SUEZ CANAL ATTACK

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2411, 17 March 1915, Page 6

SUEZ CANAL ATTACK

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGHTING

ENEMY'S TERRIBLE LOSS

(By the Special Representative of the l Melbourne "Age.") Suez Canal, February 11. "During the night of February 2 and 3 the enemy attempted to cross the canal near Toussoum." _ In this simplo sentence has the official communication been mado of the' long-threatened attack on the Suez Canal by the Turkish Army—the attack which reached a head only after a week's hesitancy aud delay, and which ended after 48 hours of desperate fighting in lamentable failure, The .outstanding features of this hazardous undertaking have reached you by cable, but the desert was still stained with blood, and graves, were still open, when 1 passed along through our trenches to what had been the firing line a short time before. Of many desperate adventures in the land of the Pharaohs—the suppression of rebellions, expeditions against the misguided Arab —none" needed greater organisation, reaourco, courage and determination to bring it within measurable distance of success than this effort to cross the narrow waterway that so nearly unites East and West. Its failure has been due, probably, not to any want of courage on tho part of tho enemy,, but to sheer lack of appreciation of the forces both of nature and the Empire which stood in the way. Looking disapssionately, if one can look in such a way, at this attack, no other motive for it can bo found than that of a political move, ju which the Turks wero the instrument in the hands of a relentless ally, and they have been sacrificed in an effort to break down British prestige in Egypt. By the crushing defeat inflicted, our arms shine more gloriously, our enemies are worse confounded. Egypt is still more calm. Briefly, the situation presented to the invaders was a canal 90 miles in length, protected except for ten miles adjacent to Port Said, defended by inundation, and by a lino representative of the English and Indian troops entrenched on the banks, and a deep blue channel dotted at intervals with grim grey warships. The Turkish Army came swarming over the hills, which lie back in the desert ten miles or more from the canal. Patrols had come into touch, sniped at ono another and. retreated. Our aviators reported a general advance, and advised of large bodioß of men moving in sluggish caterpillar fashion as they saw them following the caravan routes from the general camps in the heart of the Sinai Peninsula, where water was plentiful. They canio on over the last range of mountains and deployed from Kantara to Suez, and in .one night swept down on the canal at a score' of points, hoping to find a weak link in the chain of defence. The attacks were for the most part olaborate feints, designed to,cover the main attack at, or rather between, Toussoum . and Serapeum, midway in the canal, which suggested the best strategic advantage, as both' railway and water communication approaches close to the canal bankß here. To cut these would he to isolate Lower Egypt. The Main Turkish Attack . From tho last day in January, when the final reconnaissance had been made over tho hills opposite Toussoum and Serapeum, six miles south of Lake Timsah, the British commanders watched largo masses of the enemy moving like black clouds along the western slope of ranges, and knew that guns, baggage and camel trains had been moved up from the ba6e, Molya Harab, au oasis to the southeast, where the chief water supply was located. Day after day our patrols plodded through sand only, retiring behind trenches at nightfall. On the night of the 2nd the Turkish force began to work its way across the desert from the last campin" ground at Katib el Khell, twelve miles from the canal. The order for advance was given at 6 p.m. that day, by which time thore were thin trickles of the enemy's men streaming down tho hills for -10 milos to the north and 40 miles\away to the south of the canal. That night and next morning the attack developed at Kantara, and points north of Lake Timsah and south towards Suez. There was almost pitch darkness, for'the moon had set early, and clouds obscured the stars. At 3.30 a.m. on the 3rd shots were first fired on tho Tossoum post. The alarm spread up and down the line, and a torrent of rifle fire burst from the British trenches and iTurkish advance parties from the desert, which had been bare of life at dusk. There appeared a thousand flashes from the enemy's rifles. The spot-where the lurks had dashed forward was covered with tussocks, which gave them somo cover, and here they commenced to dig in trenches which completely covered them, but this was not known until the light came. Meanwhlie