MOUNTAIN WARFARE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15930, 29 May 1915, Page 8

MOUNTAIN WARFARE.

A BRILLIANT EXPLOIT.

GALLANTRY OF FRENCH. Csj HAVOC WORKED BY ARTILLERY. ;^| A graphic story of how the French gained f^m Hartmannsweilcrkopf t is told by the 'rll French "Eye-witness." The account begins |?;J tyt recalling the dramatic incident which ;gj| occurred on the summit in January. A. ••£||| French advance guard, posted in a little 0| redoubt on the top, was surrounded by 3|l Germans, but held out for several days. V 5", It surrendered only to hunger, but, while Urn it held out, it inspired the troops who ,;il ■were seeking to bring it relief to a supreme '^m effort '. y^ They attacked on the flanks of the bill £'fj to relieve their comrades, but hasty and improvised attacks, prompted by a desire :> to reach the goal quickly, had, in view of >V : the nature of the ground, little chance of '|£ success. After four days of struggle a •<. halt was called. Some of the companies \% 1 concerned only mustered 120 rifles, and it was .learned from German prisoners that the advance-guard had capitulated. It was therefore, continues % ; tiho narrative, to start tho business again, ft to make methodical preparations to de- f t molish, 6tone by stone, the invisible v fortress from which tho -Germans, domin- ■/<:• ating the valleys, directed their artillery .-„; 'fire with absolute accuracy. To attempt to canf the place by storm over such ■-■ ground would have been useless, and we • had to lay regular siege to it. The fog, -which 13 common m tuo Vosges hills in winter, added a, further difficulty to those / which the ground itself and the woods presented. •To make ready for the attick !l| it behoved us, in the first place, to estab- \ .■£ lish our 'troops strongly by _ digging '$' trenches and shelters, and providing ar- ■ *;- tillery positions. This took a month, to }% February 26, but when the attack was y launched the invisible Germans, burrowed ;C\ in the woods, only gave ground to the '-p extent of 100 yds. 7;|

Turning the Tables.

Our artillery had not been able to de- .C; stroy with sufficient" thoroughness the con-' r';,f I cealed accessory defences. Many trenchci =4| were intact. A more complete and at the. || earn* time more .deliberate preparation was ;*M rendered necessary. >On March 5 the sig- • *&& nal was given. For the space of tw6'.;|%| hours the enemy's trenches were swept,.'.,«g| by intense artillery fire. Then our chas- --*M seurs leapt into them and carried the jj£ strongest > of the German blockhouses. «||| Fifty prisoners and two machine guns fell Jig into their hands. The greater part of the. § * ; jj enemy's first line was ours. . The Germans "■;?§ were driven to exasperation. The two recriments which they had there made four j §|jj daring counter-attacks during the course of • ! ;A| the day of the Cth and two in the morning of the 6th. On the 7th they attempted / ! >ij| to,make a sortie.from their trenches in • close order. Our fire mowed them down L JS| a yard "away from their own fortifications, ;■> ')$% This time the psychological relations of the combatant? were inverted. It was we ; ; .f.S who, had the upper hand, it was we who i \ imposed our will, it was we who kept what' we had won, it was we who were - : ," = sure of winning what remained to he >||j| taken. Our troops were weary but confi- Y dent". ■• Complete, success was certain, and ■$■$% we were going to win it by sheer hard if; 4&, fighting. , The .battalions of. chasseurs . '-■] which had been fighting on the slopes for '"':'■?' two months were reinforced in the last. ■ '-'"ft, week of March by a regiment of inf.intrv. -"',.'.", After a minor action on March 17 we ,- wade a great attempt on March 23. •^i| _ Furious Infantry Charge. ...';3»i The gunners, who by dint of daring and \ v | wtience; had succeeded'in learning their .| ivay about these woods, and- had honey-■'■ M combed the hill with more than thirty 'f.£lf miles of 'telephone ■ wire, opened a fire '|S|| which lasted for "more than four hours! \$M )ne must have actually followed the pre- ■$?£& parations, and the results obtained,, to bo ''$jks ible to appreciate the astoiuding'degiee if skill reached by our " blade butchers." leftVYjgims and light guns with extraor- •'})( linary precision poured hundreds of tons V-f? if shot oh* the objective.' Observation ,;\ ifficers were in the ; first line directing the ' % ire. All the while could be seen, hurl- \\ tffi ing v among the trees, 'raiments of riiwd "",'" 3ermans, arms, ' and 'sand Lags ' from their v&% lefence works.' 7', ; • Wm When the infantry leapt forward from be trenches, preceded at a sh.Tt distance this will of fire, the enemy was thrown ■>',! ftto complete consternation. He fought, mwever, with courage. But our men jressed: furiously forward. Thj infantry ."": larried two lines of trenches and a xi- •' -• lpubt,\and., captured over 230 prisoners, flie chasseurs debouched'on their'flank ' vith equal dash. We were cutting near ■' ■'; he summit, but new lines appeared to flew, and these had 'to be carried also. We; repelled two counter-attacks and or- ' ' janisedthe ground we had won. On the' bllawing 1 day at dawn our look-outs saw£-|§| lark points stirring in the trenches which he enemy still held. Helmets and bayo- " ete v next appeared, and it was obvious'"hat a big counter-attack was being pre- '■}-. aired..-.', ~' z -j%

