THE GREAT PUSH.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 265, 25 October 1916, Page 3

THE GREAT PUSH.

HOW IT WAS CARRIED OUT

MARVELLOUS ORGANISATION

(By I*Willie Wombat.”) Northern France. Preparations are now being made for a raid of the enemy’s lines on a bigger scale than anything that has yet taken place. The work for the greater part is being entrusted to Anzacs, and is, as far as I can understand, being launched for the purpose of rendering valuable assistance to our work at the Somme. The preliminaries are now we 1 in hand, and our lads am looking forward with quiet interest and enthusiasm to events ahead. It is going to be a pretty big “stunt,” as the boys call it ; so big that it will mark itself in history as one ol the lir<t big important affairs ol Atiza<- troops on tin* Western front. 1 have had a look round to-day. and the countryside is fairly bristling with guns of ail descriptions and sizes, so that alien they commence there will be music in the air. 1 saw t«o pieces ol “ironniongei v” to-day as* the men <*i the Roval Fin'd Artillery proudly termed them. They were only two ci many of the same calibre, and are known respectively as “Big Dolly and “Hefti Annie.” „ ~ Whan I was admiring “Big Dolly being swung gracefully to and fro on her carriage after a good oiling, the sergeant in charge, with a twinkle in his eve. remarked. “I guess the old girl when die starts her spitting will make Fritz think.” The idea of it all was conveyed to me when having a look at “Hefty'Annie.” One of the gunners ’ put it ,in a nutshell when he said. “She ought to make a good road for the boys to move on.” And that is exact.y i\ liat will occur. 1 have really seen more traffic within the past twenty-four hours than I have !fai*r seen in ten years of my life. And in all these movements of guns and munitions tie have been especial y lavoared by the elements, which have been dull and hazy, rendering conditions unfavourable lor observation from the air. Fritz is having the luck he deserves, because his aeroplanes van do no good, neither can his sausage balloons. The organisation of it all is really marvelions. and uniler cover of the tavoural.ln conditions great things are being done. The coming “strafe” is the sole topic of the Anzacs. and many bright-eyed 'boys and men who are longing-for the I hour tn come and the word to go will when that time comes march on sure and certain: and, although many of • them knou that the land which they I love so well will never be seen by them i again, no thought of that is apparent. As they go forward to take up their positions their hearts are merry, and i’v'v are singing their favourite songs. Fritz they think of with contempt, for they know that the result of their work ■ in France has simp’y demoralised him. i With greater joy and pleasure no men have ever gone forward to take their place in the battle-line on a foreign I shore than the sturdy, gallant Aus--1 tralians and New Zealanders. I now thoroughly understand why they are to-dav the admiration of the civilized world and a terror to the Huns THE "PUSH" BEGINS. The Great Push has begun. Punctually at 11.3 U a.m., under exeet.ent weaI tner conditions, the morning having cleared up, the great “strale ' started, flor bait .. i hour previous our piaues j were exeep.ionady uusy going tiaenwards and toi wards. Se.etui small lieid | batteries covered their actions i>y open- ' ing me at intervals, leading the enemy ; to oe.ieve that they were directing tneir | lire. At 2u past 11 the battery piaues circled round tue guns and transmitted whatever information was gained. Beside “Big Dolly ' aud “Hetty Annie ’ stood the gunners stripped to the waist. W itli watch in hand, the officer in charge of "l>ig Doily’ watched the time. To the minute he gave tne order “Load.” Four strapping men picked up the tray, on which was a shell ready, bearing the inscription “Love from all.” into the breech it was shot with machine-like action and rapidity. Next came the charge of explosive; then the word “Fire” came in a clear voice. “Hefty Annie,” who was only a few seconds behind “Big D0.1y,” sent as her greeting, “Forget-me-not.” The other guns sent similar greetings. There was a short pause in order to await a report from the observation post. This was not long in coming to nand. “Big Dolly’s” message nad been delivered with an accuracy creditable to all. The other guns received similar reports. The necessary notes and adjustments having been made, they all settled down to work, pouring out high explosives of 2*f<)lb weight each at the late of one per minute. The earth shook and tremb.ed for miles around. Tiles on the roofs of farm houses tumbled down, and windows were smashed to pieces within a similar radius. The screech of these monster missiles as they tore through the air was more deafening than tne explosion which sent them on their journev. SIX HOURS OF IT. ’ The artillery duel or battle of big guns liad now ne.’it in operation over six hours, the roar of our guns has lueii and J believe they are playing fearful havoc with the enemy > trenches. Our new trench mortars, with their “plum dull'’ she.ls, are levelling Fritz’s parapets in a manner hitherto unknown, and our big guns are pounding into dust their support trenches and billets. The intensity of our bombardment so far of all classes of guns is estimated as from 10 to 15 times greater than that of the enemy. As a matter of fact his reply is feeble, and so far no attempt has been made to discover our big guns. There are excellent grounds to believe that Fritz has been hit in an unexpected spot. 1 have just- heard an authentic story as regards the result of our big artillery, which is to the effect that “Hefty Annie” has lobbed a “greeting” into a building believed to be occupied by a German Headquarters Staff. There are also other excellent reports testifying to the splendid work being done by "Big Dolly and Co.” Yes, six hours of thunder-like srokes and intense bombardment has been the case, and the men are now moving up from the supports to the front line trenches. All are happy. It seemed to be the supreme time of their lives. Fritz in mortal combat was the man they wanted. Soon after this movement was comp.eted the Huns opened fire on the right ( and left, communication trenches, but were five minutes too late on the former and ten too late on the latter. This good luck was considered a happy omen, and the men’s spirits were high. BRITISH PLUCK. And at this crucial moment the good luck which was theirs was the result of good British pluck. Two Taubes were up, their business evidently being to ascertain what were the movements in the British lines. But a British airman saw the move. He went straight for them, and immediately engaged them in battle. There were a few preliminary dives and circ.es, and then, goingstraight for one of them, he opened fire. The audacity of this one plane nonplussed the enemy, and both planes made a move to separate and travel in different directions. But the British airman had picked out one, and he stuck to it. And, what is more, ho appeared to know that he had it beaten. On swept our plane, and, firing with deadly accuracy, soon hrd the Taube in trouble. Another manoeuvre by the Briton and all was over. The Taube was hurtling to the earth. The second one had deemed discretion the" better of valour, and made for home, being followed up by volley after volley i from our anti-aircraft guns. This grand example of British pluck was a I magnificent preliminary, and was much appreciated by the lads. No braver , act could mortal man wjsh to infuse ■ the spirit necessary for the coming j command. And, to crown that heroic i performance, the airman swept down, , and, flying low, raked the enemy’s trenches with machine-gun fire. It