ten minutes after the first burst of firo the first advance party of the enomy reached the water's edge. It was composed of scores of men carrying what might have been mistaken for coffins, but which were pontoons and rafts, thirty men bearing forward each boat. The boats were designed after, the pattern used in the German .army. They were of zinc, and were .made in Constantinople. Each of them was flat bottomed, and fitted with hooks and rings for linking together as a pontoon bridge. They had been carried on wagons drawn by oxen thus far, used incidentally for holding drinking water in the desert, dragged for miles through sand for the filial rush on tht caual, and then lifted on the shoulders of troops amidst a hail of bullets. The first beats were slipped with a splash into tho water the Turks had chosen so carefully. The banks at this place are low, and there is a series of depressions which enabled tho troops to advance without much difficulty, but once on tho bank of the canal nothing could protect them from the withering fire from the opposing side 100 yards away. Most of the pontoons (eighteen seem to havo been brought to the edge of the canal) were launched midway between Toussoum and Serapeum—some over a low rubble wall that afforded a certain amount of protection. The Turk 3 crowded into the boats, rowing hard for the western bank, but of six boats that started only two touched the opposite shore. By this time the quick-firing guns concealed on the banks were mowing down men whom the gunne's could not see on the opposite bank, but their shrieks filled the air. Tho Turkish crossing was covered by three machine guns, while from the rear their heavy artillery senrelied our lines with shrapnel that hurst overhead and reined bullets on the sand. Four boat loadfe were ! sunk in midstream, and the pontoons i were riddled with bullets. Tho Turks, many of whom were wearing white bindi der floats, wero shot down in the water i or perished in the general struggle, i From two boats that reached the west • bank one-half of a. company that charged up the sand dunes were shot down. Not a man reached the benches. Before the others, seeing the fate of their ■ comrades, could dig themselves in a 1 score or more were killed The remainder were frantically entrenching in soft mud —I could see the marks of their fingers—and were crouching down bc- > hind' the tussocks and reeds. There, in the morning, the.v were found and ' captured. .Meanwhile .other boats -had Ibeen launched. A whole brigade of the enemy, composed of 4000 Syrians, Arjuonians, and Anatolians, was trying to

force the passage. Boat after boat was hurried up across the sand, now swept by terrific fire. The whole of the boat crews were killed and crushed 'beneath the flat-bottomed craft. Boats that were launched and filled with troops became at once floating targets for our machine guns to crumple. j The Game was Up. Gallantly the enemy fought- wlien they had failed to effec.t the crossing and when their boats were scuttled. They had failed in their objective. On either flank our riflo fire from entrenched positionh held by Indian and New Zealand troops swept their ranks. Their artillery was sending shells wide of the mark, not seeing their objective ill the darkness. With dawn the attack must bo abandoned. The appearance of a battleship settled any chance of .a bridge being built, for the last pontoons afloat wore riddled with shell tiro. The banks were strewn with dead aud the timber of rafts and beams to connect the pontoons. ■ Our artillery, now that there was light, was dropping shells over the Turkish force raking the ' lines from end to end with an enfilading fire, but the enemy's attack did not crumple yet. All day tho fighting continued at a 1200 yards range. Entrenched .amongst iand ridges dotted with bushes, - the Turks were only driven back late in tho afternoon, having suffered appalling losses. From entrenched positions both on the .right and the left flnak, attacking parties of Indian troops had lined, the ridge and fired down on tho retiring enemy, but the Turkish battery of four 15-pounders was in a good position and pounded shrapnel on the Canal stations now visible along the line of fire and pine trees that border the Canal on the west bank. They had managed to bring up a 6-inch gun which thiew shells into our camp. Wheu darkness came again the Turks retreated precipitously and joined the main body, that had lain concealed in a great depression about seven miles away. This wa£ a force estimated at 15,000 men ready to dash up when the bridge should be built. They had now, with all the baggage, been hurriedly withdrawn, and continued a deteremined resistance. The brigade on whom had fallen the fighting was meant to cover