of bondage, their deliverers lhad arrived. One old lady of over eighty, who is still young in heart and quick-witted, danced with joy A husband meeting 1113 wife later asked if she had sesn the Nov,' Zealanders entering the village, "Yes," she replied; "I kissed the first one I saw."

There were strange scenes in Caudry. It is a town of considerable size, but only two thousand civilians are left in it to-day. Tricolor flags that had been hidden away for years, or were hurriedly made in anticipation of relief, were flying from many buildings. The town was not greatly damaged, but in the anger of his impending retreat the' Boclie had smashed furniture and mirrors, clocks, and a hundred other articles in private houses. One woollen factory that we went through had all the looma recently broken. The Germans had evidently gone right along the lines of looms with hammers, smashing a 3 they went. Yet the building, even to the glass roof, was untouched by shell-fire. The inhabitants complained of the severity of their treatment by the invaders, and one heard stories of young women taken away from their own villages that ono would rather not believe. People of Caudry were well clothed, and were certainly not starved; but for their food, they were, except for w'iiat they could grow, indebted to the American and Spanish Committee. The Germans entered their houses at any time of the day or night and took from them any little store of surplus food they might have accumulated. They made the girls work in the factories, nominally for two and a-lialf francs a day; but the committee was ultimately made to pay. A lew days ago they took away all able-liodied males between the ages of fifteen and sixty, to -work behind the German lines. They wanted at first to take every boy of fourteen. Some of the soldiers became arrogant and brutal few days before the retirement. Some soldiers insulted a young girl in the main square, and on her father remonstrating her was bound with ropes. In one street we saw numerous red crosses on houses. This, was a street in wfliich all the sick had been herded, so that the enemy might shell or bum the rest of the town. They were now retiring to their own homes in other streets, for the enemy had not time to greatly damage this town. ( When the enemy say that he had to retreat he started looting, and carried away anything of value that he could possibly take. Ono man who had been in Cambrai said that latterly the discipline of the Germans had in many cases become poor. He himself saw seven hundred men with t'heir officers who had .refused to fight marched back to Cambrai. The German soldiers got meat only when they were in the front line; none when they were in rest. One man spoke in admiration of the, wonderful bravery of the British aviators. They flew right down over the hous.es, firing at groups of soldiers, showing no fear. There was one wonderful successful exploit, when an aviator hit a, train of fifty trucks and set on fire an enormous dump of food and other stores. It was one of the biggest German dumps in France. To-day all the troops wore in high spirits. It is a strange experience for them, well behind the Hindenburg line, to come suddenly upon, villages with the houses almost undestroyed, and to be joyously treated by people they themselves have delivered from bondage. .■, .