ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XL, Issue 11437, 30 November 1915, Page 5

ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

WINTER CONDITIONS IN THE TRENCHES.

NUMBED BY INTENSE GOLD.

United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.

London, Nov. 29,

Mr Gibbs, in the Daily Telegraph, draws a remarkable picture of the winter conditions on the western front. He says the soldiers are experiencing the frightfulness of the elements. Rain is filling the trenches with ice-cold water. The Germans shouted from one trench, “How deep is the water?” The British replied, “Up to our blooming knees.” The Germans retorted, “We’re up.to onrbelts.” Frequently the German soldiers plead for a truce because of the awful discomfort. Many of the British are provided with waders reaching to their thighs. Several are suffering from what is known as “trench feet, their limbs being numbed by the intense cold.

An instance is recorded of the heroism of a sergeant, who was thigh-deep in water in a trench, when a mortar smashed one of his legs. The surgeon operated on the spot, his comrades holding the patient half out of the water. The sergeant joked after the operation and wrote a. letrer to his wife.

Many of the trenches are simply puddles. The mud fouls the rifles and gets mixed with the food. The wind is so cold that it cuts through the thickest clothing like a knife. The German soldiers appear to suffer more than ours. The British are unconquerable. Their cheeriness enables them to paddle in the wet trenches and stand for hours in the freezing slime without despair.

A CONSCRIPTION CHALLENGE

London, Nov. 39. Colonel Jameson, commanding the ;.Utb London Regiment, at a recruiting rally, challenged Mr Ramsay Macdonald or Mr Trevelyan to resign, and lie would contest the seat with him. on the conscription issue, ' ■ ' I