WITH OUR BOYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 October 1918, Page 3

WITH OUR BOYS.

SURPRISE ATTACKS BY NEW ZEAI4ANDERS. REVEL IN OPEN WARFARE. SCENES ON THE GERMAN RETREAT. BRAVE NEW ZEALAND DOCTOR. GENERAL RUSSELL HONORED. (l'rom the Official War Correspondent.) Oct. 16. There is a pause in the battle in this sector, and the enemy is feverishly digging in, and wiring on the high ground beyond the Selle river. Be is shelling the evacuated villages nearest his line, but is evidently getting short of ainmuniion. The New Zealauders have made night lighting their specialty, and this lias resulted not only in the surprising of the enemy and the capturing of villages, hut lias saved many casualties, for the country here lacks cover, and any daylight advance is inet with ma-chine-gun fire from the houses, steeples, and high ground that command a wide field of fire- In one attack, so great was the surprise that the food in the German officers' messes was found halfeonsumed, or still in the cooking-pots. In one locality we found a large French factory utilised as a horse hospital, with an operating room, and very complete arrangements generally. Another factory, with all the machinery removed, was. as the time of our advance, being used as a huge carpenters' and metal workers' shop. We are richer for the many tables, forms, chairs, and cuphoards which the enemy had not time to hum or carry off. At another place the sick and wounded horses, with Hunlike thoroughness, had their throats ent, so that they would not fall into our hands alive. Other horses which had been killed by mob or shel, had been bled and disembowelled, and their flesh was in process of being cut off for human food. Civilians tell tales of ill-treatment during their four years' bondage, and become voluble in their descriptions of the ill-treatment of British prisoners, who were insulted and beaten by guards. For a long time the Germans showed intense hatred of the British. they included Americans in their category of vituperation. In Caudry, women had to work in factories for a small wage. Their overseers went to the length of spitting in their faces when they did not work to their satisfaction. Eventually, their wages were claimed from the commune, so that they practically got nothing for their labor. They were tiaid in depreciated German paper currency, and the town was fined in a large sum prior to the retreat. The recent fighting has been unlike anything we have experienced in this war. Our men have marched for miles across open country, fighting as they went. There is no sign of wire nor trench, save for a few hastily-dug ma-chine-gun pits, made with the object of holding up our advance. In one fight we had battalion headquarters right in the open. The commander sat at the roadside with the telephone and staff beside him, in full view of all that was happening- His troops moved forward in artillery formation by platoons, across open country, taking advantage of the folds in the ground. The battalion stalf was on horseback. One could sec them galloping up to meet company commanders, and the latter, also mounted, galloped back to give their orders to the platoon commanders. No time was lost, and the troops were continually moving forwarded- It was open warfare, as detailed in the drill-book, and in which our units had been trained during short spells out of the line. In most of this fighting both officers and men did so well that it was difficult to single out any individuals for special awards, but there is one moving incident that standi out in bold relief. The modest hero was an M.O. of an Auckland battalion. He was dressing the wounded in the open while the battle was proceeding. Owing to the exigencies of the situation, there was not a better place available for his regimental aid post, and with the enemy shells bursting over the position lie gallantly continued his merciful work. The casualties were many, and >as the medical officers of the adjoining units had been unable to get up, he had for 36 hours to dress the wounded of three battalions as they streamed iif to him. Wounded there were killed and wounded while awaiting his aid. One shell blew a wounded man to pieces, bespattering his uniform, but to all appearances he was outwardlv calm, and be went on dressing the wounds of others. In a trench close beside him a salvo blew a man's hand iflV while he was dressing a wounded soldier, and he himself was badly shaken. Even this did not deter him, and the English, Scottish, New Zealand, and German wounded continued to claim his attention. He organised stretcher parties, and had severe cases carried down to deep German dug-outs in the vicinity. His own escapes were miraculous, for he worked continuously in grave danger for a day and two nights. Oct. 17.

His Majesty tile Kin" of the Belgians has awarded General Russell the decoration of Commander of the Order of Leopold, with the Croix de Guerre. The ceremony of investiture was performed .by General Orte, Chief of the Belgian Mission at British Headquarters, who stated that the King of the Belgians fully realised the remarkable generosity with which the people of New Zealand subscribed to the Belgian Relief Fund, and he also greatly apnreciated the fact that the division which General Russell commanded had won back the first Belgian town —Messines —since the German invasion of his country He added that his Majesty had watched with great interest the victorious career of the division, both in Belgium and in France.