"OVER THE TOP."
AUCKLAND SOLDIER'S FEKOA. An interesting letter has been reajiveij by a relative iii Auckland from a soldier at the front, in which he statue :•*-< Wβ have been having a hundred diverse experiences and hairbreadth escapes. Going up to the line,. a high explosive »he 2 landed fair an our platoon, wounding the three men directly in iront of %& the adjutant of the battalion, and tj» signal officer, also the four men dirwtly behind mc. The concussion threw mt 1 about five yards into a, shell bole, excepting a few tears made in my trot*. ere by fragments, left mc unbounded. "MAKING AN ADVANCE. cix o'clock," he eaye, "then wu a great barrage of artillery fire all along the line. We* went over the top, Mtd the German snipers and rnaA|>«i gm» from shell-boles and pillar-boxes directly in front, opened on us a regular'hail of fire. We advanced slowly and steadily, smoking cigarettes. The Germane resisted tq the last, and then as we rushed the sheikh, gles, they came out. with their hands up, crying, 'Mercy, comrades!" Some were very-young; and number* cried like .children. Everyone .aad.jpris> oners, and the Germajie,..onea jUmi machinery defence, was overcome, made no hand to hand resistance. The ground was- wet and sodden; and at times we sank deeply in the mud. We reached our objective, a ridge about half & mils in front of our "former line. Wβ tijen dug in. The German artillery wia si first demoralised by our shell fire, and shifted $heir guns backwards, bijt,l*|«r resumed, heavily shelling pur new petition. We held on, .wet through, eqveni I with mud, but quite cheerful. Then we were relieved. We had begn three mghte without sleep, and were glad b> get wet rest." 4 . SOME NABBOW $aQ#H& "I had some narrow escape*. I .mi twice caught in our own barrage through advancing too far and too quickly. Qua I was nearly buried under about a ton of earth. Another time a high explofive j shell landed on a. spot 1 had left a couple of seconds before. As the division onlj goee over the top about three or lon* times a year, I have been fortunate in my experiences. One of the Oernua officers, Lieutenant Ivan Kramberd, wja only eighteen years of age. ' £h» op front we took about a thousand crfi. I felt quite cool and collected during our advance, and strange to say ia the middle of the battle I met some men I had not s.eeji for a long whjle. 'f|f sight after the "battle is, however, a wrf sad and sickening qne. Number* <j|4h| German wounded, whom our etretchefc ■ bearers could not. get before dark set in, must have died, of cold during file night. Our stretcher-bearers did their best, §nd 'worked like Trojans lie. wounded of both aides. BRAVE GERMAN" DOCTOR..' "A German doctor who was eaptnred .brought in some of our wounded.on his back, and a German Red Cross prisoner helped us to gather in ihe VeundeA Numbers of the German snipers., ty* - .eyer> . actually wore the" Bed 1 badges." .
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 297, 13 December 1917, Page 4
Word Count
514"OVER THE TOP." Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 297, 13 December 1917, Page 4
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