this retreat, but the loss of life was enormous. From Lake Timsah a battleship gunfire hastened the retreat, as shells burst above the fleeing column. , A German Officer Killed. All night on the 3rd there was.sniping from tho Turkish ' trenches. It. was believed that only a few troops had been left, abandoned by their comrades. Early in the morning a party set out to drive them from their position, but their numbers were larger than was estimated, and reinforcements had to be brought up. Soon tho eucmv was surrounded and attacked from all points. Meanwhile a converted cruiser had been struck by the Turkish guns. She steamed up the Canal towards the point of battle. Though her bridge wa» protected with sand-bags, the fire of the entrenched Turks wounded the pilot, whose leg had to be amputated. He, however, heroically insisted on guiding the ship back into Lake Timsah, where she was 'unreachable by the Turkish fire. It was in the banks of the Canal at this place that a German officer. Major von Den Hagen, was shot, and as I passed the spot I saw silhouetted against the blue sky the black wooden cross erected over his grave, while along tho banks of the Canal were yet moist sands covering the bodies of over 600 Turkish troops fallen in the vain attempt to bridge tho Canal. Amongst the various articles found on the officer was a khaki wallet attached to the scabbard of his sword, containing a white flag about thirty inches square. U the top end was a small green pocket, into which could bo inserted the muzzle of a rifle, while a long cord was attached to the other end with a ring in the middle, thus making it an effective and definite signal of truce. The wallet was about three inches wide and 18 .inches deep, with bands of khaki binding it to tho scabbard. It forms one of the most remarkable "trophies" yet taken during the war. Enemy's Terrible Losses, All night during the action and on the succeeding night the enemy could be seen by flashes of firo and tho glare of bursting shells carrying away their dead, each on the backs of a single man.while the wounded were taken on stretchers. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate the losses sugered, but our troops buried nearly 600 bodies, whilo there are traccs in the desert of appalling havoc. It seems certain that the enemy's information was astray, and that they never'expected to find the forcc they did at this point. One officer questioned during the action replied, "Vous etres trcs pretis." Over- 300 prisoners were captured, some horribly wounded, in this engagement alono. They state that they carried the pontoons threo hours, and that the oxen which had brought them through tho desert had been killed for rations. One of the .most extraordinary feats of the enemy was the use of a 15-ccnti-mctre gun. Wheel marks, showed that the caterpillar wheels were not used, as first suggested, but an iron flange of 24 inches wide was distinctly marked in the .harder sand. Our losses in the engagement wore over i 100. An official communique contained the following descriptive accounts of tho advances given by. two chawushes of the 75th Turkish Regiment, captured at Toussoum: — "Our division, the 25th, left Bar Easaba for Hafir el Auja, and then, crossing Wadiel Aris, continued tho march in the desert until we reached Kataib, four hours distant from the Caual. We brought many boats, which were carried on oars and dragged by oxen and buffalo. At Kataib el Klieil we were divided into parties, each of which was ordered to attack a point on tho Canal. Our party, composed of half a tabur (500 or 600 men), was ordered to attack Toussoum. We came as far as the Canal bank, but were met with a hot, well-aimed fire, which caused a great many casualties, and then we were surrounded by troops from behind, and so wo were hemmed, in and taken prisoners. Arig Boy, our commandant, was wounded, and carried ofr tho field. The next officer was'tfounued and taken prisoner." A lieutenant ol' the 74th' regiment states: "My corps the march for the finafobjective at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, February 2, and moved through the night, and was in action at dawn. 1 was in the second line until the first line was checked, and then moved up with my detachment. The rifle fire was very fierce as we approached the canal, but we managed to get a boat launched with our half company. After wo bad sustained severe casualties, the boat was riddled and sunk. It was then I was wounded. I landed with two boatmen and a third mail, all that was left of my half company. I and oiio of the boatmen alone survived, and then I surrendered." The Feints Along the Front. While the battle, was raging at Toussoum and Serapeum, fierce attacks were beiwj a»da on Juutira, iad Is?

