BACK FROM WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2480, 5 June 1915, Page 6

BACK FROM WAR

THE GALLIPOLI FIGHT THE STORY OF THE LANDING BY ONE WHO WAS THERE "A RAIN OF SHELL AND MACHINE GUN FIRE "I'm going back. I'm determined to go back, if they will have me, and I hopo they will. I want to do my share and make up for the losses our men suffered at that landing." Thus Sergeant Gabriel, of Petone, who fought with tho Canterbury Battalion on that morning of April 25, when the colonial troops covered themselves with glory in that brilliant landing, and in tho splendid charge which followed it. He returned to New Zealand by tho Wimmera collapsed, exhausted and sick. He has officers and men invalided home. They are not wounded men. In fact Sergeant Gabriel was the only man of the party to set foot on Gallipoli, and he was only five hours in the firing line before ho i.olkpsod, exhausted and sick. He has seen service before with the East Lancashire Regiment, and he has the medal for the Somaliland campaign. "I've seen soldiering; I've been on active service before," he said to a Dominion reporter last night, "and I say that the Now Zealand soldiers aro good enough to fight alongside of, or against, any troops in tho world." Off to the Front, Then he went on to describe the great expedition and the landing. "On April 12," he said, "w3 all had orders to parade in full marching order, with our rations, kits packed and stacked, all ready to go to the front. The same night we left Zeitoun station for Alexandria. There were something under 100 transports, mostly German prize ships and British vessels, wero waiting to take us across to Lemnos Island, and to accompany us there was a strong escort of British and French ships of war. The run across occupied two days. All of our fellows had a look at tho famous Queen Elizabeth, and wo afterwards saw a good deal of her. At Lemnos tho roar of the heavy guns of the Allied Fleet firing at the Turkish batteries was deafening. The Landing. "We landed at different points on the Gallipoli Peninsula on Sunday, April 25. The British landed practically unopposed, the French also wero practically unopposed, but the Australians and New Zealanders imet trouble. The first of the Australians were put ashore at 4.30 a.m. amid a rain of shell and machine-gun fire, and the difficulty of the landing was increased by barbed wire entanglements on the shore, reaching down actually into the water. Many men fell killed or wounded in that first onset. The Australians were pressed back after effecting a most difficult landing, and the New Zealanders were sent to reinforce them. From 8.30 to 10.30 a.m. our men were ferried ashore in the ships' boats. Then, with a brilliant charge, tho Australasians carried a hill of some 500 feet in height. The 3rd Auckland and the 16th Waikato landed first, with them tho 13th North Canterbury, and tho 2nd South Canterbury Companies. All these units lost heavily. The Waikato ivere the worst sufferers. Only 16 men answered tho roll-call out of about 270 of this company. Tho Canterbury Regiment lost their colonel, who died in the firing-line, almost before he had given an order. We didn't know howmany wero wounded or how many were killed. We were all mad with the excitement of tho fight, Firing at the Red Cross. "The Turks fired at our Red Cross men at every opportunity, but they paid dearly for it. Turks wero afterwards seen stripping Australian and New Zealand dead, and they were picked off in considerable number by sur snipers. The Turkish losses during the operation 'to prisoners, killed, and wounded must have been 20,000 men. Sixteen machine-guns and two ICrupps were captured. On our side the Wellington machine-gun section wassmash--5d up, nearly every man being put out >f action. The Otago machine-gun section was also smashed up, their gun being put out of action The Canterbury ind Auckland machine-gun sections did marvellous work. The prisoners that ivere captured by tho New Zealanders ivere set to work dragging the heavy juns of the artillery up the cliff into Msition to cover the advance of the N'ew Zealand infantry. One section of iho N.Z.F A. unfortunately met with lisaster, tlieir gun being put out of iction by a direct hit. The Queen Elizabeth. "Covering cur advance the Queen Elizabeth played havoc with the enemy latteries, firing her 15-inch guns. These lemolished the Turkish forts, and the sxplosions of her shells wero so terrific is to cau6o some distress amongst our nen by the awful concussion. Tho fire vas particularly eifcctive against a lidden fort which the fire control had some difficulty in picking up. As soon is it was discovered, about half-a-dozen shells firod in quick succession demolshed the fort and exploded the maga:ine "The Australasian troops drove the furks back a distance or about three ind a half miles in all in thirty-eight lours' fighting. The fighting continued nth less intensity for Gome three days, mt that was all I saw of it. The operations had progressed up till ;.hat time. New Zealand _ reinforcelients were being sent rapidly across 'rom Egypt, a number of the mounted

men being transferred from their units | into infantry. All fclio availabla artillery lias been sent to tlie Dardanelles. The ambulance strength proved quite inadequate, and wo had a number of men in this servico put out of action. Our wounded were all being taken to hospitals in Egypt and England, and I believe they are being well cared for. There was, I understand, a shortago of nurses, and our wounded were anxiously awaiting tho arrival of the N,ew Zealand nurses. About the Enemy. "Tho Turks opposed to us are all big, tall, strong men, but they are absolutely rotton shots. It is the shrapnel that is killing our men, and the machineguns. Tho Turkish artillery and the machine-guns aro being served by Germans. All the prisoners taken are sent to Lonvnos, where there aro 80,000 of them, including many German officers. 0 A Mutiny on Board. X "Tho trip homo in tho Ceramic was e not without incident. The firemen in . tho stokehold refused duty on the high seas because one of their men who was t indebted to tho shipping company for h fines was not given his allowance of L _ tobacco. New Zealand soldiers wero , s asked to volunteer to servo the fires. Some of tho boys 'were by no means fit (j for tho work, but they_ did their best, ,j and they brought tho ship to Melbourne, where tho mutinous firemen were put s ashore as prisoners. For the extra work those men who wero fit to do it got ss. - j. Bd. a day. Our boys improved in. health y splendidly on the voyage. At Suez most y of them could not walk, and at Mclo bourno only four of us could not walk." .8 i- The Sick Men. L ' All the men speak in glowing terms of the care taken of them on the ship and at the Australian ports visited. At j Hobart they were welcomed just as cordially by the people as the Main Body were on their way to the front. Oil arrival at Wellington all the men were convalescent with tho exception of Sapper Tees, of the New Zealand Engineers, who had developed appendicitis, s He was taken to hospital in Wellington, n Tho only fear the other men have is s that they too will be sent to hospital, h They want leave if they can get it, and 1> they want their pay. In their own ® phrase, they are all 'stony.' The sick > men liavo bden invalided for pneumonia, S tuberculosis, cardiac troubles, gastritis, 5' rheumatism, and similar diseases. " The necessary permission could not ;s be obtained from the Defence Depart_s mciit last evening to publish tho full " names of the returned men. n ;r ~ '