WITH OUR BOYS AT THE FRONT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2504, 3 July 1915, Page 6

WITH OUR BOYS AT THE FRONT

i,-:'.. ■.;' » : • \ ; THE LANDING, AND . AFTER ROUND THE HOSPITALS THE "WHITE GHUREAS 'J (From Malcolm, Ross Officfal War Correspondent with-tho' N.Z, Forces.) Cairo, May 20, ; 1915. To tho'Australian and New. Zealand' Army Corps, acting. ; in;coiijunctipn with English, French, and Indian troops, has been allotted what up to the present is_ undoubtedly tho most: picturesque, as it", is the most: hazardous, undertaking of the war.,' . In . that undertaking our men have already,, "earned immortal glory; and have adcled to Imperial history a glowing page, of •'heroism : and self-sacritice.'. Streams of ' wounded have been arriving here, and though new hospitals have been quickly'organised on a hugs' scale," all are already full almost'to overflowing.'' It is the same at ■'andCoyea at Port Said wounded are being treated in; all the hospitals! Other, .wounded, liaye been taken to Malta. ,vV; f'; ! •' ';•'. : v ■ .. Tour of the Hospitals. . In the brief space' oftime. at my disposal sjnco : arriving here, I bave visited seven hospitals, and have found the great majority of the. wounded. cheerful in a remarkable degree, and most grateful: for all that lis being done for them. Doctors and nurses, of whom there are all too few for such a; percentage 'of, casualties, are-.working; morning, noon, and night, and the;,women of Cairo — both.Englisli and French^—have responded nobly, to the call for. help._ - When our .men were leaving Lemnos for the actual' front. : t-hey. were told by an-: ex-New Zealander that a dozen ships would-take them down,, but that they, would bo able to come back in hvo or six: :.'l'hey knew tliey were in for a tough job. ~. It 'proved tougher, than anyone expected. The' casualties are largely in excess of the estimated .percentage. . Tho magnificent courage and fighting qualities displayed by Australians and Now ■' Zealander.s. alike' hare?; astonished the most experienced and have drawn forth unstinted praise from the famous: war correspondents of tho London Press.. Indeed; so terrible was their onslaught that- the Turks promptly named "The White Ghurkas." Tho name will probably stick. . In one hospital tho. English'' Tommies, when -a batch of wounded colonials was brought dp. sat up iii their beds and cheered "The Whito Ghurkas.", . , The Landing. \ It' ffas'the.yAustralians tIo li'ad tie. post of honour in tho colonial landing, and they' it- was wlio'; broke the back of-the first resistance,, though, at .a terrible sacrifice.: Every - New Zealander is, I ;.unstinted ,in; his: glorying praise of how, after being riddled with shot and shell in' tho ; boats,: they dashed , up' the beach, and- into the Turkish trenches with, the bayonet, ;scai'ce'halting ; to ; fire a, single shot., . It .was, the only thing to ' do; under the circumstances. • ' : Later- in the dayj-'. : in- • storming the heights, tlio Australians and. New .Zeaiahders gbt ' mixed iip. and; fought shoulder .to shoulder under any officer .who happened;to, be 'there.; This, also was inevitable, because the nature of the country, prevented close touch being -kept in that first terrible climb through ;tto' scrub,' all. the "time • under shot" and •shell; from-a-well-placed : enemy in. su'penor ■, positions, 'aiid .superior als6. in 'numbers. ;.As : .thoy ; went forward up 'cliff-' after cliff. and; on-, from ■ height.-to-■height, : "agaiiis't v :the .cold machines"—; a.hail of bullets and .fierce, shrapnel fire —these yoiing colonial troops, in action 'for the. first time, might well have faltered or, even retreated.. But never for one instant,, did:. their, ;courage' fail • nor the' speed of their -. splendid assault slackeii'.'i Competent critics : have declared it to' have been tho finest feat m the war, and men who were at Mons havo told me' that thero • was nothing -like it even, in French's famous re-" treat. - ' The School of Frightfutnesa. : , The. Turks, ,well' trained-in the school :of German friglitfujnessj did not scruple • to set all tho rules: of'modern warfare; aV naught, ; '.even "to^the extent, of, using •Explosive' bullets','poisoning the; Vater ); and firing oil ; the wounded. For all this the colonials; exacted a terrible retribution,'- and; littlo .or 'no. quarter .'was -given during the first; few-,da-ys .of fighting ..on those - grim ; wooded heights above, the Gulf of Saros.' . Headquarters staffj officers, :mbh, and 1 streteher-bear-,ers: never ' spared .themselves, but fought; oii : bravely through the' long days'and the long nights, never dreaming of defeat, thinking only of victory. " Before these lines can reach the Ne\v. Zealand Press,: the early description's of;;the. fight .will already;have becomo. familiar; to 'readers,; who , will f already .know, something of . the: splendid heroism'and marvellous'endurance of their But; there are':many 'lines 'to b6 added yet, and. even- a twioe-told-tale of such a glowing- epic , will send the blood tingling through tho veins again. It is an cpic that will be 'handed dowu' to succeeding generations-in Australia and New Zealand, and that will survivo as long as the British, people remain on. the facio:of the,earth.. It is scarce too much to' say that nothing finer has ever occurred in warfare. It is a feat before -which the achievements s of. the ancient Greeks' and Romans "pale into insignificance,''and it - will be my endeavour,- in this and subsequent-, articles,' in'the plain and simple language of the ' soldiers themselves, to giyo the people'of New Zealand some adequate idea;of tlio glorious deeds of her brave sons. - '"/ Jn Touch With V/ar. _ :'After leaving Aden: wo began to get 'in,touch -with' the .war.' _ A junior ofiacer came down from the bridge at midnight 'and w;oke up a friend sleeping; oil deck. "It'might interest you tok'now," ho said, "that we have'just passed, through: a,. Turkish mine-field,:;'on which-ha.'f ; - a dozen--sweepers, protected; by two cruisers, were at work." ; The friend fc :> -ank-' ; ed .him, and lay awako for an hour'or so,'listening for au explosion. At Suez a young naval lioutenant camo on board on,-crutches. Ho had his .footin splints,' rather, badly, 'shattered, a -bullet wound in his arm,, and a healed cut on his cheok from; another Turkish bullet. Thev had been on a. 'political show" to . a village in the lied Sea', On the beach, were.two-Arabs —very peaceful iu their, ; flowing robes. , ( They wero German decoys. Before' tho .-'ship's boat could •land.' Turkish' bullets - .were ;' whizzing ■ iinio the landing party. 'IVo men werekilled, and "others wounded. ' The-bul-lets were soft-nosed, and, as tli'ey went through the boat;before finding their 'human-billet, it may be judged that the wounds wero rather serious. Tho Turks paid later for this.: 'The Canal, which we -went through with the - bridge sandbagged, was a wonderful sight.} but-in these days when history is being written "in lightning flashes" in tho 'Dardanelles, ono must not stop te write; a' chapter that in other times would, bo of intense interest. First Glimnse of a Hospital Ship. - 'At Port Said we landed lato at night, and endeavoured unsuccessfully to. glean' some reliable-.news r about .- the fighting of our men in the- .Dai'daneHes. Next morning a big' Castle liner, with a green stripo and red crosses-aloiig her sides, and a Red Cress flag at.her masthead, poked her nose into the Canal - ana "ngijiw JfiMteJ

At every port were men with bandaged hands and heads, .waving us a cheerful grcoting. .In-other cabins 'there were others who could/'not raise a face to tho window, i A mother and her husband were anxious about their son in tho Ist Canterbury Regiment, which, they surmised. was with the other New Zealand Forces at >tho Dardanelles. "Havo you any Now Zealandcrs on board?" wo shouted across tho water. Yes, they had. The parents dashed round to where tho wounded were being lauded. and found a group already , standing about or lying on tho grass. They were war stained, but cheery. They, wero mostly English Tommies and Australians. ' There was' one New Zealander among them. He was a' private named Ishenvood, of tho Ist Canterbury, but. born in, Wellington, and he was nursing-.. a , bandaged 'hand, through which a Turkish bullet had found its way early in..the fight.. In .his: other hand ho had-the boot of a, chum: with two holes in it, through which an enemy bullet had bored its way. That boot will find its way back to New Zealand. The mother, asked if he know her son. Strangely enough, she had picked upon t'lio one man'.in all the ship out of her son's company,'.. The son, he was able to teH her,r,was wounded, but alive, and likely to recover soon. The mother had to leave in half an hour for Eijgland: The father was going to the front. Next day he spent searching unsuccessfully through tho several widelyseparated military; hospitals for his son. On the scccnd day they had an' accidental- and extraordinary meeting. But that is/another story, and'-'not for publication.'! '-.

