FAMOUS FIGHT

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 10, 13 January 1932, Page 8

FAMOUS FIGHT

CAPTURE O¥ OTAPAWA

TO-DAY'S ANNIVERSARY

To-day is the sixty-sixth, anniversary of the storming of Otapawa Pa by the Middlesex Regiment (the "Diehards") in what was one of the bloodiest encounters of the series of battles ■with the Maoris. The Fifty-seventh (Middlesex) Regiment was led by LieutenaritrColonels Butler and Hassard in.this affray, and tho pa, on the terminal of a long and densely wooded tableland, was carried at the point of the. bayonet. ......Sharp fighting south of Patea had drivVm1 the Hauhaus inland, and the scene of action' shifted to the heart of tho rebel country where, on the bank of the Tangahoe Eiver, tho Hauhaus had built the famous pa, the strongest they made in tho campaign. The Fifty-seventh, a detachment of the Fourteenth Regiment, some Forest Bangers under Major yon Tempsky, and 200 of the Native Contingent formed the invading force which was to capture the pa. Prom the base of Tawhiti, near the present site of Hawera, Major-General Trevor - Chute advanced over level ground, and on 12th January he camped within striking distanco of Otapawa. Very early next morning his forces advanced, three Armstrong field-guns shelled the pa, and the troops set about the assault. There was no fire from the stronghold, and it was thought that the Maoris had deserted the place, but over 200, Hauhaus •veto in, the trenches coolly waiting for their foes to come ™".thin short range. The Fifty-seventh, supported by the Fourteenth, rushed the pa and were greeted with two volleys at close^rarige. Slashing at the fastenings of the palisading, the'troops wore soon, in the stronghold, and the Hauhaus fled. The Hauhaus lost over thirty killed in this sharp encounter, and they had many wounded, who wero removed to , a sheltered spot. Tho British loss in the assault, was eleven killed and twenty wounded. Among tho killed - was LieutenantColonel Hassard, while a bullet tore the braid of the coat of "Major-General Chute, to whose impetuous attack the rather heavy casualties wore due^ REGIMENT'S NEW COLOURS. In October last the Prince of Wales presented new colours to the first battalion of the "Diehards,"- and in an address reminded officers and men of the service of the regiment. Tho battalion, he said, originated from the Fifty-ninth Foot, which was raised on Christmas Day, 1755, by Colonel Arabin. The following year the regiment was re-numbered the 'Fifty-seventh,( and it entered upon a series of arduous campaigns in the .-Mediterranean. From 1775 it took part in-fifteen, years of fighting in the North American Continenti: and although chiefly composed of: Scotsmen, it' was called the East Middlesex Regiment. ■ t , . ;■ The second, battalion originated from the Seventy-seventh Foot, raised ■ by Colonel Marsh for service in India. The distinguished' part it played under Sir Arthur 'Wellesley was testified by its battle honours, *' Seringapatam" and "Mysore." In 1807, though chiefly comprised of Irishmen, it was called the West. Middlesex Regiment, Both battalions served with great valour in the Peninsular War and the Crimea. At: Albuhcra^ in 1811, gallant ' Colonel Inglis, when mortally wounded, exhorted his men to "Die hard,"-and'from this came its famous namo.' In 1881 the battalions were united to form the Dukeiof Cambridge's Own (the Middlesex Regiment), and the badges of their caps to-day displayed ■ the', insignia of both battalions. The battle honour of "New Zealand commemorated; the Maori Wars of 18G0; and further distinctions Iwere' gained in South Africa. In the Great War, raised to fifty-six battalions, the regiment served in every theatre of war, and gained eighty-one battle honours. '. Sergeant-Ma jor B. Bezar is the sole survivor of the old "Diehards" hi New Zealand. . .