MARCH TO THE RHINE.

Mataura Ensign, 22 March 1919, Page 7

MARCH TO THE RHINE.

NEW ZEALANDERS’ JOURNEY. THE LONG TH.AIL DESCRIBED. AN INTERESTING STORY. (By "Digger.’') (Special to the 'Ensign’). COLOGNE, Germany. Moat of us are familiar with the son" "Somewhere in France," but; few 1, think though! that tho words of its chorus,would come so wonderfully true, and that before the year, 19lS, closed wo should be "Somewhere in Germany/’ But here we are with onr feet on German soil, and that .which, after four bitter years of Avar we had almost despaired of, has actually happened. The groat German war machine has collapsed badly beaten by'the Allies’ armed forces, and the Military Power which set out in 1914 to dominate ihe whole world is found ac tho close of 1918, crushed and broken and ready to accept our terms. True her country has not suffered any of the desolation and destruction which has befallen our bravo Allies. Franco and Belgium, and haring m en iha sad state of affairs there existing, one cannot but wish the conflict had been carried into German territory. Dining oUr march we passed from surroundings and ‘scenes .which spoke more ei if(uontly -than :words can of • tho invaders’ destruction, to a country unharmed and unmarred by wars devastating machinery. No contrast could he greater; and Germany knew better than allow the conflict to pass within her borders. Can the damage to property in France and Belgium ever be estimated, and "will it ever be compensated for? That is without taking into account tho greater loss in. the sacrifice of human life.. Surely wo will comnol the payment of the last penny, which Germany, ir spite of what some say, can well afford to do?

OFF TO THE RHINE. The. New Zealand Division, .was relieved Just-'four days before the signing of tho armistice. The find Brigade (.Otago and Canterbury) came out to billets in Le Quesnoy, and later to Beauvois, both of which towns had been captured by our'troops. We spent two very restful veldt’s at Beauvois, and during that time iiEinv wnni roniicl nntl rnucb speculation was rife as to our tutriro movements. Eventually we were informed that we had been chosen, along with ’ other colonial troops and the Regulars, to go fa the Rhino. It sounds veil and the uninitiated will conjure up visions of a long line of brave and happy looking soldiers, banners, streaming,. bands playing, and cheering laughing crowds to greet us as wo passed on nur way. Perhaps, wc had them all. but the picture is not quite complete. What of tlie -pack we carriod—a Drtlb one—with rifle, ammunition ami all equip-” ■m-?nt necessary for re-entering the line should occasion arise. Sometimes the weather was good, sometimes it; was otherwise. Likewise the roads and wo did on an average about nine miles per day. That d nes not seem much, buf {hast who did it know belter. There were day.? when feet gave out and shoulders 'were sore, but We. stuck it out. There were limes when billers might have--been better, and times when the. rations wore short. The digger is not by any means of a quiet or despondent nature, but the march was a strangely quiet one —the work on hand Avar, of too strenuous a nature —am? only on rare occasions did (ho usual good spirits and humor get full play. But days, of lest alternated AVith days of marching,' and these Avere times which avc enjoyed to the full. The smile returned to the diggers' faces and by (lie firm? avo again hit tho trail wc' wore as fit and merry as ever. The AAfiolo Division moved at once, but billeting areas word freqnenily considerable distances apart. The three Brigades Avould break aAvav in different directions. and aimm Battalions would often be billeted ,in different villages. A billeting party consisting of one officer from each Baitallon and n.c.o.s from each company went ahead, and arranged for flic necessary accommodation. Each Battalion marched complete Avi:h band. Battalion Headquarters. Balt,alien Tran snort, and four companies of Infantry. Each company had Us own travelling kitchen and limbers. The former are very handy machines, and as fires raav be.kepi going continually, little time .is taken to get a hot meal ready even on the 'march. MARCHING EXPERIENCES.

