OUR MOUNTED MEN IN ACTION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2606, 30 October 1915, Page 12

OUR MOUNTED MEN IN ACTION

"FOOTING IT" IN GALLIPOLI

IN THE TURKISH TRENCHES

(By Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with tlio New Zealand Forces.) Callipoli Peninsula, August 28. The New Zealand Infantry Brigado has not been doing much fighting lately, tut a section of tho New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was again in action yesterday on the left flank. They participated in a. hot fight, and again acquitted' themselves well. The fight was in the vicinity of a. low hill —known to us as Knoll 60 —situated in tho broad valley to the westward of the Anafarta villages. At this point the Turks held a strong position, and it becamo necessary to dislodge them 'from • some of their forward trenches. With them wore associated in this advance a force from the <lth and 6th Australian Brigades. In all there woro probably not more than 2000 of our troops engaged. Tho fight was preceded by a bombardment from land, artillery, and the guns 011 tho ships off tho coast. Our own artillery, which had been to some extent redisposed to meet tho situation, did effective work. In the afternoon I went out with the Colonel in command to the forward trenches to view the position. One of our batteries was already in action, registering upon the Turkish treuches, and 011 the next hill another battery, drawn over rough ground by horse 3 and then man-handled into its position across still rougher ground, was also ready, speaking volumes for the energy and enthusiasm of these New Healanders, who had been hard at work all da,y and all night. Nearly all the batteries were well concealed, so that not even an aeroplane could spot them. A Warm Spot. Crossing a flat to tho farthest-out battery, a stray ; bullet just missed us, hitting the ground a resoudir,g whack not more than eighteen inches off. Further 011, as wo wero crossing tho little valley near the barley field, tho Colonel said: "Tho last time we camo over here, they fired two shells at us, but. iliero were ten or twelve of us. We'd better spread ] out a bit." He had scarcely finished. the sentence when a burst of shrapnel peppered' the noso of the ridgo right in front. Wo changed our course slightly, and after a. timo canio upon our farthest-out guns in a splendid position, looking straight out to the front Turkish trenches on Knoll 60. Here, under the shelter of tho shields, some sandbags, and a narrow, shallow trench, a gun's crew were sheltering ready for action. The Turks, during tho engagement, spotted this battery, and aimed some shrapnel and high explosives at it,, but the men stuck to their work gamely, and did some fine shooting. From this point we followed a winding trench to a point where we could obtain a clear view of tho Turkish position. The enemy, as usual, was well entrenched, and had. the advantage, of height. It was quite evident that it was going to be a stiff fight. The bombardment started at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the guns of tho ships and destroyers, the field guus of the 9th Army Corps, the howitzers of the 69th Brigade,, the New Zealand field guns and howitzers, and the Mountain Artillery participating. In the preliminary bombardment, which lasted for an hour, our howitzer batteries rained high explosive shells to tho number of about 500 upon tlio Turkish trenches, the great'bursts of earth and sand giving clear demonstration that the registering had been successful and the sustained fire accurate. Tlio effect was seen afterwards in the enemy trenches strewn with dead. Meantime the field guns had been busy sweeping tho approaches to tho objective by which the enemy might send reinforcements,. and also in shelling the Turkish trenches farther along the ridge to I the south-east.

