MAORIS USE BAYONETS

Waikato Times, Volume 194, Issue 22246, 15 January 1944, Page 5

MAORIS USE BAYONETS

“TOO GOOD FOR GERMANS” SYDNEY, Jnn. 14 i Stuck firmly in the trunk of an 'olive tree in the side of the snow- ! covered Orsogna-Ortona Road, there are two crossed bayonets—one German, one British. They mark the scene of one of the few double bayonet charges of the war, when the Maori Battalion of the veteran New Zealand Division met ciaAc German infantry in desperate hana-to-hand fighting, says William Barr, war correspondent of the Melbourne Herald, in a despatch from the Eighth Army Front, dated January 4. It happened in recent sharp Allied, attacks cn approaches to the enemy winter line. The Maoris—in siit trenches—were holding a flanking position on_ the south side of the Or-tona-Orsogna Road, which is still fiercely disputed. The New Zealanders had just moved into the position when German troops—later identified as paratroopers thrown into the line at the critical moment—were seen moving forward through an olive grove which was partly obscured by a light drizzle of rain. It soon became obvious j that they were going to attack with bayonets immediately. Clash Among Olives The bayonet is a weapon for which the Maoris have a profound affection and they were more than willing to meet the enemy halfway. The two i'oi "°s clashed 50 yards along the ro, amid the olive trees. This was not the first time the Maoris had crossed bayonets with the Germans. Another occasion was in Tunisia, when the New Zealanders took rare in the famous left-hook around the Mareth Line. The Maoris then met a unit of the 164th Division,' which they drove back with telling losses. The result this time was the same. The German paratroops fought j with great courage and in • silence, j but were no match for the New Zealanders, who pushed them back until they were in full retreat to their original positions. The Germans, later in the day, atj tacked again, this time 'with three ■ flame-throwers and supported by 1 several tanks, but before they got j going properiy, New Zealand and In- { dian artillery opened up. inflicted I crippling losses and broke up the j attack. | A British officer, who had been | right through the desert campaign, j told me he had never before seen Iso many dead Germans in such a I small area.