BATTLE SIDELIGHTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15948, 19 June 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

BATTLE SIDELIGHTS.

■y GALLANT WEST KENTS. HOLDING HILL, SIXTY. THE NIGHT LIT WITH SHELLS. Many of the men. wounded in action on Hill 60 are now back in hospital in England. They state that men, of the West Kent Regiment were the first to occupy the summit of the bill after the terriblo mine explosions that shattered the German defence. -

An hour's artillery bombardment of Hill 60 preceded this explosion, and one company of the West Rents occupied the summit within three minutes afterwards at a cost of only four casualties. They swarmed at the steep slope (the bill' is about 100 feet high) with fixod bayonets, but the Germans remaining alive there were utterly demoralised. The sight round the mine craters was ghastly.

Ten minutes after they gained the summit the German artillery bombardment began and soon increased to terrific ferocity. Under the continuous light of star shells high explosive sbraj nel, bombs from trench mortars, hand g jnades, and bullets from machine-guns and rifles searched Hill 60, while the British hastily constructed improvised defences and maxims and more men— more men—

were brought up to replace the dead and wounded. At one time only thirty men of the West Routs held the summit of the about 150 yards long—against a German attack.

Miles and miles of wide plain, perfectly fiat, can be seen from the liill-top, and the nearest German trench on the other side was only about forty yards away. While the bombardment lasted tho British defenders of the hill could sec the Germans in this trench busy trying to extend it zigzag fashion neai tho base of tho hill, but in spite of the rain of shells they kept a. maxim gun continually playing on t'he German working party, and finally they had to cease their digging-

The British losses also were heavy owing to the. shell firo, and fresh troops had continuously to be brought up along the communication trench. Queen Victoria's Rifles, tho well-known territorial battalion of tho London Regiment, helped very gallantly to hold the hill, and other regiments who added to their heroic records there were the East Surrey, the | East Kent, the Liverpool Regiment, and the King's Own Scottish Borderers.

• AIRMAN'S DARING RAID. A French despatch describes the aerial raid made 011 April 19 against a German airship shed near Ghent. As stated, it was carried out by an officer acting single-handed, carrying threo heavy bombs, besides hand grenades. Ho arrived near his objective about five p.m., and found , a captivc balloon anchored on guard. It was a calm evening, which enabled him to manoeuvre as he was reconnoitring the position. Ho threw one bomb at the airshed, clearly visible below, from a height of sonic 6000 feet. TlieYt, 011 discovering that he was being fired at from the car of the balloon as well as from the ground, ho flew over the ballooi>, and descending ,in a spiral exactly above it, so that the occupants could not shoot, threw a, second bomb at it. This missed, but exploded below, probably doing a certain amount of .damage.

' As by this time the • whole neighbour'; hood of the aerodrome was alivo wit'h, soldiers, running about and shooting, still ' planing down steeply as directly under the balloon as possible, so that the occupants could not conveniently shoot downwards, and the troops below could not shoot upwards for fear of hitting their friends in the car, and continuing to throw hand grenades at the enemy balloon, until he was below it, lie descended to a height of some 200 feet before he dropped his last bomb on the airship shed below. Then, he flew'back to the base untouched, though the planes of the machine were perforated with bullet holes. Beyond the fact that a heavy explosion was caused, it is not possible to say what damage was done to the enemy's shed. "QUEEN VICTORIA'S" PART. A sergeant in the oth London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) gave a vivid account of the fighting between Ypres and St. Julien. We had been in the fight for Hill 60," he said, " and on Tnursday midday we went to the north of Ypres for a little rest. A little rest! We were just going to our huts when wo heard a commotion on the road and saw troops retiring. We had our orders at once and went off and dug ourselves in on the west side of the canal. That night and on Friday the Canadians were holding out in advance of us. Nobody caw praise them too highly, and regiments like ours who were in reserve speak of what we know When wo say that those Canadians were heroes to a man. " On Friday I was at the canal on the high bank, and, looking across the flat ground, I saw a grand sight, line after line of infantry advancing steadily and unwaveringly under terrific shrapnel fire. We stayed in reserve throughout the day. At night while I was at the canal bank a long range bullet found a hole in my shoulder, and I do not know what happened on Saturday." At Hill 60 Queen Victoria's Rifles won themselves a reputation, and London can be proud of its riflemen. • " The whole business was a sort of mining race between us and tho Germans," said two wounded non-commissioned officers of the regiment. "We had somo first-rate miners, men who found the burrowing in sand a regular picnic after coal-mining, flic hill waa blown up on the Saturday. On the following Tuesday Queen Victors Rifles were in tho fray in a terrible fight of trench mortars and rifle fire at the crest of the hill. We gave better than we got, although we lost two of I our officers."

STORMING THE HILL. The following letter is from a Liverpool officer to Ins father regarding the desperate fighting for Hill 60 "At seven on Saturday evening the mines were to be exploded. When the first explosion took place you really can't imagine the awfulness of it. Well as soon as the last explosion of the mines had taken place the other battalion were to rush up and hold the top of the hill, and as soon as they were up we, who were waiting in a trench alongside'them, had to rush up # with sandbags and spades to put the position in a state of defence. I was the leading man of our two companies, as riy platoon was in the front, and as soon as the captain gave the word for us to go forward wo went over the parapet of our trench like deer and right lip the bill, t'ne men following tip splendidly, and as soon as wo were up started filling 6andbaga and building a parapet.

" Wo had to work till midnight, when we were to be relieved by our other two companies. The men worked like, heroes, and some of our chaps were singing as they filled the sandbags. It was a finp show altogether, and wo took over 100 prisoners. I got one, but Ihe was naturally too dazed to give any resistance Of course the German guns soon began. What with theirs and ours the noise was tremendous. The sky was lit up with bursting shrapnel and so 011. Moat of our casualties occurred during the counter-at-tack, which, of course, did not commence till after my company had been relieved. . . . Well, at 6 m,- these two battalions had to mane another bayonet charge, so I came in for a second "bombardment. The charge was quite successful though, and we hold th« hill now."'