NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE MESSINES BATTLE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14391, 1 September 1917, Page 9

NEW ZEALANDERS IN THE MESSINES BATTLE.

I HOW; THE TOW* WAS WON. «i»i,endid oalSajntry and INITIATIVE. OFFICKRk AND MEN 1 FIGHT ON. (From N.Z. War Correspondent.) FRANCE,, June 15. f 111 live Somme fighting one thought that the division had reached its highMater mark m so far ait fighting was concerned, but m the calm light of after,events, now that several days have gone by, the only conclusion to be arrived at is that the division has excelled even its record on the Sommo, It is true that the conditions m this battle were not nearly ho trying; that our fighting was • not so long-drawn-out; but, makiim- due allowance for- all that, the dash and courage of all concerned and tho almost clock-work regularity with which the attack went from istart to finish could scarcely bo excelled. I feel sure that the story I have to tell m this and succeeding article* will be read m f ar-away New Zealand homes with pride, and if m. some homes it is read through dim , : eyes* Borrow will be softened by the knowledge of self-sacrifice' and of noble ■■ deeds that illuminated the Wack background of one of the most brilliant victones we .have won on any front. At the same time I must confess to a feeling qf reluctance m telling even tlm much of the full tale, because one does not wish to ispund the praises of the men from one's own country. Neither is there tho least desire to draw comparisons with any other troops. Along the line and on either side of us fought gallantly other colonial and other British troops, and I have not the least doubt that, could their efforts be dealt with m the same detail, there would be an equally stirring story to tell. But Bri- : tish divisions are many and British war fevvso that,, pen force of circumstances, becomes an impossibility. ( With out brave infantry — the men who .' go over the top"— remain, as it always >j will , remain m modern war, the honors 0 j th f day - ln the taking of Messines and the lrnes beyond company commanders were shot dawn and subalterns took their places; subalterns were killed and wounded; and when officers and . non-commissioned officers were shot, private spldiers took command. There are even instances where wounded men carried on, enduring pain and fatigue, : until they' were orderedback. And not only did they take charge and carry on, but they displayed I initiative arid an absolute contempt of danger. In cases too many to mention j their gallantry and. devotion to duty were not only, a lasting credit to themselves, but an inspiration to- the men who so ably seconded their efforts. I ; know of <>nej Ganterbury private who, when both officers and , non-coms, were shot dotai,. w4}it> forward m command of the balance of hi s platoon, and dealt heroically and calmly m the mopping up of. » part of Measdnes that lay ml his path; This he did m accordance with the pre-arranged plan, He then dug a splendid trench m front of Messines itself. The great bravery he showed throughout these operations, his force of character, and his fine leadership were undoubtedly responsible for his, platoon's fulfilling itV task under such trying circumstances. CONTEMPT FOR THE. ENEMY No one will deny that the German soldier is usually a /brave and determined fighter . But so far as the, New Zealanders are concerned, it is true that they have an absolute contempt for him Not only will one New Zealander tackle half a dozen Germans, but m this battle the; morale of our men was •so high that they were even seen to charge through their own barrage and, single-handed, tackle a whole enemy machine gun crew. And any 0110 who saw that barrage on the morning of the 7th, mixed as it wa s in places with GeiTna^n high-explosive shells, will knoV that supK ■aetioii l-equired heroism and self-sacrifice m the highest decree. To the combined music of our own barrage, the crunch of German hisrh-ex-plosivps, and tho ceaseless ; chattering of the maohine guiis on both sides, our men, simply waltzed into Messines. And once m there they; knew exactly what to do. No tinio Was lost. What had to be_ done w.as done, quickly. And then on with the dance !..,-• , , \ BEFORE THE BATTLE: The taking of Messines *was done with such dash that it almost a matter of minutes- -until our troopa were m the town. But rb ; mufet not be premised from this that there was .riot strenuous .fighting; for days -before