On the morning of November 23 we tvoro early astir to pack our belongings, clean our billets, mu! get ourselves ready for the road. We carried everyth in.sr except our blankets, which were rolled in bundles of Ift and carried bv tho transport. Onr first day’s march was to St. 'Martins, a distance of 2ft kilometres, and it was one of the hardest of the whole trip. Tt was a drizzling wet day, and we were a tired and wot crowd, who scumbled, rather than marched into the village half an hour after dark that: evening. Our first task after finding mir billets, was to get a tiro going and we managed to got all mr clothes dried during the evening. Dinner, consisting of tho never-failing army stew cam? later, and after disposing of it we turned in. The floor of onr billet was hard and cold, while rain dripped in through the roof, which had received some hard treatment from some <>f Fritz’s shells. But we slept soundly and well. Friday, November 29, was a batter day, and once the soreness and stiffness, consequent on the exerikms,_ of Die previous day had worn off the going 'ns not so bad. Villers-Pol, 12 kilo- ■•,(’! s distant, was onr dostinai lon and ' o req-hed it at 1.30 p.m. We marched 1 uM!?t with only the hourly 10 minute "nalis. »t;d (uvl lunch on our arrival. ;-Ty>’ci!css i s soy. by Ihi - time we were <-■ itv ready the men 1. Om* platoon - a'- direcvcti in a, loft over . ■ nOal 1 akiC-’g mbio, O'D lm ; ' ■■ -’■ ao

(>; D-C:: i wh- ■ f o,'-" “I ■ couldn't ami a is- •. 5 ■ . ■ ■U VO to •■■■O ,■ m . ' ; ■ the’ billeting -crgo.im. near and yvy ‘m imagine ' what was UiV;D,- : - : about that sergeant? m,s" ; : y her was found, and one hyvou- v. a 1 our wa.y to our resting p/mm. Tm-a some one discovered a shed fuiJ, .■>■' str.ic (Fritz’s), and in a- very short if..no we i.’ad affected ft transfer which as'-gred tm oF-eksoing a little softer and wanker than we 'had , done the previous njgh.-,. The remainder of the aiievnoou was' well spent, but in the middle of our rest the cry of “'canteen” was raised, and a wav-wo .wenF-to take our places in the waiting queue. Biscuits were in great demand. as they adways are. am! the'stock was soon reduced to q box of five franc and six franc packets. These it was found later, panned out at lid a biscuit and they we re" by no means large one- either. Tt was rather, n stiff deal from the Diggers’ point of view, but v had to gev (he betfor ol economy;'find the biscuits ami f(.apcs changed hands.

VISIT? PROM THE TvTKO. j The follow ins: day wo wore ready for flio road at, 8 a.in. hound for. Bellignies, li kiloniol.ro.' away. Some shrewd dighad dwidod tr> iravol lljfUt, and >to\ved a. I‘*mv articles away with \]\oiv blanket?. Tint if didn't work, and when wo left. several ownerless overcoats and leather jerkins were to ho. seen swinging on. g. fence. We marched with oil f a lunch halt to onr destination, which wo reached at 1 p.m. BelUgnk-s is a small villa tie, picturesquely sit anted hi n, valley between two hill?, and there we rested until Tuesday morning. Onr billets were quite good and our stay was a most enjoyable one. On Saturday evening orders eame out that the King'’ would inspect (he Brigade on Sunday forenoon. This meant; tots or polish and elbow grease, but we were spared that part. The orders for Hit King’* inspection, as far as the 2nd CVf.B. was' eoncerned, wen' cancelled, and we mareheo to the neighboring village oi Bayai, wV.ete a eehnrc.lt parade was at tended by his Maje.stv. The Otago men lined the road, and ns the eehnreli was crowded, tliev just managed to obtain a fleet_ing glance of the King as he passed inside. tar 1 1 • > —:

