BRAVE AUSTRALASIANS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2490, 17 June 1915, Page 7

BRAVE AUSTRALASIANS

HOW THEY STORMED THE HILLS (By Trooper Bluegum in tho Sydney "Herald.") Ma Adl (Egypt), May 8. "No troops in the whole world could possibly have done better than those magnificent Australian infantry. They performed the impossible. In tho faco of exploding mines and a witheringjiro from machine-guns, shrapnel, and uTles, they stormed the hills, and with bloody bayonets, routed the Turks and Germans." This is a splendid tribute to our gallant soldiers. It is all the more valuable because it was not an Australian who spoko; neither was he speaking to Australians. It was the remark of a French naval officer who watched the landing of the Australasian Division in the Dardanelles. And when the whole tale is told tie world will see how richly our boys have deserved that tribute. For out of the turmoil and slaughter of those first few days on Gallipoli Peninsula (April 25 to 29) there emerge two vivid impressions which can never be effaced from the memory of Britons —first, heroic intrepidity of our young soldiers in their baptism of fire; second, the shocking treachery and mutilations of the Turks and Germans. _ Bad as the Turk was in bis native savagery, the German has taugllt him new deeds of frightfulneßs. Soles Everywhere. How thoroughly has the German spy system been organised and carried out! There were spies on the transports,' spies amongst the interpreters, spies in the supply depots, and the Turks, or rather ,the German officers, wore kept well informed of every move of the Allies. They knew esaetlj- the hour of dismbarkation. and the places of landing. Thoy have learned all tho Australian bugle calls, and have used them with telling effect. But mostly do we hate them for the shocking mutilations they have practised on our killed and wounded. Tho Germans have promised the Turks a certain sum for each Briton killed, and the identification discs are the proof. So it is common for our ambulance-bcarors and search parties to come across Australians with their tongues cut out, eyes slit, and other marks of inutiliation, and the identification discs missing. The doctors havo not the slightest doubt that the wounded are mutilated as well as the dead. South Africa was a picnic to this. For the first time, Australia is right up against the Hun at war. An Electric Charge. Already our 3000 Australian and New Zealand wounded have arrived at the base, and we, who so far have been spared tho slaughter, get from them the vignettes of battle wliich supplement the bare and concise official communique. The French landed unmolested, formed up as if on parade, and then, with beautiful precision, marched on and drove t'he enemy before them. The British, despite the fusillade which greeted them on landing, were steady as veterans, and there was no hope of withstanding their advance. Rut I there was an electrio quality about the I charge of tbe Australasians that in- J

