13 YEARS AGO

Hokitika Guardian, 21 December 1928, Page 2

13 YEARS AGO

ON GALLIPOLI

EVACUATION OF ANZAC

Thirteen years ago, on the night of the 19th.-20th. December, 1913, the evacuation of Anzae, one of tlic most amazing exploits of the war, was successfully completed. For eight months the agony and stress of holding on to that little piece of land, snatched so gallantly from the Turks, had gone on. and then by a feat ,almost as desperate as tile land itself, the force of New, Zealand, Australian and English troops that held the position, were taken, as it wort’, from under the very noses of the Turkish Army, 83,000 strong.

During the week previous to the evacuation all non-essential troops were gradually got awy. Each night the beach was crowded with men of the Engineers, Ambulances, Army Service Corps, and later the reserve battalions, who were quickly embarked on the waiting launches and pinnaces and taken.to the waiting trawlers and minesweepers that took them to safety and comparative comfort at Lemnos and Imbros. Huge quantities of stores were removed and all the guns, except six, which were destroyed. These had to be left as it was essential to have a certaim amount of artillery available on land, up to the last moment, to enable the bluff to be carried out successfully.

xG had bfcen quite a normal thing at Anzae to move troops during the night, sometimes several battalions at a time being taken to one of the islands for a spell and at other times reinforcements would be landed. All this the Turks could see, and they were not, therefore, alarmed by the traffic that continued so heavily all through that memorable week. Even on shore it was not very obvious to see what was happening until one observed that the ammunition cases were being carried to the barges instead of away. It. all looked quite normal. Up in the trenches life had taken a different colour, in no way was watchfulness decreased, indeed it was increased, but orders were issued for silent periods, when on no account whatever, was any shot to Ire fired. These periods grew from hours to days, and finally it appeared that the Turk was quite prepared for the British to “play possum” as long as he liked. This ruse was necessary to allow the final 1 parties 1 to leave the front line trenches and reach the'distant beaches without molestation, and well did it work.

The silence on these occasions was most eerie. When the ear had become accustomed to the continued sound of rifle fire, near or far, the almost ceaseless rat-tat-tat of machine guns, the explosion of bombs, and the "whistle of a shell, preceded by the baik of the gun and followed by the roar of the projectile, the silence was oppressive. It could be almost heard and felt. .. .

However, time was getting on. The lfi't remaining troops, about 6000, distributed along a twelve mile front, were divided into three parties, and a most intricate programme was worked out to ensure that no one should be left behind. The times that it took to move from the various parts of the line to.the point of embarkation were accurately obtained, and the times for the parties- to?-'leave; their posts were worked Down ih the saps that lead up ’the gullies to the trenches on the crests above, great wire entangled gates were constructed, eventually to delay the Turk should he follow the last intrepid band, and at these, control pdsts were established, where each man could be personally checked through. On that winter’s evening the moon was shining through a thin mist; everything was normal; an occasional shot could be heard along the front and now and again the Turkish artillery fired. Slowly the transports crept in. Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. the first portion of the 'defenders came down the beach, and were quickly and silently away. A 10 p.m. B party commenced their toilsome journey through the miles of saps to the beach, leaving a mere handful of “diehards” to hold the front until their comrades were safely on the sea. “Beachy Bill” dropped a! shell near one of the lighters, but that was only to be expected, and in any case it only made a splash.

For three hours a mere handful of men had been guarding the front when at 1.30 a.m. a bomb was heard to explode at the “Apex.” It was a farewell gift. At 2 a.m. “Quinn's Post” was deserted, and half an hour later the men on the extreme right left, and the defences of Anzac that had with-held the attacks of thousands of Turks, were deserted. It was a solemn moment, and an anxious period elapsed while those few last gallant men made their way down the Peres. There was a desultory fire on the right; for a moment the Turkish artillery woke into savage action on a deserted post. All this limo the little band of men were nearing the beach, as each party was checked in man by man, off they went to the waiting warships—for warships were taking off the “Diehards ’ in case that help was required. At last they wore all in, and suddenly on the “Neck,” the scene of many a halrd fought struggle, a. huge red cloud rolled across, for a second it was lignted with orange and red that faded again into the night. A great boom echoed round the empty valleys. Turkish artillery, machine-guns and rifles, fearing an attack, opened fire in wild alarm and another huge explosion on the beach, followed by leaping flames as the few remaining stores were destroyed, gave the signal that evacuation was complete. And now that the struggle is over, now that tho great guns of Chanak are

silent, and the liill-sides once peopled with busy men, are again given over to the song birds and the wandering Turkish shepherds—what is the gain to the world? AVhat is the gain to New Zealand ?

For assuredly, there is some gain? Our eight months’ struggle—even if it grievously tried us undoubtedly weakened the military power of the Turks. But it did more. It taught the New Zealander many things. It taught him lessons that stood him in excellent stead on the battlefields of the world. It taught him to respect his own strength and capabilities For before the war we were an untried and insular people; after Anzac, we were tried and trusted. Before Anzac we had few standards; after Anzac we knew that, come what may, if it were humanly possible—and often when it seemed impossible—New Zealanders would not be found wanting, but would prove irresistible in attack, steadfast and stubborn in defence—and what more can anyone ask of soldiers?

Even as in he war we lost our insularity an found our national spirit, so at Anzac we found our brothers-in-arms, the gallant sons of Australia: and we did our work together—for if tho initial “A” stands for Australia. New Zealand furnished the every necessary consonants. So, in the future we must stand together and carry the white man’s burden in these Southern Seas*