Our usual church parade was held and was conducted by our esteemed Padre, Chaplain. D. Herron, of Pukerau, and in the evenin'? a sing sons service rook place. Monday passed all too quickly, and on Tuesday, December 3, we were on the road again hound for Fcrricr-lc-Gronde, 23 kilometres di.stani. The day was cold, an ideal one for marching-, and wc finished the trip a) : •(•.30 p.m. Forvier-la-(trondo is really a suburb of Maubauge, or one of the collection of villages which surround that largo and interesting town. Maubauge is a strongly fortified town, and it will be remembered that Caere the Germans were held up for a week during their advance in 1914. It is built on the. lliver Sambt-c, and we saw that Fritz, during his recent retirement-, had done his work only too well, 'U destroying two large and important bridges. British engineers had a temporary one, and were busy getting the others replaced. On the Wednesday we marched 10 kilometres to Erquolinnes, situated fust across the Belgian border and adjoining the French town of .tonmont. Wc finished the march at noon and rested in the afternoon. On Thursday, December 0. our day's work was a 15 kilometre march to Fuiae. It was a beautiful -day and the metal roads, thhugh sloppy, were a. welcome change to the cobbles.

SCENES IN BELGIFM. Wo gradually left behind ns the war desolated regions and Belgium, undamaged by shot and shell, looked wonderfully well for the time of the year. Everywhere farmers were busy, some ploughing with their bullock teams in single furrow ploughs and others pulling and chawing their root crops for storage and -winter use. Enin© was reached at 2.30 p.m. and wc secured good billets. The next, day was a rest day and wo made ourselves very comfortable. The kind-hearted Belgian farmer said not a word when we helped ourselves to his big potatoes, and in other ways set ourselves out for a ‘bon - ' time. The Divisional canteen was three kilometres away so what else could wo do? In fact we let ourselves in for such a good time that some hoped the company would forget about ns and leave he behind. However, it was a vain hope, and Saturday, found ns astir at the ariy hour of (> a.m. Rations had not came up the previous night as usual, and we had to march to our cooker, get juv rations and have breakfast, there. Here ajjain 1 am sorry some remarks ■■.ere marie which are not quite lit for publication. U'e had been billeted or .he extreme outskirts ox Fnine, and moving forward we found it n large and very beautiful town, picturesquely situated in a ravine between two steep Mils, the diggers bad to work hard to carry themselves and their pack's ou( of thf town, so that perhaps a lot of. its beauty was lost to them. Our destination, Mon igtiies, was 2d kilos away. It is one of the cluster of coal-mining towns situated around the city of (’hurleivd. On the way we passed through some open country and the very beautiful town, ami environs of Bomaree. It is saying a lot to describe these places as- beautiful at this time of year. What must they hr wjhcn clothed in their spring or summer garb? From Bomaree to Charleroi ft is hard to tell where the dividing lines between, the various towns nin,

