SOMME BATTLES.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15770, 11 December 1916, Page 2

SOMME BATTLES.

THE GREAT PART PLAYED BY NEW ZEALANDERS. TALES OF HEROISM AND DEATH. ENDURANCE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT BEYOND PKAISE, ALL OBJECTIVES GAINED. i (From.Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces.) FRANCE, October 8. New Zealanders will by this time be in possession of the stirring message 6ent to their Government by Sir Douglas Haig, the Commander-in-Chief of the British armies i n the field. That message from the High Command will be for ever treasured in the records of the Dominion. To have fought for twenty-threo consecutive days in the Somme Battle, "carrying out with complete success every task set, and always doing even more than was asked," is indeed a which our little country may well be proud. To anyone who knows what the Sommo battlefield is like in bad weather, that one word "consecutive" conveys a world of meaning. "The Division has won universal confidence and admiration. No praise can be too high for such troops," added I Sir Douglas Haig. To-day another message comes in— from the general commanding the army with which we have been fighting. It expresses to all ranks hearty congratulations on the excellent work done during the Battle of the Somme. On three successive occasions, it adds, the New Zealanders attacked the hostile positions with the greatest gallantry and vigour, capturing in each attack every objective that had been allotted to them. More than this, they gained possession of, and held, several strong points in advance of and beyond the farthest objectives they had been asked to take. "The endurance and fine fighting spirit of the Division," adds the General, "have been beyond praise, and their success in the Flers neighbourhood will rank high amongst the best achievements of the British Army. The control and direction of the Division during these operations have been conducted with skill and precision, whilst the artillery support in establishing the barrages and defeating counter-attacks has been in every way most effective. It is a matter of regret to mo that this fine Division is leaving the army, and I trust that on some future occasion it may bo my good fortune to find them under my command. With such messages on record there is no need for the war correspondent accompanying the Force to add anything more than to state that our men are heartily in accord with the hope' expressed in the General's last sentence. STORMING THE FIRST LINE. In tho articles that 1 have already sent and the brief telegram that I am enabled to despatch I have given some account of the fighting in which our men took part in this tremendous battle, but much still remains to be told. In comparison with our own land, it is a little diffioult to give a New Zealander a clear idea of what the country in which we have fought is like. There is nothing quite the same in all New Zealand. Some English writers have mentioned hills, and even peaks. Well, there arc no hills, as we would recognise a hill in New Zealand, i And certainly, even with the most imaginative eye, you cannot find a peak. The country is gently undulating, with villages and small woods dotted about it. Although we are 60 miles from the sea, the highest ground hi the region in which we have been rises to only some 500 feet. After all on e had read about gaining the high ground one expected on reaching the crest of the ridge at High Wood to look down upon steep declivities, cariyin» the eye for many miles beyond the German lines. Nothing of the sort occurred. The land on the other side was as gently sloping almost as on the side up which we had walked. Indeed, when you made your way along the splendid communication trench that our pioneers had dug you scarcely knew you were descending at all. And the view was limited. Beyond Flers the trees of Gueudecourt and Lesbceufs, only a.few hundred yards away, cut the horizon line. Yet in such country this 500 feet ridgo gives us command of the observation, and blinded the enemy to all that was going on behind our lines on the reverse side of the slope. As*we would define the term, the country is not well watered. There are no big rivers, no swift-running streams. The Somme itself is a mere meandering stream compared with the tributaries of our New Zealand rivers. The villages depend on wells for their water. It was into such country in the early morning of the memorable loth of September that our men fought their way across the German lines. 'The capture of the first obstacle—th P switch trench on a front of a. little less than a thousand yards—was entrusted to Aucklaid and Otago Battalions. After an intense barrage of field artillery had opened all along the line they went forward in waves under shelter of the barrage. How alj this was done is intensely interesting from the military point of view, but for that very reason it cannot yet be described. Suffice it to say that our gallant men went forward as on parade. There was no hitch or hesitation, and the pace and general ! alignment wore as-near perfect as possible. Ou our left the troops were for a time held up, and in the Otagos, who adjoined them, officers and men soon began to fall from machine-gun fire that came from the left and front of High Wood, which was a strong point in the German defensive position. Our men fired at the machine-gunners during halts that were prearranged, end then continued -their assault. By the time they got into the Crest Trench —the"" first of the German lines —the brigade on our left "were some distance in the rear. Apparently they had been held up outside High Wood. There was thus at this' early stage a considerable gap on the left, and the German snipers and machine-guns were ! able to enfilade our men as they went | across. There were also some gaps | in our own companies through men getting in through gaps in the I barrage, but the right company of the ' Otagos maintained connexion with the | Aiicklsnders, and the waves of men ■ went steadily on, somewhat thinned | now. especially on the right. In the Crest Trench the Otagos captured a German machine-gun that was damaged by shell-fire. This trench our men practically took in their stride, j There were few of the enemy found alive in it, and these few put up a poor i fight. Some at once put up their hands and cried "Kamarade!" Others threw bombs. Still others fired their rifles till the last moment, and then, ; throwing them down, bleated for mercy. ; This trench was more strongly held, but it had suffered terribly from the bombardment, and th? wire in front of

