FALL OF LE QUESNOY.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1918, Page 6

FALL OF LE QUESNOY.

SURRENDER Or OARRiSON.

and suhp.oijjvi) '.rrwr town.

(F.-oe Malcolm iloss, Correspondent wrtu the Now Z»U»i For-iss.)

(Dutevsd Cable.) . . November 14. Tito New Zealanders were again in action to-day when tie British armies resumed their advance. In the recent operation their tiAid had been Northeast but they now swung round due East. In their pathway Jay 'historic Le Quesnoy with its most ramparts well garrisoned with German riflemen and machine gunners. A bombardment that heralded tie advance of the New Inlanders came from several brigades of artillery while the ramparts were screened by a smoke barrage as our men moved forward in an encircling increment.

Hhe town itself we could neither bombard nor ga.s as there were many civilians in it. For thus reason a frontal attack was impossible without heavy casualties. Thi: troops moved to the assemblies and ammunition was dumped in darkness. Night fell with drizzling rain but morning broke fine save for a light fog which soon disappeared before a southern wind and bright sun. At five thirty our massed artillery broke out in a drumfire of creeping barrage and the troops advanced to encircle the town. By the time our troops had half encircled the vilalgte the barrage searched tho ramparts of the West and Nortlhwest faces for a quarter of an hour after which patrols pushed forward to ascertain the position. They were met with determined opposition from machine gunners and snipers yet in face 61 this tltey scaled the outer ramparts with lad--1 ders which they carried for that purpose i and so secured commaading positions at certain points. They also carried cork floats with which to cross the moat should it be flooded. It was almost with regret tlhey found it dry for some of these diggers would have thoroughly enjoyed the novel experience of such horaeric warfare. Our troops on the right ! were counter-attacked from the right flank of the divisional area by five officers and a hundred men, fifty of whom were shot down and the rest taken prisoners. The latter came in under command of a couple of our runners. SOME DABING INCIDENTS. There were some daring incidents. A Sergeant who wears the ribands of D.C.M. and M.M. scaled the ramparts, shot down the drew of a madiiine-gun, and proceeded to investigate the position inside the town when he was shot at from some houses, wounded in the arm, and forced to retire. One of the first, if not the first up tSie ramparts, was a Maori from the pioneer battalions and his rifle was thrown up after lim by a salvage officer. Neither had any business in the fight but no doubt the sporting instincts of the latter and t'lje feats of the ancestors of the former in storming similar slopes in tribal warfare impelled them forward in this venture. The Maori was met with bombs and the salvage officer might have been seen later riding back with a wounded arm in a sling and -beaming with delight. During the morning a battalion headquarters captured a hundred prisoners. One of our most daring battalion commanders received his third wound, a bullet through the shin bone. I saw him later still conducting operations with a bandaged leg propped up in a chair. His brother who ias four wound stripes on his sleeve has the misfortune to be out of this fight as he is on leave in England. One of our men who was captured by the Bocl.-ea early in the morning was recaptured laler in the day by hU own buttaiior.

PREMATURE REJOICINGS. When the inhabitants saw the New ZeaJanders or. the ramparts they came o"t of their bouses and dheered and waved flags. Their rejoicings T«re somewhat premature for the enemy c|ntiimcd to fight on. I tried to get into '•'.e town at ten ih. the morning and found the road and adjoining fields tfcWp swept by mae.'iine-gun fire. In the afternoon I tried another way and reached the outer ramparts to find Bochc machine-gunners and snipers still busy. The Maoris were sheltering under the railway embankment awaiting an opportunity to go forward to meusi the road and fill in the wide craters.

The Bodhe was determinedly holding out. Earlier in the day one of our officers had gone in to oak tike garrison to surrender, and a largo a'jmber laid down their arms and proceeded to march out but were fired on by their own machinegunners and scattered. Another officer crossed the ramparts at a different place i with a view to getting the garrison to ' surrender, but the guide led him by jsucb devious ways that for the time being ho Tetusncd. Later still we sent a message in German by aeroplane, informing the garrison that they were entirely surrounded and had better surrender. TS.is message was dropped inside the town but stil! the Germans fought o«_ la the afternoon another message wis e*r.f them. This had the O.f-sired cf-frt-i. Tiia ,r.'?T:«on at Isst tot end-ired.

M.\-STKKBT*TK»."S OV JO'*:. The Brigadier, witih' other of his officers isat-vj-c-tl Oie town, and were received with manifestations of joy by about 1500 civilians. The town is expected to yield a thousand prisoners so that the captures by the two brigades for the day should amount to 250tX One brigade estimalce ft alone has captured a.bout fifty guns. One of Uie unique sights of the war was a German gun with six horses and enemy riders up being taken l-.wk through our lines. A doctor and : V:i whole staff were among the prison- :>■!•; captured. BBut this is not all. .YiiiJi' Le Quesnoy was holding out, a | 'urigade supported by all tie available artillery that could get up, was rapidly advancing to objectives far ahead and before the day bad passed had got beyond range of Oialr artillery. An Auckland battalia* took: Rsmposeau with priaoMra, ra»*hwgnna, and civilians, and, tva WeOtngfero battalions pawing thraogi ttaoi captured Volerr.au and IMaO* «tare teatu prisoners and civiBmm www found, and to-*%nl our men cat «eH MK"0» fwttwr <nd of tie mri towt «f UonnaL AlUgrtAar it 1m tent » fltortom day for vtuct the gkafe*B»on> out £vM\mr"