PRESSMEN AT THE FRONT

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 154, 27 December 1918, Page 2

PRESSMEN AT THE FRONT

THE NEW ZEALAND DELEGATES

IN THE BRITISH ZONE.

The most interesting as well as the most thrilling part of the tour was the Visit to t}ie Western front. It was made more thrilling by the fact that' on four Separate days the party were well within the ?pne' of shell fire. This part of the tour was somewhat delayed, owing tp tlie )qter iirriva) of tlie Australian and 'South Afvfpan '{Jelegat^i' hnt- thij. expedition eventually set out for ffrance" on'the first Sunday in September. There were in the party twelve' representatives from Australia, six each from New Zealand end Squth '^frica, and one from Newfoundland, making twenty-five in all. The intention w;is that the first week should be deyoted to the IJritisii front, and the secQ))d week to the Frencjii TJie' jhree section^ of the party were located for the .first w^ek at ppints convenient to their respective where they were to maie their daily journeys by nipfor-car, filially joining together and making Paris the headquafters for the second part of tlie tour; 'Consistently with" thi.s arrangement, the New Zeajjjnders were domiciled at the British Victors Chateau, an Historic mansioii sit'ua,ted in bewtiful grpunds in thp npiihern part of France, where they had every reason tq be satisfied and even delighted with tlieir accommodation and eiitertainment. Tfteir Jives yvere most' certainly cast; in. p'le>ianfc places. ' The first day was agreeably and interestingly spent in' sheeting an immense bakery at Calais, where a, quarter pf a mjlliqn rations \vere prepared daily, a great factflry eraploytng much female' labour, where old' war fet.e.ria! was conyp^d in(:p new, and mi waiching the arrival of an* ambulance train (was this not the transference of men from train to steamer?),, and the transfer c-f the wojind.ed Jo ahpspital ship. This work was chiefly done by German prisoners: . ■ '' ' ' '» ALBERT AND BAPAUME. The second day was devoted to the long-expected arid ardently -desired : visit tp the Nmy Zealand front.' For the ffi'st part; 6ur fpute" lay; through beaiitifiil and ; pipst . fgrtile country, cpyerei|' with ripening crppsy'but gradually "the scene, changed, apd we' sa-w oji eifher hand the abandoned trenches^ ' the : . dilapidated stretclies of barbed'wire, and the'l'wrecked buildings that'indicated that WV hid reached the vyar zon?.'. Cf any further evidence of that fact were ,rgquij;e(}, it was furntshetj by the streams of transport aiid ambulance' wagons, travelling in either direction, the.; spJdipre ifi companies or straggling in'twos"or three's, and the groups' of Tcmmies chitting . and \smpking at tlie corners pf i;6ads or- resV ing by" thp >»yside. ' Occasionally,' we passe 4 vrtiat had "oucp 'been 'a ' yiUa.ge, and was marked' as such on pur'n)aps, bvjt was.now merely' a patch' of bricks and mortar, with scarcely one stone standing on another. Thus we made pur progrees till we reacljed Alb(?rt,*'pnce a well-populatgd and ■prosperous •town, but now a heap of rui.ns: .Tlie^estruption of Albert hgjJ been very recent, because it was captured by tip Gerpians in tliq push of March fast, and was recovered "by the British only a fortnight before, oui visit. Tlig traces of German occupation, $}$ .i^fi^'Jy.'^eir ?|gn-ppsts,. l i'tfliighly ep'nstrjictea ifroin" packing : ca^es,' w^r'e y^ible pjj eyery ..hapd: ; Tjiojigli 41bert was a, scene of civilian,'., activity, in."'the. ea.rlier part of this year, with its picture shows, ' estajninets, .-and shop's .'• dpjng thriving business, it was'npw'.a liopejess I'^P °J n"ns- ."We traversed ihe.^treefe,' lnspp.ptcd the -ruins ..0f,.. the t>|ice. fine, cathedral, ajipt realised'to spine sligjij; ex- ' tent what war really m^ans.. . ':"'■. : T,Q B^AUiME. But pur desire was to push pn tp Bapaume, which the New Zealander^ liad taken, a few flays previq«s.