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<p>a9755009.html</p><p>10 THE ANZAC BULLETIN</p><p>The Australian Soldier May24 '15</p><p>Appreciation by British War Correspondents.</p><p>Never since Gallipoli days has the prowess of Australian soldiers met with more generous recognition from British war correspondents than at the present time. Says the "Observer" of April 28th regarding the fight for Amiens:–</p><p>"At nightfall the Australians, passing through our ranks, and taking some British batallions along with them, carried out with brilliant skill and gallantry one of the best counter-attacks ever known. Dispensing with the help of any preparatory bombardment, which would have warned the enemy, the counter-attack swept forward in the dark, assailed Villers -Bretonneux from two sides, encircled it, stormed it with savage fighting through the streets. By noon on Thursday, not only was Villers- Bretonneux firmly in our hands again, but the German defenders were wiped out or prisoners. Praise above all to the Australians, and no praise can be too high for their swift ability and unsurpassable fighting in the clean finish of a deed like this."</p><p>And, again, in an issue of "The Times" a few days later, a column was devoted to their doings, from which some passages are quoted below. Similar notices have been lately a conspicuous feature in the whole of the British press, showing that the quality of our troops has created the proudest impression.</p><p>"Superb" Australians.</p><p>"The Commander-in-Chief, in his dispatch of April 22nd, in company with a number of divisions from the British Isles, made special mention of the 3rd and 4th Australian Divisions for their gallant behaviour at Méricourt l'Abbé and Dernancourt, and also of the 5th Australian Division for services south of the Somme. To this Sir Douglas Haig has added special messages of thanks to General Birdwood and the whole Australian Corps for their "gallant conduct and magnificent achievements", with special mention of the "splendid service" of the Australian Division in the north.</p><p>"The whole behaviour of the Australians in these battles since they first came in to help to hold the German advance at the end of March has been superb. It is not always permissible in my messages to give at the time identification of the particular troops engaged in any operation, but in the light of the dispatches of the Commander-in-Chief, reference can now be made to several exploits of the Australians which had to be anonymous at the time. It was the Australians who shattered the German attacks over the high ground about Dernancourt on April 5th, and below here to the south of Merlancourt it is believed that no less than 3,000 Germans were killed. When the line north of the Somme fell back to Sailly-Méricourt l'Abbé to conform to the retirement to Hamel and Vaire Wood on the south of the river, the Australians held the chord between the streams, and have beaten off every attack since. On April 24th especially, in conjunction with their attack on Villers-Bretonneux, the enemy made two determined attempts by Sailly, both of which were completely shattered by the steadiness of the Australians with the rifle. Meanwhile, throughout this period, Australians had been holding the line along the railway up to and around Albert, and several times I have referred to the futility of the German attacks here and to the heavy casualties inflicted by rifle fire and bombing, and in hand-to-hand fighting.</p><p>"To the share of the Australians in the recapture of Villers-Bretonneux on April 24th and 25th full justice was done at the time. It was also an admirably planned coup, and most vigorously executed, resulting, besides the capture of ground, in the taking of a large number of prisoners and the killing of great numbers of the enemy.</p><p>"In the North, where the Commander-in Chief mentions that the 1st Division has been engaged, Australians took over the line east of the Forest of Nieppe to Merris, and I have told of the splendid spirit of our troops in that sector and the uselessness of all the German attempts to make headway. There was never a moment in this fighting when, to use the slang phrase, the Australians were not "all over" the enemy. I told in my despatch yesterday of the fine work of the Australians in the Meteren area, where their patrol work has been beyond praise, and they pushed the Germans back into the edges of the town, earning the heartiest admiration of the French troops fighting in their proximity.</p><p>"Altogether theirs has been a splendid record, and no one in the Army or out of it will grudge the Australians the praise which the Commander-in-Chief has given them."</p><p>British Tribute to Australia.</p><p>In a leading article published on May 21st, the London "Times" pays a tribute to the fighting qualities of the Australians. The article is as follows.</p><p>Australian Valour</p><p>"The Commander-in-Chief, in special mentions, the correspondents at the front, the daily communiqués all unite in testimony to the work done by Australian troops since the moment when the wave of the German advance began to creep dangerously near to Amiens. Its highest tide was in that triangle, with its apex pointing westwards, which is formed by the junction of the rivers Somme and Ancre. After the ten days of advance which began for the Germans on March the 21st this angle of low ground was almost wholly submerged by the flood of their troops. It was at that critical moment that the Australian troops were flung upon the German flank. They counter-attacked across the Ancre, drove the enemy back from most of the salient between the two rivers, and forced the Allied line some two miles forward. For this they received from Sir Douglas Haig a well-won tribute of particular praise. But since then they have done much. The enemy's most direct line of advance towards Amiens has two commanding points, one south-west of Morlancourt, on the ridge having the name of that town; the other south of the Somme, in the immediate neighbourhood of Villers-Bretonneux. Both have been won back and held by the Australians–Villers-Bretonneux with the aid of English county regiments. Thus these gallant troops form the core of the barrier that the Allies have drawn across the shortest route that tempts the enemy towards Amiens. It is not an easy road for him at the best–low-lying and marshy, and hedged with flanking hills–but it would be much more practicable for him if the Australians had not driven him from the ridge of Morlancourt above and from Villers-Bretonneux from below the Somme.</p><p>"Meanwhile in the field of the northern battle, and especially in the outskirts of Meteren, other Australian troops have done conspicuously well. To cap this fine record came the capture of Ville-sur-Ancre by Australians in the valley of the Ancre on Saturday night–a dashing exploit which had its evident result in prisoners taken. but was certainly of use to the British High Command in ways even more valuable, if less conspicuous than the capture of men from the enemy's lines. These high achievements tell their own tale of the spirit and bearing of the men from Australia. They have shown themselves very eminent in the work of harassing by continual minor enterprises the Germans over against them. Anything like passive waiting for an attack that may develop at any moment they dislike with a fighting instinct for aggression even in defence. Through all the Armies of the Allies this instinct is strong, but with the Australians is it a restless and consuming passion. The praise that has been won for them during these long weeks of strain since the German offensive began is matched by the keen admiration of the peoples of the Allies watching the Armies in the field.</p>