UNDER THE SIX STARS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15731, 26 October 1916, Page 9

UNDER THE SIX STARS.

A YISIT TO GENERAL BIRDWOOD. the general and his men. (Br Lobp NorthclittiO SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE. The high hopes of the Australasian peoples are centred round a bare room in one of tho numberless French chateaux where nowadays the air vibrates jsrith tho throbbing of the guns. InJ that small room, tho furniture principally consisting of the simplest possible bed a telephone, and a map marked with tho latest moves on the battle line, is General Birdwood, the idol of tho Anzars.

An officer from Victoria received mo at tlie gate of the chateau, where stood on guard two Australian giants having before them a fluttering flag of tho Six Stars. It a muggy morning, reminding the officer of October in liis own country jn tho late shearing time. We passed through one of tho halls of tho chateau where numbers of the clerical staff were busy at typewriting and telephones, and upstairs to tho General'* room.

General Birdwood stands sft 9in, has not an ounco of spare fat on him, and looks like a man in hard training. Ho has a strong but gentle voice, firm mouth, with a slight moustache, deep-set pale blue eyes, and a cropped head. Ho looks a fighter every inch of him- Ho is fifty years of ago, and has been engaged directly or indirectly in tho business of war during most of his adult Jife. Ho oate and drinks little, is up and away at daylight in winter and before six in summer. Ho pushes He headquarters as near the front as possible, knows many of his "boys," as he calls them, who fought with him in tho Gallipoli Peninsula, by their Christian names, and they believe in him as implicitly as ho believes in them.

Birdwood, erect in palo khaki coat with some four rows of well-earnod libbons, cord riding breeches and riding boots, is not a man to lose a moment of time. He was just off to meet tho boys back for rest from Pozieres. They wero camping in somo woods to which wo drove in his open car, which flies the Australian Sag. Some of them had already arrived. The sun, which had been absent for somo days, came out at this moment, and never do' I remember seeing a more delightful sylvan sceno than that presented by. theso battleworn but merry soldiers with their booty of Gorman helmets and caps, German drums, and German fieldglasses, riding and walking up' to their huts and tents. Somo had already arrived and wero boiling their tea, making dampers, cooking beef in the cookers they extemporised from kerosene tins, and eating keenly and heartily after their long, long vigil in tho, heavily-shelled trenches.

GOOD DIGGERS. As the General stepped out of his car ho was instantly recognised by his men, most of them from New South . Wales, who had been engaged in what Has probably thoir hardest fight since .Gallipoli.. Tlicy had dug themselves in deeply tlio other sido of Pozieres, and had. not left their trenches for days. "My boys aro good diggers," remarked tho General. "They dig deep and quickly, and their trenches are so clean that you could eat off them at dinner time." Ho addressed his soldiers simply and truly, and drew, first from one and than from another stories of the fierco fighting they had just experienced. Somo were so tired that wo had passed them asleep just as, tliey had arrived, others were full of- life and gaiety, and as Captain MacKenzio, of the Salvation Army, known throughout the Peninsula, and -in Franco as "Mac," said, many were already anxious to get back to. tho firing-lino and show tho Germans that if they were looking for more trouble ■they could got it. I looked with interest at theso already hardened warriors for whom death, wounds, and the German guns ' hold no fear. A good deal has been said of Australian discipline. English Australians who were among: them told me that when it comes to fighting their discipline is as rigid as the most adamant commander could wish. They obey i. their officers implicity from tho moment - serious business begins, and their relations with tho Imperial officers aro perfect. • Tho fact that tho young English schoolboys and slightly older lads who Jnan tho aeroplanes have driven tho spying German aeroplanes from tho sky greatly rejoices them. Their long experiences in the trenches in Gallipoli have mado them the excellent trench fighters that they fcre-

A SIMPLE SPEECH. I accompanied Birdwood and his Staff from one portion to another of tho scattered foreet ecene. In some of tho huts all tho men were asleep, J" and Birdwood would on no account ali, low them to bo disturbed, but in others ; + Jwy were" merry with mouth-organs, dates, and a captured drum. Tho general peered in, but would not allow them t D desist. Hero and thero they temporarily formed into line and saluted aim as ho approached. Ho bad a simple speech for every group, always To the. same effect. "You have 6uffercd, but you have done splendidly. Arc • you ready for moro when tho time comes?" and there always came a great ■ shout of "Yes." Many wero tho stories told. Ono of how a mere lad, for some of them arc extremely young, chased a huge German out into tho open, and . finally settled the terrified Hun after a hand-to-hand bomb duel. Another of flow .a Hun machine-gunner fired at the Anzacs until ho had used the wholo of his cartridge belt, when the German threw his arms round tho nearest Australian and called out, "Pardon, Kamerad." <( All tlio time we were talking the crumping'' and booming of great guns was a reminder of our proximity to the i Paging at the moment. • -"h® raen came into the wood in a constant stream. Having seen their Gene. ■ rai they,/ at once went to wash and eat f or sleep. Birdwood had always one P at "ting advice to the boys. ? rito Let your mothers know . you are, what you are doing, • "d how yoa are, for if you don't write to her she will write to me. I get dottns of letters by every mail asking ■ lor one or othf.r of you." Onec, while wo were in the for?st, attention was riveted on au air fight of which we could see nothing by reason of tlie leaves. The sharp rattle cf tae machine-guns high in the sky told , f 3 Prolonged fight whose end we aitorwards were informed was not satislactory to the Germans. It must have " a rare spectacle, for a Hun is not Clten seer to oioss our lines these days. ■ I left this forest scene with regret, • fii *?? rc "was much to do that day. Vf!™ c ' a 'ng was ,'n preparation. Honeral uirdwood had work to attend to. He J , '00k me with him in his car. and we L*. more and more of the Anaacs L , their way in from the battle. 1 Merc aslcop on the top of highly packed general service

