All their stories confirm the splendid courage shown on the morning of the 15th, when the men had to face the greatest trial yet experienced.
The father of a young family who is gravely wounded, said: ‘‘When our boys went over it was a magnificent sight.
The first wave consisted of ‘Otagoites’ and ‘Aucklanders’, who stepped out fearlessly despite the hurricane bombardment and the incessant whizzing of the machine gun bullets.
An onlooker might have thought by their carelessness of danger that it was only sham fighting.
Those whose sons and brothers were killed here can well be proud.
It was a glorious death.
The men were heavily loaded and unable to run, carrying shovels and equipment.
They were not like raiders who go to return; it was a moving day for these men, and things did move.
They found a new place to sleep that night, although many gaps resulted in those first two hours of open walk in extended order over No Man’s Land, dodging shell holes.
"Tanks were allotted to our front, and we were vastly impressed by these new engines. We were delighted to notice the Germans’ funk when they realised their deadly powers. When they first sallied out 14 German bombers rushed out, thinking they were ordinary armoured cars, and hoping to stop them before they reached the trench. They threw scores of bombs, which exploded harmlessly. The tanks’ machine guns wiped out the whole party. The Germans quickly learned to respect the monsters, which, when they develop greater speed, will be an even more terrible menace to the defenders’ trenches."
"We felt that we were right into it this time," said another.
"Although we lost several men, notably a number of Maoris, during the previous three weeks by gas attacks and bombardments, this was our first proper action on the Somme front."
The assault on the trenches was quick, rough work.
The single thought in every mind was to get ahead.
The result was that the New Zealanders entered Flers before the Coldstreams, Irish, Canadians, Scottish, or other English units.
We were all mixed up in the finish. The ‘Otagoites’ and ‘Aucklanders’ took the first line and waited till the Rifle Brigade came up.
• A witness, giving evidence in a court case at Napier on Monday for drunkenness, was asked by the magistrate: "When is a man drunk?
"Witness: "When a man has to get down on the ground and hang on to the grass to save himself from falling." — ODT, 25.9.1916.
