IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2519, 21 July 1915, Page 8

IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

GRAPHIC STORY FROM GALLIPOI

THE FIGHTING IN GULLY RAVINE

TOLD BY MR. ASHMEAD BARTLEIT

By Telegraph—Press-Association—Copyright London, July 19.; , Mr. Ashmead Bartlett, tho war correspondent, reports: "A successful advance of our left wing on June 28 took place on both sides of what is universally known as the Gully Ravine. Although our troops (lid not malco any effort to advance directly up the ravine,_ t'hey fell on the enemy's trenches oil either side. This placed another mile of this 'valley of death' in our hands. Someone has described it as 'a devil of a place,' and the description is not inaccurate, ■

The gully varies in depth,' width, and security as you pass up it. Leaving the seashore towards Krithia, it twists and turns remarkably. . At one point you may walk iii perfect security behind a bluff'; at another, ,you may catch a stream of bullets from tho Turkish trenches ill front. The Turks know every inch'of the-ground. They formerly fired a tremendous number of shells into the _ ravine; biit lately thero has been it distinct decrease in the volume of fire, pointing to a shortage •of ammunition. , Nevertheless, there is quite enough shrapnel bursting, especially when an attack is in progress.

In the Valley of Death. "The ravine lies between overhanging, craggy hills, two hundred'feet high, covered with scrub. The summer heat is almost unbearable. The sun beats down on this war-worn road with pitiless, severity, but there is plenty of good water, icy cold, which is a great boon to the crowds of perspiring, thirsty soldiers. 'Under the cliffs hundreds \of weary men,- back from the trenches, fling ,themselves down to sleep indifferent to'the shells bursting overhead. Occasionally,' .a man drops from a stray bullet, yet'none seeks cover, prolonged experience making them all indifferent or- .fatalists. • ■ .--

"In- the : ravine you come across lonely graves, marked with crosses and the names of , those who have- fallen' in earlier engagements. ' "Every'yard we progresss the gully gets narrower and narrower. ' Who will ever forget the scenes witnessed in the captured German trenches and in the ravine itself the day after our infantry occupied positions, with the capture of the high ground ? AH the Turks in the ravine were killed or, fled. Tho Turkish. positions are invariably filthy, and if the enemy go.es through the.campaign without a great cpidemic ho will havo undue luck.

Burning the Turkish Dead. "All through tho gully is a litter of debris, with scattered bodies ktlf-pro-truding from the ground, hastiiy dog graves, hundreds of rifles and bayonets, and thousands upon thousands oi rounds of ammunition. We made a very, big haul indeed in this last engagement. .

"Great fires are burning at intemk. They are avoided by all, as tbsy give forth a horrid sickly stench. Tfiase fires, are burning the Turkish dead, hastily collected, as it;.is all important to get the dead out of the way quickly in this hot climate.

"Wei have been working unceasingly during'_ the .last ; twenty-four ; hours ■ in bringing'in oiir''wounded. Our advance has been' so successful that they toll you with pride that not a man was left'alive lying out in the front of the line. They aro also bringing in pur dead, to bury them in the newly-formed cemeteries. > .

- ('The enemy's trenches are packed with debris. An awful stench pervades everything, and flies swarm in millions. In: one corner seven Turks, with their rifles, across their knees, aro sitting together." One has an arm round his friend's, neck, and a- smile on bis face, as; if they were bracking a ioko when death'.overwhelmed them. All have tho appearance 'of being asleep, and do not stow any signs of injury. "Boomerang and Turkey Trot.", "Peeping carefully over the top of 'Boomerang, ;■which is very heavily sniped by the Turks, you see how our infantry forced,their way. Barbed wiro was swept away; our artillery gunners makinp; a neat job, for tho, uprights and wire were cut-to shreds, leaving a clear way for the infantry.- The field is strewn with - soldiers' impedimenta. Tho modern' soldier goes into action decked like.a, Christmas tree, and in the wild Tushos he gradually snakes off the superfluous. All' equipment is carefully gathered after a battle for further use.

"In front of Boomerang was a fort called 'Turkey Trot,' even more formidable than Boomerang, but it fell .easily beforo tho-dash of our infantry. It, also, \was full of; dead. I .camo upon a wounded' Turk who had been overlooked by the stretcher-bearers, lying by himself, his cihest heaving and hands clenched above his liead,_ praying to himself. He was immediately" brought in, but was too far gone'to live. How Wo Treat the Enemy. ; "Our soldiers aTe indeed extraordinary... To'hear them you tremble for it.hb.'.fate tif any enemy falling into their hands. Yet tho moment a trench is taken, and the enemy hold up their hands, they aro treated with tho utmost kindness, tho soldiers' sharing .their water and rations with them. 1

"On a small rise lie half a dozen' of our men, killed in the final advance, whom it had been impossible to get at to bury. . The.sniping was so heavy that oven at night time it was impossible to get them. -'Further up the ravine are heaps of lurkish dead, piled together in a corse ■patch; further on lies a large number of the enemy, mixed up with somo of our men, for it seems there 'had been a general melee on >tho morning of Juno 29, when our 'men rushed tho trenches, ■and hunted tho enemy out of the gorse." '