WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13896, 23 October 1918, Page 2

WITH THE NEW ZEALANDERS

, A PAUSE IN THE FIGHTIK2. '\m COMMANDKH nKHOHATKn. ;(Sp»Jii n i M" 1 uri( * i;:l NV:U ' ,: " ; '~ ITSji'lMll"!!!.

FriniMs lidol'-!' IT). There is ;i pail:-- in Hi l, bailie ill 'i : sector, and Mm' enemy is feverishly digging in an ( j wiring mi th ■• high yrmiT.i beyond tin- Sell" river. Hi- i- shelling evacuated villus nearest his \-r.-. 'm! is evidently getting shori of ;-:! ■-Million. The New /.e:d;mders I ■■>.'•• si - ialised in night lir-bthr.: anil I '■■- has resulted v. ! on ■ -' ' i '"' the enemy aim I .' ! '■'■'- ' v '■ '''.^ but has saved m sr.y <■ i- ■••«■!:«■-=. l"o,- the country here 'n<"«-> ri '• "• ;ii '• ;:il >' lill >~ light advance is ,ne! •:' i .im hi:ic-gun fire from housi s sir ides, ground that commam ;i wide li-ld of Are. in one ni;.iel< : -r a! \> is tlm

surprise that lb I'" >■ m •''" ,; '''"tan officers' mess, s wa- ;.e:;m half consumed or still in km>!> <■- r"b In onlocality we found a "> 'i' rich !'■"'- tory being utilise d ■'■• ■ h<">-' hospital, with an operating r.-on ml very complete arrangements ■-• "i r ally. Another large factory. I: ■ , i \- maelmn ry had been rcrnov'!. w::s, ~! IJm■ time ol our advance, beinir use.; :is .. carpenters' and metal-workers 1 ,|mo A number of sick and woimd. ■" • ■ >rses had had their throats cut so i .\\ )vy Would not falllnto our hands alive. Other horses, IcilJWrby bomb or r.h' 1 !!, had been bled and disembowelled an i Ih«" :r '.]■'?'.'. was in process of hcing cut up for human food.

Civilians tell tales of ill [coalmen! received during Iheir four y-ws of bondage, arid become voluble i!i their descriptions of the ill-treatment meted out -to Britisli prisoners, who were insulted and beaten by their guards. For a long time the Germans showed an Intense Hatred of the British, but latterly they have included Americans in their category of vituperation. In Caudry women had to work in factories for small wages, and their overseer even went to the length of spitting in their faces when they did not work to the satisfaction of their captors. They were paid in depreciated German paper currency, and ttie town was fined in a large sum prior to the retreat. The recent fighting has been unlike anything we have experienced in this war. Our men have marched for miles across open country, fighting on the way. There is no sign of wire or trenches save for a few hastily-dug machine-sun pits, made with the, object of holding up our advance. In one fight we had battalion headquarters right in the open. The comamnder sat at the roadside with his telephone and Ids staff beside him, in full view of all that was happening. His troops moved forward in artillery formati* n. by platoons, across the open country. Xo time was lost and the troops were continually moving forward. It was Open Warfare

as detailed in the drill-hook, nnd in which our unit? had been trained during the short spell nut of die line. In most of this fighting both officers and men did so well that it was difficult to single out any individuals for special awards, but there is < ne moving incident that stands out in bold relief. A medical officer attached to the Auckland Battalion was dressing wounded in the open while a battle was proceeding, for, owing to the exigencies of the situation, there was no better place available for his regimental aid post. With enemy shells bursting over the position, he gallantly continued his merciful work. The casualties were many, and as the medical officers of the adjoining units had been unable to get up, he had for 3fi hours to dress the wounded of three battalions. While the men were awaiting his aid, one shell blew a wounded man to pieces, bespattering the officer's uniform, but to all appearances he was outwardly calm, and went on In-ssing the wounds of others. A second salvo blew a man's head off. and the officer was badly shaken. Even this did not deter him, and English, Scottish, New Zealand, and German wounded continued to claim his attention. He organised stretcher parties and had severe cases carried down to deep German dug-outs in the vicinity. His own escapes were miraculous, for he worked continuously in grave danger without sleep for a day and two nitfhts. Belgian Appreciation.

October 17. The King - of the Belgians has awarded General Sir A. H. Russell the decoration of the Commander of the Order of Leopold, with the Croix de Guerre. The investiture was performed by General Orte, chief of the Belgian Mission at British Headquarters, who stated that the Kin? of the Ruffians fully realised the remarkable generosity v with which the people of New Zealand had subscribed to the Belgian Relief Fund, and greatly appreciated the fact that the division which General Russell commanded had won back the first Belgian town —Messines—since the German invasion of his country. He added that the King had watched with great interest the victorious career of the division, both in Belgium and France. ADVANCE OF 40 MILES. October 19. Since the division started on the preat drive its front in the region of Hebuterne in five and a-half weeks has been advanced 40 miles. Fighting its way over 37 miles of this distance, it captured over 6000 prisoners, 59 guns, and nearly 1000 machine-guns. Of the prisoners captured IKO were officers, and* over 800 were wounded and received the best treatment, at the hands of our medical corps. On the line of its long trek lie many German dead, and there must also have been a large number wounded who got, back to the Ger-

man dressing- stations, and numbers of wounded died at the German casualty clearing stations. The graves in the German cemetery at Lesdain bore witness to this fact. Throughout the education scheme and entertainment or officers and men lias not been neglected. Lectures have been delivered by eminent British professors, and a company of divisional entertainers is playing nightly to audiences of Close upon 1000 soldiers. Another theatre parly is playing for charities in Paris, and a Rugby football team goes to play important matches in Paris and other towns. Though the men deplore the loss of brave comrades, they arc in good health and spirits and ready to fight for unconditional surrender. Everyone realises that the German army is at last being beaten in the field.