INDIAN HEROISM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15998, 17 August 1915, Page 7

INDIAN HEROISM.

gallantry under FIR E.

STAND AGAINST GAS ATTACK.

! London. August 15. j An officer with the Indian headj quarters, describing the Lahore • Division's operations round Ypres on April 26, says that the 40th j Pathans had their first experience of j shell-fire while marching round a moat south of Ypres. The firing j "'as particularly heavy, and many I shells fell isrto the water, or hit the : walls, without doing much damage | The men cheered each successive miss. Suddenly a shell dropped into] the middle of a Yusufzai company. ! ' which was about the centre of the column, causing 2.3 casualties. The regiment moved on . unperturbed with scarcely a pause. The tinder Brigade had three shells dropped in its midst, but- con- j tinned to advance. Asphyxiating I gas at 50yds so affected their eyes as ! to incapacitate the men from "usins ' their rifles. ~ j

Some time during advance Colonel Rendick, of the 40th Pathans. was mortally wounded- An adjutant dragged him to a ditch, where he lay till dusk. His last thoughts were with his regiment, and when placed on a stretcher he said: "Send two of my" Pathans with me. If I die. on my way to the hospital I should like them to be with me."

The majority of the 40th's| machine-gun detachment was hit, and were delayed. Sepoy Munkhtiana-, who was . sheltering in a small ditch in advance, volunteered to go back and bring up a I gun. He had twice to cross a space |of 250 yds swept by enfilading j machine-gun and rifle fire, but succeeded, and returned under a hail' ! of -bullets, carrying the gun. Sepoy Xajikhan, of the 129 th Baluchis, volunteered to carry a ! message under the heaviest shell i and rifle fire- He had scarcely gone j a quarter of the distance when he | was hit by a bit of shell and badly i wounded, being almost incapari i tated. lie managed to crawl and j deliver his message. j Fifty of the Connaughtp. 60 of the ; Manchester*, and small parties of j the 40th Pathans, 47th Sikhs, and I 129 th Baluchis, advanced nearly a mile over open ground. Greatlyreduced numbers got within a few yards of the German line, when they met poisonous gas and were half suffocated, yet held their ground for a terrible 12 hours till reinforcei ments relieved them.

• The gallantry of the stretcherbearers in every action cannot be too highly praised. Whether Sepoy or humbler Rahar, they are never known to shirk danger. ~ / i i