The enemy artillery was kept well in liand until the actual assault was. launched. Then, the firing of one battery of '•'seventy-fives" was effective, tlie observation being good and the shrapnel bursting low and generally at the right spot. Tlio New Zealanders during their advance captured one of the enemy ma-chine-guns, and 10,000 rounds of pre-viously-captured Turkish ammunition was sent up to be used on the enemy per medium of their own gun. The Invisible Foe. At 5 p.m., after a brief pause, the artillery switched on to targets right and left and farther ahead, 'and the infantry advanced to the attack. Throughout all this bombardment, tho enemy had held his fire in restraint, and there was scarcely a Turk to bo seen. Now, as our men clambered out of their trenches and began to advance upon the enemy trenches there was a great burst of riflo and machine-gun tire, and shrapnel from tho unseen Turkish guns also began to burst abovo. them. They mado a very gallant forward dash and gained the trench on the left, but they were heavily bombed, and after a good deal of lighting found that they could not hold it. The Australians on tho right, turning a corner, found a Turkish machine-gun playing on them at close range, and were unablo to make much headway. Tho Now Zealanders, however, to tho number of 300, assisted by 100 men from the 18th Battalion of the Fifth Australian Brigade, advanced gallantly and determinedly in the face of a hot fire, and capturcd three of tlie Turkish trenches. Tho Auckland and Canterbury men were in the first line, the Wellington and Otago men in the second lino. The New Zealanders found the first trench still held by Turks, and these wcro mostly disposed of with rifle fire, a few being bayoneted. In tho second trench thero was scarcely a Turk to bo seen, but tho third trcnch, which captured a machine gun, was captured only after very scvcro fighting. One young New Zealand officer had a hand-to-hand fight with a sturdy Turk, who, before ho was finally disposed of, succeeded in wounding the New Zealaixler. Tho officer hud had his rifle shot away and the Turk on his entering the first trench bayoneted him in the leg. Then they' fell upon one another at close quarters. The Turk, using a sharp-pointed table knife, wounded the ofiicer in tho arm. Meantime the latter was feeling for his revolver, but, the case being a new one, ho had some difficulty in getting it out quickly. After n little more of the knife and the rough-and-tumble, the revolver was unholstered, and thon— "mafeesh" tho Turk I Tho office)' carried on for several hours, and then his leg gave out. In such narrow quarters as a captured trench tho fight, when it has passed tho stage of tuso contra ruse, often becomes one of puro physical superiority. Tho jab from the bayonot, and oven tho bullet from tho riflo are interdicted by tho limitations of 6pace. In this particular contest one stalwart Australian who was minus his riflo and bayonet had a Turked jamhed up in a corner and was sailing into him with Jiis fists in truly orthodox style. Needless to say it was tho Turlc who eventually went nndor, ho also beiug minus rifle and bayonot.

Our Losses. Our losses were considerable, but tho Turkish losses appear to Lave been much heavier. There must have been nearly a thousand Turkish dead in tho tranche bo fore- tli* nvMung was fnv la seme fll&cas the-v. weiajjilsd

two or three deep, and our men, advancing up Hie trench, hacl to scramblo over their prostrate forms. This was in quite the early stages of the figlit, and was a tribute to the accuracy and effectiveness of our artillery. Our machine guns and tlic rifle fire accounted for a good many more, so that altogether the. Turkish casualties must have been severe, especially for a defending force in a strongly entrenched position. This afternoon when General Godley went, out to review the position, tlio Brigado was formed up and in a few words ho congratulated them upon the excellent work they had done in, this campaign. He referred to what they had accomplished on Walker's Ridge, and also to their particularly brilliant performance in capturing the nearer Turkish positions and covering tlio attack of tlic assaulting columns on tlio night of August 6. Their exceptional gallantry in the hand-to-hand fighting that took place hi the darkness in most difficult country on- that occasion would for ever redound to their credit, and would, lie felt sure, be looked upon as a stirring page in New Zealand military history. He feelingly referred to the death of Colonel Bauehop, who on that occasion was mortally wounded while gallantly leading the Otago Regiment, to the loss of Major Chapman, who was killed while leading the Auckland Mounted Rifles, and also the loss of Major Overton, of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, who just previously had made a difficult and dangerous reconnaissance of the country to be traversed in the darkness by one of the assaulting columns. Tlio regiment had fought' with great courage and endurance. Notwithstanding their roduced numbers owing to the-heavy casualties, lie felt sure tlio spirit of the Brigade was as keen as ever, and he know that if lie wished to call upon tliem for any special effort) there were no troops that he could call upon with more confidence than those of the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade. Last night tbe Now Zealanders and tho _ Australian Light Horse attacked | again in the_ darkness, and got to the ft>p of the liifl, capturing further trenches. Tho brunt of this attack fell on the Australian Light Horse, who fought splendidly. The fighting was largely with bombs. Ths Maheno Arrives. Yesterday, the graceful lines of tho f.wo-funuelled, luxuriously appointed Maheno, the New Zealand Hospital Ship, appeared in tlio Gulf of Saros, and she quickly steamed to an anchorage beside a sister hospital ship. She arrived just in time to enablo those on board to form some idea of what a batle on a small scale is liko. Doctors, nurses, and crew wero spectators of tlie afternoon's bombardment. All night long her blaze of golden light gleamed on the calm waters, awaking memories of their own dear land in the minds of many a New Zealander. All night long the doctors and nurses and attendants wero busy with the wreckage from the battlefield. This morning, with a full cargo, sho lifted lier anchor, and, tho foam flying from her propeller, disappeared across the horizon,