BETWEEN BATTLES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16673, 18 October 1917, Page 5

BETWEEN BATTLES.

AUSTRALIANS IN FLANDERS.

SCENES BEHIND THE LINES.

Between the last great blow and the blow which is anticipated now . at any moment the main battle-work on the Australian front, east of Ypres, continues to be organisation by day and scouting and digging by night, writes Mr. Keith Murdoch, war correspondent of the Sydney Sun. Every man at such a time has a task absorbing all his waking hours. In the front lino there is no sleep for anybody, for the enemy movements continue to indicate his plucky, though desperate, intentions to counter-attack. The great armed camp which made victory possible is still an extraordinary spectacle. For miles behind our front the' fields' are dotted with camps, horse lines, artillery parks, and reserves. Prisoners continue to remark with amazement, upon the thrusting power of the British armies thus disclosed to them. ( Magnificent Artillery. The work is all at high pressure, mostly under shellfire, in the desolated area of the guns beyond Ypres. The artillery continues to work magnificently, taking tho guns to the new positions won in the advance, and pouring out shells, the supply of which is now without limit. I visited to-day the green fields behind the battlefield where some of our assaulting troops are now resting. Vo reaction is apparent. The boys are quieter than when I saw them in the line, but are still full of satisfaction with the battle and the' master-minds which led them to such a victory. Like good soldiers they were cleaning their equipment, removing the mud and dust from their rifles, and making themselves good-looking again. One party, which' had been without sleep for two days, marched miles to camp, and then tumbled asleep from exhaustion. Australian Miner's Day Out. They awoke fresh and eager as children to clean and examine the captured machine-guns and other trophies. Each has a story worth telling. The officers with them as they sprawl about the grass colonels and brigadiers alike—are all talking "eagerly. One of the strangest cases was a South Australian miner who was sent out to reconnoitre. Crawling from shell-hole to shell-hole searching for Germans, he discovered a Victorian scout. Together they located a German machine-gun, 200 yds ahead, which was taking steady toll. They decided to stop it. They crawled forward, knowing that visibility meant death. After a struggle with bombs against tho machine-gun they killed the gunners, except one, whom they made carry the gun back to the Australian line. The Missing Division. This South Australian had in the advance personally attacked a post, bayoneting three and capturing nine. Tho same night he worked heroically establishing a post/' The officers vouch for tho facts. The excellent equipment of the Bavarians opposite the Australian right is much commented on. Thoy are a division fresh from tho depot, with now. waterproof sheets, clothing, and weapons, each bayonet tassellod with red and gold. The Australians are pounding the mound at Polygon with heavy shells. The great counter-attack intended to be delivered against the Australians last Thursday was traced to this mound. The Germans arrived by motor-bus to a point on the Menin Road, near the mound, and disappeared apparently into tunnels. Theii emergence was carefully awaited, and then the heaviest gunfire was poured on tc them. The German* are still searching for that division.