"HOPPING THE PARAPET."

Otago Witness, Issue 3312, 5 September 1917, Page 49

"HOPPING THE PARAPET."

In the appended letter to his parents a North Dunedin soldier recounts his impressions of the battle for the mastery of Messines Ridge:— "I have just come out of another of those 'pushes.' We had been making preparations for this push for a long time back, right under tho enemy's eyes, and we thought we would get a lively reception, but we caught him napping, and had an easy victory. We went into the assembly trenches, on the night of June 6, and had a couplo of hours sleep. Word came round at 3 a.m. on the 7th that a mine was going up in a few minutes, and then we were to 'hop' the parapet. Well, what happened next I can hardly describe, for we were waiting for only one mine to go up, but instead of that a mine exploded miles down oji our left, and then dozens went up right in tho front. It was just like a picture of hell. I was in the second line, and was just on the top of the parapet when 'the last mine, and I think the biggest, went up with a terrific crash, am] I nearly fell back into the trench again. But I- kept my head and balance, and went forward. I think wo were all well over 'no man's land' beforo Fritz woke up to the fact that we were after him. Then he let loose, but his shells went well over our heads and into the trenches we had just left. Our artillery was blazing away 'somethincr terrible,' and we were in great danger of getting hit with our own shells—several did, by the way, but we kept going steadily, and passed over his front line without meeting any opposition. Wo kept going, and couldn't see for dust and smoke. Most of tho boys got lost, went too far ahead, and got in amongst our own shells. We came back a bit and waited for our barrage to go forward. When it shifted we shifted, and got, into the enemy's second line and captured a few prisoners. They didn't put up a fight at all, and surrendered freely. Wo got some machine guns out of this line. Pushing on again, we were troubled a bit with a couple of machine guns, but these were eventually settled,_ and their crews either taken prisoners or killed. Anyhow, we got into his third line, and captured mcro machine guns and dozens of prisoners. It was very amusing to sea them coming out of their concrete dugouts with their hands above their heads. They were badly shaken up, and were as frightened as rabbits. Most of them were mere boys, and really I felt sorry for th* poor blighters. Wo let them go through our line to the rear, but I guess some of the lads got a rough spin before they reached safety. Anyhow, we were too busy to deal with them, for wo were hard at work digging a trench for ourrelves and a bit of safety. Wo stopped at his third line, more troops went through us, and kept the ball rolling, and again in the afternoon the Australians went through thorn and gave old Fritz all he was looking for. It was a groat victory, and I'm proud to have. been in it, and I never felt happier in ail my life as'when I was climbing to the top of the ridge. It was after we were dug in and had to wait in the trench that I didn't feel too happy, for Fritz seemed to have the range of our trench to a nicety, and kept his heavy artillery playing on us for hours at a time. But he didn't do much damage, and wo were relieved about 48 hours after, and came back for a epelL H-e made a few ho'es in our ranks, but nothing to what we expected. We rested for a few days, and then had to go into the trenches again, but to a different sector, and I think we got a hotter reception there than we had at the other place. W» are having a spell now. and we needed it, badly. It was next to impossible to sleep in the" trenches ; if Fritz wasn't pasting_ us with shells and gas. the beetles were trying to eat us alive, they wore there by thousands, and (.-limbed all over U 9."