and for days after the real advance. Previous to the battle prosper men worked night and day, often under heavy shell fire, making traoks and tramways and trenches, filing dumps, and doing the hundred and one ■ things necessary before such . an offensive jCould be, coniniertced. Our. men behind 5 the filing line never failed to su BP l y.,the. troops, and the guns.) The case of a .'Canterbury, lieutenant may be cited. Hje worked q(ay and, night under shell fire with, his me,nfiUiiig dumps ior a fortnight : Wove .the battle. During the actual battle he was. almost continuously under heavy shell fire, -and once he was actually knocked down by a shell, only to pick himself up and go on with the/ job. The men with the mule and other; transport also did fine work, ■, and the engineers, -the. pioneei's, and the signal company had thear days of hard work aiuL.danger too. .The staffs also worked very hard, and did -mot mind danger. I know one- staff captain who was responsible for the feeding and equipment not only of his own brigade, but also for making the administrative awangements foe. two, other 'brigades during the Messines operations. 'He was constantly up and down the lines and often under shell fire. Practically every one from the private up to the divisional commander had to. take ,i;isks, and the majority took them cheerfully — the latter, , I think, mqijß (CheerfulLy than any one. ■■■ '■ ■■.-. '■-■ .;■ ;. ■■■ y,^ : -., : ..; THE RIFLES. In a previous aftficle.r I explained briefly the part played by the Rifles m the attack. At '2 a.m. they were m the assembly trenches; At jbtye. end, of the ridge they suffered a -few ( casualties and three men ' were gassed by 'shells, but m the assembly i trench itself- . they had no casualties. At 2.30' a.m. we noted that the enemy was shelling the trenches close m the rear, but no shells fell m the trench where some of them were sheltering. t Fitf e minutes before the jumping off time, the machine-gun barrage opened. Two-and-a-half minutes later tw&. mines on the right- went up, and had the effect of starting the men off. Almost immediately our barrage opened all along the line' forward, and the whole force rapidly crossed No

' Man's Land. The enemy s.o.s. went up, ' and his barrage fire opened quickly on this part of the front. It was not intensive at this stage, and consisted mainly o.f high explosives, mainly directed at our front line and. the heads of the communication trenches. It appeared to slacken after about fifteen minutes and increase again m about an hour's r tame. At 6 a.m. the German gunners began to shell their old front line trenches heavily, but long before that our men were far m advance of them. The first objective, just m front of the t German first line system, was taken m sixteen minutes, and m forty-four minutes the second objective, beyond the system m front of the town itself, Avas m the haiid« of the Rifles.' The resistance oil the first objective generally was not great, but . the right company encountered isolated groups of the enemy m the vicinity of La Petite Dbuve Farm and a trench on their extreme right. These were quickly disposed of. Soon after crossing the first German line the left company took forty prisoners and captured a. machinegun that was enfilading the unit on their right. They also Captured two other machine-guiis that were filing m another part of the" same .trejichi Oil the second objective, just . m, front of Messiiies^ itself, the resistance was slight opposite the right company, and no machine-gun fire was met with. There was a machinegun emplacement on the left ana a machine-gun and ammunition was found, but no personnel.^ About ten prisoners were taken during this part of t#ie advance and 20 more m % dugout just beyond the first objective, Along v hedge beyond Messing resistance wrte met with at three points. These were rushed, and 1 the enemy, " ? bayoneted and bombed. Three prisoners were taken. On the final objective two points of resistance were met with, but the positions were rushed with the Usual sueces& and five prisoners ■' taken. A dug-out, apparently containing some explosives, was bombed and rendered useless. On the left the enemy was sniping from a loop-hole' m a concrete- dug-out. This waa enfiladed, and a party of six Getmans surrendered. Apparently the dugout was\a signalling station.' At the 'outset the troops oh the right lost touch w.ith those who were next them m crossing No Man's Land owing to the darkness, the smoke from