THE PERSIAN GULF

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2656, 30 December 1915, Page 6

THE PERSIAN GULF

|:I; v. « ; OUR FAR-FLUNG LINE FIGHTING THE ARABS 1 NEWSFROM OUR NAVAL HEROES. i' . Tlio, following particulars from a lct- > ter just receivod by Mr. Fred Ilowns, f . of this', city, will give some... indication ; : .of the assistance in the present con- ' Kict-wliich is being given by the. New 2 Zealand members :of tho British naval force. Tlio letter, is dated "October ' : 26,".'and mentions .that sinco last writing .ai'farejve.ll look had been, given, to i • "German Bast;" and (incidentally it ;> Js mentioned that tho "laying aside" of ' tho ICoiiigsborg.was only achieved after ;> great, deal oi anxious ; w-ork; Attack on Bushlre. i'After leaving what is termed "Gb* •""* sian East," tho writer's vessel proceedi ed to Muscat, whero bunkers were re- ! plenished, and from there the ship pro- ■ _ceeded 'on to Bushire, up the Persian Gulf, where work was. to bo done and help was urgently needed. i At. Bushire a junction was made with three other ;'Vships,' and the: information was given i ; jftorit that the New Zealanders in'com- [;¥■ 1 pany with the men of . the other ships lii'i! and Indian troops had. to effect a landpi.o ing. and punish, a tribe which had been conducting',' marauding expeditions and ' had also surprised and cut up a British r:.: patrol. Tho writer says: "Tlie place \vhero we had to land was a very sbal- ■: low beaoh and the boats could not get ; tloser to the shore than 100 yards,.and >.'■ n heavy'surf was running. A few. yards 'beyond the beach the land took a slight ?!'' tise, and here the enemy had entrenched themselves. On August 13 preparations for landing were complete. The beats -got-within' : 2oo yards of the'beach' when they were swept by rifle fire, five men being, killed and 14 wounded ; a' : . lieavy loss for a force of 500. Tho lads made the ground and firmly rooted, themselves, making a base and: en- • v trenching themselves in. Oh account of . the heat, and for other reasons, all .at- ', tacks in this country are made in the . early morning. Major AVintle was in charge of the operations and 1 on the morning of August. 14 an attack was made- on tlie village' of Dilwar. The .fire to whicht-he attack•;ing.forco was subjected Whilst crossing an open plain was so severe that a, r.e-treat-had to be c-alled, tho. casualties including Commander Bloomfield.' of H.M.S. —' On the morning of; the ■loth tho attack was renewed, and we . eventually.:storniixl and took the village, ... fO'nly to find that the enemy troops had got away. The following morning the troops re-embarked on their various ships and proceeded onwards. Those engaged in the landing were 226 naval ratings and 210 Indian "infantry, also two maxims. ■ The total casualties wero seven ; killed and 19. wounded, naval' rating, and 6 killed and 10 wounded,; Indian ... infantry. The .enemy loss was given : at. 400, and their strength as between 3000 and 4000. The ship's" guns were used : .to cover the.advance and retreat, i otherwise the enemy would soon havo made us ! into small meat. Before we : left-we bombarded the place, and also ■ Mother village,'until it > was burning. From here we began to search various ; places and rivers for Tangistani dhows, ■ • but with little success." '""""'The Capture ojf bolia.' ■ "Our'next, escapade',.continues the' writer,: "was at a placo called ' Doha. There was hero a'Turkish fort with'some guns, which are sadly in the way, for, . though they 'were old,- the guns. were. ■ still dangerous. We steamed into the harbour on August 19, and on the fol- , lowing; day 45 men were landed to storm tho fort.. The birds had flown, leaving everything behind them,,and we had a splendid capture of arms; ammunition, • and equipment—in fact, the whole show was deserted," just as it stood. We. brought the guns off to the ship, and did in some of the shells and blew uji p. : ' . the powder, and the arms and ammunition were given to the. neighbouring friendly Sheik. Afterwards we found : it'was a stroke of diplomacy by Major Keyes and our captain to get the guns, if possible, without fighting. It suc- . ceeded, otherwise wo would probably Hiave blown tho whole show to pieces." Bushlro Again Visited. "Our third encounter," continues the ■. Mrriterj "was at Bushire, and it was a very hard scrap, too. The previous night tho storming party was landed in order to gain a knowledge of local con- - ' 'ditions and for exercise. They had been out for'about an hour when the signal that the eiiemy .was advancing in force v,-as received. This necessitated a ; ■ forced inarch or three miles in a broiling heat of 116 degrees in the shade, • and without breakfast. The, country being all open, everything was to the > •enemy's advantage. They took cover ■ like Tabbits, and being of the same col.our as the earth it was hard to pick them out, Maxims were ineffectually brought into use, and it was only when ■ the Europeans and Indian infantry charged that the enemy was forced to give way, and eventually yield. Tlie victory was complete, but was dearly ... bought, the death-roll being 3 white cavalry officers and about 20 or' 30 men, in addition to other casualties." The Soldier's Philosophy. Tlie writer proceeds: "It was a sorry little crowd who buried the fallen the : next morning, for we had lost two more ■ of our shipmates, who were liighly e5:....' : ....' teemed and tho most jovial fellows .I've ' met. One had only a few months to go till he had earned his pension <:nd was one of the best of company. You never . knew a dull moment -when he was present. but we mustn't look down in the mouth, for it may be anyone's turn next; hut it is hard to lose a staunch and good pa 1 .." "It's You or tho Other Man." The letter .goes on to say that since September things have been quiet, but for a month the men had been _ waiting for another "go." Li a radius of ' about 100 miles there were 40,000 people: all under Gorman influence, but they were getting all tliey wanted from tho : little handful of British. As tlio writer said "We have warmed them tip." Words, however could not better describe the situation. "I could tell you a lot more," concludes the correspondent, '.'but I shall keep it for later. Killing is good sport once you have tasted blood 1 . It is strange, but ail else is forgotten, and when you meet in conflict it is you or the other man who has to go under."