NEW ZEALANDERS PROWESS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2617, 12 November 1915, Page 4

NEW ZEALANDERS PROWESS

i « SIR lAN HAMILTON'S RECOGNITION. A copy of a spccial order issued by General Sir lan Hamilton, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, after tlic battle of Sari Bair, lvas reached the Defence Minister (Hon. J. Allen). The order was issued at the 'General Headquarters on September 7, after the ground gained ia August had been consolidated, and the reports of the divisional commanders had been received. "The Commander-in-Chief. Mediterranean Expeditionary Jb'oroe, runs tlie order, "desires formally to record the fine feat of arms achieved by the.troops under the command of LieutenantGeneral Sir W. R. Birdwood during the battle of Sari Bair. The fervent desire of all ranks to close with the enemy, the impetuosity of their onset, and the steadfast valour with which they maintained the long struggle, these will surely make appeal to their countrymen all over the world."The gallant capture of the almost impregnable Lone Pine trenches by the Australian Division, and tlhe equally gallant defence of the position against repeated counter-attacks, are exploits which will live in history. The determined assaults carried out from other parts of the Australian Division's line were also of inestimable service to the whole force, preventing ai they did.the movements of large bodies of reinforcements to the northern flank. "Tho troops under the command of Major-Gcneral Sir A. J. Godley, and particularly the New Zealand and Australian Division., were called upon to carry out one of the most difficult military operations that-has ever..,been attempted—a night march 'and assault by several columns in intricate mountain country, strongly entronched, and held by a numerous mid determined enomy. Their brilliant conduct during this operation and the success they _ achieved have won for them a reputation as soldiers of whom any country must be proud. "To the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, therefore, and to those who were associated with that famous corps in tho battle of Sari Bair—th® Maoris, Sikhs, Gurkhas, and, the new troops of the 10th and 13th Divisions from the Old Country—Sir lan Hamilton tenders his appreciation _ of their efforts, his admiration of their gallantry, and his thanks for their achievements. It is an honour to command a force which numbers such men as these in its ranks, and it is the Com-mander-in-Chief's high privilege to acknowledge that honour.-—(Sgd.) W. P. BRAITIIWAITE, Major-General, Chiof of the General Staff."