A TRinirHANT MARCH. It appeared to be one long unending street, bur we passed through several towns and villages. , Our afternoon mareh was rather an interesting one, and was the nearest approcli to anything spectacular wo had yet, ‘experienced. Passing through Marcinolle and .Houiielie the streets were lined by excited and happy residents, who had evidently seen more German than Allied troops. Archways had been erected and decorated with flowers, flags and greetings to the 'soldiers passing through. Belgian, Prcnoh, American apd British (lags were flying everywhere. At one place (a girls’ orphanage) some 10 lassies lined the fence and sang our National Anthem through and through again to the long line of passing troops. Needless to say, each verse was greeted with hearty cheers from the boys. We reached our billets at ’.I p.m., and were soon comfortably, settled down. During the evening many of the diggers took the electric tram to Charleroi, and reported very favorably on their brief visit, there. Others, perhaps more weary, contented themselves by exploiting ’ Montignies, and were fortunate enough to discover ono or two bakeries, from which the next, day’s rations received a welcome addition, Sunday, December S, was a glorious day, hut it was not for us a. day of rest. We were on the road at A a.in., and marched to Anvelais (la kilos distant). It was a solid march, but wp travelled through, some interesting towns, and all along the way we were greeted very cordially, by the Belgian folks. During the forenoon wp passed through the heart of Chatelet, a large ami very prosperous-looking town, where business appeared to have boon as usual for the war period. Our billets in Auvelais were very good—ih fact it seemed too good to bo true that a certain platoon should be allotted to a flue large and modern-looking house, where we were received very kindly by Monsieur and Madame. We had ;i table, chairs, a fir© (lit by Madame herself), and electriclight. Trcs bon! We spent a very pleasant evening with our kind host and hostess, and the boys soon made friends with a little mademoiselle or 10 and two gareons of nine and seven respectively. As a consequence several buttons and badges changed hands to the great satisfaction of the youngsters. Reluctantly we bade farewell to our friends, and early on Monday we struck the trail for Temploux, 1] kilos away. Tempions is a small, scattered vilago, but our billets were good, and we wore very kindly received again. The famous field of Waterloo is ju«t 30 kilos away from here, and through the village runs 'Waterloo Road, along which Bluchor and his troops marched to take their part in the fray. On Tuesday we had a. well-earned holiday. Namur was inst eight kilos away, and connected by a good train service with Tcmnloux and other outlying villages. Pew of the boys did not make the trip, and it proved a most interesting one. Namur is a tine urge city, well laid off with good '•reefs, fine large buildings and bridges, ci lll some beautiful river scenery. The

, ■ her Meuse runs through the cby, and St- also joined here by the Sambri. A I good deal of river traffic Is done, and i !'iiiv-'-ized boats plv as far as Namur. ("Business as usual’* appeared to be its j mot to, and everywhere fliere was evi--ideuce of brisk trade and comfortable .living. Pod card views and other suit- ! able souvenirs were in great demand bv ; I h<; troops, : :::d of oourse we were all out j f\>i a n = nave meal. ‘Restaurants ! n)>.. ■ a Dd iii'.i °'ood meal was obfcain- ■ ; ; "V. ■ is ftailf.s, I - iT.V.VfiF, STfSHT. I j 1. t p. it./ sight of the day 1 was ■ a “last train homo.” ! Half ' !0... '■<•.((! its time of departure gj-ewb'od in.-ide, outside and ion top to digger-,.in fact bad to latpy behind and risf< getting back some other way. Tin- firsts, pinch, half a mile out, provided the fir.hi diversion. The. engine did hoc he-t. hu.l it. we(oo much, jand we had 1.0 mm b;..rk i lie bottom for r, ee.mni] il’ll} IBDr* v .fit; tempt. Then u iougt. grade farther j out, proved too big a proposition and if was not until two un/snccessful attempts had been legisterjed that, amid I flic cheers of her passengers, site topped ](hc ri«ip and steamed friumphtmtly on .‘her wi;v. i^iifl jypoibcj. Th*i hau 10 be l negotiated, bur the driver ht what mrght j be, uiNiiwl "tjefib d? fh’fjDddV bu'tics,

rushed down one slope and up the other. For a wonder we all sot safely home. THE TRACK AGAIN. We march en Pi Dofiissoulx, It kilometres in. the forenoon the next day. It was an ideal day for inarching and we. could have gone farther with ease had it been necessary. We skirted Namur and climbed a steep hill to the north, from‘where an excellent view of the city and surrounding was obtained. Half way between Teniploux and Namur we passed a, prepared German line of defence. It was a. formidable looking 1 flair with wire trenches and steel pillboxes. Our billets at Douissonlx were as usual good, and much kindness was diown. to us by the villagers. We marched on Thursday forenoon to Want-le-Eveqne. a. distance of 14 kilometres. The day was wet and the going "onsequently somewhat heavy. Lunch, and a roof over our heads, even though 't happened, in mv case, to be a. barn '•oof. were very welcome. The residents nlaeed their houses and fires at our disposal immediately ami our wet clothes were soon dried.

