Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-04-27

How Sergeant Michael OLseaTy, the
fair-headed Irish guardsman, won his
'. c. and promotion on the battlefield
was related to a London Daily Mail
representative by Company-Quarter
master Sergeant ]. G. Lowry OF the
Irish guards. The Official record OF
the deed states that when forming
one OF storming party at Cuinchy
he rushed to the front and himself
killed ave Germans who were holding
the first barrfcade. after which he
attacked a second barricade. about
eighty yards farther on. which he
captured, after killing three Of the
enemy and making prisoners Of two
more. Lance-Corporal O'Leary thus
practically captured the enemy's posi-
ton by himself, and prevented the
rest OF the attacking party from be-
ing fred upon.
For more than a week" said Ser
geant Lowry. "our LIST battalion had
been holding trenches near the La
Bassee brickfield, and our losses were
heavy. The Germans had excellent
cover, both in trenches and behind
stacks OF bricks. and the bombs
thrown by their mortars cost US dear.
ly.
The night before the taking of the
brickfield we lost two officers among
the killed. and it was decided that
the trenches were too expensive to
hold. We had worked In 4S-hour turns,
fighting all the time, shipping and
throwing hand-grenades. We were
close up to the Germans. and we gave
them as good as they gave US. Par
ticularly at night the pace was fierce.
The Order to Attack.
I'VE were all delighted. therefore,
when the order came that the brick
field had to be taken by assault next
day at two o'clock.
The French were on our right. MI
company is No. 2 and Sergeant
OLeary's is No. l Company. They
were on our left and on their left
were some Coldstreams.
AT two O'Clock exactly next day
the British and French artillery OPEN
ed fire on the brickfield. My com.
pany was ordered from our trench to
keep up q hot rife and machine gun
fire across the German trenches and
points of cover. Our business was
to make the enemy keep their heads
down no matter how much they were
troubled by the artillery.
The diversion we and the artillery
caused led the Germans to expect
something was going to happen from
our direction, and they devoted par
okf RI
the rain of bullets and shrapnel had
been kept up for twenty minutes No.
l Company was let loose on our left.
They came out of the trenches with
yell, bayonets fixed, and went for
the enemy at the double.
oLeary's Dash. JI"L"' .
They had from 10s to $50 yards
to travel, and they went at tidy
pace, but were easily outstripped by
Lance Corporal O'Leary. as he then
was. He never looked to see IL his
mates were coming, and he must have
done pretty near even time over that
patch of ground. When he got near
the end of one of the German
trenches he droppsd, and so did many
others a long way behind him. The
enemy had discovered what was up.
"A machine gun was O'Leary's
mark. Before the Germans could man
age to slew it round and meet the
charging men O'Leary picked of the
whole of the five of the machine gun
crew, and, leaving some of the mates
to come up and capture the gun, he
dashed forward to the second barri-
eade, which the Germans were quit
ting in a hurry, and shot three more.
Some of the, enemy who couldn't
get away quick enough faced our men,
but very little bayonet work was need
ed. The majority did not wait, and
We picked off a good lot of them from
our trench as they left their holes.
81 had a job in keeping my men
in the trench. Why can't we go