STORMING A TRENCH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 181, 31 July 1915, Page 6

STORMING A TRENCH.

AUCKLANDERS , GALLANT CHARGE. INTO A HAIL OF FIRE. BUGLER'S fJRAPTUC STORY. fßr T«UcurnpU.—Ppei-tnl lo "Star."* WAIIII. this day. A Waihi boy. Bugler C. J. Coutis. who was erroneously reported as having been killed in action, writing from No. 1 Australian Hospital, Heliopolis, gives a graphic description of an attack on a Turkish trench, in which a party of the Sixth llaurnkis took part, lie says: — ■On Friday, the 4th June, about eight in the morning, we came baok from the firing line into reserve trenches for a couple of days' spell. "About 11 a.m. 11 message came to our captain from headquarters, asking j for seventy men from the Auckland Battalion to volunteer to charge a Turkish trench. About twenty of our good old Hiiuruki Company volunteered and lined up before the captain to got particular, "The captain was very frank with us. lie asked us if wo wore quite "lire of thr soriousnof* of this attack, and Raid it was going to be a dangerous undertaking. ; •flcforo we loft hoad«|mii tors wo were each given two hand grenades, and were told wo wore not to retire under any consideration. Wo were told that our signal to chnrge would be a bomb Sired into the Turkish trench at three minuten to eleven. DHICADITI. MIXITKS. "I mint say the wor-t part of the whole business wa> the few niiniitiv we were huddled in our trench, waiting and watching for the bomb mid the word "go. . They were minutes of torture. "At last, after wo had trembled our selves tired, and given our hearts a gentle push down our necks with our lingers, we heard that dreadful bomb and also 'Come on, lao>.' A RED HOT FENCE. •Almost immediately wo jumped out of our troni'hes and da-bed where? Straight for what looked like : i red hot fence, the rifles of the Turk* deeming a-clo-e toother as the picket* of .1 fence. The moment I put my head ab.no the trench, I saw the miwt dreadful -ight, one I shall never forgot. The Hashes of riflea and explosion of shells and bombs wore terrific, and the noi*e "as deafening. ONLY SKVEN MEN I.EI-T. "When at last we did reach the Turk* trench there wore only seven of u-.« ali\>\ uml six of theen were wounded. ■The front of the trench was btlllt up with sandbags, and the Turks Acre firine through little portholes that h.'.d been loft between the bag*, so that they could not see iw until wo put our head* up over the trench. But we ,ud not show our bends until we bad thrown our bombs in, and. while the ronfinion caused by the explosion khs going on nmonzst "them, we jumped int.. t>o trench and then got to work, back to | buck, with the much-dreaded cold s-teci. | ONLY FIVE MEN LEFT. j "On.- of our MMii had his hand blown, ofT by the Turks, and another was shot through the bcait while getting into the tron.h. so it left live of us in fight, not only for oiir country but for 0:1 f livo*. All fno of uh wore llaurilki*. •We wore -nor. in command of atx.ut i fifty yards of trench, which we held until 'our engineers had napped through and onr support* eatne to our relief. The five of us wore 0»y Delancy, iWaihii. Norman Campbell (Wuikinol, Charlie Nield I Karnnga-hnkei. Jack Harris (Paeroa). and myself. All of us. with the exception of Delaney, are in hospital. VICTORY AT LAST. '■Here we «tood. back to buck, firing and utnbbing continuously, and at ln>t we gradually got thorn on the move both ways. -A mate and I had hardly moved two paces away from the others when, on glancing a'bit in our side, we saw two Turks crawling out of » hole in the side of the trench, with their hand* Up nml pleading for mercy. But it was not a position in which we could take pr; sonor.% and there w.is no time for thinking, so. may Cod forgive - and I for killing undefended Turku in mien cold blood. If the Turk* had known there wore only live British in Vie trench what would our fate hnve been? A 1-IN.Mv STRUKiLE. "We two kept up :i continuous tiro in front of us. and gradually worked our way up the trench towards Canterbury. Bllt it seemed ages before I got an answer 10 my incessant calling; lor 'New Zealand.' "At List, after nhout half nn hour ol *hootiil2. bayoneting ami yelling, and floundering over dead, we got an answer. How my heart heaved, but only for one second.'because the next second a Turk and 1 met face to face on equal defence. 1 don't know whether 1 pulled the trigger of my rillo. but 1 lunged and lirod at at snnio'timo. and had the pleasure of seeing something glittering going past mv right aide." TOOK TWENTY-ONE PRISONERS. C'outtn then describes how they took twenty one prisoners and joined the Canterbury men. He concludes as follows:— "Kor an hour wo worked, taking the iload out of the trench, and changing bags to our new front. An ollicor came along in a little while, and the wounded were" helped to the dressing .station."