THE DARDAMELLES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 April 1916, Page 3

THE DARDAMELLES.

WHEN uNEAU A VICIOItY. v The following nussage was publish od in tiie ban Eramisoo "Chronicle' on December 22.— Had the Allied fleet returned to it< attack upon the Dardanelles ibaiteue on the day alter the great bombard ment on March 10th iast, the-waterwa* to Constantinople would have beei surely forced in, in the opinion of s number ol artillery qllicers of the do fence works near lclilninek ilale, ex pressed to the Associated I'retss con es pondent, who has just come from tin i>ard«metles liont to Vienna. One of the principal batteries hat. four armour-piercing shells each lor throe of its large calibre guns when night ended the tremendous effort oi the lirltish audi French fleets, it appeared. For the fourth gun live shells were left, making tor the entire battery a total of 17 -projectiles i t the sort which the aggressors had to (ear. What it meant is Xest understood when it. is considered that the battery ;n question was tile one -which had to be give;i the widest berth by the Allied ® eetsDuring the evening of MTfTfch otn The Associated Press correspondent talked to several artillery officers from tho batterv in question. '-Butter pack up and be readiv to quit at daybreak," saiti one of them "Why?" he was asked. "Oh, they -are sure to get in tomorrow." Then the officer stated his reasons. He Has so sure that Hie lii.ii h -"ud French would return in' the morning to fininh their 'ht tlu re was no question, in his mfiTil sis to th ■ p:«>p» »• of discussiing the ammunition matter. "We'll hold out well enough t-i make them think that there is no end to our supply of ammunition," he .said, "lint it oan't. be done if they go si-bout their work in real earnest. With our heavy pieces useless , they'can rodiu ce the batteries on the other shore without trouble. Thd case looks Hopeless. You had ibetter take my advice." Following the injunction thifS given the correspoiHlont enriy next nio l ing arose and packed his tew belongings keeping, meanwhile, a -watchful eye on the tower of Kale Sultanie, wlinle the flag showing that the Allied fleet was aiear, -was usually hoisted. ilJut the morning hours passed and stilj the danger did not appear. The Allied fleet cvWlc-nttv not inclined to risk more such losses as those of the previous day when the Bouvet, Irresistible and Ocean went down and live others were badlv damaged. And yet even with only the remaining ships it appears from the Turkish admissions that the I),ml«nelles could have ibeen forced; on Ma'-eh 19th. During the day the correspondent visited several of the batteries. '! lie damage done on the day ~T>efoi e was slight indeed, consisting mostly-of -argi' earth displacements from the jarapet ajid traverses. Four guns were temporarily out of commission, but tho general shortage of 'ammunition made these pieces negligible quantities, anyway. Although the British info, ma-tion system in this fie lid of operation was efficient, it must hnve failed! in tins instance, for it seems certain that with 17 shell's the (I)attery in question woulcl have ibeen easily disposed of, a channel could the# lrave been made through the_ niini-fi-dd, sind the way to Oonstantinopl(i> ivould have been open. This was reiulised in the Turkish onpitail. The court made inningonipnts for its transfer to Eslcisheir in An«tolia and the German and AU.stro-iHungnviajn eniibassies also were ready to_go to this ( ancient seat of the- Oiffoman Government. Many of the families of the Oeran-an officers in the Turkish service . left Constantinople. •In short, everyhodiy undeiistood that a. calamity was impending. What its exact nature was ihii't lew knew. To-da.y the Dardaneileis forts hare ail the am,m unit ion tlie.v can use, and the position generally Tins been mi improved and strengthened that it is considered probable tliot to Force the j strnite would take reore ships than he Allies have. j