Terrible execution

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 October 1915, Page 3

Terrible execution

HOI UECEPTION i'Oiv TIIE I'll* TjU KEINI'OKCILUENTS. Private I , '. G. <Jullen, of the Auckland Uattalioii, fifth Contingent, writing from King George's Hospital, Waterloo, says:— Vt c landed salely at - a.m. on Sunday, August Bth. At daylight Turkish snipers got amongst us, and did terrible execution. Later they turned shrapnel on to us and simply slaughtered us iu dozens. We could do nothing lor we were all lying on the beach, and could not see a Turk anywhere. Alter live hours' shelling we were taken up a trench leading to the liring lino. Aa soon as we got into it the Turks got shells in there, too, and each shell swept the trench for twenty yards or so. You could hear tiie shells come screaming overhead, then everybody would get down against the side of the trench and hope for the shells to burst somewhere else. Once i was sheltering in a bend waiting to make a rush forward, when a shell burst on the bend iu front of me. Its explosion knocked me Hat, broke my watch and the lead killed or woundod twenty men. i reached the top of the sap safely, though shaken, and we were given a rest. When we had been there about two hours the Turks found us with machine guns. We had to dig ourselves in, and lost a lot of men during the process. Towards evening we got more shells and had to got deeper into x-hc dirt. It simply rained lead and shells all that night. Next day we had to get to work and dig the main sap wider. A lot ol fellows were killed »>y snipers when they were going down to the beach wounded. The hospital at the beach used to get blown out of existence once or twice weekly. The lied Cross ships in the bay were often fired on. About (i a.m. on Tuesday, August 10th, we were told to drop stores, which wo had been carrying all night, and fix bayonets. /They mustered us. and found 430 out ot 1400 who had never been in the tiring line. We had to charge a hill with other New Zealand boys. Wo took it and kept :t. It was Hill 9. I had just reached tfio top and was preparing to fire at the Turk's when 1 was hit oy an explosive bullet in my loft shoulder, which uroko my collar-bone and smashed my soldier to pieces to say nothing of the hole it blew in my back where it came out. —(Jhristchnreh Evening News.