spired panio in the Turkish trenches. Fiercely angry at the loss of several of their officers, they charged witn. fixed bayonets, not waiting i'or supports. Ono charge was led by a doctor; another by a priest. Several times they Charged so firecely that tlie.v looked lileo getting out of hand. Scorning cover thoy also scorned rifle fire. It was tho bayonet all tho time. One li uti" fanner actually ba.vonotod a Turk through the chest and pitchforked bin. vor his shoulder. Our Army Medical Corps did yeoman servico. Several stretcher-bear-ers were shot, for they dashed forward too soon to succour the wounded. The doctors wero right up in the firingline all the while. Colonel Ryan and some other doctors were attending to serious oases on tho beach, where tho landing was effected, and snipers shot two orderlies who wero assisting, one on each side of the Colonel. The Lads From Duntroon. The young officers from Duntrooh Military College fought in a way that showed their native courage and the excellence of their training. I remember seeing them laugh and cheer when Sir lan Hamilton, on leaving Duntroon, jokingly wished them "plenty of wars and rapid promotion." Only a fen days ago it seems we were dancing and flirting in a Cairo ballroom. Now many of them lie sorely wounded at the Base Hospital, and several will never again hear the reveille. But the college will not forget its first fruits offered up so gladly for Empire—Brian, Hardy, Legge, Patterson, Smith, K. Walker, and Weir. It is sad to think of so many senior officers losing their lives right at the outset of the fighting in the Dardanelles. Australia can ill afford to lose men like Colonel Onslow - Thompson, Colonel MacLaurin, Major F. D. Irvine, Captain C. E. Leer, Captain A. G. M'Guire, Captain G. L. B. Concannon, Captain R. Burns, Lieuts. H. E. Williams, F. G. Wilson, H. S. Watkins, M. Anderson, A. D. Dawson, W. S. Duchesne, and C. T. W. Lane. How Brave Men Died. Colonel MacLaurin was in the act of warning soldiers to be certain to keep behind cover when he was shot in tho head. He was hurriedly conveyed to the rear, but only lingered half an hour. Curiously enough, he had a presentiment that he would be killed, and mentioned it to one of our Light Horse officers just before leaving for tho Dardanelles. It was a wicked trick that resulted in tho slaughter of so many gallant men of the Ist (N.S.W.) Battalion. They had be,en holding the lino splendidly despite shrapnel and Maxim firo and hand grenades, and had repulsed several attacks by the enemy. Then a message was passed down the line for the battalion to attack and capture the guns, in front. Not doubting the genuinoness of the order, the battalion charged, only to be met with a withering fire, which immediately told them that a trap had been set. Their leader, Colonel Onsiow Thompson, was killed instantaneously by a cannon shot, which struck him in the head. He was one of the first to volunteer in Sydney when war broke out. Colonel Arnott knew that Colonel Onslow Thompson was a splendid Light Horse officer, and begged of him to wait for a mounted regiment. • "No," he replied, "I'm going, and I'll tako the first chance that offers." , What the Mounteds Did. And what .of our Light Horse f What wero we doing while our infantry comrades were fighting so magnificently ? Just waiting at the base, fretting and fuming impatiently at the delay. At last wp could stand it no longer. News came through of the terriblo casualties which wero the price of victory. Battalions and brigades were sadly reduced in strength. Reinforcements wero urgently needed. It would be some days before they could arrive from England and France. Sir Inn Hamilton wanted men to push home the attack and ensure the victory. We knew that no cavalry could go for a couple of weeks, and our fellows were just spoiling for fight. Thev were sick and tired of the endless waiting, with wild rumours of moving every second day. Men from all tho troops and squadrons went to their officers and volunteered to go as infantry, if only they could go at once. B Squadron, 6th Regiment, volunteered en masse. Colonel Ryrie, accurately gauging the temper of the men, summoned the regimental commanders. Lieutenani>Colonel Cox, Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, and Lieutenant-Colonel Arnott. AVhat happened at this little council of war we don't know. But we guess. Word tvas sent on to the General that the whole brigade would leave for the front within an hour on foot if necessary. A similar oFer had just been made by the Ist Light Horse Brigade (Colonel Cb.iuvel) and the Ist Brigade of New Zealand Mounted Rifles. What- it cost these gallant horsemen to volunteer and leave their horses behind only horsemen can guess. Colonel Ryrie's brigade is said to be the best horsed brigade in Egypt. Scores of men bad brought their own horses. After eight months of soldiering we were deeply attached to our chargers . FigfiEing on foot was not our forte. We were far more at home in the saddle. But Colonel It.vrie expressed tho dominant thought of the men when ho said: "My brigade are mostly bushmen, and they never expected to go gravel-crushing, but if necessary the whole brigade will start to-morrow on foot, even if we have to tramp tho way from Constantinople to Berlin." There was cheering all along the line when the news filtered through. Men who had of late been swearing and cursilia at the heat and the dust and the flies and the desert suddenly became Jovial again. At dinner they passed the joke along, sans: and olieered everybody, from Kitchener to Andy Fisher and the Brigadier down to the cooks and the trumpeters. So wo are off at last, after wearv months of waiting, on foot. Blistered heels and trenches ahead. Well, it's hetter £ban sticking here in the desert dcTnp: nothing. ! hope they'll look after our horses.