THE FIRST MAN IN

AT THE TAKING OF LE

QUESNOt

WHO WAS HE ?

(From Capt: Malcolm Ross, Correspon- ' : dent with the N.Z. Forces.)

LONDON, Bth November.

-"Fifty, years hence there will be old mciv sitting in the ingleuook in New Zealand telling their grandchildren tales of ..the- storming of Le Quesnoy. The 'more one.sees of the wonderful old fortress the more remarkable seems ' tlto achievement. Mcii of mettle would have held it for a month; the Germans Icsfc it in a day. The outer and inner ramparts, with their moats and.island bastion in between, bade defiance to an invader. That such a fortress should fall to New.Zealanders is an episode in history. Stranger still is the fact that the first man to enter was a Maori—one of our Pioneer Battalion.

After stiff fighting and several casual ties to officfers and men, a battalion of the. Rifle Brigade found themselves within three hundred yards of the Porte de Valenciennes. Already the Boche had. laid a mine. Presently there was a loud explosion, and the bridge was hurled into the air. The garrison, en tirely held^by New Zealanders, foughi on. At 230 the battalion commander (who is one of the most. determined fightere) decided to try a sortie. Two officers and ten others went forward. To this party there had attached themselves some Maoris of the Pioneer Battalion, who for the moment, having nothing else: to do, joined the fighting troopa. One of these, seizing a Boche rifle, led the way, and shot the first German he saw. There can be no better account of the incident than his own terse and humorous description: "When I see the Boche I shoot, and kill one. Then I shoot again, and miss. Then I fire the third time, but no plurry bullet." (There had been only two bullets in the magazine of that Boche rifle). The Maori, then realising that there was little more that he could do, returned to his unit and exchanged the rifle for a shovel, well content that he had killed at least one Boche. Like some demon 'in a pantomime he faded out of the picture, and no one knows his name or number; but the battalion commander is still looking for him to recommend him, for a well-earned decoration. FOUGHT REMARKABLY WELL. This battalion, like others, fonght remarkable well, and what they accomplished helped greatly to let another battalion into the centre of the town, where the Commandant formally offered his, revolver in token of surrender. The sortie did not lead to any very definite result, but later, when the German ma-chine-gunners had be.en driven from the ramparts, and two field guns that had been shooting at the. battalion at pointblank range had been silenced, the men swarmed into the town. They had been seen previously by the inhabitants, who wildly cheered. them on. Entering the town they had a similar experience to that of the Fourth Battalion, who had already entered from the other side, ■ 'ni ter "scaling the raw part wall on their tall ladder. People excitedly crowded about them, and they were hugged and • kissed, and presented with flags and flowers. The frenzied delight of these Frenchmen and Frenchwomen was pinbounded. Later, into one of tbe.vaulted chambers lately occupied by the' enemy, went the battalion commander, and another officer.' Thither the Boche had" conveyed much French furniture—beds, mattresses, pillows, mirrors—and , some of the poorer people now rushed in, anxious to get their own back. l

-Near the door was a piano stolen by the Uoche. In^-a moment of: inspiration a Frenchman sat. down at it and .commenced to play the "Marseillaise." The effect was electrical. Men, ■■women, children, and: soldiers'joined in. the stirring strains of the, splendid hymn, the echoes of which resounded from the vaulted roof. The thin .faces and poorly-clad forms of f.he liberated civilians; in the light of two candles held by the battalion commander and one,"of Ws men, made an unforgettable scene that, only a Rembrandt could do justice to. The place was-strewn with Boche equipment;: and one excited "'oldv frenchman began hacking at it with, a German bayonet that he had'picked up. 'Then the battalion band .marched in along tho Rue Thiers, and so on to ■ the Place CAnnes, followed by a wildly excited throng, waving the tricolour, singing, ' .and chpering: Tlie band struck up the "Mar "liaise." That pnt: the townspeople on fire. One moment you could see women shouting: and singing in wild delight, .and next tears, were streaming down their faces. For four long years they had been bond-slaves—now they ivere free.: Relief lonsr-expected ■ had come at last. As one old man put .it— "They took our liberty; they took" our food; they took our.furniture, -and now la .bonne delivrance!" • ; THE RIFLE BRIGADE'S WORK In the telegrams already • despatched I have referred,to\the work of the' three battalions of the-Rifle Brigades It may now be added . that'Hhe first battalion had a very hard row to hoe owing to difficulties on their right flank: It was not a want of valour in tho neighbouring troops, but rather a. thin barrage on this part of the advance, that was responsibio for this. In this battalion the commander and no fewer than ten officors were wounded, and though the comrnandei; continued to fight-, so great a loss in officers' was undoubtedly a handicap. . . • .-, • Of all the battalions the Third ha*d apparently the easiest run through. It had, nevertheless, some extraordinary experiences. It had a few : casualties from enemy shelling about three in tha morning getting to. its assembly points. It followed the First' Battalion, and at an early etage of the advance got into a fog, so dense- that tho. taft company could not be-seen, and two runners were sent out to find it. Presently one of them came back with' three linn automatic revolvers slunsr about him and a broad smile under his tin hat; It appeared that his mate and.he had suddenly stumbled on,a German machine-! gun position. "I'm sorry. I could not find the company, Sir," he said: "but my mate is bringing in a machine-gun and what is left of the crew!", 'Suro enough the other runner soon appeared »with .the .machine-gun and-those of tho crew-, that had not been disposed of with revolvers. Runners had rushed the I position, killed several, and tho rest kameraded." . : . . There was another incident that had a touch of, comedy about it. The battalion commander, intelligence officer, three signallers, and three runners, advanced their headquarters to an orchard. The commander was standing on the road when he. noticed looming up through the fog a number of men whom at first ho took to.be Tommies advancing from his right rear. Taking a second look, at them he saw that. they were Boches. Most of his men were sitting with their backs against apple trees and smoking, cigarettes. Realising the danger, ho called to ■•them to prepare for action. •They were eight to about eighty, but they sailed into the enemy with their revolvers; a second lieutenant rushing in

