NO SURRENDER.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 January 1919, Page 7

NO SURRENDER.

SCOTS SURROUNDED FOR TWO DAYS.

RINSED ROUND WITH GERMAN DEAD. Sir Douglas Haig, in a recent dispatch, makes special mention of a unit of seven Highlanders, who held out at their post in Moeuvres for the two days the enemy occupied it, until relieved by our advancing troops. Sir! Douglas Haig says:— I

"On the occasion of the hostile attack at Moeuvres on September 17 a corporal and six men of the 15th Battalion Highland Light Infantry, 52nd Division, forming the garrison of one of our posts just north of the village, were surrounded and believed to have been captured.

"During the two days in which the Germans were in occupation or Moeuvres this party, in fact, maintained their position with great gallantry, and inflicted many casualties on the enemy "On the night of Thursday-Friday, when Moeuvres was retaken by our troops, the whole party regained their unit without loss "

Further particulars of this heroic stand are given by Reuter's correspondent at the front, who describes it as a feat of valor and endurance which deserves to be recorded in letters of gold.

When tho heavy German attack of Tuesday afternoon forced back the scattered garrison of Moeuvres to a line well west of the village, one of our posts established near the cemetery was reported to be holding out by the troops which were obliged to retira from the vicinity of it. As this post was only held by a corporal and six men of the Highland Light Infantry, it was concluded it would speedily be mopped up by the enemy But when our counter-attack at seven o'clock on Thursday evening drove the Germans back to, and even beyond, the line whence they had delivered their assault, the gallant Scotsmen were still found to be holding out They were rather weak, and their eyes were redringed, but they were able to echo the tumultuous cheering of their comrades with triumphant lustiness.

RAVENOUS, BUT UNDAUNTED

A regular cordon of corpses around the post told how fiercely they had been assailed. They had practically no effective shelter against the slashing rain storms, and were sodden through much of the time.

Ceaseless vigilance wa3 necessary to prevent the enemy getting within bombing distance, and although they knew that they were right in the midst of the foe, they never doubted that their comrades would be coming back, and tlieir concern was whether their ammunition would hold out meanwhile.

Their rations were all gone, and they were ravenous. In any event, they were Sot going to surrender, hut when it became impossible to hold the iitt'.e post any longer meant to make a cortie end try to get through to the British outpost line.

Here was the spirit of J?orkc-'s Drift over again, but whereas, with their eighty heroes of the old 24th Foot, Chard and Bromhead were only called upon to hold up an army 4000 strong throughout the night of January 28, 1879, these jeven indomitable Scotsman stuck to their post for forty-eight houri. CORPORAL'S OWN STORY.

A representative of the "Petit Parisien"' has interviewed the Scottish corporal, the hero ot Moeuvres. The corporal related in simple words how he and tiia comrades held out in their "den," without provisions, and with no water but what they had in their flasks.

"I knew,": he said, "that the British had been to retire, but 1 had not received any orders, so we decided to wait and see' The men with me were splendid fellows.

"The Germans attacked lis three times by the light of .the moon, but they were repulsed by our rifle fire, without neces--sitating the use .-of . our ma'ehiiie-guri. Then they hoped to reduce us .to starvabut,fortunately the British artillery forced them-to .jail,back." : : The only reference which the corporal made to hia personal sufferings waa to .(regret-his delayed leave. Hi»,only dream of reward, says the journal, was to see again hw-wife'and two sous jp lus. little ho«e in Fife. :