THE FIGHTING AT THE DARDANELLES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1425, 17 July 1915, Page 3

THE FIGHTING AT THE DARDANELLES.

TRENCH WARFARE. SNIPERS AT WORK. THE MOUNTED IN THE FIRING EINE. (By Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the New Zealand Forces.) May 26, It would require more than one thick volume to chronicle half the deeds of heroism that have been done in this Dardanelles business. There is a young fellow here just now who was dug out of some Department office in Egypt, given the rank of captain, and put in charge of a ship with a man who could navigate. He is a cool, brainy fellow, not likely to dash into anything iu a hurry, and not likely to lose his head in any emergency. He would not thank me for mentioning his name. When the, New Zealanders arrived at the Dardanelles they saw a steamer beached with a big hole iu her, foi’ard, But they did not know her story. It appears that she was torpedoed by the Turks during one rather daring adventure, and the Greek crew, knowing she would sink sooner or later, took to the boats and left her. One ol the British destroyers, however, chased them back into the ship, and the young captain and his navigator drove them to work again with iron spanners or any ; thing heavy and solid that came first to hand. The result was that they managed to beach the ship. She is now at Alexandria, being fixed up again, and Captain W. has been able to take a run up to see his wife in Cairo, after between two and three months strenuous work in the Dardanelles. In a tew days he will be back at bis job in that spot that all the world, hut especially Egypt and the Near East, is now watching with so Intense an interest. TRENCH WARFARE. I have already explained that they have no use for our horses on the Gallipolli Peninsula. The country is entirely unsuited for cavalry or mounted Infantry, so here, as elsewhere, it is likely to be largely a question of trench warfare. General Maxwell, whom I saw this afternoon, emphasised that point. More men will be wanted, and what they should be taught is digging and shooting. They must, ot course, be “fit,'’ and they must have learnt discipline ; but digging and shooting should be the watchwords of future reinforcements, The entrenching tool which the New Zealanders used lo tell themselves would be one of the first things they would discard Is now held in possession with an almost sacred reverence. As a lance-corporal put it, a rasn would go all day without bis trousers rather than be without his entrenching tool. The little heap oi dirt yon make in front ot yourself with it is worth a pound an ounce. It is the most valuable bit of dirt in all the world ! COOPERATION WITH THE NAVY. It seems certain now that the Navy could never have forced the Danienelles without an adequate landing force. The little force they themselves were able to lain! at first was rather badly cut up, among the killed being Aulhony Wilding, the famous lawn lentrs champion from New Zealand. Even wilh the cooperation of naval and military forces the capture of the Dardanelles is a tough job. Such united action in the recent operations seems on the whole to have been very effective. One instance of splendid cooperation was told me by an eye witness. The warships off the coast were concentrating a very heavy fire on one particular section ot the Turkish trenches, the idea being that when the bombardment ceased the Colonials were to storm the trenches at the point of the bayonet. For three-quarters ol an hour shell after shell was poured into the Turks, our men advancing by short rushes till they got close up- At the critical moment the warships and our Held guns suddenly ceased firing, and the Colonials launched their attack across the lately shell-swept ground, and with the bayonet soon finished most of the Turks that remained alive. This was an ideal attack, the co-operallou being perfect. The ships had been shelliug over our men at a range of 4000 yards. SIGNALING. The signalling iu such a case w'ould probably have been done by big flag wagging. The three wireless stations erected by the Australians were most valuable. The operators worked calmly among the wounded, with the shrapnel bursting over them. The heliograph was also used, but most useful still were the searchlights of the warships, which could Morse effectively for miles, even in daylight. The helio is more secret but its scope is more limited, for at a distance ot about two miles its radius is only a few yards wide. Visual signalling was largely done away with, because whenever a man stood up to signal he would be shot. Olteu messages were conveyed down the line by woid of mouth, one section yelling them out to another till they reached their destination. INFLUENCE OF THE GERMANS. The German training and leadership has undoubtedly made a vast difference upon the Turkish Army. The Turks ate up to all the German tricks, but our men soon dropped to most of them, and took such measures as were possible to . ~ . . ** \

