WATCHING A BATTLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16050, 16 October 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

WATCHING A BATTLE.

FROM THE AIR. JOURNAL OF AN OBSERVER. Ve ascended from, the aerodrome half an lour before the great artillery preparaion was scheduled to start. As we swept iround in a broad climbing Spiral I cast m anxious eye towards the sector of the ront where the attack was to be made, t was quiet. There was a stray ' universal shell" to keep up the tradition of ' daybreak hate." The first rays of dawn lad seen the disappearance of the last of >ur motor transport. All 'was in. readiiees. As we climbed beyond the first fringe )f low cloud I could see the enemy's lines tod the area of his field artillery. Shellnursts and gun-flashes were infrequent, rhere was no sign of preparation. No hostile aeroplane in sight. After twenty-five minutes of climbing its got ready for the artillery. In a few ninutes the area which was now so quiet should be literally like the mouth of hell. Hardly had I indicated " all clear" when i. dozen guns -discharged below and be- J hind. I counted the seconds up to twelve —the bursts fell with regularity and precision on the area. These were the "rangers." They were duly checked. In less than a minute the errors were corrected, and the bombardment commenced. From hedges, wood fringes, and villages, (or miles around, batteries of all kinds began to speak. It was still just dark enough to, see the different coloured flashes The effect as seen from the air was just as though the whole countryside was illuminated in some weird way by great swinging Chinese lanterns. The concentrated horrors of bombardment are best seen from the air. Houses, trees, trenches, and natural features seem thrown and shattered into piles of common ruin. Human life would appear impossible. Caught Napping. But there was little time for contemplation. Behind the enemy's lines there was movement. He had been caught napping, and was now rushing up heavy artillery to hold the sector. In a moment we had spotted the region of his " movements," which became "registered targets" to be harassed by our batteries. The bombardment has now become general. Great salvos of enemy high explosive began to heave and tear at our frontline trenches; series of shrapnel searched our reserve trenches, where the enemy knew only too well that the infantry concentration 'was being completed. But meanwhile the tremendous advantage cf artillery preparation could not be denied. The enemy was suffering terribly, and, although he searched our field artillery area repeatedly, the gun positions were so carefully selected, and so readily changed that our fire did not slacken. A hostile aeroplane was sent up to find those positions, M djirect fire on the flashes, and to retrieve the situation. We saw his "crosses" distinctly as he swung upwards into his spiral. He was an " tension - Aviatik," a lumbering biplane with great powers of endurance but with little speed an.d less abilitr to manoeuvre. All Over in a Minute. The Ayiatik had seen us and started his registration of targets a safe distance "behind his own lines. Before he had had time to engage the targets he had registered .we bore down wind and got round him; a manoeuvre which by some strange chance 'he • had failed to observe and ■to counter. , He did not-, indeed, realise our proximity until we had v actually -dived 'at him and opened fire, with our • machineguru Then he had ■to - fight. Both machines drifted side-wind over the lines, blazing at one another with all weapons available. A vast crackle of rifles and machine guns greeted us from the area ot' the trenches. We were not more than 4000 ft up and were losing height rapidlyBy persistently closing with him on his turns we gradually forced the Aviatik over to our awe of the lines and then bore down on him. After resisting for about three minutes the Aviatik thought better of it and decided to get back at all costs. Although we slid almost on top of him, he managed to olear beneath us by a dangerous nose drive. He just crept back over his trenches and landed so close up that our 12-poundere hammered him to bits before he had come to a standstill. The meeting in the air had occupied nine minutes. During that time so intense was the interest of the many thousands of "spectator-combatants" on both sides that there -was a distinct lull in the battle. The moral effect of the result was : Considerable. i Infantry at Work. The moment of infantry attack was now at hand. The gunners had done their work Trenches and obstacles were alike in ruins. I gave the signal. Receding shrapnel took the place of high explosive and dropped with deadly precision a few yards in front of our first line of attackers. The ground seemed to vomit men. From the air they looked animated dots as they scrambled ant-like across the few yard's which separated the trenches. There was little fire to meet them, and less hostile infantry. Here and there a man fell, but the line of attackers was virtually whole when it reached the German first trenches ! Reserves were rushing up in perfect? order. The attack was pressed home into the reserve trenches and beyond. It was here that the grim fighting began. Hidden machine guns began to enfilade, snipers began to spit. In a few minutes our original front line of attack was badly shattered, but there were rnanv reserves only too willing to finish the work with cold steel. There was the grim flash of the sun on hundreds of British bayonets. There was no flash when the bayonets had found their first mark. Here and there as the battle began to- wane and the enemy resistance had broken down I could see machine-gun crews running for dear life in the direction of their artillery dugouts, with the bayonets on their heels. Then the enemy began to rain high explosive and shrapnel on the whole area, killing both friend and foe; but our " 's" had the last word to say, and the enemy was again stifled. The new position was soon consolidated. The bombardment died down on both sides. Smoking shell holes, neaps of dead, and increased desolutation were the only changes in the general scene as I had surveyed it two hours before. But our line bad been straightened out and an enemy salient removed. We circled once over the battle zone. A score of angry "Archies" (anti-aircraft guns) spat at us. We went home to the aerodrome for breakfast.