"yelling like a lot of bushrangers”

Mont St Quentin
30th-31st Aug. 1918] THE CLIMAX
The troops, who had now been fighting for twelve hours and moving for the greater part of two days and nights, were, this time, given an issue of rum before action - the usual Australian practice was to issue it after action. Their number was few, most Australian battalions at this time having only 300 men available for action. The attack was to be made by two battalions (17th and 20th) going straight for the hill and ignoring on their right the woods and strong fortress of Peronne (the two other battalions following in close support and reserve). The troops being so few, the company leaders decided that the best chance lay in making a noise as they attacked. “yelling”, as Captain E. T. Manefield urged, “like a lot of bushrangers”.
At 5 a.m. on August 31st, as the grey sky began to show behind the Mount, which was dimly visible across a gentle dip, the Australian field artillery laid its fire on certain targets ahead, in the first place along 2500 yards of one of the old trench-lines which, with their belts of rusty wire, seamed the depression and the upslope beyond. The cheering platoons at once ran into crowds of Germans, who seemed bewildered and quickly surrendered - indeed in many cases they were simply pushed to the rear with their hands up, leaving their machine-guns lying on the ground. They were from one of the best divisions of the German Army, the 2nd Guard, which had just been sent up to relieve the overstrained garrison. “It all happened like lightning,” says the history of the Guard Alexander Regiment, “and before we had fired a shot we were taken unawares.”