Personal Impressions. " Wile the. wounded were being landed from the ( hospital ship at Port Said some English-officers and men of the Dorsets, en- route to the-Persian Gulf, landed for a brief Tun ashore. "I had a few words with a.young, lieutenant— a mero lad—but to-day ho was not, bothering about the war. What he wanted to know was, where were the golf links! When the time came for action in ,'"Tlie Gulf," however,_ he was just the type of young sporting Englishman who would be • leading a forlorn hope, if necessary. Yet' the contrast between tho stained'wounded returning from the G'allipoli Peninsula and 'this clean-look-ing;-.-neatly-uniformed young Englishman going out to war, but now looking for a golf" links at,-Port Said, set one .thinking; about our race, and how it must' be that in 'the end tho modern Huns will be no match for them. Such sang froid is surely an asset. v ■ . On tho train -to Cairo, in tho eamo carriage wit'h me, was a wounded-cor-poral. :He ; wa's a young Scotsman, who had joined, the. Australians in Perth, where he happened, to be when the call for men came; .. His testimony'is 'tlie more valuable- because, though of the Australian's,..he "was not' ..himself, a colonial, and had not been long out from Home. Describing the wonderful valour shown in the: landing and throughout each succeeding day, he said it made liim -proud to be a member of the Australian Forces. "We were told," he said, "that we should have a.rough; time,!but'that the work had to be done, and the Australians land ;the New Zealanders did .it, not thinking -at tho' time, that .we; were doing .anything very much out .of tho ordinary. Wo were told," ho aidded-,. "that'tho warships -. would'! take us there, but that they would not take- us .back,. I got hit after about six hours' fighting. -It. was hard, line's, and' I 1 was ■-inclined' -,to", grumble about being, put oiifc .of' action-'so soon' after eight or nine , mbiiths of training.; Tho Suspense of Waiting. "Did you feel the suspense of the waiting very much?" I asked: "Yes," ho replied,:.'"lt was just/like a nightmare. : Tliat. feeling, however, scon wore, off when.tlio'time for action came.-You' had a sort, of 'an; idea that the.;bullets were there, but that they would riot touch , ydu.', The first lot went ashore in the early morning, with bayonets fixed, cheering and shouting !' I don't think the Turks, like'tho sound of that.wordinowl iOur men did not wait to fire; but dropped their packs and rushed -upon the Turks v/ith thebayonet.. As they- had- no cover, it was the only thing;',to' do. . Many were hit in the boats, . and"' many fell: in the bayonet charge, but there was never, a sigii of faltering ;-tlie gaps were filled up from behind, and. such of ■ the Turks as were not-bayoneted turned, and fled from tho trench. ' Here the V first; machine-gun was captured by the Australians.' 1 Deeds of, great: valour - that .would 'have won : the .Victoria : Crpss : on ..any past, battlefield- were V being done on. every .'hand. One man , who had got safely from the boats .went boldly, single-handed, for nine or ten Turks with his bayonet, and such, of thera. as -he did not get ( left their machine-gun, which had all- 'the time been playing on the landing boats. The ,- 'middies' and , the sailors V. guiding the boats were splendid. One man I saw urging, his men: forward was shot through the leg. -" He. never stopped cheering h'is men on. ;Hb was. afraid if lie did so that it might put a damper upon the troops! He need: not have worried about that, as he himself soon 'discovered.','i Doods of Heroism. * iAmongst the. deeds of heroism that came under this young Scotsman's.notic'e a few, may be cited. A platoon had lost all its officers in'advancing on a position, and found an officer of another company returning from farther up the slope with a woundod man! The offi-' cer' remarked that there, ★ere two more wounded: farther on.'- Two men from' the platoon sprang up and said: "We'll get them-." The others, all the while,' under fire, waited for them, but thoy. never came back. When the platoon advanced later in'the day they, foundthe four lying dead side by side. -The The fighting at this stage was at. veryclose quarters. > ' '■ At another place,' a lance-corporal of the;.9t'k"!Battalion: was .working a ma-chine-gun,- With . an' officer a,few yards on his right; giving him the range. The' whole of his.gun section were laid low. by the Turkish fire. ..The,corporal got hit in the hand,: . He bound it up and wont on firing. - Then;,he was bowled over by a shot in the leg... The officer' took the- wounded corporal's place and carried/on' with the gun. "I don't .know how, he got on," said the young Scot. . •; ■ . , ; ... Doctors light up in the firing line did splendid work. So did the', stretcherbearers. Even tho parsons wero in the thick of it. A Catholic priest helped .to carry out the wounded. "Why don't you have a .go yourself, father?" said a passing private. - Later on, it: is stated, .-the reverend father was seen charging forward with a rifle in his hand, and using; language that was scarcely priestly, and not to be foil ml ;anywhere in-the prayer-book. "One of the doctors—l do-not know wh lio was," added the lance-corporal, "after ho had used Hp nearly all his clothes for bandages, - went in with the rifle,,''Down a Deadly Cully. ' Down one gully all the long day came a stream of Australians and New Zealand wounded. ' Ther# was only slight shelter, and the.Turks had the range of it. Some of the wounded were wounded' again,' and some of them were' ■ killed. It was . down this .cleft in the steep siliside that my friend had come.. It is. a. wojider .any ,of iliem wero left alive for it "was 'swept*'with 'rifle and shrapnel fire. ."Both the Australians and tho New Zealanders," • said my friend, "Will go through with anything"".: If they are told to got there, they willgo through with it, and no. questions asked." "Is-it true,".l queried,- "that the Australians, in their excess of zeal and energy, went -too. far?" "Perhaps they did," he answered; "but any-■:liow,-'"tlic,v licVor cajjiti b?ck~ihe'y hold JsiMSipAil'; ~.'' .*■ ~