GERMAN EFFICIENCY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 24 May 1915, Page 2

GERMAN EFFICIENCY.

A very interesting letter from a wellknown infantry officer at the front with Sir John French, is worth quoting in full. "Though most of us agree that one of our men- is worth three of the Germans, what their Staff doesn't-know about war <and its devices isn't worth knowing. Their trench equipment is magnificent and their methods beyond praise. When they blew up the trench that the—;—— were in, I came up to reinforce about half an hour after, just j as it w&s getting light arid placed my! platoon under the command of the i captain. I wanted to retake the trench' at once,'but he wouldn't let me, and told us to wai£ till daylight, so I watched the Germans with my periscope and saw them rush in. No sooner had they got in than they had every sandbag off the parapet and blocked up the trench against us, and they broiignt in their portable iron loopholes/which are extremely, good. They had all this rigged iip in under half an hour. When I retook the trench I found they had everything ready for a long occupation. Their-trench mortars are a wonderful piece of scientific work; they make no report when fired, as the bomb is propelled by compressed air. Ours makes a row like a thunderclap. The prisoners I took were very well dressed (smart and clean), plenty of good rations, bread, bully beef, chocolate, coffee, biscuits, good boots to prevent frost-bite. In their 'trenches they oil their feet, then bandage them and oil the bandage, wear two pairs of socks, then a pair of carpet slippers, and then; gum boots over the top of that."