THE DARDANELLES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 68, 20 July 1915, Page 5

THE DARDANELLES

THE VALIfEY OF DEATH. ASHMEAD BARTLETT’S LETTER. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE BATTLEFIELD. - United Press Association, (Received 9.20 a.m.) ■-■•London, July 1-9. Mr Ashraead Bartlett reports:— A successful advance on-the left 1 * wing on June 28 took place on both aides of what is universally known as the Gully Ravine. Although uir troops made no efforts to advance directly up the ravine, they have fallen on the enemy’s trenches on either side, and placed another mile of this valley of death in our hands. Someone described it as “A DEVIL OF A PLACE,” a description which is not , inaccurate. The gully varies in depth, width, and security as you pass up it. Leaving the seashore towards Krithia, it twists and turns remarkably. At one point you may walk iu perfect security behind a bluff; at another you may catch a stream of bullets from the Turkish trenches in front. The Turks, who know every inch of the ground, foi merly tired a tremendous number of shells into the ravine, but lately there has been a distinct decrease in the volume of the fire, pointing to a shortage of ammunition; nevertheless, there is quite enough shrapnel bursting, especially when an attack is in ' progress. The ravine lies between overhanging craggy hills, which are two hundred feet high and covered with scrub. The Summer heat is almost unbearable. The sun boats down this war-worn road with pitiless severity, but there is plenty of good water, icy cold, which is.a great boon to the crowd.-, of perspiring thirsty soldiers. 1 ndei the cliffs, hundreds of weary men back from the trenches fling themselves down to sleep, indifferent to the shells bursting overhead. Occasionally, a man drops from a -stiai bullet, yet none seeks cover, the prolonged experience making -all indifferent or fatalists. In the ravine, you come across LONELY CRAVES. marked with a cross and the name of those who have fallen iu an cather engagement. Kvery yard we progress the gully becomes narrow and narrower. Who will ever forget the scenes witnessed in the captured

Turkish trenches and in the ravine in May after our infantry occupied the positions ? With the capture of the high ground, all the Turks iu the ravine were killed or Hod. The Turkish positions were invari- , ably filthy. If the enemy goes through the campaign without a great epidemic, he will have undue luck. All through the gully is a litter of debris, scat-/ tered about bodies half protruding from the ground in hastily-dug graves, hundreds of titles and bayonets, and thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammunition. Me made a verv big haul indeed this last engagement. Croat fires a-a burning at intervals, but thev are avoided liy all, as they

give out a horrid sickly stench. These fires me burning the Turkish dead,, [which are hastily collected, as it is all-important to get the dead out ot the way. quickly in this hot climate. Wo have been working unceasingly during the last twenty-four hours, bringing in our wounded. Our advance has been s° successful that they tell you with pride Not a Man was Left Alive

lying out! in, front of the line. They, are also bringing in the dead to bury them in newly-formed cemeteries. Ihc enemy’s trenches are packed with debris, and an awful stench pervades everything,. and flies swarm in millions. In one corner seven Turks with their rifles across their knees are sitting together. One has his aini round his friend’s neck and a smile on his face as if he were cracking a joke when death overwhelmed them. All have the appearance of being a,sleep, and do not show any signs of injury. Peeping carefully over the top of the Boomerang, which is being heavily sniped by the Turks, you see how our infantry forced their way. On a small rise lie half a dozen of our men who were killed in the final advance, and who it would have been impossible to get at to bury owing to the sniping being too heavy. Even at night time, it was impossible to get them. Further up the ravine are Heaps of Turkish Dead Piled Together In a gorse patch further on lies a large number of the enemy boxed up with some of our men. There would seem to have been a general melee on the morhing of the 29th when our men rushed the trenches and hunted the enemy out of the gorse. The barbed wire was swept away by our artillery, the gunners making a neat job. for the uprights of the wire were, blown into shreds, leaving a clear way for the infantry. The field was strewn with the soldiers’ impedimenta. The modern soldier goes into action Decked like a Christmas Tree, and in wild rushes he gradually shakes off the superfluous equipment, which is carefully gathered af(er the battle for further use. In front of the Boomerang was a fort called the lurkey Trot, which was even more formidable than the Boomerang, but it fell easily before the dash of our infantry. It was also Full of Dead.

I came upon a wounded Turk who had been overlooked by the stretchcihearers, and who was lying by himself. his chest heaving and his hands clenched above his head praying to himself. He was immediately brought in, hut was too far gone to live. Our soldiers are bulged extraordinary. To hear them, you tremble for the fate of any enemy falling into their hands, yet the moment the trench is taken and the enemy holds up his bands, they are treated with the utmost kindness, our men sharing theii water and rations with them.

TOTAL CASUALTIES 42,434. (Received 1 2.'J0 p.m.) London. Juiy I!'. Mr Asquith, in the House of Com nions, said that the total casualties at the Dardanelles to the end of dune were— OFFICERS. Killed ••• r> [[ Wounded Missing ... ••• ••• 1,,) M LX. Killed l r >M Wounded ... Missing 71,11

WOUNDED NEW ZEALANDERS

(Received 9.J0 a.in.)

Syclnev, dnlv 20

Private Bertram Dcpina, who is svmono; the wounded, was horn in New Zealand. Private E. W. Bubb. another of the wounded, ts well-known in Now Zealand.

ATTACK BY ALLIED FLEETS.

London, July 19

The Athens correspondent yf the Daily Mail reports that the Allies are attacking vehemently along the whole line, the ships co-operating. It is reported that all attacks have been successful.

TREATMENT OF WOUNDED.

London. July 19

Sir Frederick Treves, at a Rad Cross meeting at Aylesbury, said that there was no hospital at Gallipoli, and no means of erecting one. The wounded are taken of! from Gaba Tepe and other beaches and conveyed to Maidos, and thence distributed to Alexandria and Malta. Mndros contained a general hospital, with beds ; also hospital ships with pillows, cooking stoves, fly curtains, and fans, which meant a great deal. This army was better provided for than the British neuter army, in that the medical arrangements were more perfect, but such vast expansion was necessary after the outbreak of war that the array must look to civilians to supplement the needs.

TyUKISH OFFICIAL MESSAGE.

B3t BARDMENTS CAUSE FIRES.

(Beceived 8.00 a.m.)

Vienna, July 19

A Turkish official message states: Our bombardment of the camps at Tokc Burhu and ScdduT Bahr caused flres and explosions.

NO TURKISH FRICHTFULNESS.

(Received 8.50 a.m.) Sydney, July 2

Captain Bean .(Commonwealth correspondent) referring to the alleged atrocities, says the ’lurk is a rather maligned person, who certainly does not compare with the German for frightfulnessj At the same time, the Army may contain Kurds, Circassians, and other wild men responsible for anything. On rme occasion the dead body of a New Zealander was found stripped of the clothes and thrown up on the parapet of. the trench which the lurks retook, .but there was no evidence whatever of the body having been harmed in any way. , i