with such vigour and determination that the Huns, taken completely off their gnard,,at once put up their hands. The eight New Zealarider3 began to strip them of their avms, actually taking the revolvers out of the hands of the officers. They were Germans trying to get back to their garrison in Quesnoy. Amongst them was.a messenger from the First Battalion whom they had ca.ptured, arid he, too,. quickly " kameraded," being afraid that his follow New Zealauders would shoot. Afterwards, it was seen j that these' Germans had a .machine-gun 1 ready, to-fire. If-they had put up a fight it would have been headquarters and not the eighty Huns that would have been prisonered. A'CALL TO SURRENDER.. Later on this "battalion commander sent a German-officer into Le Quesnoy with a message, asking the garrison to surrender. A platoon commander took him up to the inner gate, before which the German burst into tears, being afraid that his- own men might shoot him for a deserter. The Diggers,- however, insisted that .be should go in. They saw no.more of him. About throe j in the afternoon two more Germans were sent- in with a message to say that if the garrison did not come out in batches j of .five at a time, the New Zealaaders ■would slaughter- the whole lot. These two peace envoys returned," and stated that the German soldiers were willing to surrender, but the commandant ■would not agree. Apparently, however, [ this dire threat had some effect, for afterwards resistance gradually slackened, and the next thing this battalion commander heard was that the New Zeala-nders were over the top of the highest wall and into the citadel. One tank which some New Zealander* directed to a ma<>hine-giin nest that was holding tip the Tommies on the flank did really good'work.

