ATTACK ON A TRENCH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16434, 10 January 1917, Page 8

ATTACK ON A TRENCH.

EARLY MORNING INCIDENT.

HOW THE LINE GOES OUT.

(Commonwealth Official.— Copyright.)

British Headquarters, France, Not. 13. Down tho long muddy hll'slopc—half of it brown shell-holes and tho other half patches of wot green grass—ono could seo a line of heads. We guessed that it was tho lino ready to go out. At tho top of tho opposite slope—which is German, anil green, the battle not yet having properly reached it—tho tower of Bapaumo Town Hall showed up behind tho trees, The bombardment broke, out suddenly from behind us. Wo saw tho long lino of men below us clamber up on to the surface, a bayonet gleaming every hero and there, and begin to walk very steadily between tho shell-holes towards tho edge of tho hill. From whore wo were you could not see tho enemy's trench in the valley. And I think tho lino could not sea it either, in most parts, at any rate. They would start from their muddy parapet and over tho wet grass with ono idea abovo all others in the back of every man's head —when shall wo begin to catch sight of tho enemy? It is curious how in this country of shell-craters you can look at a trench without realising that it is a trench. | A mudhcap parapet is not so different from tho mudheaps round a crater's rim, except that it is more regular. Even to discover /our own trench is often like finding a bush road. •'Like a Disturbed Hive." Across the mud space thero were'sud denly noticed a few grey helmets watching—a long, long distanco away. Then the grey helmets moved and other helmets moved and bunched themselves up and hurried about liko a disturbed hive, and settled into a line of men firing fast and coolly. That was the German trench. It was fairly packed already in one part. The rattle of fire grew quickly. Tho chatter of one machine-gun— another and another were added to it. Our shells were bursting occasionally flat In the face of the Germans. One big bearded fellow —they are close enough to see th'oso de« tail? now—takes a low burst of our shrapnel full in his eyes. A high explosive shell bursts on tho parapet and down go three others. But they aro firing calmly through all this. Desperate Snooting. Three or four Germans suddenly get up out of some hole in "No Man's Land an . d bolt for their trench like rabbits. Within 40 yards of tho German parapet the leading men in our line find themselves alone; The line has dwindled to a few scanty groups. These are dropping suddenly. Their comrades cannot say whether they are taking cover in shellholes, or whether they hata been hit. The j Germans are getting up a machine-gun on the parapet straight opposite. The first two men fall back shot. Two or three others struggle up to it—they are shot, too. ; Our men are making desperate shooting to keep down that mbchine-gun.. But the Germans get it,up. It cracks' overhead. In this part of the lino the attack is clearly finished. ,'A Brave Resistance. In another part where the South Australians attacked they found fewer Germans in the trench. They could see the Germans in email groups getting their bombs ready to* throw, but they were into the trench before the Germans had time to bold them up. They killed or caplured all the German garrison, and destroyed a machine-gun, and. set steadily to improve the trench for holding it. Everything seemed to go well in this part except that they could get no touch with any other of our troops in the trench. As far as they knew the whole attack bad succeeded as well as theirs. And then things changed suddenly. After an honr a message did come from other Australians fur- j ther alone in the same trenck-ra message for urgent help. At the same time a similar message came from the other flank as well. A shower of stock bombs burst with a nasty loud crash, from one side. line of Germans was seen coming steadily along in single file against the other end of the trench. A. similar shower of crashes descended from there. A machino-gun began to crackle down the' trench. Our men foueht till their bombs, and all the German bombs they could find, were gone. Finally the 'Germans began to gain on them from both ends, and the attack there, too, was over. They were driven from the trench. In the centre they still held, and handed over their successors a small i remnant of German trench which remains in Australian bands.