NEUVE CHAPELLE

Southland Times, Issue 17495, 26 April 1915, Page 3

NEUVE CHAPELLE

SOME SOLDIERS’ STORIES. AWFUL BRITISH SHELL-FIRE. Some stirring storidfe of the great fight at Neuve Chapelle are contained In special telegrams published in a file of the Cape Times, received by yesterday’s mail. ‘ "Eye-witness” reports that prisoners who fought throughout the war say they never experienced such a bombardment as at Neuve Chapelle. Many of them were still seeking refuge in dug-outs when the British infantry reached them. Others were found in the village in cellars, and had not realised that the British had arrived. A SHELL EVERT TEN YARDS. One Prussian officer of a particularly offensive and truculent typo, which was not uncommon, expressed the greatest contempt for British methods. ’’You don’t light, you murder.” lie said. “If it had been honest fighting we should have beaten you. We never had a chance. There was a shell every ten yards.” "Eye-witness” remarks that this feeling of resentment against the British artillery was shown by several prisoners. Though gratifying to Hie British gunners, it is a curious exhibition of the lack of judicial sense on the part of the Germans when the tables are turned against them. "The Germans had had the first taste of what we have often eaten, and they have the effrontery to complain.” is how “Eye-witness ’ sums the matter up. A SOLDIER’S SIMILE. In contrast with the hill fighting in the Argonne, the British attack at Neuve Chapelle was over ground like a rotten sponge, flat and full of bogs, in which our soldiers sometimes stuck like flies on a fly-paper. One Tommy described it as “like trying to get at them with all your family hanging round your neck.” Corporal Meake. of the Loudon Scottish, says his regiment was acting as a reserve to the Scots Guards. “We were under fire practically the whole time, but our casualties were very slight. The greatest amount of work was done by the artillery. Nearly 400 guns wore in action, and it is estimated that they fired 135,000 shells during the action at Neuve Chapelle. FACES NOT HUMAN. A Gorman officer, who took part in the battle at Neuve Chapelle. says that six howitzer shells fell in one minute within fifty yards of him, and so completely was the french blown up that when the earth fell it buried hundreds of men. When he saw numbers of men belonging to German regiments in tiro British lines as prisoners he did not think their faces were human. being green and orange from the lyddite. They were palsied, and too dazed to answer their names. AN AWFUL SIGHT. An officer of the Indian Pioneers says; "We had to make a road which the Britisli guns had destroyed the previous dav, Wc made it of bricks and timber, and in twelve hours it was fit for motoilorries. All the time we were working, German shells wore bursting around us. but the most terrifying thing was the noise of our own guns firing over our heads. It was only duscrihahlc as hell let loose. The Gorman trenches looked as if on fire; one unbroken line of bursting shells. Our men wore watching and awaiting the order to charge. They were perfectly petrified at the awful sl~ht afterwards. We found that a wire entanglement had been blown clean into and over the German trenches, which were simply a pulp of earth, boards, wire, sandbags. and dead Germans. There was a most bewildering panorama of German prisoners and wounded I British Indians struggling past or being horn© on stretchers. Dead British. Germans. and Indians were lying everywhere.” “OUR BLOOD WAS BOILING.” A member of the Scottish Rifles says. "Our blood was boiling. tYe had hardly power over ourselves. Me got the work to stand in readiness for a charge, but never waited, and we attacked five minutes before time. Early in the action I got a bullet through the left wrist, but had a grip of dentil on my rifle and fired my last round as I was falling from loss of blood. 1 was wounded a second time in the forehead while crawling hack to the trench and a third time in the hand. Mon who fought at Mens said it was a tea-fight compared with Neuve Chapelle. Tt is not the fighting but the weather our chaps are fed up with.” "NO STOPPING THE BOYS.” An officer, in a letter describing the action at Neuve Chapelle, says: Our most almighty attack on the enemy was all planned and organised for some time. I should think it was the finest show on record. During the first half-hour of the bombardment some 1 7,000 shells screamed towards the Bosches, and naturallv there were a good many casualties as the attack increased. Our wounded lads were extraordinarily cheerful. Thev laughed and cracker] jokes. Tt was most amusing to listen to thoir stories. One hatch, asked Ji o'.' things were progressing, replied ” or j bless von. sir. there’s no stopping Hie j bovs. ' The poor Bosches don’t know whether they arc standing on then- I heads or their heels.” They are a won- , dorfnl lot. the Tommies, so jolly, brave, j keen, and determined. Most of them j the Germans. ] “COME ONI THE KINGS”’ | An officer of the Liverpool* writes In j Lord Derby referring to the splendid ; pluck of A and B Companies of the ; regiment in charging the German positions. Unfortunately they discovered that the artillery preparation had not destroyed the wire entanglements, enabling the Germans to bring machineguns into action, causing heavy losses. ; Ho savs all behaved inagnihcenlly. >'c relates instances of gallantry displayed bv numbers of officers, and says; “T oor HUle AA’ebb was heard shonting. ■(..onm on! the Kings fns he lay dying. Car casualties amounted to 219, Although obstructed by wire, the Liverpools pinned many Germans to the ground, an! made easier the carrying «t • <’uve Chapelle by the First Army.