WAR SCENES FROM THE DARDANELLES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2518, 20 July 1915, Page 6

WAR SCENES FROM THE DARDANELLES

AT THE GREAT BASK PORT

LIFE AT AUZAC COVE

(By Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with .tho New Zealand Forces:)'

■ May 31. History will tell whether or not this Dardanelles campaign should ever have been commenced, and whether having been commenced, it was commenced in the right way; but this is neither tho time nor the place for such a discussion. Tlio one thing certain 'is that having got, into it wo must see it through to asuccessful issue, whatever the cost may bo. It'is just as well that the Overseas Dominions so intimately, concerned in it should realise that,- and should realise also that there is tough work ahead, :. Probably by .this time they already realise it.' The Turks under German . guidance and advice have mado tho great stronghold of the Dardanelles doubly tho glowing Press telegrams we used to get about the probablo success of the Navy in forcing the passage have not been borne out by the facts. The Navy could not successfully have forced the passage without an adequate landing force. Even with that adequate landing force, the Dardanelles must still be a hard nut to crack.

At Alexandria. Alexandria is a sceno of tremendous maritime and military activity. Tlio big dining-room of the Savoy—and'no doubt of other hotels, too —was lilled with khaki. There seemed to. bo officers coming and going from many parts of the Empire. There were officers from England and ludia, from Australia and Now Zealand. The son of. tho Prime Minister of England—wounded in tho ■ in on crutches. A New Zealand lad, who had fought with' Villa in Mexico, and had been wounded at Antwerp, came in from tlio Dardanelles with another hole drilled iu his arm. He is now a major! On shore along the beach in sandy spaces between the big stone houses and. hotels, charmingly placed to "catch : tho sea breeze,' were, camps of men and a multitude of horse and mules. Great ships flying the flags of three or four nations lined tho long quays, and the port was a hive of human industry. Enormous stacks of food for horse and man, and engines of construction and destruction, met the eye on every hand. Streams of menEnglish, French; Italian, Greek, Egyptian, and others—tended the cranes or 'toiled tip and down the gangways loading, and unloading, for all the world like streams of ants—black and white. Order was being evolved out of seeming chaos. Great motor v lorries, driven by English and colonial soldiers in khaki, rumbled past. Motor-cars, with other khaki drivers,, carrying officers hither and thither, dashed up to. the gates and sped along tho quays. And, in the midst of it all, a stately liner with itlie. now familiar' green stripe and red crosses along , lier side, was harbouring near a line of motor ambulances, patiently waiting to convey her five hundred_ wounded to the big hospitajs, in which doctors and nurses wero toiling day and night. This told you— if ; nothing 1 else did—that it was war, and war not so very far away.. Further Fighting. You will already have heard by cable of the severe fighting in which our men .took. part from' May 17 to 20 . They again distinguished themselves. This time it was the. Turks that attacked 1 . At a very moderate cost to our side "tlioy were repelled with great slaughter. The dead became so numerous that a Turkish officer, resplendent in a uniform with scarlet facings,-came,' under cover of a flag of truce/to ask for an armistice in order that, they might bury their dead in front of the Australian aud New Zealand trenches. This .was gladly granted, the'more so as the weather in the Dardanelles is now getting rather warm. For hours the Turks worked quietly and quickly at this ghastly business, protecting their faces tho While with cotton wool soaked with, some disinfectant to deaden the stench. The main attack was on the night of the 18th-19th, and altogether 7000 Turks fell' before the deadly fire'poured into them by the Australians and Now Zealaiiders. The Turks, during the armistice, buried between two and three: thousand dead.

Subsequently, the- New Zealand Infantry were sent .down, to reinforce the British, who were having a hard time at Cape Helles. There, under their old Brigadier; Colonel E. Johnston, who Lad been temporarily laid aside by illness, tliey did splendid work, though one hears that their losses were considerable.

Life in Anzac Ccve. The little indention just to the north of Gaba Tepe, where, the Eritish' and colonial troops- landed, has been named Anzac Cove,- and you may note that the name has been composed of the initial letters of the Australian and New Zealand Army. Corps.' It 'will probably be put on the 'new maps* and mark an- 1 other milestone on the forward march of Empire. , Life at Anzao Cove is worth a brief description. It is very exciting; but it is very simple. There is a beach that is from thirty to. forty feet -wide. Above that the hills rise abruptly. On this beach, at the foot of the clilf, tho Field Ambulance has its home, and most of the men have dug into the side of the hill. At night-time they crawl into these burrows. There,is not room, enough to stand up in them. The hospital, which' is really a clearing station, is right on the beach, and is protected by sandbags overhead and at the sides, but the operating tent is a tent pure and simple. The men have also their little dug-outs in the face of the cliff. It is like somo huge rabbit warren. The6e are used when they 'come down from tho trenches for a spe'l. The rations are bully beef, and bisciiits;, with an occasional bit of.bacon ancltea and sugar. Sugar was not too'plentiful:

Headquarters,- which" was at first oil the beach, is now'up a fairly deep, dry gully, about half, a milo distant. - There General Godl.ey and liis staff , are also leading the sipiple'but exciting lifo in dug-outs. ;'.:i ' > This gully 'goes , into the Peninsula, and then bends round to tho left, forming a kind of elbow, which, gives some safety from the .Turkish, fire. Just below the camp are tethered'the .mules, which are invaluable. They ■ are,'worked and looked after by. Indians—Punjabis. Water is scarce. Indeed, it lias all to be brought in barges to tho,shore. Most of it has to be condensed. It is pumped from the barges into water-carts, and is worth its weight in silver. /You wash' your face in what you- have used for shaving. A bath is out of the question, hut you may get enough water.into your sponge to go once over your- body.