THE SOMME BATTLE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 866, 18 November 1916, Page 8

THE SOMME BATTLE.

NEW ZEALANDERS' GOOD ; WORK. HEROIC STAND BY CANTERBURY MEN. CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE HIGH COMMAND. {From Malcolm Robs. Official War Correspondent with the Vew Zealand Forces. l Divisional Headquarters, 21st September. After the great bound forward by our armies in the battle of the Somme on the lath and Kith, heavy rain set in, and the weather became bitterly cold. Our men holding the first line had to endure considerable hardships, but they stuck it out splendidly. The roads became deep ill mud of varying consistency, and it was with great difficulty that our first line transport was able to get through at all. These roads reminded one of the pioneering days in winter in the backblocks of Te Kuiti and Taihape. But, if anything, these battle-roads were worse than the worst New Zealand could at any time produce, and in addition the traffic was a thousand times greater. For hours one day I walked over the battlefield, witnessing scenes of death and desolation. The shell-holed earth was encumbered with all the ruin and none of the panoply of war. Yet all the time the traffic went on through the soaking rain and sticky mud. And every now and then the German shells came bursting over ridge and road and trench. Yet not even the elements and the German gunners could stop the set purpose of our brave troops. Always the full carts with often eight-horse teams, went forward laden with shells and ammunition and food and water. A Scene of Desolation.

I walked from Montauban along ;i road on which every now and then a big German high explosive shell came crashing. One gun seemed to be looking for a heavy battery. Other guns were apparently trying to stop the trallic. But our guns continued shooting with a noise that deafened you, and the traffic, rumbled on unceasingly. Away ahead was Ginchy, the blood-stained ridge that the British had gained after fierce and gallant fighting. On the left one looked across country in the direction of Pozieres. Opposite was High Wood, the scene of equally bloody fighting, and along the ridge to the right Delville Wood and the flattened village of Longueval. A constant stream of British wounded was walking back along the road on the crest of the ridge past Montauban. The more serious cases were coming on in wagons. These were the "walkers" and the "sitters." Still more seriously wounded came oast in the motor ambulances. These were lying on the stretchers on which they had been borne from the field of battle, their clay-caked boots protruding from the blankets that covered their bodies. And throughout all this long procession there was never a moan or a complaint. The "walkers" were mostly wounded in the hand or arm, or had light wounds on the head, body or legs. In every case they had received attention and their wounds had been well dressed. Further on a New Zealand tributary .joined the main current. They also were uncomplaining, and even in many cases cheerful. "This ought to be good enough for a few weeks in Blighty," said one humourist who passed me with a bandaged shoulder that protruded from a ripped sleeve, And no doubl it would.

At Longueval

Longueval was a scene of desolation such as I had not seen in all the war. We must have had one gun for every few yards of Longueval and Delville Wood. The wood was literally blown to bits; the village was in splinters. Men were busy with picks and shovels retrieving the road from the shell holes that pitted it and the debris that buried it. The whole countryside was dotted with shell holes of varying dimensions. Along this broken road the traffic lurched and si rained, the labour battalion having lo stand aside as the wagons came along or a shell burst near them. In one place the nicks had broken through into a brick cellar where had been a house. The soil had been turned over and over again with the tremendous shelling. So great was the hurricane of iron thai covered the face of the earth he e that the English troops that took the place were able to walk through Delville Wood in the end almost unopposed. Many German dead and some of their machine guns must have been put out of action here and buried by our shelling. Reside the road were dead men. some lying where they fell and some thrown aside out of the way of the workmen. A dead German lay with his wan face staring at the sky. There had been no time to bury them. Those who were still living claimed our thoughts first. On the summit of the road that led down lo the switch trench and the captured village of Hers, the German shells—shrapnel and high explosives—were falling al irregular intervals. The farther one went the more dead one saw. .lusl beyond the T trench from which our brave infantry started there was a line of English dead. More lo the left yas a line of NewZealand dead. In every case they had fallen forward on their faces towards the enemy lines ahead. Searching Artillery. The shelling got worse and worse. The Germans had several balloons up, and one looked right down this road. I look what little shelter a narrow trench offered, and then, waiting for a lull, turned and commenced lo retrace my steps. A young cavalry officer going back to gel his kit in ease Lis troop might get through joined me. Then the German shells began to drop very near the road !(;() yards ahead. We left the road and turned to the right, where a red Hag waves! near one of our batteries. But it seemed to be I he battery thai the German gunners were after. Shells began to rain