counteract them. Such Turks a? shammed wounded in the taken trenches and then fired at the backs of our men after they had passed or on our wounded at close quarters got short shrift. . The Turkish guns were well concealed, and some of their snipers even had their laces painted green, and held or tied a green branch in front of their heads as a screen, After a time some of onr men adopted the branch idea of screening themselves when they were stalking the snipers, and it was a pathetic sight sometimes, during lire advance, to see a New Zealander or an Australian lying dead with little bunches of box or holiv stuck through his cap, "it had a sort of Christmassy effect,” said one of the wounded. Often, added this man, you would see a bush moving slowly along quite near you. Von knew at once that yon had In fire right into the centre of that. At other limes yon would see a Turkish face and a pair ol eyes tiuongh the greenery, and their it was a question of who got his lust shot or his bayonet in quickest, Pining the fust day or two’s fighting lire Pinkish lire positions were cleverly screened, and onr men saw very Hide ol them. Neither diii they see manv of the enemy, except when the latter made invasion.d im.he;; (•' change to another position. Once ilie New Zealanders ascertained lire position n! smim Turkish snipers irr tiro hshnrnu's hut--a position they eonid not reach. Word was. however, sent hy Major Poach, \i.i the Signal Craps and the beach wireli-ss, to lire warships, and one of the Salter Siam opened ioe and col a kw holes in the landscape , hut rl was the New Zealand howitzer batlciy by this linn; landed and well dug in-—-that iiom a range u! ahunl loco yards, scut the nshes man s hut into the air in a cloud or dust. They lobhed a shell right into it. \V () M 1 \ N h N i 1 ’ 1 y K is. t>iu; met with (ivqucnl. stories or women snipers in tin- Turkish lines, hut it was always diliicull to get lit si hand intoi in.Uion about them. A wounded Australian whom J met yesterday gave me an instance that Had come under his own notice, Tlrei-e particular snipers - and no doubt many oiluralso —had silencers on their Mauser lilies. The advancing parly there lore heard only the ping ot the bullet neat them, .and a sound like the crack ol a whip. On this particular occasion they located a sniper close at hand, and went to look (or him. ’There was another ■‘pdiig” and one of Hie men fell dead. Suddenly the parly came upon two snipers, who held up their titles in token oi surrender. Their rilles were taken from them, their hands; lied behind their hacks and they were marched down to the beach. They were wearing the uniforms of dead Australian soldiers, and they had about 2000 rounds of ammunition near them, and enough food to last a fortnight. A doctor who examined them at headquarters found, that they were both women ! On tire following day these Australians had to cro;s a gully on their right llank, and there (hey found live of their dead 10111 rules, stripped ol all their clothing, oven to the bools. The man who told me this incident had been in the thick of the lighting for the first fortnight, and on more than one occasion he saw the German officer driving on lire Turks with revolver and sword. RRAVK DU KHZ. The same man did not wish ‘m say much about his own exploits, lie, however, gave the following instances of heroic actions by others that had come under his notice. One soldier working a machine gun was, hit hy a build that just grazed iris intestine. IT* continued to work the gun. Then a bullet got him in the right arm, which was disabled ; but lie commenced to lire with his h-n hand. A lorn Hr bullet eot him lair

