THE BATTLE ON GALLIPOLI

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2559, 6 September 1915, Page 6

THE BATTLE ON GALLIPOLI

L JR. ASHMEAD BARTLETT'S STORY j WHY THE ATTACK FAILED ? ' ONE CORPS BLAMED •--' li.S' --S* -VS'-s'■ ■ JV'' '[ :■ v: By Ueleßrajlt—Press Assooiatlon-pCopyrislit London, September 3 . Continuing -.his description, of : th© great battle (of which a poi tion. appeared The Dominion on Saturday), t : slr. Ashmead Bait-lett says:— It was not through want to trying that i\o failed m tho great strategic vscbemo'for-gottuig■ astride .the -Penin-. i'. - -sular northward -of - Anzac, --seizing tho v >'v-' Anafarta. Hjlls,- and -forcing,the TuiLs h ito ; abandon their iwsitious before > the Aclu Baba-Kilid Balir salient. Onocoips ; ' 'ailed ill ts; assigned task of dashing = It'll rough >-with -rush whon the enemy, y ; 'vas completely sui-piised, and: had only, i i / few battalions of picked g»ndarmos ' -apposing .us. 1 Another iMint waS: that wsy jit - was essential -for our troops to adv. .' Vancc in very open order., ,-Tlus opei afci -:' tion -.'involves troops becoming : widely •j. j.. separated from their ofißcers audi com- .' i-ades;: and'requires troops higldy trained 0- v jri■ Vskiririisliing ;>arid 6elf-reliance,:' eyery i ; mail'dashing on .t-o the objective on his • son occord,. not stopping for orders.- •■. IS ' - ' Whwi-the first attempt'of the scizuro fm* of Aiiafarta Hills- had definitely broken if '' down-i.on' the' morningl of August. 10, :* time rwas required to reorganise units, .• 'collcct wounded, and* land' ammunition artillery beforo. a- furfher attempt 5vC ' was:possible. Not uutil August 21 was' - , the army ready jto make, a frontal at-'i'.-"tack" m this quarter. Tlie prizes re'.warding - our- success ; were . great and! fe - !: fully justified the: supreme effort. - A Frontal Attack. r- The: Turks. mado full uso of t-lie-te'n. . days'..,' irit'eryal. ' Knowing '-. dcfiiiitolyI v.-, - Avhere the < main blow- would fall, they 1-r 1 .were able' to release:divisions .stationed round- Bulair .to concentrate on some ' threatened point. -Tlio hone of our ,ef- ■ i',-.: -IfectinK a- surprise vanished. - Obviously i/' ..only a.frontal <ittack and_ sheer hard i >; lighting would take . the lines between "llill 70,' as Burnt Hill,: and-Hill 112 , » < Tlie Turks, following. their invariable !■'practice, dug themselves m,up : to their i i■ . necks. ..Every dawn disolosed- now trenches Tlie manner in which they : searched om*. : beaches and camps with shell-firo indicated that - several 'fresh ' - batteries had been brought .up on this f. -, • iroht. . ■ < Tlio;■ position lof our j line 'hardly ichanged) but it was'secured by digging •; - ipermanenii trenches right across the low ; - :ground ,in front of. Anafarta and out ;. _ • into plain southward, connecting by >: . ! ; : :.-a - series. :of . posts- .with the Australian v.: ■' left.v'flank., Opposite, our. front the k : TurJi9..dug two: trench lines ; of immonso istrength, and;carefully loop-holed.-'The Main Objective. Our-immediate.objective on the left i was the capture of Hill 70, winch, lying ( . . ' in front of our main position, had cans. • sd so much troublo smce the'landuiG;. Our centre and: right planned an adF; .' v vance from the ridge m front of Chooo- . lato Hill and from the trenches on the i. v; plain -southward', converging'for an as- .. . sault on mam objective, Hill 112. s-: ; .In i readiness for tho great - 1 effort, • ..troops were massed along .tlie line from • Hill 70 to Hill-112.- A division of Yeonianrj-, held in rescrvo behind Lala Baba, .and a bngado of infantry were ordered to attack Hill 70, and' another -'ito attack-Hill 112, and three were held - jn - reserve; .The divisions holding' the . tronobes on the 1 plain southward | ■ ii'ero - .ordered to- rush the trenches i-.ii-,;:.'.! .in; their front, .. wheel •. northward, and converge on Hill 112 from, tho south. • Opening of the Battle. i\. Thr&ugnout'' the- forenoon, the. troops ; rested quietly in the trenches; as calm : :as usual 'but fully Tcalising tho responsi|.j i s;i/-bilities of task, which;was - if.-as the mostdifficult' of any attack -yet .made .except the landing.; Battleships, i: ... supported by cruisers and several momtu. ■ ■■ tors,- , steamed m- - close readmess ' for .