THE MESSINES BATTLE.

Grey River Argus, 1 September 1917, Page 7

THE MESSINES BATTLE.

A TRIUMPH OF ORGANISATION, . STUPENDOUS EFFECT OF BRlT_^j' ISH FIRE. "It is quite true that this was a triumph of organisation and of artillery preparation," writes Lieutenant 1. Wilson, of the Canterbury section ot the 16th Reinforcements, in a letter to his parents describing the capture of _S_L6SSIU6S "About two months ago," he states, "we were taken away, back from the line to rehearse the show for ten days. VVe dug the German trenches, and mapped out the village to scale. We dug our own assembly trenches — after expert surveying — and we practised the attack morning and afternoon, and at dawn, for the right effect, and before Genoral Plumer, and C.G.S. of the Second Army,, to be. put in the right fame of mind, until every platoon and section knew exactly what trench and what part, of the village it had to occupy, and precisely at what minute it had to be there. "It would be hopeless to attempt any description of all the details that went to the training _n_ equipping of 'single platoon — let alone the Army— for instance, each of our men was provided with a map of Messines, with all the buildings clearly marked, and as it was our battalion that had to 'clean' up" half the town, we had all the estaminets with cellars, roads, and other , impotant points registered with Christchurch names. "The area of my platoon lay between Armagh street and Papanui road, and comprised the vaulted ..cellars of 'Ward's Brewery' and 'Wilson's School, but had to leave such important centres of ' Brightling 's Kiln,' Waner's,' and 'Mrs HuckV to other formations. "All this was the merest prelude.. We returned to Belgium, and spent six weeks on the . wprking parties, of which I have always spoken with ,so 'much enthusiasm,' building light railways and gun positions, but chiefly by nocturnal sweat, digging the numerous assembly, trenches required for the night before Zero. "Wc-11, the censorship still exists, so all I can give is a private version of what has .appeared in the papers. I ean-'t say too much. ' ' We had a few days behind the line making the final exacting arrangements. Everything depended upon the attack coming at -an unexpected date, and, to our intense relief, everything was normal the night we , assembled. This was due to a brilliant piece of strategy. "The men understood how carefully everything had been arranged, and were as jolly as sandboys on the way up. Nobody was excited,, and the hour or two in the trenches before Zero was given over to sleep. "At Zero we 'climbed over the top.' We were not in as good a position as the newspaper correspondents to enjoy the 'spectacular, miracle.' I don't remember the 'earthquakes,' though the mines were going off not a mile from hie. I just remember the flare of the mines, the frantic Hun rockets, and the flashes of our enormous barrage. I was chiefly engrossed in finding easy places in which to jump our maze of trenches, and in trying to find some points to steer for. The barrage allowed us plenty of time, and we advanced at a slow stroll. The Hun is a magnificent gunner, and can in -almost every ease be depended on to put down the most formidable barrage in a minute or two, but this time our artillery got on to his batteries with such stupendous effect that very little Hun stuff came our way during the hour or more we were advancing on Messines. ' ' Messines, which had been fought over fo nearly three years, and shattered* by a fury as of the Last Judgment for the previous hour, literally had not one stone left upon another. "After a while I recognised 'Victoria Square,' my chief guiding mark, and found one of my sections already there and duly 'mopping, up.' This was not the bloodthirsty business we -had expected, and for which we had so often listened to the stereotyped Army lectures on the 'Spirit of the Bayonet.' (This lecture holds equal honour with the homily on "The Care of the Feet" at Trentham.) "Every now and then there came rushing out of some cellar or dug-out batches of ten or a dozen Huns, hands up ; and falling on their knees with ' Mercy, Kamerad. ' One could not feel any animosity against these poor, pale, pitiful lads, or expect any other conduct from those who had survived such a fury. " v After describing the eagerness of theprisoners to make them useful to their captors and their eagerly p*oferred souvenirs in the shape of cigarettes, watches, etc., etc., Lieutenant Wilson states : — "It is, wonderful .in the perfect i summer morning to walk down the churned up ridge that had been the enemy's only a few hours before, and to see how pefectly he had commanded our trenches from there. And tow that the tension was over the sight of the innocent dead — our own and those of the enemy — made me feel the utter hideousness of war- and the awful guilt of the Devil-Emperor who had been able tb wreak 'his wicked will upon the world. ' ' Messines was captured by the artillery. ;We simply went' in and collected the prisoners, so I have come out of the battle without seeing what could be called real fighting."