in the forehead. My Informant did not even know Hie man's name. lie had brought his Maxim up in a charge into the filing line through the open. It was a gun of the Toth - Battalion, “Out sergeant, ’’ continued the narrator, “was wounded twice, but went on calmly giving orders, First ol all, his binoculars were knocked out of his hand by a bullet or a piece of shrapnel. Then he go( a slight wound along the temple. Someone suggested (lint lie should get out of the firing line to receive first aid, but he replied, 'No ; I'll cany on as long, as 1 (-an : f want In get even with the beggars.’ They .again urged him to get out. but he merely laughed nnd said it would be ail rigid. Ten yards blither on lev was shot through the spine, ami in half an hour he was dead. He was a machine gun sergeant belonging to the .Rh Battalion.'' TIT is MODN r Kl»' I AND THU FOOT SI,OG GRUB. The New Zealand mounted men have left their homes behind them and have gone to the trout as inf.antiy. ‘T.v p.-w, they will go into it heail and :oul,” said a wounded man to me bus a.Rcrnonn. “Wny?'' 1 asked. “Because,” he replied, “of tin- way onr chaps leave been beaded.' ’ Timm is, of rniuse, always a kind of natnr.il cnmiiy betwm-n the horseman and the Uk.i -leg ger. Tim moiinled mmi Used to lonp down on the infantry, and jokingly lefi-i to them as “lieelk • ei ushers.' Aml in Rgvpt tin 1 mounted men m-ihiidv had the iu’si end of llii 1 si id: in so tar as tin.' training w<-ni Tin- niianby had to go iiirongli a vm y seyoie ordea! indeed. Alone tin.- i lebo11,dis Su- >. load I ii<- y did many a. weai v mile undei the hot Rgs p tian Min Soineti lilt a the',' did route mao lies of twenty miles. One day the} did t wenly-bve miles Ivy the map over -oil desert ■ and. with packs. Miles, and equip im.’iil y.t ighiiig bt.-lween bulb, and 7oil.i ; Some days liie y ihmiglil they would Uewi i isi it out. They ihoUgld d absMiile lieii. iuil tin■ y neui i oniphmcj, and some!ii.-w Ificy always managed io do it. They Would euii'.c bar k ill I lie i-vt nine, -with i.ycbiows ami eytliisl.es and such hah as was un covered absolutely whits, They were the weirdest looking soldiers Imaginable, Itnl they stuck il mil. T’logv look it as p.ut of the game.

(>ti ! iris Sir /. load tin: l .e aie at oeiUiin inleivals some old watch towers built bundled,-: ol yeans ago. One oi the most usual marches was out to tire third watch lower and back. The men got to hale that lower with an unloigeliable hale. Tlmy used to see il in then dreams. One night, ;h the New Zealanders were mulching back, they were met by some Australians going out on- a bivouac. They asked where the New Zealander ; had bear They replied : “To liie third tower.” “Where are you going?” asked a New Zealander. “To the third tower,” was the reply. “But it won’t be so bad. next week : we’re going to push it six miles nearer camp tonight !" When the tionp,; wete leaving Zeitouu for Lemnos, at the, Dardanelles, everyhody thought and said: “Well, thank God, tbeie will lie no mote liiiid. lower But a wag in the mounted;; came up and asked. : “Have you seen what the Brigadier has got in the guard’s van f” “No," answeied the “beetle-crusher,” “what is It ?” “It’s the old thiid lower: lie’s taken it to nit a cs and packed, il up,” was the reply. Once aboard the troopships the men knew (hey were ically done wit!: I he old li e,vs Bn! at Lemnos they landed an a route match, and they had not gone, (ai before l hey came upon an exactly similar lower I They ail seemed to see it at once ; but it was left- to a man in Hit; ranks to neatly sum up the situation, “Good Lord,” lie cried, “there's the old thiid tower; it's beaten n luxe Winn Hie foot slogm 1 s wt-ut away to the Deuiaueile.; and Hie mounted;; had to remain behind,

il was the latter who came in for the chuff. They vvete promptly designated “The Snllan’s Bodyguard!” “My word, you’ll have a fine lime in Cairo trotting the Sultan around,” was the last thrust of a departing “beelle--01 usher.” But the mounted;; were just dying to get into it, and when tire time came limy did not oven mind leaving their horses behind diem. Since then they have been in the thick of il shoulder to shoulder with the foot-sloggers, and manv a good man among them will never see Iris horse anaiii. Tin-y went bravely for w.’ud to avenge: die deaths of comrades who bad gone before, and hi aver ly they have given their all lor King and Country, Far away from his beloved horse—-now idle in the desert camp at Zeitouu many a rider lias padded the hoof along the road into the Great rnkmnvn,