A DREARY TRAMP. On Friday, December Id, reveille went it: 5.H0. and in a steady rain our company fell in at 7 a.m. ready for the 20 kilometre march to Amay. Rain fell almost continuously and it was a very solid march. We arrived more or le«s ‘dead beat” at our destination at- 1 p.m. half the distance the road was ■overed with slush and water —for the ither half we had the hated cobble it ones, but for once they were welcome, being dry even if they were hard and sharp. We passed through Huy. a large ‘own on the Meuse, and which, is the own we had picked out as being half vay between Beauvois and Cologne. We found our billets in Amay. a. small :own. quite good enough for the week?nd rest which was in» store. On Saturlay. December 14. we had a general ..•loan up, which included a welcome bath. Bools were attended to, and we explored jur temporary home. Amay was good o ns in some ways—didn't we manage ,o get stacks of bread when our rations vere getting just a- little bit light-'— but it brought disappointment, hard and utter, in another. We had had pronises and heard rumors of a train to ake ns from here. but. alas for our hopes, that train must have, got a big start on us. INTERESTING COUNTRY.

On Tuesday, December 17, we took to :he road once again. Ougreo (20 kilometres) was our destination. We followed the left bank of the Meuse for wo hours ami then crossed to the opKisite side on one of the many splendid midges which span, her waters. Just mi of A may we passed several zinc nines, which, with their huge plants of lachinory, etc., presented an interestng and imposing sight. Ougroe is a ii’ge town just seven kilometres from .lege, and our stay there, though a hurt one, was very enjoyable. A few .f the. boys—not, those who had been 'esned -with new boots at Amav, and were as a conseqnqence almost hors-de-combat —took the train to Liege during lie evening and spent an enjoyable few tours (here. Wednesday, the 18th. provided us with another wet tramp, ■'raipent, our destination was only la ilemierres away, but it proved quite far nougli for most. We had hopes at passing through and seeing Liege, but t» uir great disappointment, ur route lid not take us that way, and three kilometres from the famous city wt branched away to the right. Most of he way* we had the company of tin iwful cobbles, and when we hadn’t them ve had water and slush-ankle deep. And hose now boots!—how the fellows cussed hem and the whole outfit, and longed or the day when we- would say good-bye o the Army and hop into “civvy” togs gain. The man whom the digger enjes rnosj-, is not in uniform—he’s a (lain, ordinary “eivvv.” \V e set off for Litnbourg (or Dnkhain), !!) kilometres distant on Friday. Tt wa? m ideal marching day, but by the time ve had disposed of the distance, we had •occluded it was quite far enough. We tad five hours solid marching, and lunch at our journey’s # end at 1.30. Eight 'lours without a meal* whetted our appetites somewhat and did not improve ini 1 temper (to put it mildly). But the ways of the Army arc past finding out. Which digger has nor found that out for himself long since? And it i s said to be an honor and a privilege for ns te be sent to the Rhino !

THE VESDRE VALLEY. At Liege we left the Meuse behind and from there we I raved led up the Valley of the Vesdre, which runs in a westerly direction and joins the larger river at Liege. The Valley is a. narrow me enclosed on both sides by send •overed hills about 20ftft, high. The iver. road and railway, running side by side, wind' in and out through the hills for several miles, and we could ievor see more than a quarter of a mile ■head. We went through the centre of Venders /50,000), the last town of any d?.e in Belgium through which we missed. Being so close to the border, sue is inclined to believe that a. considerable pro-German element is resileut there. However, be that as it may, we were greeted most enthusiastically, uul the streets were liued for two miles by crowds of people who waved and diouted their welcomes to us as we tossed. So for a time we forgot about mr fatigue, and hunger. Limbourg is just two kilometres in a direct line from lie frontier, but we found everything all right and our billets were as good r is ever. So ended our last, long march. Orders that night had the best news 'hat we had heard for many a day. At last it looked as if that elusive train was actually within our roach.

