THE GERMAN VIEW.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7913, 2 August 1917, Page 1

THE GERMAN VIEW.

WHAT BRITISH “DRUM FIRE" MEANS. A graphic account of the horrors of warfare in Northern France is given by a surgeon and chaplain with one of the Prussian regiments in an American paper. He is frank in his disclosures of the tremendous losses suffered by the Prussians due to the incessant hammering- of the British. “The dead and dying are everywhere,” he writes. “In this terrible war blood is flowing freely all the time. No matter in what part of our extensive front you may be, you will see the horror of the conflict. Yet there are certain spots where the suffering is more acute, the scenes more pathetic, and the tragedy more heart-rending for the time being. Such is the case on the Somme, where I am on duty just now. “Though we were distant several days ’ march from this particular part of the front, we already had some idea of the ferocity of the fighting that had been raging for months. It was communicated to us in the constant rattling of windows wherever we stopped, in the incessant thunder of the artillery and the numerous aeroplanes which flew overhead. “We did the greater part of our marching at night. It was all like a dream —this marching in long, silent grey columns in the silvery moonlight through towns and villages that soon appeared like spectres in the distance. It was all so weird. When the white, fleecy clouds appeared and hid the face of the moon and the cold, sleety rain cut and beat in our faces, we thought of those at home, comfortably tucked in their beds. “However, that is a part of war—only a small part of what happens at the front. “We became aware of this when we marched into a village directly behind the firing line. Here we met troops who had been relieved after several days’ hard fighting, and who were now to take much deserved rest and recuperation. What a sight they were! They were covered from head to feet with mud, and their faces were marked with deep, heavy lines .that showed the strain and suffering they had undergone. Many had their heads bandaged; others their hands and feet. Some were so exhausted that they lagged behind, and were barely able to crawl along. What a picture! Infantry and cavalry, munition and supply waggons, light and heavy guns—all came in endless columns.

“We marched slowly to the field hospital, where we were to relieve those who had been so long on duty. This hospital was widely scattered. The wounded were housed in the church, in the village inn, in the barracks and in all kinds of buildings. Our guides led us through the whole village in order to familiarise us with the surroundings. They left us with the cheerful information that an attack by the British was imminent, and that we could expect to see a bombardment momentarily. “The first day passed quietly enough. However, about ten o’clock at night of the third day that we were in the village the British made a furious attack on our lines. How can I describe it? The term ‘drum fire’ means nothing to him who has never heard it. For twenty hours this bombardment continued with not even the intermission of a moment. Thousands of guns poured forth fire and destruction. It was very much like a thousand giants wielding huge hammers, all striking at once with might and main on the anvil, and working in frenzied haste. It was as if hell were working feverishly to kill every living thing and not to rest until every creature and every blade of grass had been destroyed.