transport waggons. Those in German helmete~ were tinging. all smiled affectionately as they sr. iv their General, and saluted by a quick eyes right or the raising of the hand to tho hat. Mounted men dropped their right hand sharply to the side. It was a loop and interesting cavalcade on iis way home from tho battle. The dust, as one of them remarked, made him fairly homesick. All were in good spirits, aud in spito of heavy los-sos they had done well, and their General had como to meet and to greet them. Passing through one ruined town and village after another wo came to a divisional headquarters where hi a ; small house some new movement to (•whj£h. tho General had to attend wan j being arranged for, and ho entered a I two-storey ruined building, a mass of j telephone wires pouring in at the winI 'lows from every corner", and inside the busy click of typewriters and the voices iof man working in the heat in their shirj sleeves. Hard by a, great .-shell fell wounding several men and c-ruelly mutilating a young English officer, whom, in the evening, I aw being wheeled out of the operating theatre at a neighbouring hospital. THE AMBULANCE WORK. General Birdwood is one of those soldiers who thinks it his duty to bo in tho firing-lino wherever possible, but his officers don't agree with him. Two years of acquaintanceship has endeared /lim so to them that they feel thei" would be lost without him. He has often been far too closo to Death for their happiness, and thev urged him not to go any further, but tp take mo to the nearest field ambulance, which " Australian. Cheerily, a slightly wounded Australian at tho gate, in replv to a question from Birdwood as to how the hospital was" getting on, replied, "Oh, wo are filling up lncoly. General." Tho ambulances arrived at the gato, and stretchers wero carried in in less timo than it takes to write it. The men were classified, fed, and those who were fit had anti-tetanus serum injected. Tho serum was administered with great care and speed, and the letter '"T" was marked on each forehead in indelible pencil. Arrangements wero being made to convey such as wero well _ enough to tho Casualty Clearing Station, whence they will go to ouo of the beautiful base hospitals, probilbly looking over tho Atlantic, the pride of the Empire, Wo went thcnce to the Ist Australian Field Ambulance. Sir Anthony Bowl'iy, the distinguished surgeon, was just making his inspection, and I passed tho time talking with some of tho wounded lads. Somo were sleeping, ethers in pain, but in general they were ready for a joke, and a talk, and a cigarette. "How do you like France?" I .".skej a young Victorian. "I like it fine," he replied. "They can teach lis something in farming," and another one said, "Not an inch of land wasted. They work on tho land, rain or shine." "Girls are all right, too," put in a young giant iVom Bathurst. "Yes, I should like to tako a couple of them back." chipped in a wounded Adelaidcr. J was duly shocked, but the complimcmt to Franco was sincere. All expressed admiration for the French, just as the French lovo the British for their kindness to the French children. Gallinoti, which all of them, Birdwood included, pronounce "Gallipli," afforded no rest. Hero when t.nev nr-A nnh nrvhiinllv firrTitincr thev

All expressed admiration for tho French, just as the French lovo tho British for their kindness to the French children. Gallinoti, which all of them, Birdwood included, pronounce "Gallipli," afforded no rest. Hero when they aro nob actually fighting they have delightful resting camps with wellfitted canteens.

I askod the General -where these-men wore drawn from. They are of all types—clerks, blacksmiths, men from stations and firms". Many of tha officers aro of tho same class. They understand and obey each other implicitly. They have exactly the samo rations as the British soldiers, and draw only a portion of their handsome pay. "Wo havo had no lunch," said one of tho Staff officers at this point. "Birdwood cafe nothing, and expects us to do likewise."

Wo droro away from tho wounded lads along tho encumbered roads, past miles and miles of ■waggons with "tho emblem of tho Australian rising snn and the New Zealand fern, and back to the chateau. I learnt during the rido something now from General Birdwood of Australasia's generosity to its Forces, of the promptness of tho Australian Government in responding to his requests, of the great help of the Australian lied Cross. These fine solc'iers aro making Australian history. They are building up tho traditions of Australia's . future armies. There is hardly one of them who has not patriotism burnt into his soul and burnt into his body. Many Australian soldiers havo tattooed on their arms tho Australian, French, and British flags with the words "1915 Gallipoli" underneath. After a long drive through the dust ffl shared a simple meal, at which tea duly predominated, with the alert and agilo chief and his staff, and as T drove away many miles along-the lines, I could not but marvel at the turn in world conditions that had brought these young" giants from the farthest corner*of tho earth to shed their blood on behalf of the Powers which aro so gallantly fighting for tho greatest cause in tho world, tho causo of freedom as opposed to tyranny.