FIGHTING ON THE CANAL

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2417, 24 March 1915, Page 6

FIGHTING ON THE CANAL

DIRTY, HUNGRY, & ILL-CLAD PRISONERS I 1 A N.Z. SOLDIER'S VIEWS ON WAR Cairo, February 12. No sooner had the second Australasian Expeditionary Force settled down at Heliopolis Camp than news came through that guns were booming on ■the Suez Canal (writes the speoial correspondent of the Melbourne "Argus"). lAYhen a few days later two battalions of infantry drawn from Colonel M'Cay's command in the first contingent marched through Cairo on. their way to the trenches all ranks vrere anxious to follow, although not many had yet recovered their "land legs. 3 ' Almost immediately afterwards news was brought in that the New Zealanders had been under fire, and later 400 Turkish prisoners were escorted to Cairo from the canal zone. Meanwhile officers'and men are working enthusiastically to prepare themselves for any emergency. How necessary preparation, is may be shown by two recent experiences. The Now Zealanders were training one day in detached sections on the distant, desert, when a courier galloped up with instructions that the force should reassemble at once, and go straight to the railway station, .where trains would be waiting to take them into the threatened Egyptian territory, packs and "baggage following a few days later. Then in the case of the 7th and Bth Australian Battalions

the circumstances were somewhat similar, commanding officers being called from their beds at midnight to be told •that they must move off at dawn. Both Lieutenant-Colonel H. E. Elliott and Lieutenant-Colonel W. K. Boltoii had .very little more sleep that night. Even the Turks appear to have only a hazy notion of what is happening. Two nights back a wounded officer was ibrought into Cairo, and he had a very yaguo idea of the position. He formed one .of a party which was permitted to Jay down a bridge at the canal and cross before being surrounded and seized. This pontoon set by the way was of wood and iron, ready for link"ing up, and had been'supplied by the Germans. It-had been laboriously dragged across the desert for 40 days by dromedaries and. a few oxen and buffaloes attached to Anatolian carts. Before he "followed the example of,- his subordinates; and surrendered this officer continued to fight until ]:e was severely wounded in the neck, a bullet passing within a fraction of an inch of the jugular vein, and almost grazing the- spinal- column as it came out. His 'knee has also, been shattered by a •splinter of shell. He carried a white dag and one other article in' a specially made leather case 'slung across his iback.

J The captured officer could not have boon .more than 32 years-of age, and, smolimg a cigarette in his special apartjQcnt away from the ' other brokenspirited prisoners, he presented a very iwoe-begone -appearance. ,; Immediately ithe visitors entered, however, he sprang to attention,"' and insisted, in* spite of ibis injuries, on remaining oh his feet .throughout the interview, although ■every now and then a twitch of the mouth indicated the pain he was enduring. A pair of ill-fitting, once black, Wellington boots, very ' much 'down at the heel, and a tight khaki drill uniform, with brown belt, to ivhich a water-bottle was attached, made np his oosfume,' while the bandages on his head had the appearance of a turban, and there was another swathe on his injured limb. He had no knowledge of English, but in reply to inquiries, in a mixture of French and Arablo, volunteered sonic interesting facts. _ He stated that German officers .■wore in charge of each battalion, brigade, and division, but that they did nothing to gain the sympathy or esteem of those under them, and the troops nad no love for their leaders. "In the Balkan war," he continued, "we-Turks Jiad splendid men and poor officers; now the soldiers are miserable cowards, and the officers are magnificent." He went on to say that the mon were always sullen and skulking, _ and either turned .tail and-ran for their lives or else threw down their arms and gave themselves HP to the opposing force. Tho unit .•with which he was associated, this officer explained, had two field-guns, ."which had been dragged across tho $ands by ewnels, and it was these, he claimed, that had plugged two holes into the side of the armed merchantman. anchored in the Canal, and which, as already mentioned, had been daubed all over grey, _ yellow, green, and brown, to cause it to melt into the surrounding landscape. He also, admitted. with some amusement, that it had been arranged that various units should .march from different points'to El Kantara, but that owing to defective compass work they had all .-reached the .wrong points. This officer was obviously a well-educated young man, with an imperfect knowledge of military matters.

At the moment of this conversation were 300 other soldier prisoners interned at Kasr-en-Nil, the military depot of tho Egyptian army, which for tho present is stationed at Khartum. Tho Turkish fighting men were dirty, hungry, and ill-clad, eager to scramble for cigarettes, but otherwise sulky and loverawed by their surroundings. It Was apparent that each of them expected to be taken out and shot at any moment, and consequently had the jumps whenever a door moved. These men had surrendered without firing a /cartridge, and they seemed glad enough to have the fighting part of the business at an end, even if tho future were (uncertain. All were barefooted, fhinly iclad, and with hoods over their heads, which seemed to bo stuck through the •reverse end of a black sack, so as to form a kind of shirt. These ravenous man have been fed, and reassured again and again, but they have been cruellv deceived so often that they have Ho faith in human promises. Batches.of prisoners from the Canal zone have been brought through from Ismailia to Cairo almost every night since the second division has been un"der canvas. Thousands of people— mostly Egyptians, Arabs, and Frenchmen—wait outside the central station until after midnight, just to catch a glimpse _of the _ unfortunates, but the authorities considerately spare the captured meu from the eyes of the crowds by hurrying them through unfrequented streets in wagons during tho early lours, when some part of Cairo's restless population ie asleep. Most of these men had made no attempt to fight, and many fronkly declared their disapproval Of the war and their dread of ill-treat-ment at the hands of German officers, on whom they had intended firing the firsts hots if compelled to use their rifles ;at all. Only four enemy soldiers have succeeded, so far, in slipping across the canal into Egypt without being captured, and these have now been outlawed by the authorities, tho native population being warned that anv assistance offered to the wanderers will bring severe penalties in its train. A report from the frontier states that the provisions and packed ammunition of the Turco-German force were attacked in the desert one night hv the voracious rats which swarm in the Sinai desert and cause tremendous damage.

AH tlie actual fighting, so far reportotl, has been in the neighbourhood of.Serapcum. whioli is midway between tlio Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah, where there is a rocky barrier,- and at. El Kantara (the bridge}, the only spot, along the (.'anal at which communication can be established without the aid of boats, Both spots arc sronel? cn-

trenched, the defenders being dug in deeply. So far as can be learned at the base only three New Zealandt-rs have been wounded out of the Australasian complement along the canal, and at time of writing these had not been brought into Cairo. One soldier from the Dominion remarked, in referring to the engagement, "If this is war, I am disappointed with it. We train for months in company and battalion drill, then when wo are ready we lie waiting day by day in the dirt watching for an enemy who, by some miraculous means, ourn. chiefs know is near by, although we never catch sight of him. Then suddenly there is a llicking of the dust here and there, and a sound as if grasshoppers were jumping about, until ono realises ho is under tire, which brings with it instantly the inclination to tuck in closer, and thiuk the earthworks are not so bad after all. But the excite- ) ment 6oon becomes intense, and the danger is all forgotten in the desire . to get your shots in. It seems quite natural to see men throw up their arms and drop in their tracks as they creep forward, while a mate here and there goes over, without seeing what hit him. But tlie Turks show the white feather at ho firs sign of danger, and eiher bol off or give hemselves up. They ave 110 heart in the war, and are anxious to get their part over as quickly as possible. They are a filthy lot —worse than the lowest type of Egyptian, and much dirtier."