|y, and we }iad np .tims tp waste in fji'iitlgss sentimentalisiiig pyer, t|ig fate of Albert, pur course lay in a north-easterly direction, pf! we. passted thrpugh sucl> wejlrknown places as. La'Bois'elle, Ppzieree, Abeloy, Thiepval, La Cpurcejlette', anc" ■yVol'ancpifrt, whiph were, all mere heaps qf, ruins. The.y existed only as n«(jnfs on the map. "At' Thiepval, we'saw..'a' cage of Germain pri_s,qners ; just in from the front, a)](} cgi^yprsed ffith some.o'f'tji^ mgu, all pf whpin appeared to bf ; pf a eturdy and well-fed' type.' Those we" spol<e to declared frankly, that they werq tired of the. 'w^r, ancj' tjiey that tjjs feglmpin thejr lines was that it was immaterial who won so long as the war' camp to an end. We fpynfl (janeral Kiisse!r«iii4 l)|s staff jn a tiny hiitment at (Jravilliei-s, whicli had been the. Rer-I map .^eadqiia'rters npt many days previously, and which in appearance reepniT bled an immense corrugated iron'tank on its siile. However, it was usefiii ■■' ancj comfortable, aijd as thg tievi Zealand^ ers were rapidly pushing on, was" oniy a teßipfirary dpmicile.. fiievilliers is rather more than a mije to the \vest of B'apaume. Wp _gath^red frpm the ffejiera! that the fte\y. Zealanders ha<| started their, advance from'Gomimecpijrt a fortniglit previously,* had" encircled S?;P3^fSe on two sides and (jgrapslleil it?,. Byaciiatipn,. had puslied pnrapi4ly ii) 9PW cpuiitry, takjpi; Ranliiicpurt «nly ihat iporrjing, and that, it was difficult to, l^eep in touch wjtli the Germans, who were retreating rapidly. The party pushed oi» tpjfapaume,' under, the, guidance. Rf Captain Malcohn . .Rpss,' aiuj found it pompletely in ruins. They theq made a tour of the battlefield beyond, V|«(t.ing iJ^Qliijppur-t, .'w}|i'eli""h.ail.' fcgeij taken that mprnjng, and saw Ger r man fiead and some woimded »yno lay where the battle had been fought JH ■*fSs"a*}' i^Srestiiig" even if a gru>6o,nie ?ight. To tHe di^PPoipt'nent of the p%rty, the visit to the New Zealand front was.limited to three hours, because the cjjyisifln'iyaa'stiN in action, ajid our SjideifeYOHrs tn prqlong the st^y or to re!surae the visit next c(ay. in the hope of «eeing more pf out- little *rmy| wai 'un ; ayailiiig; We Were' in ih.e Jiangs o{ yVrfijy ■ HeadQuartprs. Ilpweyerj wa W.preciatecl privilege pf bping pert lyiitted to yisjt the division at all' when it was eifgagefl with'th.p Pngniy, §n(J \Ve left the General aiicl t]\e men wh.pm we met wijh' cp.rdjaj wishes for tlieir ultimate victory' and safe retiirn. There was a. thrilliiig side tp our .yjjsit.jn (6e fact t^at the booming of 'artillery was inceseant, we. could hear' the "rattle of maohin,e-guns ami RccasjpnaJly \i shell explotled v?ithin measurable distance of us. " ' " ' " '■" ' YPBES. Our second expedition was to Ypres, yvhere U?e New Zealan/lers spent Christmas pf \sst year, and.a'rpund -vvhich eotn'e' pf the lieavjest fighting of the war has taken pja.ee. . . Orj the way,, we called' at !Hie he»dq\larteps of the New Zealand engineering section, wfib are working a branch railway jn this n'eighbourltopd, ai\d had a, delightful lwtiph. with S'lajor Ransey'ari4 hj» oncers in an artisfcica}}yfurriisned litHe hiitment. The trip from this spot tp Ypres was made in a tiny railway ; with Vv quaint pbspry^ipn-'car which was* wjapdefful'ly cpiiyenient- At Yprits, wf mtep onoe nvpre in thp aGtive w.i\r zone.. Artjjlery was' pq^n^ing avyay heavily liehind and in front qf ,ug, aeroplanes were soaring placidly aipft like immpiije Kpd^, apparently indifferent to shrapnel buying aroi|nd theni in grpy puffs, whjle occaijioiially the cr^cjjle of a itiacjiijie-gun cQuJdjie easily gmslie^-' (Sevieral in|Jes heyor,^';" f'ou{d get Mo\int Ksmmol, hcun which il)t' Gfl'ffiani Had: driven" jev^al

