Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1920. ON THREE FRONTS.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 March 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1920. ON THREE FRONTS.

o*' tiie writing of war books and the publication of war literature, there is no end. A reviewer says that an anonymous M.P., who has written, “Mons A tissue, and Kut,” has an extensive knowledge of Oriental languages, and to that he owes the variety of his war experiences. He was a member of the old regulars, and took part in the famous retreat, his description of which leaves a lively sense of the confusion and bewildering vicissitudes of those dark days. /He was wounded near Landrecics, fell into the hapds of the Germans; and regained his freedom o|t flic Allied advance from jthe Marne. When he had recovered from his wound he was sent on semi-secret service work to Egypt, wliel-e it was feared that a rebellion was brewing. Later lie be_cajne interpreter and intelligence officer to the N«H' .Zealand Division, and was _ with it from the landing until shortly before the evacuation, when he was invalided to Egypt. He confirms the reports that the men on the spot had very little confidence in the success of the enterprise. “In every discussion there was; unanimity between military naval, and political officers, who all wished the landing to take place at Alexandretta, and deplored (not to use a stronger word) the project of the Dardanelles.” And again : ''The general impression is that we shall get a very bad knock, and that it may set the war back a year, besides produc-

mg an indefinite amount of trouble in the East.” That impression was strengthened as the campaign wore on. The author has much te say of his six months on the peninsula and of the Apzncs. He is immensely proud of the New Zealanders, whom he regards ias the finest troops in the world. He also admire® .the Australians greatly, [ but holds that, at .tha.t time, at any rate, the New Zealanders were their equals in elan and their superiors in discipline. “The Australians had brought with them two ideas which were only eliminated hv time, fighting i and their own good sense. Tile ‘eight-hour-day’ was almost a holy principle and when they had violated it by holding on for two or three days heroically, they thought that they deserved a “spell”. The second principle was not to leave their pals. When a man was wounded his friends would insist upon bring- ' ; ing him down, instead of leaving him 1 to the oircteller hearers. When they ' had learned the .practical side of war •

both those dogmas w<.*iv jettisoned, fn fnet, on Gallipoli, they were /‘(he best of companions,’* 1 and the author made many friends, some of whom have since risen to military eminence, while others lie in an honoured grave. Perhaps the most interesting feature of those chapters is t-he description of the armistice for the burial of the dead. He was in charge of arrangements, conversed in their own tongue with Turks of all ranks, and learned what they thought of the whole affair. Next the author went as political officer to Mesopotamia., where at first his chief task was to open up relations with the Arab tribes. Later lie shared in the unsuccessful attempt to relieve Kut, It ws doomed to failure from the outset and every one knew it. Indeed in the Mesopotamian ex- J pedition, as in the Dardanelles, he. I C.. .. ,1 —. M —-.—— ■■• 1. _ - 1. I . . ..It lbn 1* I

round everywhere the conviction tnat tig* undertaking was hopeless with the resources available; a conviction that was nevertheless accompanied by the utmost resolution. Also, in Mesopotamia, as Gallipoli, he was slwclcrrl at the inadequacy of the medical arrangements. His harrowing descriptions supplement the reports *of . the two commissions. It is said that the public are tiring of war books, but though “An M.P.” is covering well-worn ground, lie has much to teli us that is new, and even the most jaded palate .will appreciate his story.