TRENCH RAIDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 239, 6 October 1916, Page 4

TRENCH RAIDS.

Trench raids have been a marked feature of recent fighting on the westernfront, and it is gratifying to feel that the idea of the trench raid was originally a British idea, and that in this particular kind of warfare our own New Zealand troops have achieved marked sueteess. The Germans were quick to copy, the idea, and have indulged in several such raids against our lines, but, as Sir Douglas Haig says, initiative in the cutting-out affray is still held by our side. These raids are quite unlike any other kind of warfare, and they are conducted entirely by volunteers, who embark upon the venture of their own free, will. After the aviators have returned at sunset and made their report, one" of the younger officers goes round $ne" "tanks' and calls for volunteers. Plenty.of willing hands are always found for' these dangerous midnight adventures, and the officer picks those he considers the most physically fit, for this is a mission calling for great strength, speed and courage. When the men have been selected they are provided with special tools, for the ordinary rifle and -bayonet are useless for this purpose. The fighting has to be done in deep ditches and in total darkness, except for 6uch light as may come from rocket flares. The men are provided with pouches of bombs containing high explosives, also, smoke bombs to cover the attack and retreat, and tear-compelling grenades, which help to blind the enemy and prevent any attempt at retaliation. The weapons include knives like knuckledusters, what are known as fist bayonets, daggers, dirks, automatic' pistols, spiked bludgeons, sticks with steel rings, and on at least one occasion some of the men carried large hammers. Wire cutters, capable of cutting the new German wire, which is as thick as a man's thumb, have also to be carried The time generally selected is somewhere about one in the morning, when everything is wrapped in pitch darkness. Only men of ' the strongest nerve can ■ take part in 1 these raids, for the experience is .weird in the extreme, and has none of the , thrill of a charge across the ..open. The men leave their trench in Indian file, the officer leading, and grope their way in absolute silence through gape left in our own wire, across ground full of pits and craters Caused by shell fire, and over accumulated debris of abandoned rifles and helmets, water bottles, haversacks, and the dead and wounded of friend and foe alike. They have to be constantly on the look out for the different alarm devices which the Germans have learned to erect for the express purpose of guarding against such raids as these, such as rows of tins on wires which rattle loudly when touched, or electric! trip-wires, which ring bells ,in the! trenches of the enemy or even send up flare lights which reveal the presence of the raiders and draw on them a stream of bullets from both rifles and Maxims. Sometimes Germans are concealed near these wires, and then a hand-to-hand combat ensues in the darkness. When once the German trench is reached the raiders drop over the parapet into the ditch below and begin to throw their bombs. The air is filled with the fumes of explosives, and general confusion reigns amongst the foe, while fighting is conducted with knives, loaded sticks, and even stones wrapped in stripe of canvas. But the object of the raid is merely to alarm and confuse the enemy, and so the actual combat is very brief, and when the leader's whistle sounds the raiding party escapes as best it can, covering its retreat with smoke bombs and tear-producing grenades, which pre- ' vent the enemy firing on their retreating foes. The raid is held to have been' highly successful if it has resulted in the capture of a few prisoners, as these enable us to know the numbers of the regiments opposed to us, and valuable information is often gleaned from such prisoners both by means of documents found on them and also by information which is frequently extracted from them. There are few ex- 1 pkritsin war that call for greater daring, and."it. is a form of warfare in' which. <rar Aroac. iroope are said peculiarly to excel, owing, ta their athletic qualities ■ and .love- of dangerous-- adventuHv qnaH--

ties which they •« eminently- displayed ia GaQipop.