GERMAN IN DISGUISE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16021, 13 September 1915, Page 9

GERMAN IN DISGUISE.

IMPERSONATES AN OFFICER.

KILLED BY AX AUCKLANDER

Ax interestnig story of how the Auck- ! land Mounted Rifles stopped the career of a , German officer who was walking about . the British lines, giving false orders, was to-d by Trooper R. B. Stevens, of the Auckland Mounted Rifles. An attack was in progress "by the Turks, and the Australasian troops were firing busily when a man in the uniform of an Australian officer appeared. He was a tall, fine-looking man, who spoke English perfectlv, and he was smoking a cigaretteHe walked along ; a long line .'of trenches, exposing himself in a somewhat reckless way and calling out, " Cease fire, boys: cease-fire. My men are coming up* on the right." The man's assurance caused the cessation of fire along a portion * of, the front.

Just before this, however, an order had reached the Auckland linls that orders to cease fire were not to be obeyed unless the men-were satisfied that they came from a reliable source. When the officer 1 reached the Aucklanders''trenches and ordered firing to cease, none of the men suspected him,' except ; Trooper Snowling. Trooper Stevens.\was Only a few feet away from Snowling, and he says the latter was reloading* his rifle when the. officer appeared. . , Snowling looked at him intently, and *ben 'said •■ "What did yoa say, /sir?" The officer leaned forward down over the trench and repeated his order to cease fire. Like a f flash Snowline sprang •up and drove his bayonet at the man above him. , The weapon completely penetrated the officer's chest, and he fell forward, dead, into the trench. • The Aucklanders found in his pocket* '■• considerable sum in gold and papers establishing his identity as a Gsrman officer. He was .wearing a completely new Australian uniform/ ■"- Waikato Wax-cry Saves the Day. Trooper Stevens also described another stirring incident of that Turkish attack. It occurred a little earlier, just when the Turks were massing their troops in readiness for the assault. ■ The position was a difficult one to hold. The men were weary and exhausted. The cold of the early morning was severe, and the men were feeling somewhat anxious and "nervy." The Turks had been making a great noise, and crying "Allah, ! Allah " in a manner calculated to further nnnerve the new Australasian, troops. Suddenly, away on the right, the Waikato Mounted Infantry started their own war-cry. "Ko mate, ko mate." The yell ran along the line like an electric shock, and in a moment thousands of men were shouting the famous phrase. "It was absolutely thrilling." said the trooper : '" I cannot describe it to you. It was the finest haka I ever heard, and it put new life into the men. They were ready for anything after that. The Turks attacked, but their yells were much more feeble and presently died aw-u\ When they heard us they knew they were beaten."

■- Isolated, Desperate Fights. When the famous landing took place on. April 25 many colonials who pushed too far inland were cut off and never heard of again. The saddest feature of these incidents is that the heroic manner of their deaths will never be described. Trooper Stevens said that when the Auckland Mounted Rifles made one advance they found evidence of isolated and desperate little fights. In one place they found two Auckland soldiers lying side by side. Their rifles still pointing forward over little mounds of earth. Beside them was a box of ammunition, half empty, and around them was a ring of shells. They had fought to the last and died bravely together. In another place the advancing troops found two dead men, one with his bayonet through the other. One was a New Zealander and the other a Turk, and it appeared that the New Zealander ' had bayoneted his enemy and then succumbed to injuries or to another Turk's billet The colonial, though he had been dead a long time, was still gripping his rifle.