IN THE THICK OF IT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1468, 4 November 1915, Page 4

IN THE THICK OF IT.

Amid the strain and stress of life in the trenches and the eternal showers of shrapnel, bombs and bullets, stirring experiences and hairbreadth escapes are inevitable. The officers and men just returned have had their share, and there is scarcely one of them who has not at one time or other been very near to crossing the Great Divide. All of them have seen some of their truest and most trusty friends fall to rise no more and deem themselves lucky to have escaped their comrades’ fate. One officer who has just come back is Capt. Short, of Wellington, who was military officer commanding on the Willochia. Capt. Short was right in the thick of the fierce assault on Chunuk Bahr, when the New Zealand lads actually sighted the Narrows of the Dardanelles. The Wellington Battalion, he stated, had a particularly hot time in the attack, and on the Bth August could only muster 50 men out of 750 who had gone into action. Capt. Short was wounded at 8.45 a.m. on that date, receiving a bullet in the thigh. He fell between two trenches and bullets were flying everywhere. To attempt to move meant practically certain death and he dug a shallow trench for himself with his trenching tools and lay down to await a

lull in the fighting. For over twelve hours he remained in this trying position, and another bullet cut off the sole of one of his boots. It was just about midnight before he reached the beach and received proper medical treatment. Capt. Short explained that his battalion was relieved by the Otago Battalion, which in turn was relieved by a portion of Kitchener’s Army. The Turks attacked so strongly, however, that the “Tommies” were unable to hold the summit of the hard-won hill, and were driven back for some distance. Captain A. J. Cross, late of the Wellington College, had no less than four months in the trenches at Quinn’s Post. When he left early in August, there were only 3 officers left out of the 36 who originally landed, and had there not been such a shortage of officers, Capt. Cross would probably not have stopped at his post so long. His health became so bad, however, that be had eventually to leave the trenches, and he is now in Wellington on wellearned furlough. Capt. Cross spoke very interestingly of bombing work at the front. In trout of his trenches, he said, tl.e men erected a wire netting fence about three feet high, and this caught most of the bombs and let them explode harmlessly. Occasionally one came through, but as long as a man kept his head he did not run much risk. Every few yards along the trenches was an old overcoat, and if a man threw this on the bomb and yelled to his mates to fall flat, the chances would be that the bomb would only cause damage to the overcoat. The bombs were very high explosive, and consequently exploded straight up in the air. Capt. Cross had under him a specially trained bombing squadron, alwajs ready. As soon as the enemy started bombing, the squad would reply. A man was ready with a lighted tope, and the moment a bomb came over two would be sent in reply. The men became very adept at throwing, and the two-to-one method was nearly always effective in driving the Turks out of the trenches as long as the supply of bombs lasted. In one night no fewer than 270 bombs were thrown. Captain Cross stated that the men bad twenty-four hours on and twenty-four hours off in the trenches, and while they were on duty they had to stand all the time. For the two last months before he left the Turks had not attacked but had contented themselves with bombing, shelling and machine gun fire. At the latter they had become most expert, and were adepts at enfilading. The Turkish bullet was weighed a long way back, and provided it did not strike any hard substance made only a small wound. If it struck a bone, however, it turned over and made a terrible wound. One of the most plucky actions Capt. Cross saw at Gallipoli was that performed by Private Pedersen, who was under his command. Pedersen had been throwing bombs continuously all day, and as his arm was tired, one he threw did not quite clear the netting, but fell back into the trench, Pedersen gave a yell, pushed the men back, picked up the bomb, and hurled it from him. A moment later it exploded and wounded him in the arm and face, “That was one of the most cold-blooded acts of bravery I have witnessed,’’ said Capt. Cross. “Pedersen certainly saved two or three lives, and I mentioned him in my repot t. If ever a man deserved the D.C.M. it was him.’’