SOLDIERS' LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 82, 7 April 1915, Page 6

SOLDIERS' LETTERS.

U " DARGAI" TOUCH. p FISTS»-I>"BTEAD OF""BAYOXETS. HOUSEMAIDS' GLOVES l'OTt THK TRENOHES. A Private in the ilighfcxndei-s writes: — a Captain , with Ms revolver in his hand, swvuig his sword round his head and gave the order:

"Charge and let them have it. i<how them what Highlanders cau do."' With this we made the iinal charge, everybody yelling at the top of his voice in 'English and Gaelic. Piper -; —, playing "Caberfeigh" on his pipes, tried to keep up with us running, but you could hardly hear the pipes for the cheering of the men. We oould see the enemy running away, but bhey nev-cr got farther than ten "or fifteen yards ere a little .303 took them down. *A Jot of them ntuek to their trendies, and we not in right among them with our -bayonets. fc>omc of the men <fropped their bayonets •■""* used their fists. Others used the buttend of their rifles.

"I thoroughly enjoyed laying Mr. tierman out. Wk; afterwards had the usual roll call after the big tight, and then, to my sorrow:. T learned how many Highlanders bad fallen. Then we wanted to iiave revenge. Our only officer lett asked for volunteers to go and ccc if there were any Germans in the vicinity, and. of course. I volunteered. A party of v≤ -went out- as it was getting dark, We went to a larcre windmill which was on our left, and to my joy we saw a large party of Uhlans sleeping with their equipment off. There was only one thing for them, and that was eighteen inches ot cold steel, We got our own back all right. After we finished our little jtfl), we wemt back to the regiment ainl reported to the young officer that we came across a large party of Uhlans :lt the windmill. The young officer stood quite thunderstruck, thinking that we had let the Germans escape. Ho said,

"Where are they?" I replied. "They were sleeping, and will be for ever." Then he understood, and afterwards prajsed us for our work. I lost my two company officers in this charge.

""We lay all night in a field in our wet clothing. Next morning we eet oil and saw a little of the enemy again until ive reached Armentieree, a city about -the size of Edinburgh. place was Ml of Germans, and for nine days they had the population almost scared to death. They were stealing the rings off married women's fingers and ill-using them in evrry way. We had a number of sharp before we drove them out. This is a very dangerous job, as they fire at you from windows and lines: and when you least expect them. The Germans fight ' hke the very devil when they are drunk, and they were absolutely mad -with drink in and around Armenfcieres, as they had nine days of it before "we gave them the surprise attack. The people Q* the city nearly "went frantic "with joy when they 6aw us entering the city. ~.

"The enemy had trenches ail along the front of a village, and we were told to take it. When we -were getting close up to the trenches the enemy shoved up the white tfag. but this did not deceive us. Some Germans tried to run away, but were quickly taken down. Our resiment had paid dearly before for tin? game of the white flag. The Germans wanted us to stop the charge and thus afford a good target. Anyway, we rushed on them, and let them have it hot and cold. Our officers then stopped us; we took the rest prieoners. Our 'big guns were covering our advance, and must have played on the enemy witn deadly effect, for their trenches were quite" packed with dead. Moet of the prisoners -were drunk, and all their dead had their -water "bottles full of red wine.* .

BRONZE ORX-AMEXTS 'IX THE - -- TRENCHES.

Here we are back at our old H.Q-, safe and sound and as fit as ever (a noncommissioned officer writes). "We had the last twenty-four hours up in the trenches, getting in in one of the worst storms of wind and rain I have ever been out in. If (rather a Dig "if ") you don't fall down it is surprising how dry you can keep with your welter sheet over your shoulders. Of course we were all soaked to our but that'e nothing. Ye had quite a comfy epot. same as when I wrote to mother, and though the wet came in like a sieve it was not a 'bad time. The braziere keep us warm and enable one to make hot soup, tea, etc.

Getting in and out of tho trenches is the exciting part, and Teally 1 rather enjoy it now. The Germans send "* great star rockets which make the place as bright as day, and then you stop and flop down in the mud till the thing goes out. If they ccc you they probably blaze away for a bit, but so far without success as far as I am concerned.

We had quite a quiet time and were relieved last night.

I believe we are going up again in four days; no "rest" at present, so far as I know, but unless we get some more men soon we shall have to go down—so many men sick with exposure and stomach "trouble; not bad, but just bad enough to prevent trench work.

1 epent yesterday in improving our trench, quite good fun, building up with sandbags to make the side hold up and get safe cover. I want some sort of housemaid's soft gloves —leather, very cheap—for trench work. The mud cracks one's fingers co and makes one's nails sore. There lias been a lot of rain, but no worse than before. Mud as before, "but one is getting more mud-hardened, and in fact 1 no longer find it a hard life. The conditions are better, or rather we meet the conditions better.

Some of our sectious are well organised and take all sorts of things into the trenches, from doors and chairs to bronze ornaments as mascots, making thenisolvi-o wonderfully happy. The billet we are in now has not got a door left, and 1 believe they have all ? one up. Last night T slept on a boarded floor, n perfect luxury. I never really finished putting myself to bed. but fell asleep and slept till 8 a.m., without a move, and then awoke feeling absolutely ready for everything.

In the touch one does not try to sleep much at night. If wet you get

.■>jlder. and it is not unpleasant smoking nver a brazier and talking, with the occasional " plop"' of a 1)111101 in the parapet or tlio whistle of one overhead. In a " 'hip-out " yon c;in have a li£ht ami read. or. if wet. improvise moan? of catching the water fold bully beef tins bun? under a persistent drip afford some comic reliefi. Towards morning one starts a litllc tr<*m-h improvement to <ret thoroughly Trxrm before breakfast —so the time passes. The worst time is waitincr for the relief: yon hare to be ready, and 'Tien if they arc late it Iβ a weary wait.

GERMAN AIRMAN'S JUMP TO DEATH. We wert at battalion headquarters acting as ammunition carriers, juet having our dinner in an outbuilding of a farm, when all at once we heard the cracking of rapid fir.c from our men's rilles, cays a private in the Grenadier Guards. After about five minutes' inj terval we heard the boye raise a loud cheer, and on going outside to see what had happened I looked up, and about 80 feet from the ground I saw an aeropiane. The one eide of the machine and framework were a mass of flames and the other half -was, from what 1 could see. undamaged. I stood, and watched for some seconds, wdien one of the two men in the machine jumped out and iell to the ground, and, of course, was in-sr-antlv killed, for he mnsD have fallen some Yo feet. Then the machine eeemed to crumple up, and made one direct dive towards 'Belgian soil and fell a mass ot smoking fragments.

On reaemng the machine it was found the other airman was burned to death, and it wa? not possible to find out even his rcgunemt. It was the irighr. of a Ufetimo. especially the inaciiino was trying to show the Germans where, our trenches wore by dropping lights at various points and by doing tin's showing the German artillery where to drop their Jack Johnsons, etc.. but, thanks to our rifles, the two airmen never again returned to the German headquarters to repoTt to their generate our strength and position. It is very raroh- that the aircraft cares to venture so near to our rifles, but in thie case they <jot all we could give them, for there were nearly a thousand rifles being fired nt owe, and the firing was kept up for several minutes.