THE GERMAN MACHINE

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

THE GERMAN MACHINE

SIGNS OF BREAKING DOWN,

INFANTRY DETERIORATING

An interesting letter has been received by the Governor of New South WaCee R Gerald Strickland, from his brother 'yeh is seining at the front: — '

"While the number of optimist* " ' diminishing." the letter states "T -J? * hold that the war is not likely to 1 through another winter. The Genii 1 machine is, 110 doubt, a very perfect* 1 ganisation, but. like all machines if !!?' . wheel goes wrong, the machine stops V~! " 011 one point at least all agree. The p ' man infantry has deteriorated fionfwW . it was at the beginning of the war. Th no longer push an attack home- « Tommies do. If it were not or tie • credible number of their and al' sorts of batteries, provided S& apparently unlimited ammunition, • could walk through all their eaten/* ments. The Turks, according to all*" counts, show a better fight. Wae n t \ C " new Ministry of Munitions will h aTe 69 vided us with more guns and sheik ? 5 " v end will come. , v l!i *

Artillery Preparation. "Last week I had a confirmation of tiri view. Our troops not far from here i Hooge were told to straighten oS salient of the German lines thatjSs** wards our trenches. We succeeded v* vond our expectations, and ma& 200 prisoners. ... I came aa^® hatch of them—two officers and J2CiZ 4 It was the first time I met Germans^ here, alter eight months' campaign. The officer in charge of the Ge'rcian machine-guns was one of the nri mno He told me that they never stood chac" 3 " because the fire of our artillery *93 t»i accurate, and the yellow sinok*—l. lyddite— too much for them. Wifljj f an hour their trenches had been shatter^ their dug-outs blown up. and their fesj machine guns knocked out of action befog they had a chance of firing a shot. Quo. - third of the men were killed, aaa? wounded. The rest—so the officer mi~. got so unnerved—unvernunftig—, . reasonable, as he put it i.i German,' that there was nothing left for him but to jct. - render. The men said the same, addif>» that they did not mind facing French in! • fantrv, but it was hopeless to staaj .1 ' against English infantry. What the Germans Thought. '■f'&f'. " Perhaps my most curious experienct t was to realise how perfect was the Ger-. I , man system in succeeding to make i 3 the German nation believe that black • white- The prisoners all thought that *g~,—the allies—started the war, but that vietory would be theirs because they were ft winding all along the line. Even tiaj;..Italians, they said, were running a*st. everywhere before the Austrians. Fortunately, I got hold of the '.art English • paper, and the officer had to that as far as the Italians were concerned 13 they had been misinformed. A.* to t}* rest, he stuck to his opinions, adding 'riqfrfjfi Germany could continue the warlioS||; definitely, and that we could not increase our numbers because the Irish refused to*': enlist and to fight. In vain I tdd him that we had several firet-gjjf||f Irish regiments in our own dirakji who are as brave as lions. 3?» officer hesitated to believe me. ■■.-At:'last I told him. ' You don't understand the irony of your present position, Do von know what troops are escorting you? It is the Loyal Ncrtb Irish Hoik, - the very men who you foolishly thooght would prevent the EspedHionkry Fores , fiom landing in France by causing a civil war.' This stopped further shade? of our brave Irish boys, whether north ci, \ south of Ireland. Though not an Irishman, my heart was sore for the loses 4 " jj few days before of two Irish rerimaits. : They had both bee,< 'gassed' '.TV-' s-'| and yet the 'Dubs' (Dublin held cut till evening, because it was "ksxi&im- -.3 possible either to support them or to «Sl : them back. The only surviving offices fjl from the firing line, simply told me,"'!* had no orders to retire till nightJaß/ : Meanwhile in the morning the German had taken one of their trenches, and I do not car© to repeat the stories that aw-, current about -what they did with those that fell into their hands. " | Efficient Respirators. - *-? _■

" This last incident will, however, exSi: plain to you why, when some of r ltiag prisoners expressed -surprise at being so ■ ■well treated by us, after having been . led • to believe the contraryof coarse, to pre-. ' vent their surrendering— could not help "ll telling them that they should be thank- J ful for having fallen into the hands of a j regiment that had not been 'gassed/ Tiq fact is that the attitude of our ' Tommies' 3 towards the enemy has changed they _ have found out that inteniaiiarajH law is put aside by the ehemyl' Some »• I giments now neither forget, nor ; forghe. "You "will be glad to know ftl&fSrijfi have" now discovered efficient respirators to cope with the poisonous gas. : 8 Ere? ij with the other respirators, .most of Hiss recovered, but it was a sad sight io sn . hundreds of men coughing, ha if jjd«wj§§ like drunken men for hours. Those irbo had a weak heart or bad lssl =; succumbed." WAR RELIEF WOR&|§||| MORE NEW ZEALAND AB)V-,' [FROM ouk owx OOBEESPOXDIST.I §j| Loxdox, July ft The High Commissioner has faHdMpfef to the National Committee for Ke&f a> T Belgium a fourth contribution of £lSs&;gfe from the Government and people of Se*,V ( Zealand. Also he has sent-; to | fund a further stun of £89DQ, ; .BW(e . e 2 H|| thus : —£Booo as a special eorfiMp?® J from the residents of Otago, £500; ffl® I|j the people of Southland, and £4® * roza the Treasury of New. Zealand. An exhibition of gifts of J cloth®? the British Dominions Women gg| Union to sufferers through fe'*9yjll§f England and Belgium, was Kniglitsbridge Hotel this were 3500 new garments sent South Africa. Australia, and and these were all ready to he to the various organisations the relief of the victims of the Sp:||| New Zealand towns which sent —Auckland, Wellington, Kaiap<?j 1112, Fetone, Christchurch, and 45f?| gi".