Two scouts did a very plucky thing ; they ran into a party of between twenty ancf thirty Huns, killed twelve, and brought in the rest as prisoners. Another incident, was the,dropping of ammunition by one of our planes—a kindly and a daring action—though our men were not in need of it. The advance was so fast that those behind did riot know its extent, and artillery officers who came up to ask if it was safe to come so far with their guns were told that the line was already far ahead. The New Zealanders could see numbers of the enemy running away, but could not get at them. The initiar*barrage was magnificent, and even terrorising to our own men, who in somo places thought twice before starting after it. The noise and concussion were bo great that officers told me they suffered from headaches so severe that they could not sleep that night. During lie day several batches of Germans came in under the white flag as "our troops advanced. CRUSHING i BLOWS. Under the crushing blows both in offence and defence by the British and French anndes on the Western front in the latter half of this year, it is quite clear that ihe enemy suffered enormous losses. Botfc iv Flanders and here there are German cemeteries that contain thousands df graves. In one place during the • recent advance corpses have Been seen bound together in fours with wire. One' wonders if they were destined for the glycerine factory. German pioneers. and the transport personnel have been depleted to hold fast the line, and generally there is great disorganisation in units. The enemy appears to he retreating fast to the Mons-Maubeuge line. In the meantime orders have been issued, in view of German emissaries appearing on this front with the white flag, to ask for an armistice. In the recent fighting we have had losses, and many good men have gone under. Never in the history of the division have the Diggers been- in greater heart. Their morale is truly wonderful. : . SPECIAL ORDER- OFTHE -DAY. 'LONDON, 10th November. .. The Divisional Commander, in a special order of the day, expressed to all: ranks!his appreciation-of their work during the past fortnight's operations. "At no time," he adds, "has the division fought with more spirit: and determination;; nor have its efforts at' any time been crowned with greater success." He is' "convinced that the results achieved are due to the determination of every- individual'to do his utmost towards the common end." NEARING THE END. . , . 9th, November. Tor«l»y an extraordinary position provails on this front. But for the rumble of pasfiing transport and the horn of a few . planas, no. battle sound. meets the ear. Our. own as well as. the. enemy's guns, ate silent. The British artillery has been passed up. for .miles with advancing infantry, but can find not'^ag to shoot, ati.. The German armies, which have been in quick retreat, have disappeared into the blue. . In'Le Quesnoy one continues to hear cad tales of the German treatment of British prisoners. One commandant went-along the ranks lashing them with his whip. The treatment was so, bad on one occasion that a German sergeant interposed to prevent a German officer ill-treating bur men. After their last brilliant achie-vement the New Zealanders have come out of the line, and the hope is general that the next line they will have to Hold will be the Rhine. . ' ■ ' ONE OF THE LAST SCENES IN THE DRAMA. ' ' ' 10th November. One of the last scenes in the drama of-war was enacted to-day in the square of the old frontier town of Le Quesnoy. At 2 in the afternoon, the President of the French Republic, attended by French officers, and wit^ the tricolour flying from his car, drove into the main oquare, amid outbursts, of cheering. ■ The New Zealanders furnished a guard of honour. Tha square .was crowded with our troops and civilians. Many other New Zealanders watched, from every window and balcony, and even from 'the roofs of buildings to which they had climbed. Whelrone of our bands struck up "The Marseillaise,'! there was a renewed outburst of enthusiasm, and children drawn up in.the square waved a welcome with hundreds of flags. General Harper, our corps commander, and General Russell, •with'members of their staffs and other officers, were present. ■ The streets were ablaze with bunting, arid the square itself fluttered in bright snnshine the lAllied flags, with the New Zealand ensign in the most prominent position. A French 'plane, flying low, circled over this remarjcable assemblage,. and drew forth another burst of cheering; while a British 'piano which followed: got a similar welcome. The President, addressing the civic authorities (among whom was the Mayor, recently returned from a German prison because, he would not pay a heavy fine), said that the enemy had now been told the terms on which lie mipht have an armistice. He must answer Yea or Nay. X he refused those conditions he would be driven, from, the rfimaining part of Franco, which he had devastated, to his own borders, and pursued even beyond their confines. The people of France had -suffered untold and incalculable miseries; but it was not France that would hay© to pay; it was the enem>. " Citizens -of 'Le Quesnoy," added M. Poincare, addressing the grey-headed | lathers who stood before him 1 uncovered, ["you owe your liberty to the action of the Allied armies, and notably to Mir New Zealand troops who are assembled here to-day." ••' SISTER'S-OF MERCY. After a bi'ief ceremony, the President walked io tlus hospital, where he sought

out Sister St. Jean, who with other Sisters of Mercy had played such a conspicuous part in alleviating the terrible sufferings of British prisoners in this town. He found her sorting linen, and thanked her in the name of the Republic for what she had done. They will tell you, "these sisters, almost with tears, tales of brutality that Englishmen can scarcely believe. Any day on which a British prisoner did not die was a redletter day in their calendar. Usually several died each day. Nearby" is Mor mal Forest, where new history has been made since. Stevenson paddled past it on his inland voyage. There the.Princess de Croy, sister of the Prince who has been so long associated with tho New Zealand Division as head of the Belgian Mission, fed and clothed the British prisoners. The Princess w.is placed in solitary confinement in a German prison, where, ill almost to death and badly fed, she languished for a year or more. In that wood to-day I saw the graves of many Germans who had.fallen to New Zealand bullets. From the other side of, the world just retribution had at last overtaken them., | THE END. I *" 11th November. The news of cessation of hostilities this mornins was received very, quietly so far as the New Zealand Division was concerned. The infantry had come out of line after the Mormal Forest fighting in wonderful spirit, and were billeted in villages behind. The artillery fired their last shot yesterday, and to-day are trekking back to a well-earned rest. Divisional headquarters was on the point of j shifting nearer the front, but the move was cancelled, and the whole Division has to movo further back. . "*• | Already the whole Expeditionary Force is'concerned with educational and demobilisation schemes. Every effort will be made to occupy and interest the men during what must inevitably prove a trying interregnum. Ordinary military drill must continue for some considerable time, but of primary importance is the education scheme. The development of the scheme which was started in England by the' V.M.C.A., encouraged and developed by tho command there, and also in France, k well in hand already. "A tentative scheme which has been* in operation- here during- hostilities will now give place to a- more comprehensive scheme on which tho board has been at work. The method of procedure, selection of staff, and estimates for equipment, have been considered. The requirements of all classes of students, from those desirous of obtaining scholarships to those who need elementary, training, ; will be considered. Tho General estimates that the scheme will cost £50,0C0, and expresses the opinion that with the hearty co-operation of military officers here and. in New Zealand it will have far-reaching results, and be of incalculable benefit to the Dominion. Already those concerned with it have been in close liaison with those responsible for similar schemes in the British Army and other overseas forces. An officer (formerly a professor at Canterbury College) will be in charge of the whole scheme.