THE DARDANELLES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 43, 21 June 1915, Page 5

THE DARDANELLES

OFFICER'S EXPERIENCE. INSPECTION OF THE TRENCHES. ! A BOLT TO THE DUG-OUT. j Times and Sydney Sun Service. (Received 8.0 a.m.) London, June 20. An officer at the Dardanelles, under recent date,* writes: "There has been a great deal of firing from the trendies. They are most interesting, being mostly deep enough to walk upright without exposure. I. went round with General Birdwood and Admiral Thursby one day. The enemy fired at us a lot, but nevei got nearer than six inches. We saw the mountain guns at work. The enemy caught one of the Australian guns a fair 'smack, which killed the officers, wounded seven, and killed twenty-six horses and mules. Subsequently. Ave sat on I the.top of a hill, where four days before it would have been highly unsafe even to lie. On returning we delayed to collect firewood, which act undoubtedly saved our lives, as four shells suddenly burst thirty yards away. We bolted to our dug-out in a precious funk and felt like a tortoise on whose shell some one was tapping with a coal hammer."

PRISONERS OF WAR. SOMETHING ABOUT THE CASUALTIES. Unithd Pbesh .Akbooiation. (Received 9.10 a.m.) Melbourne, June 21. In the Senate Mr. Pearc e announced that arrangements had been made for the United States Ambassador at Constantinople to supply information regarding prisoners of war in Turkey. Mr Pearce emphatically contradicted a statement that the casualties amounted to ten thousand monthly. Our men, he said, had been lighting for over a month, and the casualties did not reach ten thousand. Many who were reported wounded were now already back in the firing line. The Hospital Ship Kyarra has left Suez with eleven officers and twentynine men en route for Australia. Colonel Legge's appointment is gazetted with the rank of BrigadierGeneral. IN FRONT OF ACHIBABA. AN AVALANCHE OF SHELLS. STORMING TURKISH TRENCHES. United Pkess Association. (Received 11-: 45 a.m.) London, June 20. Renter, giving details of the fighting in front of Archibaba on June 4, : For an hour every British and French gun on the Peninsula poured shells of various calibres into the Turkish trenches, while the British battleships on the right and left battered the flank. The whole landscape was obliterated by a curtain of smoke. The tower at Krithia, which survived the previous bombalament, toppled, and the village was set on fire. An infantry charge began at noon, and the first few trenches were easily taken. The enemy being dazed by the avalanche of shells, merely fired a few shots upward at the Britishers stabbing clown at them. A large number of the dead in the, trenches were the victims of the shell fire. We had the enemy fairly on the run for a time, until our centre held the fifth trench. .Armoured turret motor cars, of the naval air service, did useiul work, but the roads were mainly unsuitable for this method of warfare. Using two fairly good roads from Seddel / Bahr and Cape Helles to. Krithea, which cut the enemies trenches at right angles, light cars advanced, crossing our trenches over special bridges. They ran close to the enemy's lines, and opened machine gun fire on the deep entrenchments. The enemy made further progress impossible for the cars, which at the same time offered a good target for the enemy's guns, and shells began to drop around, but the motorists backed our of the danger zone. Two cars were slightly damaged.. Our centre dashed so far forward that it was unable to maintain all the ground, although the Naval Division fought with the utmost gallantry. The Turks reserved vigorous counter-at-tacks till Sunday, when reserves came up from beyond Achibaba. Our men were very hard pressed, and abandoned two of the conquered trenches, but held the remainder of the ground, repulsing the Turks with great loss. In the storming of Achibaba, a difficult problem was presented. There were a series of smooth slopes, terraced at intervals, and as difficult to mount as the glacis of an old-fashioned fort.

A Turkish officer who was taken prisoner, said: "Germany is our ally. Wo know our country's hours are numbered, but we fight for her, as you would fight for yours."

ONE BIG FAMILY. WOUNDEDS' OPINION OF TURKS AS FIGHTERS. (Received 12.10 p.m.) Cairo, June 20. The majority of wounded deny there have been Turkish atrocities. They state that the Turks are fighting most fairly. In one case a Turk dressed the wounds of a Britisher under lire. Another left his water bottle with a wounded Australian. Another Australian who was made a prisoner, but escaped, states that he was very well treated. After the furious attack at Sari Hair on 10th May, the Turks sent the following message! "We are going to

I sea to-morrow." A Turkish aeroplane dropped messages at Gaba Tepe saying: "Australians and New Zealand-

ers, surrender! We will treat you well," and exhorting them not to fight an unjust war.

The wounded state that the Australians and New Zealandei's get on splendidly together, and are like one big family. The Australians recently sent a message to No. 2 New Zealand bat-

tery which is doing excellent work upon Colonel Plugge's plateau: "Go it mates! There is no need for us to use rifles while you fire like that!" The men are so keen that they do not desire to leave the trendies. The Kith battalion of the Third Australian Infantry were five weeks in the trenches before being relieved. The Australian war cy on the Peninsula is "Imshi Valla," Arabic words meaning "Be off! Move on!" Before H.M.S. Hriumph was sunk, she did excellent work, cutting off Turkish reinforcements coming up the gullies near (J abe Tepe. Captain Wallingford, champion shot, and his machine gun was one of the mainstays of the force at Sari Bair. CREW OF THE AE2 SAFE. Melbourne, June 20. Official advices received from the officers and men of the submarine AE2, prisoners of war in Turkey, say they are all well.