the guns and 1 the .bursting shells, and the du§t caused by the barrage, but touch was regained at the first objective, 1 and maintained throughout afterwards.! -..The Rifles assisted the troops oTt,. their flank m the capture of a machine-gun that was enfilading. : > r ; HEAVY; SHELL. FIRE* The wjres, leading to tfce forward station were cut to pieces by shell fire, and this method of, communication had to be temporarily abandoned. . Another line was put,, through to Battalion Headquarterk through less shelled country. It was completed by .11.1-6. a.m. on the 7th, but only after great difficulties had been overcome; The- runner's worked splendidly, and the' pigeon, service Avas satisfactory. . ' The men. worked close up to the barrage, which was accurate right up to the trench m front of Messines. On reaching Ungodly Trench on the right beyond Messines the barrage Avas not so good, but .the troops were able to work up to the enemy Avire before the barrage lifted. , A short halt beyond the Blue Line was found to be most useful, as it enabled the companies to, get quite m touch Avith both, flanks. The first tank crossed the line at 25 minute's, after the attack commenced, and the «Wmy line 50 minutes after the attack. Another tank stuck %nd did not get up. The. tanks, however, were, not Avanted by the New Zeaiariders,. who were able to take every one of their objectives 'without .them/ '.:.■•. In the assault itself Rifles had extraordinarily few casualties. The casualties they buffered occurred mainly during the consolidation. At 6,1.5 a.m. it was reported that 100 prisoners bad been taken from a strong point! m Messines m hand-to-hand fighting. vOn the Bth a wonnddd Getfman, wh6 ..^Wta eaptuiiSd; Said, they w.ere< fully prepared for the attack, and i Avere expecting, it' at any moment; but « U V barrage came down on them so suddenly and Avas so intensp that .they could simply do nothing. This officer Avas a. company commander, Avith an iron cross, and stated that his com-pany-had two machine -guns, on either flank m Messines, buij it Aras impossible to , do anything Avith them, Tlie capture of a 77 V cm. gun m Messines itself .was i/reported by one battalion. Apparently- one of bur eighteenpounder shells had- gone dean through the loop-hole m its concrete emplacement. , The gun shield' Avas smashed, and the breach mechanism slightly; damaged. . The mopping-up of Messines AA-as- reported complete .at 7.50 a.m. A TRENCH THAT CHANGED ITS NAME". Reference has been mad e\so Ungodly Trench, a wired 'line - meant to protect^ Messines from a flanking attack from' the south. After the capture of Mes r sines someone wrote to the I< Branch:—' "Dear — — . now that we have got the 'Un out of Ungodl(e)y Trench why not call it Godley Trench?" Promptly the reply came back :— "Dear • '' ■, I haAre issued Instructions to "maps" to do this m next edition. Best congratulations on ypuiv wonderful success."; . ' little joke will be appreciated m Nevr Zealand, where the Corps Commander is so well knoAvn. \ DEEDS THAT WILL LIVE. In *uoh a battle as that for the.Mes- 1 ' sines liidge there Aver« so many deed? of ' heroism and deA'otion fo <Juty that oue', Avould require many pages to tell them all. And those that are told relate mostly to the , Hying, .There are among; the dead. many who- heave earned their medals and % even their crosses, but Avho' lie, alas ! m unmarked graves on the: ■battlefield. But surely, m the years ■> to com«, the nation will keep their memory green. Let me, before concluding this article, relate a few of the deeds that have cdjne jinder., n,pticeh iAni^. . Ii shall, begin with a padre. Bfe 'is a oliaplain, fourth class, attached to; a battalion. H« assisted m bandaging aiid attending/ Arounded on the battlefield. Later he

led stretcher-bearing parties to the front line and conducted the collecting, bandaging, and evacuation of wounded under very heavy shell fire. Owing to his energy and resource this part of the battlefield was cleared of wounded by the evening/ Afterwards he worked untiringly m searching foj.