Second Edition. At The Dardanelles

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5, 4 September 1915, Page 6

Second Edition. At The Dardanelles

THE FIGHT AT ANFARTA HILLS. WAITING FOR THE WORD "CO." TERRIBLE BOMBARDMENT BY NAVAL GUNS. VIVID ACCOUNT OF THE SCENE. United Pkess Association. (Received 1.30 p.m.) London, September 3. Mr Bartle.tt continues:— Throughout the forenoon the troops rested quietly in the trenches as calm as usual,'fully realising the responsibilities of their task, which was regarded as tlie most difficnlt or any attack yet made except the landing. Battleships supported by cruisers and, monitors steamed in close in readiness for the preliminary bombardment. At three in the afternoon of tha 21st the first gun was fired, and for hall-an-hour there was witnessed another of those -terrible bombardments which have become commonplace on this bloody soil. The Warships concentrate ed upon Hills 70 and 112, supported by field guns and heavy howitzers. Again the trenches appeared tp be swallowed up in smoke and earchcloiids. The Turks did not show anv (sign of life, and no one left his position. The Turkish guns replied furiously, chiefly upon and behind Chocolate Hill, which was wreathed with bursting shrapnel, which soon -s..et fire to the bush and scrub. A breeze fanned the furiously spreading names with amazing rapidity and frequently blotted otsi the position by ciouds of rolling smoke and flames. At halfpast three the regiment crept forwardand endeavoured to form'a firing line at the foot of Hill 70. This was the signal for a tremeadous fusilade from the whole Turkish line.

LINES OF KHAKI.

BRISTLING WITH BAYONETS.

HILL 70 LEFT TO THE TURKS

AND THE DEAD.

(Received l-4o p.m.)

Mr Bartlett continues:—

Simultaneously the regiment advanced against the sputh side, establishing themselves ur the burnt scrub on the foot of Hill 70., ,The guns still thundered against the trenches at' the top, hut the Turks did, not seem 'to care, kud'many stood up boldly in order to obtain a -better view of the advancing khaki lines. * I never saw any such battlefield before nor heard such a. din of ships' guns, field pieces, bursting shells, and thousands of rifles. At 3.50 those two regiments made a final rush uphill, one from the west, the 'other from the; south. Great solid mass* of khaki with bayonets glistei'H ing emerged from the burnt 1 scrub andsurged upwards. The artillery for'!a fe'W minutes lengthened their fuses and ; shelled the reverse slopes not touching the trenchline, /The Turks came out firing furiously into the advancing lines. Some Turks wavered and abandoned the crest and ran down behind, but the majority stuck to the trenches determined to die where* they •stood. We got high up on the hill, hut machine guns and a cross file brought the battalion to a standstill on the north side. Some from the south side reached the top and jumped in the trenches, where they did bayonet fighting amongst the Turks, ■who never have shown, greater determination than in this hand to hand struggle. It looked for a few funutes as if the hill was won and we were swarming just below the crest and actually occupying a section of the trenchline on the south side, hut a battery behind Hill 112 commenced to pour salvos of shrapnel. As the range was only v twelve hundred yards the Turks simply swept the whole lines away and forced the survivors down the slopes under slight cover and finally back to the trenches so recently left. The attack had failed and Hill 70 was once more left v to the Turks, and the wounded and dead. The fighting was eqxmlly severe onjdie right. At 3.30 the division rushed out of the trenches, and stormed the first line under a fearful fire over ground without a particle of cover. It was found impossible to storm the second line of deadly loopholed roofed trenches.