Ersatz Food ?

Observation Post, Volume 1, Issue 3, 5 June 1942, Page 1

Ersatz Food ?

The thing was full of food. Laid -out in separate compartments . were fresh brown bread in cellophane wrappers, frankfurter sausage, dried fruits of different varieties, concentrated chocolate in red silver ' paper, nuts, and in the other side the • • liquid . refreshments. These were in nickel plated bottles with coloured stoppers. There was hot coffee, hot cocoa, .' hot tea, cold milk with plenty of cream in it, and believe it or not, four large bottles of rum (like treacle). AVhacko! We cleaned the food up just like that—-woof! then had some hot coffee. Remember, the yarn about ersatz food ►<- and coffee in dor Faderland? Maybe the civilians get it, but the array has no ersatz. If their coffee was ersatz, it was a wonderful imitation and suitfeft us right down to the ground. Yes sirree, I’ll 'tell the world. By, the way, I forgot to mention the fact that most of us had no cigarettes or tobacco of any description during the main part of the battle. Sc imagine how pleased’ we were, after I .smoking tea leaves in newspaper for three .days, to have packets of German ' cigarettes dropped from the sky. Pennies from Heaven wasn’t it! Then there remained only. the rum! So what do you think we did— got,drunk! !■! Anyone sheen any (hie) Germansh?” Yesh," thresh -huiylre.dsh of ’em over there!” ‘‘O.K. let ’em have it.” We hit a dog, a donkey, a benzine box and a blade of grass,-but no Germans. We were all seeing treble anyway. By this time, it was 9 p.m. and just about dark. A strange but true fact about the huns’ war methods is that they never worried us much at night Trie Luftwaffe goes homes to roost and mein General Fritz von Finklesteiii hut der storm troopers curls up and goes to sleep. They were frightened we were going to attack them, so the} shot Verey lights into the air at five minute intervals, throughout thi night. Minus their air-power the Ger mans are a far less formidable lighting power than, we are. I say it myself with the utmost-U sincerity,’ that oik New Zealand soldier ’is". worth three average Germans, on the ground. II was proved time ..and time again, any way. Without any undue self-effacement I was terrified, at times. So frightened in fact, that my knees knocked, mi teeth chattered, and I’ll swear my hai ’ stood on end. But it was the aero planes which scared us, not the soldiers ' At close’ quarters, . we did what w< ■.liked, but against-hundreds of hedge ; hopping Messerschmitts, we felt, am were utterly helpless. Throughout tin I whole offensive, the New Zealand troop; 1 were using German weapons as well a , I their own . . . censored . . .