\ missing and m burying [the dead.' He disregarded absolutely his per§<Wial safety. His cheerfulness urid'er ■■■'the 'most trying conditions did a great deal to maintain the. spirits of the men, iiofc only, m his own battalion, but also m the neighboring units. After the Avar the- "Church surely will be the bettor for having m its ranks euch »raen< as .he.vThd. experience ithat the Ghui'ch has gained. in the firing 'line will be all to ■ *fte\6ood. ' . I When*, 'just before dawn, our men of the urines 'began to advance behind the inferno of explosions that had been Jet loosp,- thei>e .was^ a major who was se- \ yef fely wounded m the face by shrapnel ii»6tj^t,efi;lea,ying 1 oui,' parapet.. He con,t|ii^^^^lea^. his J'oqmpany till its ob- ( jective was reached and captured. Althotigh.sujHfe r ring;,ffbV,'the effects of gas I m add-jtipnh t£> .Iris wrfimd, fie remained ' with his company until the consolidation of the new position was well under way an^ funtil h6 liiad re^fgan'is&d tilie platoon that he sftrtt./fPr^ard under Ki^ only surv^ving offi^r m "supttpft pi tfie company detMed 1 t67^apturo ffoerieoorfct objective. JBy ;tijis fame., ijWl waS suffering severely .'from ga3 pojspftjng; biit'lJefo'^e re'turnin« to the reaF (he ■ac^p6He ! d progress to battalion JleadquairterS'..) A, secohdwilreuteiiant m another battalion did fine r.work ,ito •command of his platoon m the 1 v capture of the second -objective. ( . Shortly after the confclidation. pf ; -jbhe -position commenced all the other ; pmqers .... of 'his- company became casualties. ' At once he tbok command of thejcpitfp4ii^ 'jcompleted the coriaolddationij; atijd the new line m sole; jcharge'; j'liis company until the following night. There, was another secbnd „ lieuterranft (teifnporarTly ' ' ; Jieuteriant) y-hxf ( dicl^ftie ,^prk, kind |fo^ai'd ,inip|pi'tan.jb '■un^e^ iiitense shell fire.^;pn;> jthe when h^ '^mmaijdihg i; "officer >vas : called back r^;|»%itOpfl9Jßij,nd of : a, brigajde -owiag. to mk dea.W/i/19^ 'Bi'igadier-Greneral Brown, ; >killjßd,)d») r»ctionj this lieuteivairit took oltatrge of 'the battalion uhtil the ari-i va-1 ■'X>ftitbe'. l -batttiio'a'- sedbhd c fn ''command somev 'Kphims later. TM £ o&c^r hajS|- done iii tW^nraffe fighting. l Ajv<>tiyOT.,liie'QteiTian!k, [igreat. g^jjanta?y apd,.,' iheerl-ulnfess uii.^he Attack, jlie.^ed his platoon Jtqjhe gnaj pbiective and consolidated.; He',. then >held the ;adyanced;..pqß?tioni under, 'heav.y sheilT fire DiltU ordered- to consolidate on. andther line. ; ,ffiis 'company- :, commander was lyvb^inded. jHe then commanded the company ;\VitHou!t ' the a^sista^ce, of -other, bffice'rs, and held, a ( ppsj't;i6n ;.' that was b^hjjj. ( 'enfilad(id';by' r <b6ayy..gCiu§ uV^til re'36^ h^p^sria^r^; Asvan. instance Pf^.the qpura s gj& (>; initiative,, and d«vption :^o. du^y displayed ty" HtAie^e;, junior pffi.cers i$ is'^jfprt'h, mentioning the fact tha^ne lieutenant-, m cpmmand .'of a f cawying «>ppany delivered his first load off supplies 'ka. M-essines befoire'-th'e mopping-up ■of the- ■village '■waa ; c6inplete. 1 " . <: is^a vWrtg.^^Jllngtpn lieutenant 'yllioifi, T ? •fenVemb%*' ju^ before, . tjie war ■as .a : "Jpqy d% e^iofyl'l W displayed- -gre^t gallaiit/ry : and! sptendivl. dey ; oti,pn ,tb, his iawy^jgp v i>% 4&X. 9£\.^9 i^teok- He led ;w? .ife objective and im-Tped-jaJ/ely proceeded to take comtfnand of another platoon ■ ."that was' detailed for the final objective,,- but which' had lost its He ' led ; 'tTiis Watoon,' ca-p---ttired 1 ''the ob|ectiy^^' reorganised', ahd puperyiSte'd t^elcpnsolfdation: xrndljv jheayy 'shell jfire', f ' /^liils^ 'enga^^d; iiy thjs work: Ji^>; wa^ 1 '■jyoujmfl^d. .j^jteait^ine his company c'om;man4ev wis, lsi^ed .m Action, arid, the 'yoking, \V«lHngtpiiian j being 'the jqnly oftper ,-lef;t, <a^Bumed lOommand. He then sent a sitniation rxeport to> battalion headquarters, . and > did'not relinquish his cotnmahd until reHeved 'ahd^orHered; <rat I>y another officer 'detaijed^lto "taike cpmhinV- .; Sy. Hi.S" : -..9Jti.yjfy> liis \.fst : , pgrgpnaj ; safety, :^hd •hfe' d[e'j^tion ,\'to' dutfV ' ■%&. iindpiibtedly sejli.a. splendi^L. example to his men, and bpnti^ibuted 1 ", m ,np ;; sma;ll niea^urV ' towards : fhe ; success of- the oporatiori m which he was concerned. '■':''■ BARING AirTAOKS OJT THE! ;"'■ '■' :.iEiNtap:,.., ... ..-.y. !Many deeds ' dotte* by 'individuals and by very small bodies of men during the attack were of thfe (most daiung nature, arid invariably they were successful, even Avhen the : odds /were^gi-eatly" against the attackeVs. Aa^ I write, news from : Benie states that the Germans are de- ; pressed l at ; ; th^ Jresujt pf,.th.Q s Meßsinies ibattlfe, Jwhtch as, grave, be-; cause it shows ■ybat > the Gerjnian araiy has lost^ its capacity, for resistance. . In. View of some of ,the\ deeds: done by our splendid' fellows; ,os^.thi§ rt battlefield . it . isv perh^pi^. ■qofc'.^9,!b.©\" Tfon^red, fat that «the.