datys previously, and which they were xjow bombarding heavily. In the distance was the famous Messinee ridgs, which the New Zealanders assisted to take last year, and we were enabled to watch wjth interest a British battery of artillery sending its 9.2 shells over the I ridge, into the > German positions, at a I range °f ,?i* mvles. Each of these shells weighs 2901b,: and costs £25, so that the Ipombardment was a somewhat costly business. We etrolled through Ypres, Aaw the hopeless ruins which are all that is left of the famous Cloth Hall and; Cathedral, and realised a little of the price Belgium Has paid in its wrecked homesand its streetei)f pretentious shops now lying waste. And. all the time the heavy cannoning continued like a furious fchunjierstoim . VIUY AND ARRAS. On our way to Vimy next day, we called.on General Ho'rne, the Commander of tha First Army, at his headquarters, and had an interesting chat with him. Vimy was a most 'interesting spot. Here in tlje Sogde? Va)ley, with the French on one ridge and the Germans on the other, was fought the battle for the French coalfields'.' To and fro the battle swayed, the, French lpsipg 400,000 men, but the Sermane being driven on to Vimy Ridge. Up the slopes, the Canadians and Scottish fought them foot by foot, "the treijghes' sdm.etime's being only eight feet apart, and' eventually driving them over the top/and capturing the position in• a'singlS'days We sat-on the' top of the ridge, and watched the battlef rqnt ground Lens, which wag distant from us oii the level ground about 'three miles. Half a mile on pur left' a British battery was pounding away at the German trout line) and we could see the smoke and dust as each shot burst overhead. A German aeroplane was making observations, jincL presently the Germans returned the fire: Our guides thought s>ur location rather risky, and separating into small groups^, we '-slowly bgat'a retreat. Thence we motored to' Arras, which is the key to the Channel Ports, and around which the sway pf battle has continued for four years. At one tjine the Allies held the town and j,h.e Germans the suburbs, and the barbed wire defence^ iij the city still remain.' The Cathedral and Town Hall are in, ruins, but while many of Hie buildings are damaged, t|)e greater number are apparently intact. Jj'romlhe trgn.ches put-, side the town we watched the shelling on either side, 1 the aeroplanes overjiead, which were continual objects of target, practic -(id we equld jiear thg-incessant sound artillery and inachine-gun fire. ATras was not by any means'a safe place. Ayhjle we were enjoying coffge in a dug-out, V'abgll burst'at the receiving station close by, and we saw in the §tre?t several dead jiorses that had been killed the day before. The town was being, heavily Shelled, when we, Jeft, and was hidden behind us by n~ dense, pail pf ajiibke. ' ' \ r There.sti|l yemaiped tp us a full week Out pf tJIS tllH'fggn dayjs allotted to the Westerif front, and though Y'.e.fyad bg^n disappointed at not having two pi three dayl at least with ' the New Zealand Piyigisn. -we were congratulating ourselves, u,p.on" the prpspeefc of a visit to several of the' more important centres in the French theatre.'of war. '.To spme extent, however, we were doomed to disappointmentv Qne of the chief spots qf interest'to }is. was Verdun, wherp .the French had made .ifjeii- magni^oepb ■ stand against the Germans in, I9l(},,and we.'.wefe glad thar'this" tfape F as'^'' eluded in the itinerary of the tour. ;Hpw-: ever, we had ijot reckoned upon the exigences. ;<?i w& Wte«k£?,> cvc s|.