THE NEW ZEALANDERS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 214, 12 August 1918, Page 2

THE NEW ZEALANDERS

CAPTURE ROSSIGNOL WOOD. A DETAILED REPORT. (Special from the Official War Correspondent). , Aug. 8. The New Zealanders, after a spell in the back area, recently returned to the line slightly north of thenformer sector and for some days nowhave been acquitting themselves well in minor enterprises which have resulted in the capture of several enemy trenches and an advance of a depth of about a thousand yards on a front of three hundred yards. Included in the captured araa is the famous Rossignol Wood where the! French fought in the early days of the war and where subsequently the British had some hard lighting. The operation were started by tne Rifles who captured some cnelwyj trenches in front of Hebuterne. Art; officer and four men went out in day-j light and crawled through the wire and jumped into a trench where they killed three Germans and captured one prisoner without suffering a casualty. Shortly afterwards Lieutenant Salmond, a young and promising officer, was killed by a bomb , at Rossignol Wood. Following this preliminary invest!-1 gation of the enemy line the Rifles gained so-me ground in the old front fine by exploitation. Then two com- i panics or the Rifles attacked after I a ten-nrimites’ bombardment on a thousand yards front, while at the same time men of another battalion did a bombing attack down some old German tranches in the Gomecourt, sector. The enemy offered resistance in places but the objectives set our men were easily taken, when the. barrage lifted patrols went forward and succeeded in cHpMr*ng the whole of the old British frolit m front of Hebuterne. Not- , COiitent with gaining their objectives the bonding parties went forward and captured a trench three hundred yards beyond their objective. In this operation we took thirty-seven prisoners, several light machine-guns three heavy machine guns, and two ininnenwer?er, one of which we destroyed with a bomb to prevent the possibility of its recapture. Seventy (let-mans were killed. Our men have buried fifty four and several other bodies can still be seen lying out in No Man’s Land.

Next morning, at about half-past three, the enemy counter-attacked, and drove in two of our posts. During this attack they captured Anz, a corporal, who, though badly wounded, afterwards escaped and crawled back to our lines. 1 The former situation was promptly restored by a New Zealand counter attack on the following day. The Brigadier while going round the front posts was wounded in the arm and thigh by a German sniper. He was able to walk into Hebuterne and afterwards was conveyed on a stretcher to a dressing station. His injuries are not serious and his re- | turn is expected in a few weeks. |

While some of these events had been taking place the men of another brigade—the had established posts in the west edge of Rossignol Wood but weie held up by maebine-gun fire from strongly wired pill boxes. Theyescaped lightly with four men wounded.

Our troops started to consolidate the positions gained and .immediately afterwards it was ascertained that the enemy was blowing up his pill boxes evidently with the inten tion of retiring from a spot that was getting too warm for him. Our patrols went out. and getting in touch with the enemy, found he was retiring from Rossignol. The Otago troops were pushed forward to keep in touch with the enemy. The Aucklanders co-operated on their right and pushed down the enemy trenches. After a certain amount, of bombing our men succeeded in clearing the enemy cut of three successive lines of trenches and establishing a line of posts right in front of tire wood.

Ju this advance we killed twentyfive Germans and captured three prisoners, three machine-guns and one grenaten werfer. The following day some fighting took place in those captured trenches and that night the M elhngton men pushed out their patrols fi’- 0 hundred yards without, meeting further opposition. Yesterday the Auckland anu Wellington troops co-operated sn forcing their patrols forward, and sue, ceeded in forcing the enemy out ot the old front and support lines in front of Hebuterne. Iney took two move prisoners w-ho were sheltering in shell holes and seemed not sorry to come in. A machine-gun was captured and two mortars were blown up.

Afterwards tne enemy shelled the wood heavily but only wasted his animtinitiou for we had no casiuvties. In the shelling of the trench gained we naturally had some casualties, but these, were quite out of proportion to the casualties inflicted on the Germans. The morale of the troops opposed ; to us was poor, and on one occasion j our men stood up in the open and had some good shooting a.t the retiring Germans as they fled before our barrage. Lieut. Salmond's body was found in Rossignol Wood by Sergeant Travis shortly before the latter was tiimself killed.