•/. :-iho .preliminary bombardment. K-. . i At 3 o'clock in tho afternoon of • •• iAiigust- 21 the first gun was fired. In half an hour was witnessed another of , those terrible bombardments which have -jibocomo commonplaces on this hloody 1 soil ' i-;. v. ... The warships concentrated upon Hill r v .70 and Hill 112, supported by field guns •iv.V-i and heavy howitzers; Again the, trenches ■: - appeared to bo swallowed up by smoke and earth clouds. The Turks showed no sign. None left his.position. Tho Turkish gnus replied .- funously, clueflv upon and bohind : Chocolate Hill, which was wreathed in ; . V' -.bursting shrapnel, wliicli 'soon set fire i :-v to: the bush scrub, which the breeze . : . fanned furiously, spreading the . flames 1;"- ■. i with: amazing. rapidity, .frequently blotv. - ting out the position with clouds of rolling -smoke and: flames. r' v' At 3.3o'one•'regiment crept 'forward and endeavoured to form a firing line at the foot of Hill 70, which was the -.•.•signal- for a tremendous fusillade from . ' ilie whole Turkish line. _ i- -' \' ; Simultaneo'usly a regiment advanced i. " against tho south. side, establishing p- :'•;" 'ithemselyes in the-, biirnt. scnib' at. the foot of Hill 70. Tlio guns still thundored against the ' trenches. > But the r-: Turks did not seem to care. -Many ,\-,;stood : up.' boldly ii\-order, to better view; '■ -.v. the. advancing khaki lines. I never on • any battlefield before heard such a din ,• :■ •■ . —ships' guns,- field pieces, bursting v diells, and thousands of. rifles. . .' Tho Final Rush. '. 'At 3.50 those two regiments , made a i; :.'final rush -up tho hill, ono from tho. , . west and. the other from tho south. ;":, . Great solid: masses of khaki . with ' bayonets;glistening,.emerged from the <:■ ■ hnrnt scrub and. surged upwards. Tho Y". . artillery' in . a few minutes lengthened. '. the fuses and shelled the reverso slopes,' :'• . :l.mt not touching the trench, line.. The : Turks camo out and fired furiously into /f the advancing linos. '■•.'•:'. Some of tlio Turks wavered'and abanVloned the^ crest and ran down behind. ;' Tlio majority stuck to the.trenches de-:t-ermined'to die where they stood. Wei -/got.high up tho hill, but the machiner''';* ; ; guns and' a. crossfire, brought the bat- : :>ta]ibn,-tb a standstill: on the. north' side.; Somecof. the men from tho south sido .. • peached ; tlie top,and - jumped in tho '■" • trenches where they died . ing among the Turks, who never, show- • greater determination than in this ' "... hand-to-liand struggle. _'- -. _ ; - - It looked for a few minutes as if tho ' . hill was won. AVe were swa-nning just . ' below the crest and actually occupying p" section of the trench-line on the south " side, but the battory behind Hill 112 - commenced to pour salvos of shrapnel at ? a, range of only 112 yards. This simply - ' swept whole lines away, and forced tho - survivors down the slopes to slight cover arid finally bacE to the trenches so recently left. : v The Attack Falls. The attack had failed., -Hill 70 was. : oiicg mors loft; fco "fcho Turksj tliQ wound-, ed,- and tho dead. Tho fighting was equally severe .on tho right. At 3.30 .the divisionvmshed out of tlio trenches vand stormed tho " ' first line undor a fearful firo over, ■ ' ground without a particle of covor. It •:. ;•• was found impossible to stoim ths second line—a deadly loopholed • and . roofed trench. . • .• . Tlio brigade holding the ridge in front; of Ohocolato.Hill^yas

southward by a terrible fire. 'A solid bank of flame surmounted by rolling black smoke clouds swept across tlio hill. The beat was terrific. Many of tlio wounded' who had been placed in safety . had' to be hastily carried out and laid in tho open. Thus the development of tho attack was delayed. . 'Another division wheeling towards Hillll2 was caught at short range by - the Turkish, second line upon the flank QU an open: plain. It was obvious that it was impossible to proceed with, the assault . unless this trench line ■ was takon. > ■ , . t Fighting continued intensely throughout tlie afternoon. There was a ticmoiuloiis rifle lire, but we could not gain another yard. . Their Baptism of Fire. Meanwhile'a battalion and a.mounted division. hitherto 311 reserve ax. Lala. Baba, wercordered to reattach Hill 70. The,se ; splendid ,troops, who were now for tlie first ( timo m action, led. by men bearing some of the best-known names in England, moved' out of cover. Xo sooner had they appeared 111 open order crossing Salt Lake than the enemy concentrated a heavy -shrapnel fire on the , exposed-lilies . 