"IN THE THICK OF IT"

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 42, 18 February 1918, Page 3

"IN THE THICK OF IT"

NEW ZEALANDERS IN FLANDERS

An interesting account of the recent fighting in Flanders is given by Private Geoffrey H. Field, son of Mr. W. li. Field, M.r. for Otaki, in a letter to his father. Private Fi«ld, who is twenty years of age and left with B Company^ 24th Reiniorcemente, writes from France under date, 20th November, as follows : —

" . . . You will most likely have noticed that I wrote no letters during October, and no doubt you will have guessed the reason of it. . I may tell you that we had a very hot time during the recent heavy lighting in Flanders, and I consider myself very fortunate in. coming through two 'stunts' without a, scratch.

I am still very much alive, although it is a wonder to me that I am alive at all.

... I will try and give you a brief idea of what has been happening to me during the past month, and you v.ill understand how it is that I have r.ot been doing very much' writing lately. You wiil most likely have read in the papers that the New Zeaianders have been having a pretty lively time of it. during the fighting in Flanders recently, and I can tell you we have been right in the thick of it. I am afraid I am not enough of a military expert, to give an accurate and detailed account of the battle. You can read all about that in the newspapers. I can only give you the view I took of things and my own persoial experiences. To me the worst part of the stunt was on the night before we carried out the. attack, when we had to lie about in shell holes waiting for the dawn. When morning came and we started to advance it, took me some time lo realise that we were actually crossing No Man's Land and on our way to Fritz's lines. To me the air was full of the screaming shells that formed our barrage, and there was also a plentiful supply of Fritz's, which I am jolly certain were not ordered. The advance form-ul a great picture in the early morning, for in the dim light, gK;en by innumerable flares of all colours, could be seen the dim forms of our chaps, as wave after wave of infantry went forward. I suddenly woke up to the fact that there was'a battle on, when there was a sudden blast of machine-gun fire poured into us from a couple of 'pill-boxea' just ahead. We managed to surround tlie two concrete 'possies,' and after we had slung in a few bombs, out. walked . all the Huns, with their hands up, ar.d greeted us with a volley of 'kamerads.' We searched them and sent) them back as prisoners, and went on struggling through the mud to our objective, a few heaps of bricks which were the remains of <• farm. There we found' a. few^more .Fritzs, and we set them to work carrying out our wounded. We dug ourselves in and waited for the counter-attack, which, when it came, was so cut to pieces by our artillery that it turned out a. complete failure. Since then we ha.vehad to hold the'ground we had gained, and a trying and weary time we have had of it. For. three weeks we have been living in holes in the ground, covered in mud, without a. dry stitch of clothing, and existing on biscuits, bully beef, and cigarettes. Yet, 1 am thankful to-day that I have come safely through the whole business, and am now well back behind the lines with the brigade for a bit of a rest "