THIRD YPRES BATTLE

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 27

THIRD YPRES BATTLE

MEDICAL OFFICER'S NOTES

SOME OF THE HARD FACTS OF WAR.

Writing from France, a New Zealand medical officer sends some notes of his work at the front:

We were resting at a place called Surques for some weeks, and then one night got a hurried movement order, and away wo marched next morning. We tramped for many days, and arrived at another resting place. We were there for a few days, and had the bad luck to be bombed by a Bocho, who dropped one amongst our horses and killed most of the officers' hacks, my grey mare included, and wounded a fair number of men. 1 had a busy time that night. The bomb didn't make much of a hole in the ground—not more than would take a small football —but it spread dreadfully, and made an awful smash of the horses poor brutes. We moved up still nearer the line, and were in tents for two nights, and ihen moved up by day to the Old German-British front line. We stayed in a bit of a holo in the ground that afternoon and evening, and Fritz put in a few shells rather close —in fact, I had to go out and dress two or three officers who were caught by a shell, one rather badly shot through tho largo vein in tho thigh. 1 got up in time to stop the haemorrhage, i That night, October 3, the companies moved up to a position previously chosen, and then I follewed behind with my company of stretcher-bearers, padre, medical corporal ohiropodist, and four batmen. As it turned out, Fritz was preparing for an attack, and consequently we struck a fairly heavy lot of shells, but I think we managed to assemble with no casualties. Where we assembled was simply off the slope of a hill in shell-holes and whatever shelter we could get. The holes were mostly full of water, but six of us got into a fairly dry one, but it wasn't deep enough, so we proceeded to deepen it, and then sat up in our coats—the men had oil sheets. Fritz put some whiz-bangs very dose to us, and we never knew when he was going to get us. My batman looked round and found a number of my stretcher-bearers and others in part of a German -dug-out, so we moved in there and waited for our time to go forward—O a.m. Fritz, however, had also made up his mind for an attack, and about 5.35 he gave us something to think about, but off the companies moved, and I followed in the rear with my stretoher-bearers —32 —in a long string behind me. I could not see our troops, as it was still hardly light, and I had to try to keep a more or less straight line for a certain German dug-out. Oi course, we struck the German counter-bar-rage, and it seemed impossible that all of us' could get through without someone being hit. I got rather too much to the right, but saw in the distance our troops and Australians walking along over a small creek, or rather, swamp, and shells bursting all round us and them. I made for %ho place which I thought by the description must be my stronghold, and I was glad' to hear that it was. It was full of German gear of all kinds, and German dead were lying all around ib. They had been dead some days, and I can tell ydu didn't half smell. They were all neatly tied up in small bundles. We had no time to remove them then, but let them stay, and proceeded to clear a space for our wounded. Luckily it was fine, and as the wounded came along I got them inside as quickly as possible. There was another medico from one of the other battalions there, and we were soon very busy. My stretcher-bearers went out, of course, immediately, and collected the wounded, and really did splendid work. Unfortunately by some mistake the Field Ambulance had not been informed where wo were going, and there were no relay stretoher-bearers there, and *e had to store up all our stretcher canes until they turned up, and it was a job, too. We had as many as 50 in before mid-day. and we had sent runners at 6.35 to the O.C. Ambulance giving our location. We could not take any more inside, so had to dress them and leave them on stretchers outside as much protected as possible. Fritz landed three direct hits on our roof, and as I did not agree to evacuate the wounded, my mate said he would go back and shake up the relavs, and left m n . The A.A. Po«t was really a German pill-box. concrete walls six feet thick, and roof nine feet thick. 1 was alone for some time, until a doctor of another battalion came along, and wo got to work. I had no time even for a drink or a bite, but just kept on, and excitement kept me up. At last relnv stretcher-bearers arrived, but could take only a few away. We managed to get in all our wounded from outside and store them for the night, very close and some very bad. I had brought some brandy in my pannier, and my batman went round with a flask and gave them all just a toaspoonful. Before wo got all our wounded in Fritz, as I said, landed three direct hits in -the afternoon, and Padre Bryan Brown, k schoolmaster at Christ's Collge. Christchurch, was killed outright with two of

