The Night Invaders

After our occupation of shelters and dugouts at Fay on the night of 28th August, we moved off again at 9 a.m. on the following day in a north-easterly direction, with a view to contacting the forward troops of the 8th Brigade A.I.F.

Assevillers was passed, and, following the line of the main road, we reached Barleux.

Here the Battalion occupied trenches for the rest of the day, and eventually stayed there for the night, under the sky, but sleep was out of the question because of the frequent intrusion of “gas alerts”, for which the gas shells of the enemy were responsible.

At 6.30 a.m. on the next morning, August 30th, we again moved off in artillery formation in the direction of the historical fort- ress city of Peronne.

On reaching the prominent ridge which, here, commands a sweep- ing view of the wide Valley of the Somme and the country beyond, we ascertained from our forward patrols that the attacking troops of the 2nd Australian Division had not been able to cross the extensive swamp in front of Peronne, and had been forced to withdraw to nearby trenches in the meantime.

This made it necessary for our Battalion to halt our advance and occupy the trench positions just behind the ridge for the remain- der of the day.

But, as soon as darkness fell, we moved forward over the ridge to relieve the troops of the 2nd Division in the occupation of a ystem of trenches and dugouts on the forward slope of the hill over- Looking Peronne, with the River Somme and its extensive marshes between.

To reach this area from our position on the ridge at Barleux thout heavy losses in manpower, it was essential to wait for dark_ was and then to ildribble” the men across a roadway which inevitably sas under heavy intermittent shell and machine-gun fire. This anvolved waiting for a burst of fire, then rushing a few men across the then waiting for the next burst, and so on, until, as in our case the whole Battalion had crossed safely.

When daylight dawned on the following day, the scene was one intense interest, as the greater part of the city was within on view, even without field-glasses.

Many enemy soldiers were seen running in and out of houses, and there was ample evidence that Peronne was full of enemy troops.

This came as a shock to us, as we were informed officially that Peronne was empty, and that the way for our advance was wide open.

Nothing could have been further from the truth, as we were soon to discover.

From the outset it was clear that the city would have to be taken by force of arms, and that this would certainly be a tough proposition.

It meant that, until proper reconnaisance had taken place and a plan of action prepared, we would be nailed down to the trench system in which we found ourselves, and in which we were a measured target for continuous heavy shell-fire and for machine-gun bursts on dugout entrances and similar positions, for which the enemy possessed accurate data.

Almost all the foregoing could be regarded as leading up to the incident now to be related, and from which this little story gets its name. This was necessary to create the proper background.

And so we find ourselves in the trenches and dugouts, looking across the river and the marshes over into Peronne itself, wondering what would be the next move in our advance.

It was night, probably around 9 p.m., and unusually quiet.

But this very quietness made it possible for us to hear. earlier than usual, the heavy sinister drone of enemy bombers.

Gradually they drew nearer and nearer, until we felt that they would soon be over our heads, in a position to start releasing their ugly packages.

And then! – a wonderful sight burst into view. Across the entire visible countryside, suddenly, and almost simultaneously marchlights flashed in all directions in an endeavour to locate the invaders.

ofving the criss-cross Paths . luminated lattice. Ptacular scene

Little did we know that we had so many good friends so close a hand as these searchlight units and their anti-aircraft batteries theted over the whole area within our vision, nor did we realis that the coverage was so complete

But there was more spectacle to follow.

Suddenly, a roar went up from our troops and those of adjacent units as there appeared a full view of a huge enemy bomber caught in the ruthless glare of several searchlight beams, which, having once found their target, hung on grimly.

Immediately the brilliant panorama assumed added lustre with the spontaneous fire from the ground batteries and from the fighter planes, all of which was revealed to us by the tracer shells and tracer bullets pouring into the now highly-illuminated bomber.

We did not have long to wait for the next sensation, as the great bomber burst into flames and commenced its downward spiral, lighting the surrounding sky in a dazzling glare.

But this was not all! For, before we had recovered from the first excitement, there appeared in the searchlight beams another enormous intruder, and, to our amazement, this also burst into flames and fell to earth, looking, on the way down, like a tremendous bon- fire of the sky.

For some time after all this the searchlights swept the sky, obviously seeking assurance that there were no companions of the two victims lurking in the vicinity.

Then, one by one, the lights went out, leaving just a black stillness.

I stood there, looking over the parapet of the trench. antemplating the uncanny silence after all the excitement, when, for a brief moment, the quiet was broken.

It was a voice – clearly that of an Australian soldier – moating up the slope from one of the trenches Lower down the hill The words were unmistakable:

“Well! Them anti-aircraft guns’ll do me!”