ATTACK ON A TRENCH.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14195, 12 January 1917, Page 4

ATTACK ON A TRENCH.

.EARLVT MORNING' INCIDENT.. HOW THE LINE GOE& OUT. (Commonwealth Official.— Copyright.) . BRITISH HEADQUARTERS, " i France, November 13. Down the long muddy hillslopo — half of it brown shell-holes and tlie other half patches of v/ct, green grass — one could see h/ line of heads. Wo guessed that it was tho line ready to. go out.; At the top 'of the oppos-te • slope — which ij German, and green, the. battle nov yet having properly, reached it — the tower of Bapaume Town Hall showed up behind the trees. ' ■ ' The bombardment broke out suddenly from behind us. Wo saw the long line of men below u$ clamber up on to the surface, a bayonet gleaming every here and there, and begin to walk very steadily between the shell-holes . towards the edge of the hill. From where we were yon could not see tho ci-cmy's trenches in the valley. And I think tho line could not see it either, in most parts, at any rate. They*- would start from thejr muddy parapet and over the wet grass with one. idea above all others in the back of every man's head-r-when shall we bisgin toY*atch sight of tho enemy? It- is curious how in this conn] try of s*h ell-craters you can look at a trench without realising that it is a trench. A mudheap parapet is not so different from tlie,, mudheaps round a crater's rim, except that it. is more regular. Even to discover your own trench is often like finding a bush road. 'iLIKE A DISTURBED HIVE." Across the mud space .there were suddenly noticed a few grey helmets watching — a long,- lopg distance away. Then the grey helmets moved and other .helmets moved and bunched themselves up and hurried about like a, disturbed hive, and settled into a line of men firing fast and coolly. That was the German taench. It was fairly- packed already hi one part. The rattle of fii'e grew quickly. The clatter of one machinegun — then, 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 those details now — takes a low. burst of our shrapnel full in his .eyes. A high explosive shell bursts ori the parapet and down go three others. But they are firing calmly through all tliis. DESPERATE SHOOTING. ' Three or four Germans suddenly get up out of some hole in "No Man's Land" and bolt for their trench like rabbits. Within, 40 yards of the 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 shell-holes, or whether they have been hit. The Germans are getting up a macliiiiie-gun -on the parapet straight opposite. The first two men. fall back shot. Two or three others struggle up to it— they ai'e shot, too.. Our ' men are making desperate shooting to keep down that machine-gun. But the Germans get it up. It cracks over bead. _ In this part of the line the attack is clearly finished. v A BRAVE RESISTANCE. In another parti where the South Australians attacked they found, fewer Gerniajiis.in the 'trench. They could see the Germans in small groups, getting their bombs ready.. to throw, but they were, into the trench before the ijermans had time to hold them up. They killed cr captured all the German garrison, and destroyed a machine-gun, and set stead ily to imprpv.e the trench for holding it. Everything seemed to go well in. this part except, that they could not get in touch with any- other of our troops in tlip trench. As far as" they knew the whole attack had succeeded as v well as theirs. And then tilings -chimged aud-' deuly. After an hour a message did conie from other Australians, further along in the sanie trench — a 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 nastv loud crash, from one side. A line of Germans was seen coming steadily along jn single file against the other end of the trench. A siniilar shower of crashes descended from there. A machine-gun began" to crackle down the trench. Our. men fought till their bombs, and a-ll the German bombs .they could find, were gone. Finally the Germans began to gain on theni from both ends, and the attack there; too, was over. They were driven from Yhe. trench. In the centre they still held, and handed ov.er their" successors a sma^ll remrant of German 1 trench which r'emaiivad in Australian hands^ :.**.