was a movement of superb inspiration to all. And it was during that time our supports were coming forward. satisfied who is the master of the air, was the cry all round. “No Hun would ever do that,” “He’s a beauty.” “LOOK TO IT, LADS!”

Time is getting short. Everybody is ready. .JoK.es are the order. “Look to it, lads. Five minutes to go. Watch for the big explosion on the left.” Some glance over their rifles, others feel their pouches, and others check their bomb supply in a most unconscious manner. They are all ready. Officers are now to be seen with their watches out and crouching and springing about as it they are going to break a record in a hundred yards sprint. But at a point stood two officers and two sergeants, one checking -the time and the other* carefully seeing that instructions should be carried out exactly. They ah of one accord looked at each other. “Five seconds to go.’/ “Correct,” was the reply. The eight eyes were alert. The button. Press. Forty seconds to six. Then was a rumbling of the earth in that locality. A sudden standstill, a shock. Not an earthquake, it was worse. “No mail’s land” trembled. It did move, it danced an Irish jig. Who set the tune? A company ol the Mining Corps. It was all a matter of seconds, but when one conies to reckon up seconds the time i,-. longer than generally imagined. The explosion was the signal. All eyes were looking ”ior it. The earth was trembling. That wasn’t all. A roar, a volume of smoke, a canopy, “Go!” And, like the men that the Anzacs are, the front wave was over the parapet. In extended order they galloped, they were a picture. Steady, aye, steady. There wasn’t a flinch. “No man's land” was easy. This second wave of khaki ties bien. The third and fourth were not quite so lucky. Fritz' had woke up. Shrapnel showered over “no man’s land.” it was. like a hailstorm. But our lads went on sure. And the braving of it all can best be described by the hearty cheers of British regiments on the left. Australia! Aew Zealand! went up from thousands of throats. An Anzac who was in the fourth wave said to me after it was all over “That Tommy cheer gave hundreds of us new life.” The hist fine of trenches gained, the Anzacs displayed their skill with bombs and bayonets. The Huns were practically cut off. Our big guns were playing on their support and connnunicaz* tier, trenches. None of the enemy could get up, and few could get away. Those that showed fight got all they wanted, whilst a number of others surrendered freely. System after system of the enemy’s defences were penetrated by the Anzacs’ great dash. And a noteworthy fact of the whole affair was that many of the troops engaged were under fire for the first time. NOT THE ANZACS ONLY.

Although the Anzacs p’.ayed a big part in this demonstration, 1 do not want to localise the event, for great credit is due to the bravery and gallantry of English regiments moving up on both flanks. I recognise, of coarse, that our own press in Australia and New Zealand give first thoughts to the heroic exploits of the men who are representing them, but all the same it would be as well if our pcop.e recognised that after all the gallant Anzacs are but only a small percentage —but nevertheless a helpful one —in the great struggle. Despite the fact that our losses were severe, as already reported from official sources, the grand demonstration was an eye-opener to the enemy. It proved many things. It proved tve could pound their trenches into smithereens. shatter their concrete dug-outs into atoms, and choke up their mine shafts, as well as blocking their exit from dug-outs de luxe well under the ground, and occupied by German officers ; it proved, too, that our men were superior individually at close quarters. Our losses were not due to the individual efforts of the German soldiers, but to the artillery fire. And with regard to this latter* fact it demonstrated to us what the fearful effect of our fire must have had, because it tvas ten time's greater than that of the enemy.

For elevon hours our men held them, but as the result of investigation it was ascertained that nothing would be gained by hanging on—although the fruits of their accomplishments were sweet. The attackers did not return empty-handed. They brought back some 200 prisoners and many trophies of war. The prisoners admitted that the raids which had been in progress for some time had been making their life a hell in the trenches. The continual watch necessary to meet these parties is playing havoc with their nerves.

And as to our own wounded, well they were the happiest lot imaginable under their trying conditions. They were truly wonderful. I saw one Anzac making his way to a dressing station. He was wounded in both arms, in the right shoulder, and in the calf of the leg, bfit was cheerily smoking a cigarette. When I asked him how things were, he replied “good”. This attack, which was launched in the country south of Armentieres, will, it is understood, have results in another direction.