Desultory Fighting at The Dardanelles

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 December 1915, Page 2

Desultory Fighting at The Dardanelles

■STTMLNG KNTHJb/M'OHnUJilNTfcj". .MIXING AND LOli NTii.lt-AIiN L\ G. -Malcolm iioss, (Jliicial War Cor respondent with Uie.x.Z. Forces.; Gallipoli i'en. ; Oct. For some considerable time now— since the light for iiill OU, ill which ili- ; -Now Zealand mounted troops distinguished themselves by their briiiain charge and their sustained vaiour ui holding the position gaineu—the operations the entire Hunt iu tnu three sectors have been on a nnmr scale, and the -Now Xealanders, who Jmve been earning a weli-desei ved rest have taken no part in Liieni. Generally speaking, the positions gaineu have been improved and strengthened, and along" the lines in other pjaces tupping and mining have been carne.i oil by, botli sidies. J'he Turks, wno seem to have an army ol' digger*, navo made thajtepositioiis 011 the heigh': iv. and also at buvla very Trenches seem to grow in u i.'gln.Wnd the hills and iloue-i « lscar.'e and cris-crosseu \v • U it-il.nv earth"thrown up Iroin treneh and sap. Saiid-oagged pa rape Ls an., barbed wile entanglements grow along ,nm 1 . spile, of the lire fioin our m-s i•/ !i -in land and sea. Our men have been equally busy, and in the sapping ail! mining, but more especially the Miter, the honours have been with Us. Hitherto tile Australians and -New Zealanders with picked men who had spent most of their lives in eoal ami goldtlields have done splendid work. .Mining id peace time has its dangers and excitements; but ill war time, when, instead of the 'black diamonds, and me grey yuaitz the miner is out lo circii uvent and kili his lellow-man, ins job is indeed a nerve-racking one. When you have crawled on all tours into one of the dark "listening galleries," Have liearu the tap-tap of a I urkisli pick oiuy a few feet away, and Know that uie enemy has high explosives ready to Ins nand you realise that you cannot lie lar Irom Kingdom-come, and that tne men who spend hours 111 these cramped audi gloomy positions are inde.-l heroes. You never know the niuiiieui your shattered body may uo hurtled Jieaveliward, bruised anil battered an l bleeding, amidst a cloud, ui earth and stones and smoke and gas, or iniriua ii\ the suli'ucating uimes and tne debrio ol' the tunnel itsell. TJie British troops, also, have piekju men for this work-men who luue iiecn accustomed iu iiuning--aiid they, too, have been doing splendid work, and. generally, beating the Turk at the game. Early in the month a mining company, at the eastern end ul whai is known as the i 1 usiiier Uiull liringlijie, successfully exploued a nune "which destroyed part ol the enemy o trench, ami sent a number of Turks and a machine gun hurtling into tne air. Such surprises are apt to be rather nerve-shattering even to tne placid and fatalistic Tunc, and, to leave mm little time to call oil Allah. On tiie lollowing day the troops in this instance established a post oil the lip of tne crater, thus denying it to the energy. Next day (October (til) our indefatigable miners exploded another mine near the former one, and on ihi; Sth a further one between these u\u. 'J iiese explosions damaged, the enemy .3 liring-line and wire, and buried one ol their barricades. Again, at l-one l'ine position the Australians exploded a mine which damaged the enemy's gallery. During the lusL week there wut> lil.lii ol interest in connection with the opei a Lions above ground, but 011 uoin sides there was considerable mining activity. The inferiority 01 the Tun; in this form of -warfare was again exemplified, for at Bill 01) tne 'lurks exploded a mine with disastrous results to themselves. This was on'the lf.li instant. When ai the premeditated hour the miner lit Jiis fuse he loiind that he had made a slight mistake in his calculations, tor it was his own trench and entanglements aim. not ours tl at shot up into the ail'. 111 ii not lie < part ol our line however the enemy was more successful, for he succeeded ; n exploding a mine right under our trenches. Fortunately, lor some time our miners had heard their rivals at woi k below them, and expecting an explosion, the garrison liad already heeii withdrawn. Five ol our miners working underground were uuried by this explosion and,given up as lost. Three days later, iiaving dug themselves out, they reappeared to tlio surprise and joy ol their comrades, little the worse ior their trying ordeal! DESULTOUY I 1 IGiITING. At intervals 3 desultory lighting breaks out ut unexpected tunes in various plains along the line. On the OLli October our guns aLtiiekeii' liie Turkish position along tno crest 01 Ki retell Tope SirL, a 2UU-inetre rid.ge due north from our left wing trendies at fciuvia. At 1 p.lll. two battleships opened lire with their i'Jin. guns i 1:0111 Suvla Bay, and a monitor iurtlier up the coast chipped i-u'-ufj high explosives, lire being dirc-V-Led against the enemy's support cum' communication trenches over a considerable area, as well as against their main trenches. The enemy replied! with their field guns and machine guns,'mainly tnnn the south ul the ridge.. The fillips' h<e was well directed, and.it was evide.it that it did considerable damage. Abo it u quarter ol an hour later our heid artillery joined in the bombardment. This combined effort eventually drove the enemy from their trenCfies, and they came under eifectivc fire from our machine guns. Later the Turks endeavoured to repair the snattercd parapets, and again Tjeeanie a target; lor our machine-guns. On the 7th October a successful demonstration was also made in the First Australian Division area, the -warships co-operating with Lhe troops. This commenced at 8.30 p.m., after dark, the enemy trendies being lighted up by parachute rockets, while lire was opened 011 any target disclosed. This drew a heavy and sustained lire from the enemy.

Two nights the Turks were surprised 111 the Annuo Oove position, widen lies to the eastward: ol JJiyak Anaiiwla and to tiie leu aiul north oi the ground hold uy tlio >.\ow Zealand and Australian division. Hoio a coinpuny ui Lovai's Scouts lett tlicir trciiclics and gallantly stormed and seized a Turkish barricade. . inij? l 'they couveited and strengthened to our own use, and dug trenches to connest up with it from our own trenches. Their casualties were' only two killed ana six wounded, while they succeeded m killing fourteen Turks audi taking two prisoners. fJiJfl WAR COLi R ESP UNDENTS For some months there were live war correspondents on the l'eninsula, ouu the number has recently oeon reduced to three. Mr Ashmead Uartiett, representing the London dailies, was recalled to England, and Air M. W. Nevinson, representing the provincial papers, has left on a month's lurlougu. There remain only Mr Ij. Lawrence, representing Heater's ami tlie oiliciai correspoiideni.s with the Australian suiu New Zealand forces. Two or our number ilnive. beejv-vvouuded; one was "rescued lro iT'a torpedoed warship, aiiti all ha\ v e had their narrow cscapcs, both from shot ami shell. Mr A\aru Puioe, "of ilie Daily Mail, is coming out. /nstead of Mr .Liartlett, and a Russian ? correspondent may ulso appear on the scene, so that the corps win in a tvw weeks be back to its ordinary strength.