'Advancing in tho open as if on parade, they pressed on steadily, losing many but never wavering. Thoy formed up behind tho brigade in front of Hill .70.' It was now six o'clock. Every available; gun again furiously bombarded tlio:Vcvest;; tlio'. Turkish ' batteries concentrating on.'.our ' trenches. - The scene was majestic, but awful.- The light •rapidly waning, the horizon was blotted o'iit by smoke and .flames, trees, scrub, grass, and homesteads blazing. .The noise of;the guns was unceasing,the " roar of thousands of rifles making a perfect inferno.. A: battalion advanced andVseized the southern, slopes, digging in preparatory to an -advanco to the top- ■ Tlie' shellfiro now seemed to • tell upon, the Turks', many being observed streaming- down, tlie trench-Uue. 'either'i because tliey had become lint-enable ox - they were preparing to meet -an advance. - . ■ -•. - | , :The situation-was unchanged -for an. hour. Mien the Yeomanry again advanced, solid masses-forming up in the lower western and northern slopes. It ;wo.s : almost 'dark and .the. attackseemed, to bail? fire. ■. : Suddenly the Yeomanry leapt to their, feet, and charged like a suiglo man right up the lull.. Thoy were-met- by a withering'fire, rising, in a cresendb as. they; neared tho: northern - crest,' : but nothing could stop them. Tliev charged with amazing speed without a halt from -the bottom ■ to" tlio top, losing many of tlieir leaders, - including gallant Sir. John Milbanke, V.C. (Tenth Hussars). H ill 70 Won and Lost. It was a stirnng sight, watched by thousands in tho' ever-gathering gloom. One moment they were below the crest, nest: dt Ithe "top, and'.next they disappeared into,'the trenches, bayonetting tho defenders who: had not iled earlier. .Others did 'not: stop in the trencliesj but dashed in ; pursuit down tho, reverse slopes. ■ ~i : Froni a thousand lips the shout, rose up, "Hill 70 is wool" Night, was rapidly falling, figures blurred, then lost shape, and finally disI appeared; .' As I left Chocolate. Hill I looked back on a vista of rolling clouds i. and linge ' .firesj; wherefrom there was au incessant roar. The rifle lire had not ceased for a. moment. -This was ominous, because it was a question whether wo could hold Hill 70 throughput Jtheniglit in tho face of determined, counter-atacks. '.. - Tho. battle raged ceaselessly. Apparently. tho Turk's; were never driven off the knoll of -the . northern crest, ; whence' during the night they enfiladed us with -machine-guns-and artillery' fire. - " The Yeomanry who dashed up the reverse -slopes were . subjected to a counter-attack, lost heavily, and l/ere obliged to retire. It -was decided that it. was-impossible to hold Hill 70, and afc : daylight, the troops were ordered to withdraw to their original position;"-. , At daybreak Hill 70 was no longer in .our .'possession, . but. nothing will' lessen tlio glory-of that fiual charge of ' England's Yeomen. Thus ended a great fight. . However,. tho Anzao | troops soma successes, ;' the [.Australian 'infantry finally '.driving .tiio Turks from.) Hill 60, while our whole line linked up by means of trench-lino, instead o? isolated posts. THE FIGHT FOR HILL 70. \ ANOTHER CORRESPONDENT'S ■■ STORY., ; ' (Rec. September 5, 3.10 p.m.) London, September 4. Reuter's correspondent in the Dardanelles . writes: —"Hill 70 is scrubcovered, except for" a, sandy , gully .'near .the'top, 'forming a tcimitar-shaped scar, affording no cover for tho men. In the afternoon they , reached the edge of the -scimitar,.on the 1 hill, which shook with 'the co'noussioiis of the na,val guiis, while gbrse'fires blazed at the;base. . At:6.20. p.m. reinforcements : of Yeomanry ad-' vanced in face of a tremendous Shrapnel fire, in full viow was the Salt' Lake, an expanse of a mile, of dry mud, flat 1 as a .''billiard table! ] Tnen climbing the hillside at-- 7.30 -p.m.' .they' /launched an , attack' across 'the . scimitar, as a running race, swept : across - the gully with -incredible rapidity, and vanished in the smoke' and darkness of the. hill-top. ; No one doubted that the hill had been captured l ,' ..and there, was profound disappointment when it was, found to be •untenable.''. Tlie Indians, on tho northern flank of Anzac, established themselves from Kaiaji Kagbala in the hills; t'j Susok Kuyu on the plain, whero they were in'tioucli'with-tlio other corps. "The summer is breaking, and the . nights are growing colder, strong north-: easters horaldmg the autumnal storms. Tlie army will welcome any weather .which, will end tho iiy plague."