The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1915. AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2650, 22 December 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1915. AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK

The news of the withdrawal of the British forces from the Suvla and Anzac districts of the Gallipoli Peninsula does not conic 21s & surprise. After the first desperate onslaught in April last it soon became evident that a tremendously difficult task had been undertaken, and since then tlie opinion has been steadily gaining ground that the barriers which block that way to Constantinople are insuperable, though other roads may yet be opened. The withdrawal is, iif course, regrettable from the sentimental point of view, but sentiment must not be allowed to interfere with strategy. The duty of our military authorities is to make the best possible use of the forces at their disposal, and to take the most effective measures to bring the war to a speedy and triumphant end. It is folly to persist in a mistake rather than admit it, and forthwith take the necessary steps to remedy It. The people of New Zealand cannot help regretting that tho Dardanelles campaign, in which their own troops have played such a heroic part, cannot bo crowned with success. But we are not going to whine or whimper about it. If our men can do better service for the Empire in some other theatre of the war wc will not complain about their withdrawal from Gallipoli. Nothing can dopi'lvo the Naw Zealandand Australians ot the everla**-

ing honour which they have won oil that famous battleground. They did all that men could do. There are hi<rh failures which "far overtop mean succcsscs." But in any ease the word failure cannot bo properly applied to their work. It is true that they have not been able to fight their way to Constantinople, but their efforts have not been in vain. The Dardanelles campaign gave grea't assistance to Russia at a very critical time, it made it impossible for Turkey to deliver a serious blow at Egypt, and it has exercised great influence on the Balkan situation. It has, in fact, kept Turkey s hands full since April last, ancl has enormously reduced her ability to give trouble elsewhere. Our men have the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped to make history on a large scale, and that they almost succeeded in achieving the impossible. An American military expert speaks in glowing 'terms of tho heroism of the Allied troops in Gallipoli. He states that "British history has ho more brilliant page than the' story of tfie lighting in the Dardanelles. Thousands of men have touched the highest level of heroism in the battles that raged back and forth across the cliffs and gorges." The Battle of tho Landing is one of the most brilliant and inspiring events in the 'military annals of the British Empire. It was, as Mr.' Buchan tells ns in his history of the war, a fight without a precedent. Every rule of war was set at nought, and on paper the thing was impossible, as the Turkish Army_ Order announced. "That our audacity succeeded," remarks Mr. Buchan, "is a tribute to the unsurpassable fighting quality of our men—the Regulars of tlje 29th Division, the Naval Division, and not least to the dash and doggedness of the Australasian Corps. Whatever be the judgment of posterity on its policy or its conseq'ucnces, the Battle of the Landing will be acclaimed as a mighty feat of arms." The men who have fought with such indomitable _ courage against insurmountable difficulties and overwhelming odds in Gallipoli have won the gratitude and admiration of the Empire, and jt is quite certain that they will do their duty just as cheerfully and fight with the same unconquerable spirit in whatever sphere of operations their services may in future bo required.