THE FINAL STAGES. Friday, the 20th. brought us to the final stages of our long journey. It was a long tiring day, but was it not the one for which we had been looking for three whole weeks, and had it not landed us a<- our destination on the Rhino! From Limbourg we had a seven kilos’ march to Htrbesthal (on the frontier), which was our entraining station. Each battalion was allotted n train, and these were, dispatched at regular intervals during the night and day until the whole Division had been disposed of. The Ist Brigade followed the 2nd, and on Sunday evening the last battalion of the 3rd (Riflesi Brigade arrived at Cologne, At A a.m. our slumbers were disturbed by the musical efforts of Ist Otago’s Band as the battalion moved th rough L imhourg on its way to the station. Our turn came later in the day and at noon we moved ott for our ■last march qq Belgian soil. Herbesthal was reached at 1.30 p.m., and immediately a hot dinner was served. Our cookers had gone ahead, and had this welcome meal ready for us. A strong fatigue party, provided by the 10th Company had gone up during the night for the loading of horses, tvnggmis and stores. Ony. train hmi some. sft trucks ami carriages all told—and half were required for transport, etc. Chocolate, biscuits and cigarettes were provided by the V.M.C.A. for all hands, and a\ j.flO we started off on our oft mjlp vqq (q Cologne,

ARRIVAL AT COLOGNE. It was our misfortune to do the trip in the dark, and we could only make ourselves comfortable and wile, away the time singing or sleeping as we felt disposed. At 1rt.15 p.m. we. arrived at the western outskirts of Cologne, and there wc detrained in very short time. The V.AI.C.A. was to the fore again with a very welcome cup of tea and Vuseuits and chocolate. At 11,30 w> fell in once more and a seven m.aiyh to our billets. We passed along' one large business street, and also through some of the principal residential streets of the city. Though our march was a midnight one we were very favorably impressed with what we saw

The streets were beautifully lighted and ,showed up to much advantage. ■ Many., of t he* resident?, <3i?tnrbert in tticir 'lumbers by the strain', of ‘‘The Longbong Trail,” and the tramp of a tholband pairs of ‘‘Massey” boots, appeared it the windows, and to our snrpri.se vtii were very cordially greeted by many of hem. The Rhine was crossed on a pontoon bridge 400 yards long, and perhaps he crossing of the. famous ‘river washe most interesting and significant ■vent of ihe whole of our journey. A nile further on we eamo to onr he hour was 2 p.m., and needless'to r&r ve did not waste much time getting settied for the night. Three companies are •n a. larjfe school, and there i> evfrjr prospect of our being able, to make- oar.elves very comfort able. And .so oar ’ong journey came to an cud. We had uarclied U~> miles of the 200 miles.froth Beauvois to Cologne. We wore three weeks and one day on the way, and of hat time there were 10 days of.actual uarehiug—an average of nino miles per lay. The nujrch is one of the, longest iccompli=hed by any Division during he advance, and our battalion riiav daim a record in that none were, left behind on the way. But. nevertheless* we- arc all pleased m he at our destination.. and we are looking forward, to a more pleasant time during the 'month tr more which wo tspect to pass here as >art of the Army of occupation, Cologne, vhich has a population of over /idO.OOO, : s the largest and finest city on the Rhine. It lias many beautiful and .in'cresting sights, and our stay shopM tot he. lacking of anything in that •espeet. CHRISTMAS WITH THE FORCES.- . Christmas is at hand —our Christmad parcels have commenced to arrive—-lin'd he prospects for our festivities this holiday season, give fair promise- of a •cal good time —worthy in respect •if this great and unique occasion. Ifc /s surely a thing if* hr remembered with tonsidfrable satisfaction in days _to come, that wherever our other. Chriet--1 masses were spent, that one of them at least was spent on Herman soil, and that. ftO miles across her borders and on the banks r,f Germany’?; great natural line of defence —the Rhine.