about it, but if is surprising how ' near a shell can fall without knock- ! ing out a gun or even a gunner. The [spot, however, looked decidedly unhealthy, so 1 went hack to the road. And as I reached the bend where the i road turned into what had been the village and the wood, another shell fell, killing a man and throwing the soft brown soil over me. Yet the 'stream of traffic scarcely stopped for ■more than a minute, and the roadmenders went on with their work as it it were no more than a summer shower. For my part 1 was glad 1 when I had got safely back to camp. | Beyond Montauban 1 got a lift in a Cape cart with two horses driven , landem by a young New Zealander from the Waikato, another New Zealander riding the leading horse. They belong to the New Zealand Artillery, and were going back for officers' kit for one of the batteries that had moved forward. We had to go , down by the clay roads where six i streams of traffic were coming and jffoing. It was a wonderful sight— I limbered wagons, guns, cavalry, infantry, and what not, keeping their place in the opposite currents. It ] .seemed to be chaos, but it was orga- ! nised chaos. Every man in the great pressing throng was going or coming jwith some set purpose in view under the guidance of some controlling brain behind the lines. j A Fight in the Darkness. During one stage of the operations after the two days' great battle it became necessary for the New Zealand- 1 ers to capture a trench on their left. | They had to drive the Germans out | of a threatening position—a position j that gave them a considerable advantage in holding their line on our \ j left- in view of a further attack, or in I view of their attacking the village of j Flers, which we had captured. There' were two strong points where cross j trenches intersected the main linesJ ] The Canterbury's had to make the j attack, and thev decided upon a] j silent attack in the night. The at-! | tack commenced at 8.30 p.m.; Stealthily advancing under cover of: the darkness, our men gained the! enemy trench without much difficulty, and, after a while, communi-j cations were established with a I rather thin line of troops on the left.; These troops, few in number, and; I apparently in process of being relieved, fell back, and the enemy managed; jto get round on the New Zealand | left. The oposing forces were soon i at grips, and a deadly encounter en-, sued with bombs and the bayonet.! The Germans, knowing full well that! the position was very valuable to! them, offered a determined resist-j ante. Bitter bomb fighting ensued, and in course of time the trench became littered with dead—many more! lof the enemy than of ours. Twice,, with the force of superior numbers,; the Germans drove the Canterbury; men back. But the New Zealanders, (gallantly led by a young captain,! came at the enemy time and again. I This young officer rallied the tired land somewhat discouraged troops,! land himself led them to the attack.j His energy and his bravery were a! j stirring example to all. All night long the light went on, and just be-1 j lore dawn the Germans, who had by ibis time suffered very heavy lossesj j were hurled back, and other troops; j coming up on our left somewhat; leased the position. By aggressive! : lighting our men then drove the enemy right off the height, and at once) I proceeded to consolidate the position. The Germans left 350 dead and | j wounded in and about the trench.) j and we captured 22 prisoners. It | was a very determined and gallant! I bit of work, and our losses were not! half those of the enemy. | Praise for the New Zealanders. Being myself a New Zealander, li have been somewhat careful not to! unduly praise the fighting qualities of our force. So far as the second! great effort in the Somme battle is] concerned, I am quite convinced that in anything I have written I have) understated the case. It is all the more gratifying, therefore, to be now able to state that the force is receiving almost daily unqualified commendation for its dashing work from I quite independent sources. Sir I Douglas Haig. the Commander-in- | Chief, himself telegraphed to our I Divisional General as follows: •"Please convey to all ranks, NewZealand Division, my congratulations and thanks for their successful attacks on September 15 and IG. They showed fine fighting spirit and ! admirable energy and dash." The Corps Commander, in forwarding this message, added his own appre-i ciation of the excellent work done: by the New Zealanders. Other corps! and divisional commanders sent complimentary messages. Very gratifying was a generous tribute from a! neighbouring corps, the commander; of which conveyed to the New Zealand Division his appreciation of the, good work done by them on the right, and of the assistance rendered; to his corps during the first few davs! of the battle. Later, a special order from the' colonel commanding the New Zea-j land Medical Corps intimated to all I ranks that the D.M.S. of the Armv and the D.D.M.S. of the corps with! which we are associated desired to he made known to all ranks of the' N.Z.M.C. their appreciation of the; work done by them. They stated, that the arrangements for evacuation of the wounded and the success-; fill way in which these arrangements j worked met with their special ap-> probation. They added that the I casualty clearing stations had reported that the treatment of all cases! evacuated to them had reached a! very high standard, and that no case! had been evacuated without having received anti-tetanic serum. The Artillery. The artillery preparation for this - new phase of our great offensive] was of a most complicated and dif-!, ficult nature, and a very great deal of: attention had been devoted to it. It ] is not possible to go into details, but a few general statements may be made. To begin with, it may be! stated that the fighting was practically all on the downward slopes of the ridges leading into the enemy's ter-' rene, and that the guns supporting', the operations had practically no ob- , servation of their own. They had to < shoot by the map and the knowledge . gained by the aeroplane photographs ! of the enemy's trenches. These j photographs were certain!} marvel- , lously clear, and being taken by our j airmen gallantly flying at low alti-i, tudes thev showed great detail. In' the early stage of the fight High j j Wood was still in the hands of the i enemy, and was an obstacle to ouri getting good observation. But the , New Zealand observing officers had'i pushed right up into the front l trenches, so that they might he ready P when the Germans were driven forward and our guns could push up 1 the hill slopes. Under cover of night

and before the attack we had also j pushed up some heavy howitzers inito forward positions, so that they I were ready to shoot when our infan- ; try were well advanced. One of the i British field guns was pushed right ! over the ridge and down the slopes lon the other side to Flers for a j special purpose. The Xew Zealand j artillery had done fine work from the commencement. Subsequently in ! the night, through mud and rain, ! they shifted their batteries forward info action over ground full of shell craters and soft roads churned into mud. The work of the linesmen and i the forward observing officers had been exceptionally good. By noon of the following day all the guns were in action, and registered, excel)! two howitzers and one 18-poun-der which was overturned in a crater. From their new positions the batteries were shooting beautifully, with the fuses the right length and the shells bursting in a row on the German trench far ahead. The battery commanders knew tha ground in front of them, and thero was now little danger of their shooting on our own trenches by mistake. Brigade headquarters was also moved forward once more. "I think," said the 0.C., in a report to his C.8.A., "that an issue of rum would be much appreciated by the men, as they are continually wet." It is to be hoped the rum found its way up to the batteries. Our artillery now held the dominating positions all along the crest of the ridge, and could give the Germans what they bad been giving us for months past. It must have been a supreme moment, too, for our gunners when they could, for the first time in the war, call up their teams and rush their guns forward into new positions ahead, thus experiencing for the first time the exhilarating sensation of fulfilling the true function of field artillery.