mailch, as well as other posts along the canal. From official reports it appears that the attack in the vicinity of Kantara commenced before daylight on February 3, but was met by a strong fire from the trenches, and could make no headway. They wero never able to approach close to the positions, and a village on the cast bank where they might have found cover had been razed b„> our artillery many days before. Kantara is the point at which the caravan route from Gaza and El Arisch cuts the canal, and is one of the guard stations of the canal. The enemy left 21' dead and 25 wounded on the desert, while many prisoners fell into our hands. Later in the day they returned to the attack, coming on from the south, but were stopped 1200 yards from the lines, and again forced out of range. Our losses were very slight, while from the latest reports I gather that over 200 of the enemy had been buried at this point. Indian and some New Zealand troops were in action during this attack. Since the firing ceased many deserters have been captured. Attack on Ismalleh Ferry. Just at the northern shore of Lake Ttmsah, where the canal again shoots between high banks and sand dunes, is a ferry. On the west bank there is a broad patch bare of sand, which runs back to the road .which leads into Ismaileh. A mile away, above the ferry, ii the French _ hospital, from which a commanding view of the desert can bo obtained. ,The hospital itself is a splendid artillery target from tho east. In the vicinity of tlhis ferry the Turks launched an attack on the morning of the 2nd, advancing under cover of a sand storm. In these 6torms it is impossible to see more than a few feet in front. Sand cuts into the face and fill's the eyes. It stifles, 'l'he Turks apparently become no more used to these (conditions during the march through the desert than the casual visitor would be. They did not attempt to continue the fight at close quarters. They contented themselves with firing into the storm, being prodigal with ammunition, in reply to our searching fire. At 3 p.m. they retired. On tho following morning at daylight they were found entrenched 800 yards from our position. As the mists rolled' away the line of their trenches, with newly-exposed whito sand, could be distinctly traced. During the day there was an intermittent fire, but no attempt was made to advance, tho Turks being content to remain in their trenches, and tho British with holding their rifle fire, whilo the artillery from a Turkish point four miles distant shelled the ferry and attempted, quite unsuccessfully, to batter .the warships in the lake. Shells were bursting over the hospital and falling in. some sand dunes. None reached the town. Tho greater number fell into the lake, though a few struck the warships and did some damage. The vessel_ that suffered most was an unoffending dredger; but the combined fire of navy and artillery, skilfully placed a spot towards El Ferdan (another canal station), soon silenced th» enemy's guns, which, it is believed, were now abandoned and buried in the sand. The action stopped here. At nightfall the Turks wore seen creeping up towards barb-wire entanglements, but no night attack was attempted, and before morning the force had beon withdrawn. Except for a brief twenty hours, no shipping has been delayed in tho canal, which is open for traffic during the day.' Tha Enemy In Full Flight, By the morning of the sth there was hardly a Turk (except those who wero determined to givo themselves up) with« in twenty miles of the Caual. The latest reports aro that they have retired fifty milos to the south-east. It is considered that tho retirement is due both to tho . discouragement of the troops and a lack of water in the western part of the Sinai desert. Opinion is divided as to whether they are likely to renew tho attack, as the moral effect of their defeat has been very pronounced, but it is alleged that an army from Smyrna is to launch a second assault. Prisoners and certain' authorities believo it most unlikely that there will be any further attacks by. tho troops just turned back. Scores of deserters have been brought to headquarters. All state that they were forced to take up arms against thoir will, and aro glad to have escaped. Rumours to the same effect that previously reachcd Cairo are confirmed by the men, who state that they belonged to an irregular body forcibly impressed from the Bedouins and Fellahin of Southern Palestine. The Turkish offioer who caused this action was Muntaz Bey, at one time A.D.C. to Enver Pasha, now with the Turkish advance army. It is asserted here that the Turkish Commander-in-Chief, Djemah Pasha, was present during the action, at Toussoum. The exact number of the enemy's losecs cannot be estimated. but' every day dead bodies aro discovered. Until the 12th 1 learned that over 1000 had been buried. ' According to an official communique it is allowed that there are five wounded lor each man killed, which would bring j Turkish casualties over the whole froilt up to oyer 6000. This is exclusive of 700 