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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0508.PDF
their hold on the Hindenburg line go to make up a particu- larly illuminating picture of the strenuous efforts of the present German Staff to keep the Britishers at bay. The Kaiser's favourite Lehr Regiment—nicknamed the " Cock- chafers "—in this instance was the particular unit selected for the honour of being wiped out for the cause of Hohen- zollernism, and so thoroughly were they finally sacrificed on the altar of Militarism that mighty few of them ever got the chance of flying back to their jumping-off ground. Getting down to the official account, the story runs as follows. " WHEN the Lehr Regiment got out into rest on May 12th it was informed that, in consideration of its prowess, it was to bs given the task of taking back the portion of the Hinden- burg line which had bsen lost by the Germans on May 3rd. The attack was to bs very carefully practised, and after it had b2en carried out the regiment would be definitely taken out of the line for a rest. " Aeroplane photographs were taken of the part of the line held by the Australians on the right, where they .touched the G2rmans in the Hindenburg line. And from these a set of dummy trenches was dug in the rest area. The regiment set itself to practise against these replica trenches exactly MAY 24, 1917. the attack which it would make against the right of the Australians in the Hindenburg line. It went over the attack first by day, and then afterwards repeated it by night. There were men told off with little white screens which were to be planted to show exactly the position which they had reached. Each man in the attack knew where to go, and what to do, so that even if his company officers and non-commissioned officers were killed the attack would go on unaltered. Three days later -the regiment marched back to take up its posi- tions. " In the actual attack in the early hours of the morning, within two minutes of the assault having begun, the results of all this careful planning and practice had been thrown to the winds. All that remained of it was between 200 and 300 Germans in a section of Australian trench with scarcely any idea of where they were, and what was happening, and machine-gun bullets sweeping above their heads and making any sort of movement highly dangerous." A British barrage then drew a line just behind the Germans, so they had no alternative but to see the thing through, and Mr. Bean ultimately concludes his recital with the statement, " and I do not think that a single German of those then in the place reached the German lines." ROYAL VISIT TO MESSRS. VICKERS' WORKS, BARROW.—Top photo.: Mr. Albert Vickers, Chairm in of Vickers, Ltd., receiving H.M. the King at the works. Below: Their Majesties crossing Walney Bridge to the Vickers model town. 508
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