World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
On the right of Irish Nationalists fought the Ulstermen, keeping in
absolute line with their comrades-in-arms, in friendly rivalry with them
to give glory to Ireland. They advanced through Spanbroekmolen, a
fortress position, through Hell Wood, to the top of Wytschaete Ridge,
and it is curious that these two bodies of Irish troops had an almost
identical experience. The South and West Country Irishmen of Dublin and
Munster took 1000 prisoners. So did the Ulstermen. When the Catholic
Irishmen were shaken by the mine explosion a whole company of Germans
was hurled high in its eruption, and this awful fate happened to another
company of Germans in front of the Ulstermen. Without thought of old
strife at home, these men fought side by side and are proud of each
other. Their Irish blood has mingled, and out of it some spirit of
healing and brotherhood should come because of this remembrance. An
Irish soldier poet has made a new version of "The Wearing of the Green,"
inspired by the guns that wear green jackets of foliage and cover the
advance of the Irish brigade. I heard some of the verses this morning:
_They love the old division in the land the boys come from,
And they're proud of what they did at Loos and on the Somme.
If by chance we all advance to Whitesheet and Messines,
They'll know the guns that strafe the Huns were wearing of the green._
Wytschaete and Messines are safe in our hands, and our troops are far on
the other side. A party of the enemy is holding out in Battle Wood, but
that will not be for long, and is only a small episode. To-day and
yesterday German troops massed at Warneton, as though for a
counter-attack, but each time were scattered by our guns. From our new
ridge, so long an evil barrier against us, we have observation on them,
and the tables are turned.
III
AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
JUNE 9
The ground gained by our troops in the great battle of Messines remains
firmly in our hands, and enemy attempts to counter-attack have been
broken by our artillery, in most cases before the German troops have
been able to advance. Last evening shortly before dusk of another day of
brilliant sunshine, almost too hot for our men in shadeless country of
the battlefields, SOS signals all along the line gave warning of German
endeavours to thrust back our new front line far beyond the Messines
Ridge, and away north of St.-Eloi on the old line of the Ypres salient,
now by our victory no longer a salient.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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