GLORIOUS CHARGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15998, 17 August 1915, Page 4

GLORIOUS CHARGE.

GALLANT NORTH AMPTONS.

HOW AX AUSTRALIAN DIED.

In the London Gazette occurs the name of the late Captain Barrington Blomfk-ld Dickson as having been mentioned in despatches in connection with a wonderful charge by the 2nd, Nottinghamshire. Regiment in the face of a terrible fire from the German trenches on May 9. Captain Dickson obtained his commission through the Sydney University.

The following story of the glorious charge in which Captain Dickson met his death is told by a gunner of the Royal Artillery: —

"We had an early call," he says. "At four o'clock the guns opened along the front, and shells were soon as plentiful as thieves in the German Army. The racket was appalling, and the earth under our feet trembled aDd rocked. The ,weight of metal thrown ought to have reduced the German trenches to pulp and given the occupants the fright of their lives, but it came out afterwards that nothing of the kind had happened. At ten minutes to five the fire slackened a little, and our infantry began to creep out of their trenches. A Murderous Fire. " The German first lino trenches were not more than 500 yds from where the Northamptons lav, and, as the intervening space was fiat, open country, with a slight slope up to the parapet of the German trenches, the moment our men moved from the trenches they were exposed to a murderous fire from hundreds of rifles and at least one machine-gun for every 10 men in the attacking party. The bullets were spluttering about like hail-stones in a heavy shower, and Heaven alone knows how any of the poor chaps missed being hit. In spite of all, the Northamptons opened out ipto extended formation, and began the rush for the German trenches. There was no shouting or any of that fancy waving of arms that you see so much of in battle pictures. _ Soldiers have no time for that. The Northamptons went in with gritted teeth and a look of grim determination. They kept closing in on the German trenches by a series of rashes of about 10yds to 20yds at a time. Their line of advance was dotted freely with the fallen, just like the trail left by boys in a paper-chase, but that didn't stop them.

" Holding- on Like Grim Death." " By now all that was left of them had reached the little slope rising up to the German parapet, and were crouching under it for a. last- breather before the final onrush. The slope was covered by a villainous barbed- entanglement, such as only the Germans know how to make. In theory our guns, posted two miles iii the rear, had sent that barbed wire skyhigh, and left the trench unprotected, so that all the attackers had got to do was to step in and eat tho fine breakfast the Germans had been good enough to provide for them first thing. "In war theory and practice don't always harmonise, and so the poor Cobblers, as we called the Northants, found themselves hanging <>„ like grim death to that little wire- covered slope. From the top of the trench the Germans were pouring down lead by the ton from their s,nd care fully. posted machine ? „ns. Terrible Losses. .''J' was more than flesh and blood could stanch and if the Northamptons had turned and run for their lives there isn't a man in the army that saw the whole thing who wouldn't have acclaimed them as heroes. But that isn't the way that , th f. -m° r . ,ads won their laurels. !. t 111 bteelbacks stuck to the last, and lit was one of the finest sights of this war to see the poor lads lying there at the beginning of the entanglement® coolly firing back at the enemy. Some 0 them even made an attempt to get through the wires to close with the mocking Germans at the top ; but they were as helpless as Hies on a fly-paper, and once thev got | their clothes caught in the wire it was a I 'good-bye' to this world. The retirement was as difficult as the advance. It was hard to keep up effective fire without hitting our own chaps, but after an hour of we got tile better of the Germans. When they came back we gave them a rousing cheer. Their losses were terrible."