my stretcher-bearers, and three wounded. It was a dreadful blow to me. He was my chum, and helped me with the woundedj a very fine man indeed. 1 did not have time then to_ think of it. Of course we 'were up all night, as cases kept coming in, and I just longed to settle for a minute, but I know if I did I would not be able to start again. My mate gave in, and dropped down and wont to sleep. Towards 5 in the morning the wounded were fairly well settled, and I had my first sit down on a heap of German uniforms, and had a sort of sleep for half-an-hour, and then our O.C. came to see me, and I had to get up. As soon as it was light what stretchei -bearers I had went out to collect more wounded, and so began the second day. Relay bearers turned up, a small squad, in the morning, but it was nearly dark before I managed to got them all away. My heel was blistered, and I had had only a slice of bread and iam. I felt pretty done. Orders came then that we were to be relieved that night. I had to send what stretoher-bearers I had out in the dark, as some more of our men had got smacked during the relief. Meantime a Tommv medico turned up, arid I could show him. our R.A.P. empty of wounded, -for which I was very thankful. I waited for my stretcher-bearers to turn up, and when they did attended to the cases, and then prepared for a long tramp out. Seventeen stretcher-bearers and the rest of my staff and myself started in the pitch darkness to find more or less of a track which was really a series of shell holes. We managed to strike it all right, and it just took me all my time to crawl, as my heel was badly skinned,, and I had no chance to dress it. It was a weary walk. We struck duck boards after a time; stdl my S.B.'s were done, everyone was done, and we had nearly eight miles to go. However, everything comes to an end, and we arrived at an old chateau some time about 3.30 a.m. We had something to eat and a hot rum, turned in, and slept, till 10.30 a.m. We stayed there all that day in the rain and slush, and another night, and then walked about two miles to motor lorries. I managed to get into an ambulance car. It a bitterly cold night when we got into open buses.' That night we got to our former billets, and slept in a tent with a major, a very fine soldier, second. in command. '"We had no blankets, so lay down under our coals and needed no rocking. We spent six miserable days there. I was nursing my heel; it was rather bad, but managed sick parades. Ono morning we moved out again, arid fortunately I had a bicyole. I had to stay behind for a bit .to see that the billets were clean and to argue with Madam about the price of certain tilings she had charged. We got to the other side of Ypres and were to go to a certain camp, but there wasn't a camp at all, just a paddock with all sorts of refuse in it and about two yards from some big Bin guns; nowhere to sleep,' nothing to cover us except our coats, so we got into an old shell hole and were lucky enongh later to get a tent pitched over it. There was little rest, and rain came in the morning and down came also our tent. We fixed it up again, had a scrap of breakand marched off to the old duck board and "the old German support. I found our old R.A.P. occupied by Australians." who refused to move. I had a fairly busy time. > One afternoon I was sitting just inside our back door when a Fritz plane dropped a bomb just outside. I felt a sting on the shoulder and on the forehead, but the shoulder one didn't pierce my coat and the forehead one just grazed. Three Australian S.B.'s, and one of mine were really wounded, mine badly through the knee. We moved to the absolute front about the 18th to a huge German dug-out. with four large rooms and heavy concrete on top and sides. It was a striking hole, with six inches of slush on the floor. One part was raised and had a board .floor. We did not dare to show ourselves outside, ns it was right under Fritz's nose, who was perched up on Passchendaele Ridge. lie pounded us regularly two and three times a day with high explosive shells, but did notpierco, his own concrete. We were relieved on the third night, and then had to • walk about half a mile over shell We had a guide, but it was hard>vork and very dark. Once the gm'dc fell into a shell-hole and was sinking in the black mud., and it took four of us to pull him out. We gave a shout of joy when wo struck the duckboard. Fritz was fairly quiet when we were coming out. A long walk along by the duck-board brought us to one of our old dug-outs. We had soup, roast beef, and potatoes, which had been sent up for all the troops in food containers. We were late, and things were rather cold, but very acceptable. We were soon asleep on the floor with our coats over us.

Fritz, during tho night and next morning, put them in hot and strong all round us, but he got no direct hit in our homo, Wo stayed there all day and another night, and at 7 o'clock next morning moved to another camp where I got a bunk with tlie Q.M. and transport officer in a tent, had a bath and change, and felt quite fit. Fritz couldn't let us believe we were to net out without some more strafe, so he proceeded to drop bombs round. It was not nice, a tent with bombs dropping all round, but we got a sleep. At 7 o'clock we were up, and at 7.30 marched through Ypres, alongside the famous Cloth Hall, a bank of bricks with one or two walls standing. There was not a single in Yprcs untouched. It was a weary march of five miles to a station, and into cattle trucks. We travelled along at about seven miles an hour, and were told We had a 14-mile march in front of us when we got out of the train. Wo got to the end of our rail I journey at 5 p.m.. wher« we had tea and biscuits, civen us by the Y.M.C.A.. and they were relished. We stepped out well behind the band and arrived about 11 p.m. Ponder, the Rhodes scholar, who is our billeting officer, had a reallv splendid dinner waiting us in the schoolmaster's house, where we had soup, chicken, salad, omelettes fruit, and no doubt the French can cook a chicken. It was simply topping. Ponder had got a splendid billet for himself and me: we sleep in th° <i.mn kerj. but there is a sitting-room with a piano and easy chairs. It would do us for the winter very well, but I am afraid there is a shift, somewhere soon. ' The mi dame w« nr e billeted with is very good, and would do anything, for us, in fact, all the neople in the district are orood. and very different to one place, we struck, where I think they were really pro-Ger-mans. It is a horrible business this war; onecannot help shuddering at some of thewounds. I had one German wounded, but'

my own boys were there, and I had to lot him lie, and a stretcher-bearer put on a dressing, but ho was doomed. Ono of our officers lost his leg above the Jnioo—a compound fracture of the thl P n - A flno young fellow he was. too. I had a big percentage of fractured thighs—nearly 40 cases—and it was a long carry to the first dressing station from me. It is really wonderful how the man keep so. cheerful The distance between a severe and mortal wound is not much. A miner cot one officer high in command., and killed him at once. Next day he got a colonel s neck, in front of the spine, missing the mam artery. . , •, The S.B.'s had a bad time, and were done after 24 hours. It is not possible to settle down to easj life for a day or two after such an affair as the third" battle of Ypres, and if my notes ramble put it down to weak nerves.