THE TAKING OF LE QUESNOY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1388, 21 November 1918, Page 3

THE TAKING OF LE QUESNOY.

CAPTURE OF fi/IOKMAL FOREST. gallant work by new ZEALANDERS. (Special JTos]>ntcli from Hu-Official War Correspondent.) November l(i. Worn it not for the picturesque setting in which the Rifle Uri-gudc secured the surrender of the l.e QuCSnoy garriH o« —a combi nation of modern and olden time tactics-rhe lighting; that went on beyond the beleaguered town between the enemy and the Otago and Onnterbury Battalions would stand out in bold relief. It has been settled in the British press that the New Zealanders wore compelled to draw back from the iirst attempt to storm the town by frontal attack. This was not. the case. No such attempt was either contemplated or made. The plan was to secure the'capitulation of the. garrison by means of surrounding movements' and hold it thus while other troops went on to their objectives far ahead. The plan worked out exactly as it had been arranged and the enemy in and about the Forest of Mormal never dreaming that our troops would push on” while such a strong position remained Unconquered, was taken by sur prise and severely punished. It was to the Otago and Canterbury Battalions that, the lot fell to make the furthest ami most difficult, push forward. The barrage came down at in.‘lD a.m., and remained till to enable the Canterburys who were on tin 1 led and had further to go, to come up. The barrage jumped twice, and then stopped, and llie battalions went on without it, lidlowing the patrols with Lewis guns in front." One of the Olagos iirst difficulties was some dense scrub twelve to fifteen feet high, where they expected a clearing. Just beyond a. creek where six roads’ met was a forester’s house, and the German positions there wore vary strongly hold by machine-gunners and snipers. On our of the roads a solitary German was sauntering as if !o surrender. He appeared to be wounded. This was merely a ruse to get, our men to expose themselves. Twelve who went forward Vo take prisoners were mO with a fnsilade of maehine-gnn bullets, but only two were killed and four wounded. Our men are confident that some of the Germans were in French civilian clothes, and that one was wearing a. woman’s skirt. Unfortunately none of Ihese were caught, for ihey would have deserved the*shorl shrift Ihey undoubtedly would have got. After stiff fighting onr men worked round the forester’s house, which they found occupied by an old couple who were absolutely dazed with tin' fighting. By this time it was TITO

a.m.. ami an hour was spent in organ minn' to advance along the roads through ,1,0 forest in tin,’ direction of the Stniibro. The, wood was very t.lii<-k. so companies wore pushed np with screens in front, and gained their oh-joctiv«* on llio transverse road ahead. There was still live thousand yards of forest through which our men had to light (heir way, and their right tiank was exposed. As there was a danger from eonnler-altaek one eompany was push-cd-right out of the wood on the right flank past La Haute Rue, and on to I’rfit P.avay, when other eorapauies went straight through the wood. THE hi MKT JX THE FOREST. It -was desperate fighting all the way. hut picturesquely thrilling, the company commanders were wildly eiithuslastie with the magnificent elan with which their men went forward, fighting from tree to tree and driving the Roche before them. As soon as our men got into Ilu( wood the Germans opened up on (hern with machine-guns, and everyone says it was a- truly inspiring sight from the military point of view to see how quickly the New Zealanders, who were • ‘ worming ’' their way in extended and advanced fighting* from tree to tree. With title ami Lewis gun they killed and wounded tin’ Bodies as they were driven forward before this onslaught. As their battalion commander phrased it. it was the most rapid advance in open fighting he had ever experienced. A. walk ill rough the wood shows that the enemy had heavy easuallties, for many of his dead still lie there. Our men, on the other hand, made such good use of cover that then casualties were fan lighter than might have been expected. They drove such of the enemy as were not. killed or badly wounded right through the forest, and emerging upon the other side upon a road and a, line of cottages, met with furl Iter resist-

iuu‘o. The fighting’ was for.a, time severe, and ih<' Now Zealanders wore handicapped by Ihe presence of civilians coming up from their collars to see what was afoot. The Gormans tooh full advantage of the presence of these inhabitants, hoping that our men would not lire. Some New Zealanders, however, worked round the cottages, and the Bodies were caught in (heir own trap. They hoisted the white Hag. and under it forty-five surrendered. By (his time our men were wildly enthusiastic. Thov got into the cottages and dashed across* the road, and three hundred vards ahead formed a flank line, which they held. They were quite equal’ to going on and reaching the Sa.mbre, but here they had to stay. There has been no more’splendid advance in-all the re eord of these gallant Otages. The day was an awful one for lighting—wet and wintry. In the thick undergrowth o( the wood the men quickly became drenched to the skin, ami remained so all. dav. Darkness found them on the edge of the forest in most depressing .surroundings, but they were, cheerful in the realisation of a great day’s work. They had broken the enemy on bis lii«t line this side of the Sombre. WELCOMED BY THE VILLAGE!?*. In the hamlet of Bavay the Diggers f *ot a warm reception from the french, ftrtd were kissed and embraced and treated to hot coffee. Into, one happy coterie marched in a German soldier with, his rifle, slung on his 'shoulder. Lb had come out of the wood, and was surprised to find the village already in out hands. He was promptly pounced upon and disarmed, to the huge debgnt ot the cottagers. H was half an hom after midnight before these (Hugos were relieved, and they had a long tramp of nearly ten miles back to billets. Wet and mud-splashed., tired almost to the limit of human endurance, but still with unbroken spirit, they marched back to repose well earned. They had been gassed and shelled too but * the shelling they evaded by wailing, and their box respirators were sufficient protection against the gas. Their commander had a narrow escape from a, shell, which burst so close as to smash the doorway behind which he was standing. He hud his third horse in this war killed by that shell. He himself had no consciousness of the shell-burst until he found some of his men rushing back to pick him up. All who were in the house at mice went into the cellar, and had not boon there ten seconds when another 1.2 landed ,]i<r]jt in the doorway, smashing it into pieces. All that day the seeopd-.Otagos -were following up in support; and consequently had less lighting. Ot the work of the Canterbury men I must writer in a later message.