prisoners in our hands. Wo have also captured three machine guiis .and a con'voy of 90 camels, with stores and ammunition, while over 800 rifles and belts have been brought to Cairo. There are eighteen pontoons in possession of the British. Many have been draggd from the bottom of tho Canal.. Some were found in the desert, abandoned by the enemy, and some boats wore dragged back when the retreat ftanVictorians Ordered te the Front, A tremendous wave of enthusiasm passed through the camp at Meha oil the evening of the 2nd, just before midnight, when news came through ordering some of our troops up to the'bat-tle-front on the Canal, and that the Victorian troops were to be ready .to movo in six hours. Word passed -from tent to tent, line'to'line, and cheers rose in tho night from the troops concerned by the order. • Then came tho mutterings of a hundred voices. Already word had spread in Cairo of the advancing' Turkish armies. There had been some fifing, with the result unknown. Now the troops saw tho need of mobilisation schemes and route marches, when they had packed up all tho equipment used in routine training for tho past few weeks. Lights gleamed in the tents where men were writing letters home, for once they reached the trenches only post-cards could be dispatched, under the careful supervision of the censor. Thousands ot letters were written by soldiers, sprawling in the sand, until reveillo brought them to their duties. They came tumbling out of tho tents, cheerful as crickets, skipping, joking, commenting on tho unfortunate lot of the men who had to remain behind. They listened with tolerant sympathy to the wails of tho battalions left in camp. Nono who could h«lp it were going to miss this opportunity of going to the firing line. When the column was ready to move off at 9.30 the troops in camp, probably nearly 10,000, lined tho white road to give a lusty cheer to the men who were first off. With all bangnge stored in wagons, and with waterwagons and ammunition carts, the unite moved from the lines. Other regiments sent hands to play the troops through the streets to the station at Cairo. Cheer alter chcev echocd back from the hills and tho Pyramids that looked down on the camp. Cheer alter cheer followed them as tlie.v marched, equipped ready for the firing line with 150 rounds of ammunition, down the white road. They looked fit for war. The dry winds of the. desert, the hot sun of. months, and the .open-air life had turned thoir skins, ruddy brown, , and even men of the poorest physique have developed lo an appreciable degree. . The column turned into Pyramid Road, and. af the* boliovcdj ior ever, tutafjsl fchjc

on the Sphinx and the desert. The weather was dull. Grey clouds obscured the sun, and it was a pleasant march of ten miles to Cairo Station. Entraining was carried on at three points. In a little over an hour the trains were loaded. Tho troops, while they waited, ate a frugal meal and unstrapped their equipment. As they marched they must have carried 701b. each. Many managed to cram'little luxuries into their bags. Others, mindful of long marches, left small packs with their comrades in camp to he picked up later at the base. Just as the first train packed with Gdu troops crowding at the window was about to steam out of the station another troop train drew in, coming from the seaboard. The men in this train wore straight from Home, belonging to the Light Horse Brigade, ju6t going into the desert at Maadi, to continue training. Proudly the men from the desert yelled across space, "We are the —tli off to tho front." Within Sound of tho Guns. As the train crept near to the caaial the troops heard their first big gunfire. It was this night the general attack had been made by the enemy, and the distant roar of guns and tne faint crack of rifles could be heard. A shell burst amongst the distant line of pine trees ahead and lit up buildings, but the camp beside the station was very still. The mon rolled themselves in their blankets and jay down in the sand by the railway ■ siding. The New Zealand tents were pitched near by, and troops were standing round the camp fires already burning low in the middle of the night and the early hours of tho morning. Other troop trains came puffing in; Above the general murmur of voices or stealthy black figures stumbling through the dark came the high challenge of the sentries. Indian sontries w.statirmod at a soolre bf points. So came one Australian, sleepy and tired, and was challenged. "Halt! Who goes there?" The Indian troops know the English com--1 mands. "Friend, you silly ass. Who did you think it was?" Yet not two miles away were the trenches and the Turkish line. But a mile further on was the canal. To I cross it was the reason of the enemy's presence. Just ahead, marching along an asphalted road, was the company of Australians returning to camp after 24 hours in the trenches. Beside tho usual kit, they had strapped round their shoulders waterproof sheets. On » couple of service waggons ahead was the rest of their equipment, comprising