Our artillery, with appalling rapidity, ? ':>, found the trenches with its fire, and as on vlf, the day before we saw hurtling in the ' air men and their equipments!. '^fet '•• ■ - . ' ■ • , c Remorseless Destruction. sJsl| ■ ;^!ti' The German losses must have been enormous, for there were more counter-attacks, and his artillery remained silent. The *'<" night of the 25th passed without incident, '■•. , and, when the .(day; of the 26th broke it,v;i'p was noted with joy that the fog,' which - V so often during .the last two months had .-■ come to the help of the Germans, had *%$m fallen to the first rays of the sun. All was };imi ready, and from this point onwards tli9>|i|j drama wis to proceed with an automatic ;i£j?J regularity, which was the . fruit of long .;?, weeks of work. It was a, supreme effort .l!j|)ft which should make us masters of the sum- * : MM mit. . " ''iflll Artillery of every description was em-j|;Kjt| ployed; Huge pines . fell with a crash,~'.;,'p| having been severed <vbout the height of&l|l a man from the ground, and toppied over :/:3 into the craters formed by the explosion i; I of. the shells. The whole ground was .". chao3 of holes, branches, and trenches. .'-1-1 Crieii of agony were heard from the shel- y-/if. ters of the. Germans, whose resistance had *||§? now been broken. Ammunition stores ex- %fm ploded,, and the work of destruction con- tMm tinued remorselessly until a quarter to / d§|| three. The bombardment had lasted four £ra» hours and a-quarter. kfSm The Summit Won. .'?1lfl -.ii'*. At this moment our infantry, in a mag-.; v>;is nificent rush, dashed forward, and ten minutes later was on the summit; and o»,jf j||| the crest, now cleared of trees, one of our' t s|||< men, scorning the German bullets, waved /-||M a large flag to our artillerymen, who were. J|| now sweeping the eastern slopes with their fire. At '.hree o'clock an infantry regiment organised its position on (.he summit '1 of the Hartmannsweilerkopf. Companies belonging to the 2nd • battalion of the ,:' 0 chasseurs parried by means of hand- .' $I*. grenades the trenches on the right, while ' : |fjf two companies of another battalion made . | progress on the left. 4'lfpj The whole body joining foices swept:' v|j down the eastern slope in pursuit of the' ' 1 ; .Germans, who weie now completely de-, moralised. More than 400 prisoners mT*j|p our hands, and the whole of the Hart- 6% mannsweilerkopf conquered— is the • ,'- statement of account for the two attacks .-V of March 24 and 26. > - ;^S| This complete, success was fine revenge :\\\'\ for those who fell on January 19, tho vic- . tims of surprise l and hunger. The capture V of Hartrnannsweilerkopf will be reckonjdHplsfl among the finest pages cf the mountaics § war. ■' v . ••■■■., " : . ■'.t'S&i^ . . -:■■■- ■ m