GENERAL AND HIS MEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16375, 1 November 1916, Page 8

GENERAL AND HIS MEN.

BIRDWOOD'S MANA.

' 4 NONE HAS FLINCHED."

General Sir William Birdwood retains the Intense affection and trust of the Anstralian Imperial Forces, said the Sydney Sun representative, in a cablegram recently published. The faces of the men light np wherever he appears. He spends most of his days in the trenches, walking freely where the shells are thickest, and having no sense of personal danger. The men know him to be fair and that he is ! petting good value for every life spent. j They trust him more because he never de- j ceives them with soft words or false hopes. He is devoted to his boys, and has already refused a projected preferment elsewhere. I The men like him visiting their church parades and addressing them. ' Ho always speaks in a direct, simple, and homely, though stimulating fashion. A typical Birdwood passage is:—"After all the hard fighting we have been through T wish I could tell you boys that wc- are ; going to have a complete rest: but we are i not. None of us can have that. Snakes in the Grass. ! i " Certainly we are having a quiet time ! in the Ypres salient, compared with what I we have recently been through, and dur- j ing this time we have been able to refit ourselves comfortably. Now we are all j fresh and keen. Going round the trenches yesterday, one of the boys said to me: I ' These are quite good Germans opposite j us, sir, very quiet.' Well, don't you ; believe that, because the only good Ger- J man is a dead one. Don't make any mistake about it. He has forfeited all j claims to be trusted. We have got him ! down now and he is like a snake with his ■ head in the grass; but we have got to be up and tit him every day and night, or he will lift his head again. So, boys, remember, we have to make up our minds to stick to it hard and continue with all the self-sacrifice and determination which ; you all have shown during these long ' months." > j General Birdwood usually states that ' there are three things necessary for tack- ; ling the Germans—a clean rifle with a sharp bayonet, a good pair of boots, and a full stomach. He has lately added pre I cautions against gas and for the care of the feet. He is specially strict about the men's health, regarding sick lists as a sign of poor internal regimental discipline. ; He has organised for the winter a system of relays of dry socks and also plentiful : supplies of whale oil, waterproof sheets, j and gum boots. He loses no opportunity of mothering his men. i The Women's Part. • j " Xoj.- that, you're in billets," he re- \ cently told a brigade parade, " use your spare time to write home.. I have always letters in my pockets from mothers asking for news, and I tell them what I can, but that's not the same as getting letters from you, from whom they would so mnch rather hear. I always think it's | trie very least we can do for our women- ! folk, who have sacrificed so much for us and are a far worse time than w« They can only sit at home and watch an wait for news. They are going on, wort ing as magnificently and as willingly a they always do, while we always have th excitement of fighting. So write to thei s_i, boys—your mothers, wives, and si: fiera, for I well know how they welcom you letters." "I can never sufficiently admire," sail General Birdwgjod in a recent interview "the gallantry of the Anzacs and thei dt ution to Australia. Yon cannot over estimate the amount of self-sacrifice en tailed, day and night, in sticking it out through heavy bombardments, and oftei in appalling weather. Yet never a max has flinched, and every call has beer answered without a moment's hesitation I believe everyone has a heart of gold." ATTACKS ON LONDON.

LOSSES CAUSE DEPRESSION ]S~EW YORK. Oct. 23. The London correspondent of the Nev York Herald cables that he interviewee an Englishman recently in Germany. H< says that the Germans boast that thej are building 50 large Zeppelins erpresslj for the purpose of attacking London While the Imperial Chancellor and others are trying to dissuade the Reichstag Com irittee against further submarine and Zeppelin attacks, many German newspaper! express the opinion that the losses of submarines and Zeppelins would be so great that the campaign would be impracticable.

OUTRAGE IN EAST AFRICA, j

MURDER OF A TROOPER. LONDON, Oct. 23. The Colonial Office, in a report on the operations in Southern German East Africa, states:—Colonel Roger, on June 6, put the enemy to flight. Before this a trooper of the 2nd South African Rifles, who had been captured by the enemy, was tied to a guj wheel, and beaten by a native under a European's order. He was. then shot, being wounded by seven bullets, and died two days later. He was quite conscious, and in the interval was able to make his dying depositions. Captain Count Falkenstein commanded the enemy force. The prisoners included three Germans, who were present, and one of whom is probably guilty of the above murder Among the Europeans captrred are thirteen missionaries, who had been fighting or doing supply and transport work. PROFESSOR DAVID'S INJURY FALL DOWN MINING SHAFT. Professor David, ' °*" * Ported to have b^Unded en gaged in m.ning operations in France A windlass failure caused him to fall A rtlßhaft7 o ftdeep . 1111^^ 0 - cut, ana he received other injuries tt desired to return to duty but ?L A £, insisted upon his »£*£&