it —though our gunners had no observation on it —was well cut. Some short bursts in our barrage, or the keenness of the men, which took them right into it, accounted for some casualties in the leading wave of the Aucklanders as they were approaching and entering the' Switch Trench. "When the second wave joined the first wave, the casualties were considerable. But that made no difference to the onrush of onr men. In spite of shell and machine-gun fire they camo down upon the demoralised Germans. There was little bayonet work. It was mostly firing at pointblank range and bombing in dug-outs. The Haurakis cleaned up their bit of trench in about a minute. It was. said one of the combat-ants to me afterwards, a case of "hands up" all the time. One man had u bomb in one hand and a white rag in the other, but he scarcely had time to cry "Kamarade." Some ran forward with their hands up ; others ran away. They were utterly demoralised —their moral quite broken. In half an hour the trench was completely in our hands. GALLANT WORK UNDER FIRE. Even thus early in the fighting; gallant deeds were done—how many one will never know. Immediately the Switch Trench was captured officers and ment set about siting and consolidating a new line just in front of it. The trench itself was strewn with dead. A i couple cf days later I saw them lying shoulder to shoulder in strange attituree. A major and a captain in the Otagos, though both wounded, at once began to consolidate the new position. [ A major in the Aucklands did similar work. After an hour and a half the enemy began to heavily bombard the position. They continued this shelljng throughout the day and the following night. Men were continually being buried, and portions of the trench had to be redug. Others were, of course, I killed and wounded, but by a subterfuge we had deceived the enemy, and the losses were not so heavy as might have been expected. Uuder the most trying circumstances the men worked with extraordinary coolness, and by evening had dug down six feet in their new position. Four machine-guns were captured by the Aucklanders, and two others badly damaged were found. Our attack upon this trench was so sudden, and the barrage so heavy, that the Germans had not much chance of working these guns, and, as a matter or fact, they were most concerned about keeping their own heads down. Meantime the and "Wellingtons had moved forward into the assembly trench, from which their comrades in arms had started. The Auckland and the Otago O.C.'s went forward and supervised the construction of strong points in the line we had captured. At this time botli our right and our left were "'in the air." The right did not matter, but there was anxiety about our left, as the enemy had not vet been cleared out of High Wood, and the Otagos had suffered lieavv casualties from that quarter. One 'company that had lost all its officers was commanded by a sergeant, who showed great courage and skill in coping with the .situation. As we were not in touch with the regiment on our left it became necessary to send up reinforcements, so some cf the Canterbury's, with their Vickers guns, were ordered forward. HEROISM OF OFFICERS AND MEN. In this inidal fighting there were many deeds of heroic self-sacrifice and devotion to duty. The rules of our army do not permit of the mention of names, but with this omission a few instances of personal gallantry that will give some, idea of the general spirit may be mentioned. The Otago major to whom I have already referred, although wounded in the hand during the advance, refused to go to the dressing station, seeing that so many of his brother officers had fallen. He remained until relieved by another battalion, working with his men under heavy shell fire. A lieutenant-colonel of the Canterburys remained for four consecutive days holding the Switch Line under heavy shell fire. Later in the operations in the strenuous fighting in which his men were engaged in Goose Alley and Drop Alloy. near Flers. on the night of the 21st-22nd September, he further distinguished himself. Hn already wears the ribbon of the Military Cross and the Croix de Guerre. A regimental medical officer with the Aucklands, under heavy bombardment on the loth and 16th earned the admiration of all who witnessed his work. He established and maintained his Regimental Aid Post in a forward position, and as the result of hi 6 energy and bravery maivj' lives were saved. A major of the Ganterburys, who had already earned the Military Cross on Galiipoli, did splendid work on the left at a critical time. A captain of the Otagos. while lejrtins hie men, was severely wounded iir> iiTe leg, but refused to be evacuated, and stayed with his men. Under very heavy shell fire he remained, cheering on his men for five hours in this wounded condition, until ordered by his CO. to go to the ambulance. A 2nd lieutenant, also of the Otagos, took command when his superior officers were casualties, and remained all day under heavy shell lire, when the trench was being continually blown in and men were being buried by the blasts of high explosive. Another Otago lieutenant, after all the other officers of his company had been either killed or wounded, touk command. He cheered on his men, and by his tine example got good work out of them. They continued deepening their trenches all day in spite of heavy casualties. He worked strenuously for three days and nights, until fie in turn was wounded. In the Aucklands a 2nd lieutenant, who courageously led his platoou behind the barrage, displayed great courage and daring, and although himself wounded by a bomb, continued to use his revolver in the face of a shower of enemy bombs. He had previously .distinguished himself in a raid at Armentieres, where he himself captured a machinegun and removed it from the enemy lines. A sergeant of the Otagos did fine work in command of a company after all his officers had been killed or wounded. He showed great coolness ajid initiative in organising working parties and consolidating the trench under heavy fire. A Canterbury lancecorporal, after his officer and senior n.c.o.'s had been killed, took command, and held his men together under heavy shell fire. When the Otagos were digging in on the new switch line one of their snipers gallantly went out into the open under heavy shell fire and effectively dealt with some German snipers who were making things unpleasant on the left. For four months now this man has been doing good work as a sniper. He has shown exceptional courage and resource. There is a lance-sergeant in the Otagos who had earned the D.C.M. with the Legion of Frontiersmen in South Africa, who, when all the officers in his company were out of action in the Switch Line attack, at once took command of the company, and. though he was himself •slightly wounded earlier in the day, ho did not go off duty. These are only a few cf the gallant deeds in the early stages of the fighting that have come under my notice. They will servo to give the New Zealanders who remain in their own country some idea of the undaunted courage and the initiative with which their fellow-coun-trymen have fought in the great Battle of the Somme. When the whole tale is told it will make a stirring tale in New Zealand history.