power of the Gemiari "to- resist our attacks is, to say \ Ihe least of it, very considerably weakened. H«ar this tale of a corporal. ■Single-handed lie attacked an enemy machine^guri position, killing five . of the ■enemy, wounding one, 'and taking 12 prisoners. In the morning, aa his p;latoon iwafe, hearing its objective, he suddenly found himself an enfemy dug-out 'albn%2 •'' S6emg;on^ of the ' enemy Vtfrfch- ;&" (machine 'cuh "trainod oit the (flank- 'o*f his iplafebn^lfe 'immediately rushed him, and the GWman fled into the. dug out. The corporal 'followed arid threw a bomb into the dug out, after first- railing; upon its inmates to come out. EighV of them came out. '■Among these was an offieei* who made an attempt to draw 5 his revolver. The New Zealand corporal killed him on the instant. Four moVe 'of the enemy then 1 cam© out of the dug out and were taken prisoners. The New Zealarider handed ; over his "fyag" to another party . going ! to the i'ear ' and rejoined his platoon as if nothing had happened. There was another corporal who, with •four others, attacked a strong party of Germans who .wer©' making ,a, stand m a cellar below wftat Mremained of the In-t stitution Royale., Though, l^iree of hjs party wei^" sevferely wduiidfed and the New Zealanders , were outnumbered -by ,14 v tp 1.,. *hey -killed, .about (00 of , these fiepniflaisj, and, drove ..thei'^st from the positiop- . ,:;The, Bergeant -who. was originally charge ,of fth^, attacking was .wound,e.d; early in\the fight*. an<J fche cor*°^j>fe^.iphajrge Md wrriiedK. oh .most .Mmty ' fifl&Uy, , i,he . • enamy were driven out of their stronghold only "th"c corporal and one. other man- of his I ;party were un.wounded. h ;-■. It ■. waa^Sby

such gallant deeds that we won Messines and taught the German command? that the resistance of its armies wa^. on the wane.-.; v -%^ii^v „/'■■. ■* V:-. u : v «***■'■.;..' "■?,"■' .' Again, there was a' rifleman who was m a section that went through our' oim barrage into, jM^MJ^VHthis . might not be thought a 'compliment to our artillerymen,'but it was none the less a* very daring exploit — to put onachine-giuns that had opened fire from an emplacement out of action. _ This^man assisted a corporal m capturing ,two m&chine-guhs and' m killing their 'crews-^fourteen^en in.ail. I Then an enemy ,machine,-gui^ opened fire ■fix>m ■ the ruins of an inner • wall'; of the Institution Royale. . ,Th>e rifleman promptly ran up, !bomßed'*the mam; who was firing, and 'broke thflgun^ Eteihg' I the whole of this time |Kia septjoiji was inside our barrage. It ls^TJ^aVe-eftb'ugb 4b , tackle . t aja ©pemy nwcbjne-jjua tinder ordinary circuttetahjbes,'; but sb go though your ■owii^barrag©<to do ait xdeans pourace ,of ,a vieqpy ;h%h\.'forder. -.^ ,' . Jp»utvwhy coutinue ; the i4\&l ; Bnough has- beien written, to, .pioye tj^yawir of th&Eifles. In anothteiva^iclejljhbpeito /deal' -with' <tJi& AVo'rk-of othfervujuts, tihat >eroi m the- Baitle ,<jf .JSl^ssinW +

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