^ag out upon pur motor journey to "ajSs*.jvjiich jsras tt» be pur tieajijquaMßrs for tp,er rest of the trip, we were informed 1 that a b'ig'Aniericatj'atfack was. in coiitemplaH6n>ip.mewh'§r§ fii tfoe neighbourhood of ■Virdu'n, and consequently' this part of the ißHprary wpjild have to le abandpned; Tl)is limited the gljjcej ti bP visited tQt Jlffirrtliidier', the >f apie battlefield, }nfijudjng''PJisieau Thjerry,' and/Fjsmes, on. the Vesle P'lygr, spots pf great interest j» tl^'big advijnp.e tp -the Marne, biyt by an unfortunate "misunderstanding on the part pf one of our guides jtfontdidier was' alsq.. 'eventually pmiUed from , jibe programme! ' - ' :'■'.' ■'■'■'. * '■' !HAIG AND LAWRENCE. ..." Setting p,ut fi-'om guv cliatea|i pn gaturd'ay, 'Bth Sepietnuer, for Paris, wa nVaae.twp'rnpst, interesting calls pn the Way'soulh. The first wag to Field-Mar : shal Sir Dpuglag H^ig, Jyhopi m found in simple quarters in a beautifu] clia.tpau, stirraun^ by rapst cliarming grojinds. gir ■Dojagla!!' J« ' brainy-looking §nd forceful personality, with'a kjndly eye, g,«d most 'affable manner., % was sur : rpnWed vv'jth great maps, 'extended on the walls,' pu/svhjch the opposing lines, were indicated by ta-p^, and the position of every' division on the German and Aljied sides marked by tiny squares. In stating' his pleasure at meeting us, he said that iw'gokjters had fought better than the New'Zealanders, When he nad. aslied ■them to do anything, tfley; hag 3one it effectively, and a bit more. Hiq old: friend. General liuEsell; had alsq been a great standby to him. Befprq Olii- departure the whole party of .journalists/ including 4hQSS I»'W 4«SteJ ll!} and South Africa, were photographed with Sir IJouglp. TJien Wo (n^e t ?»?! upon General gi-r A. H, £awrence, CJiiel-of-Staff His, surroundings were also of a- simple and buEinesslike character, with"' the ■ ' iney(table m>ps' poYeriflg the jvalft, "and thp positions, ofyljnes and divisions' clearly mavked. General Law rence shat-tpd foi;.sonie tjnie, explaining about the gveat German push in ■March, and why it had failed. In the attack^ they had 118 divisions, and we had 35, ;and \t'\ * niarvellous achievement tljat we ha... shopped them' If they had continued" to pusji on, in the opiniqn of GeneraJ the result of. the battle might have' been very different, T|i*e"mistake they''made was, when success seemed so near, going north-to .the Lys ajid comniencing a. second push thtere.' "^hey were' stopped, with a losf of 150,000 nien, and in the mean,t,ime the Xmefipahs Jia'd Vieguii to come in. The Geng'ral .-pa^eluded by sayin.g %t t,]w progress of events entitled us to look for: ward to the future with confidence. "'■ Qlf iIARNE BATTLEFIELDS. After • a couple of days pleasantly spent in- Paris; -we -were -called a* ■ 5.30 aim. on a nuserably wet mp.rni^g to catch an early train taking us part ot the 'way tp Montdidier. How it d'd storm,'to As we drove to the station, 'tte' .hainingriiig of the rain on the. roaf 'of Uits car was like the crackle qf maclune-guns. And then, to. our disappointment,' \i'e resphed fhe cheerless station 1; only ip; find that soinepne liad bunglea, "and iha-t' tlip military passes iyitliput, wjijch we could not travel were not 'forthcoming. However, ou the fpljftvying' raorjiing, we set put for Chateau jThierry, undev the guidance o,f a, French Officer.* Our rpute lay. along the valley pi the Marnp, whiph was flptt country, with liighe.r grounp! rising on either side, and the river winding its course in the :pentre, clp.se to the railway traci;. The' iGerniarjs were t-wjoe in t}ii_s country, the second- time being only six wee 1 '? previous to pur visit, 'when they suffered 'their gecQfld defeat on tb.e Marne during tl}is war. Approaphirig Cli«|,teau Thierry, ,there.were illuminating signs, of d,estri;ctive war pn -evpry hfind. (Jreat liples were tern ill tl\e roofs and sides of buildings, . freshly t cbnstru<jte:c| temporary bridges spanned, the river at several poirtts, and the sur.F~p.un<Ji'ng country >yas lined >'with"' trenches and covered with sfretehes qf bavijed Wire. In. t]ieiv ye" treat tlip Gerniftn^ ha,d iiot. tipie to bijrn, the town, I^ut'they l)ad niaflp i{ start in (.hat ' jlif,e.eti9l!, wMls $c sjiellfire. had ccjiitrib'utepl-'inatenaljj! tp. thj destruetipn pj' p^gnerty." _ Tj-W \n^*b>t^tit,si weje" already back at"work on their.fajms, fttid,