a couple of blankets apiece. I noticed that the wagons were New Zealand vehicles, for the two forces are joining into one, each helping the other. They had been relieved by some Dominion troops along the section of trenches where the Turkish fire had once been fierce. The men had to sleep in couples, pooling blankets and lying as close as possible for .warmth in what trenches thoy were. It opened their eyes to the real thing, and what it meant to take cover in earth like wombats, and dig down and down until neither snoinci ers nor head could bo seen, nor yet the top of the peaked tent that served as a general store. Long, narrow communication trenches, twisting, turning at angles back from the very outposts oi the positions to stronger defences in the rear, built of rocks and protected from shrapnel by corrugated iron and stones—what places in which to' becomo confused. As bullets spat up the sand overhead on either side of tho open way, with scores of passages leading by irregular ways to loopholes, where sand bags were piled. Many realised now that, well as they, may have been entrenched in the desert, they had but scratched the surface as compared to this work. On a slender pontoon bridge in the middle of tho canal I halted. A stream of protesting camels was passing over the deep blue waters laden with water tanks, picks and shovels. They rocked the bridge, and I rested my hand on the protecting rails. The drivers twisted the tails of the beasts, and the train moved forward more rapidly. It was one of the bridges flung across the canal by our engineers, which had gained them unstinted praise from an officer high in the Royal Engineers. He had already protested against their being moved, and now officially recorded that tho Australian Engineers had done remarkably good work on the canal with the utmost dispatch. Tlie.v hari constructed a floating bridge without tieing a single knot. Their zeal was unbounded, for they had toiled until after 2 a.m. until the work was completed. "And," concluded the officer, "they are the best lot of fellows I have met." The bridge was broken up into sections about 14 to 18 feet long. Wooden, beams, cunningly jointed, had been fitted together on buoys used to mark the course of tho canal, and commandeered now for the work in hand. Fourteen of these sections would in a little more than ten minutes be floated together at any point and joined, making nn excellent way 10 feet wide, capable of bearing tho regular tramp of infantry in fours. While I was watching the bridge being built, ordinary river punts wore lashed together t-o allow tlie camels to pass over, and were then broken up as a steamer came through the placid waters. It had been the Turkish objective to build in such a way. They had come with boats specially prepared, and abjectly failed. As the launch churned the waters of tbo canal into foam, a tug dragging a bargo approached from Serapeum, where the battle had been fought for the crossing of the canal. The barge was deeply laden wi'th stores and chaff. Smoking a briar pipe and lying at full length on cliafi bags was an Australian soldier. Near him were twb New Zealanders, in Baden Powell hats, arguing about how some shell had burst. In front of the barge were Indiau soldiers, their brown legs dangling in the waters, quietly combing their beards. At the stern w?s a group of our men and officers studying a plan. An officer raised his field glasses to look out over the desert towards the hills over which the Turkish column had last been seen. Following his gaze my eye caught a- camel train moving across the dosert with a number of horsemen riding apart. They wore no doubt setting out to visit abandoned Turkish camps at the foot of and aaongst the hills, but this was only one of many parties of troops we passed. On the banks where Turkish troops had fallen there were patrols of infantry,' and they held up for observation the blackened belt of a dead Turk, and a fragment of broken shell found, buried in the sand. In the still of tho morning, in tho radiant colours of the desert and the waterway, that the sand should here be stained with blood seemed unreal, but grim realisation was borne home by a Turkish soldier dead on the bank, with wafer lapping round his yellow peaked cap, drawn tightly over his head, bis crumpled uniform and worn boots reflected on the water with a background of green bush and yellow sand dune. Australians Return to Cairo. Indian troops in France as said to be loth to leave the trenches when there is still fighting to be done. I have seldom seen a more disappointed company than our lads when the order was issued to return to Cairo; but now that tho enemy were fleeing across the peninsula there was no reason for them to remain. To tbo officers commanding there was the knowledge that the troops had responded splendidly to tlie call. They had been found ready, had left and arrived at th» scene, of action barely twenty-four hours after lieing called. Surely therefore the time for sailing to Franco could not be much longer delayed. ,