WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13890, 16 October 1918, Page 2

WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

RAPiD ADVANCE OF 40 WiiLES. GRADUAL ENEMY RETREAT. CIVILIANS CtiXSTIU'CTIN'i; tiik !! \n!> ('!■' thk spoiler. .(Special from the ofiicial War Correspondent.) FRANUE, October 10. This morning, al live o'clock, !hc Ne,w Zcalanders advanced anil took possession of rontaine and iieauviis jtisl beyond. There was praeliivily no lighting, Hie i neniy having m..i!e a further retreat in Hie night. The character of the lighting for the time Is rliang"d. The enemy is gradu illy retreaiing and our men are again getting in touch with him in the da? lini". Since lighting began we have advance 40 miles along the whole corps ficni. Yesterdiiy the enemy off, rer| little resistance until his rearguards were encountered on the outskirts of Caudry and Fontaine. The demolition and exploding of his dumps continues, and his retreating traffic proceeds continuously eastward from Montigny. This is harassed from tin 1 air and many casualties are resulting. Last night the enemy was still shewing Esnes. The enemy is preparing a system of defent n the slope >.f Le Cateau and in the Solesmes Valley. Civilian labour has been concentrated for this purpose. The enemy has been using some British jackets with his own shoulder straps and buttons. The enemy casualties on this corps' front number over 100 olllcers and ZiOOO men, in addition to thousands i f prisoners. Continuing the advance to-day, after occupying Fontaine and Beauvois, the Otago and Canterbury troops, swinging to the right, captured Herpigncs Farm, and are now at Vic-sly and on the bills overlooking the Relic River. From the heights beyond the Cambrai road we saw Ouievy burning, and still farther on there were fires burning about Solesmes. These arc most probably dumps that the enemy cannot get away. In to-day's advan-e our men had practically no fighting. In the captured villages, where we found French civilians, there were memorable scenes. We found sonic who had been for- ten days hiding in cellars and living on potatoes, in order to escape Bochc captivity. Daily .they could bear the sound of our guns coming nearer, but they judg'd our advance best by the fact tint, whereas enemy balloons were graVhiilly going farther back, English balloons came day by day nearer. The inhabitants of the liberated villages greeted our soldiers with tears of joy jn their eyes. This morning, when they first saw the New Zealanders advancing they felt sorry for them, as they thought they must be prisoners. Then they noticed that they were carrying rifles, and slowly it dawned on them that after four years o£ bondage ttieir deliverers had arrived. One old lady of over 80, who is still young in heart and quick wilted,glanced with joy. Her husband, meeting his w ; fe later, asked if she had seen the New Zealanders entering the. village. "Yes," she replied, "i kissed the first one I saw.'' There were strange scenes in Caudry. It is a town of considerable size, but only 2000 civilians are left in it to-day. Tricolour flags that had hidden away for years, or hurriedly made in anticipation of relief, were Hying from many buildings. The town was not greatly damaged, but in the anger of his impending retreat the Boche had smashed furniture and mirrors, 'clocks and a hundred other

articles in private houses. One woollen factory that wo went through had all the looms recently broken. The Germans had evidently gone right along the lines of looms with hammers, smashing as they went, yet the building, even to the glass roof, was untouched by shell fire. The inhabitants complained of the treatment \>y the invaders, and one heard stories o young women taken away from their own villages that one would rattier not. believe. The people of Caudry were well clothed, and were certainly not starved; bid for their food they were, except for what, they could grow, indebted to the American-Spanish Committee. The Germans entered their houses at any time of the day and night, and took from them any little store of surplus fond they might have accumulated. They made the girls work in factories nominally for 2i francs per day, but the committee was ultimately made, to pay. A few days ago they took away all the able-bodied males between the ages of 15 and CO, to work behind the German lines. Th°y wanted at first to take even boys of 1 i. Some of the soldiers became arrogant and brutal a few days before their retirement. Some soldiers insulted young girls in the main square, and (n the father remonstrating he was bound with ropes. In one, street we saw numerous Red Crosses on the houses. This was the street in which all the stck had been herded, so that the enemy might shell or burn the rest of the town. They wen: now returning to their own homes in other streets, for the enemy hadn't time to greatly damage this town.

When the enemy saw that he had to retreat he started looting, and carried away anything of value that lie could possibly take. One man who hid been in Cambrai said that latterly the discipline of the Germans had in many cases become poor. He' himself saw 700 men, with their officers, who had refused to tight, march back to Cambrai. The German soldiers got meat, only when they were in the front lino, and none when they were in rest. One man spoke in admiration of the wonderful bravery of the British aviators. They flew right down over the houses, firing at groups of soldiers, and showing no fear. There was one wonderfully successful exploit, wh-.m an aviator hit a train of 50 trucks, and set on tire an enormous dump of food and other stores. It was one of (he biggest German dumps in France. To-day all troops were in high spirits I '. It is a strange experience for them, well behind the Hindenburg line, to come suddenly upon \i!ln.u r cs with the houses almost undestroyed, and to be joyously treated by the people they themselves have delivered from bondage.