in some instances, had reopened the dilapidated shops. FISJIES. We made the journey to Fismet by motor-car, and all the way thither we had ample opportunity to see the destruction caused by wai> and occasionally the equally great but wholly wanton destruction which was the result of the German anger and revenge in th,e face.pf .dgfeat. At one spot, we were shpwn the'ruins of a great Frericl) Jiospitfil, whiph had stood in an isolated positipii, but wjjjch was burnt with the loss of many lives through aerial bombing. , In this case there was no excuse for .the putrage, a;s the hospital was plainly marked, and was well known to the Germans. At Fere most of the buildings were in ruins, and others were pitted with rifle anjd raaeh.jnegun bullets, and torn yvitli shell fire^ in May last this place was untouched. But the Germans pecupied it in their bjg Advance, and there was hot wpi'fc .on both sides in getting £h§in put, a fierce battle haying been waged hjsre. Fishes had b.eep'i). charming ivill^ge, wjth beautiful gardens, blit scarcely'a bujl^ipg waii'intact- However, explained our mjlitary 'gujde,. this was war. The damage was 4pne Ijy tlie artjJJery p| both sides. "It was quite another matter from what 'lappengd jn a dfstrict npfc far away, sy/iere the Germans in their retreat liad jbliiwii iip sixty villages for np "sqund military reason whatever T}}e German lines lay ja'»t '^eyp^d Fisnie*,'"ai)d oi)ce jnpre we we're within the zpji'e pf artillery Jre, |nd pnee more we witnessed war in active progress a mile pr two beyond us. There was the same thunder of artillery, the crackie of niachfue-guns, apd the same procession of ambulance waggons retiirning with their loads of wounded. After spending ah hpur in Fisrues, we ascended' a hill aVthe back of the town, and watched the artillery duel in progress. German shells were falling on a wood half a mile to pijr right where we stood looking back, and an Allied battery in the wood was vigorously replying. The effect on the. ejM"s and niipd was fpr all the world like a thunderstorm in the distance, with frequent and yivid flashes of lightning. ..' ' . THE IiAST RAY. . . On the following day, which was.the last of our visit, we were entert-ained at a great lunch in the Quai d'Orsay, when Lprcj Rerby,'British Minister in France, was pji the light pf the chair. There was a }ar'ge a^seitfb.lage of French journalists im4 re.prßsgntp,t|ye njen. In the aftei''noon, we wer^ introduced by Lord Derby at the PalaGe Elysee to M. Boincare, President pf the Frenph tlepjjblic, who sppke a few words of 'welcome) hi which he praised tjie overseas troops, and said that without the help o{'Bni4iii the war could not have been a success. Then we paid a visit to the French Ministry of War, where Lord Derby introduced us to M. C{emenceau, the Prime Minister of the .'Republic, who is' a^ rerijarliable personality,''jg)l of virjjity, %nd" bearing put by his speech and style the description ,-of hjni, as a'tige.r. Probably lion would be i" jnp're jj.pt" gxpressionr'' A'(iyhpw, he is unquestionably ?. great :man.; In the speech he made to us, he enjplj.a6is.ed the jmppsgj|)ilif.y fif.allpwjng such : barbarians as"'the Huns to achieve 'tlie mastery "of the \vprld. Before, our w? aho visited' the, Spj4Jers'-"Le.aye.": (31nb at' the Hotel Mpfleri}e, v%hgij3^ BritislJ so]diers on .le'eyej ai's proyi'ijstj fpr a* npmijiaV cost, arid daily " tow .'• are arranged. ;fi>r. itjifir entertainment.' The work is\^dmi?:9.b.!y iclpne by' a cjrpje of ?yjtfsh t^ma)e ■;• and .male residents. m Pwis. »nd-tjjp institution teian excellent one.