THE MIGHTY GUNS OF THE DARDANELLES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 191, 21 April 1915, Page 3

THE MIGHTY GUNS OF THE DARDANELLES.

WHAT WE MUST FORCI,. The Dardanelles are the 'mo*u'.famous straits in the world and, .. a the key-to- Constantineple. are perhaps the most - strongly fortified. They ‘ extend for a distance of forty-five miles from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Marmora. Their width varies very much; at the broadest point it is about five miles from shore to shore; at the narrowest not quite a mile. Navigation is rendered awkward by strong currents and eddies. The forts defending the Dardanelles are many of them of ancient construction; those at the Narrows* for example, date back to Mohammed 11. (1460) and the two great castles at the Mediterranean entrance were built by Mohammed IV. (1650), But all these old works have been repeatedly reconstructed and re-armed or supplemented by modern batteries. The defences were overhauled by German engineers in the ‘severities’ of last century, when they mounted the largest gun in existence, a 50-ton Krupp, some twenty or twenty-five illri. Krupps, and a miscellaneous assortment of smaller guns. They were again remodelled shortly before the Balkan War of 1912. Since Turkey became the helpless puppet of Germany they have yet again been taken in hand by the Germans, and a number of modern Krupps and some of the famous 11.2 in Krupp howitzers ar e reported to have been mounted in them. ■ ■ *• The main works on the straits are in two groups. The rfist group consists of the old castles of Sed-ul-Bahf and Kum Kale at the very entrance, where the width is two miles. Tn the Balkan War and the Italian War these were sufficient to, keep hostile warships at a distance. They are now beleived to mount llin and 12in Krupps,, besides a large number of old guns which are not at all formidable to modern warships.

MINEFIELD DIFFICULTIES. After these two antiquated forts comes the main group of forts at the point where the channel narrows to less than a mile and makes a sharp bend. Far the most formidable' is Namazieh with a series of batteries on the European side: The gjms are llin and 12in Krupps, but' there are also a number of smaller weapons. On the Asiatic coast is a similar succession of forts; At Nagara, which’ enfilades the channel and which has just been re-armed and' is probably equipped with the best productions or the Krupp firm. This is the last of the formidable works unless-others have been constructed by the Germans since the war. The difficulty of forcing a way is increased by the minefields, which did not exist when in earlier days the Dardanelles wer e ascended in defiance of the Turks. There is one minefield at the verydnitflTnce and another at the Narrows. Moreover, unless the European shore is-in-the hands of an expeditionary force, the positToh of a fleet which passed the straits would be diffi.

oult. , .As Admiral,. -Hornby... wrote, -in 1878, for ten miles on either side of the Narrows an "almost cliff overhangs the enemy in possession, of; the Gallipoli peninsula would be sure to pyt gu&s on commanding points- of thesb c,Uffs. Sch guns could not fail to stop transports and colliers and would be most difficult for men-of-war to silence^

STRAITS TWICE FOP.CED

This configuration of the coast, how. ever, would enable an amphibious Power, such as the British Empire, to dominate the straits at the most difficult and dangerous point from the land if a force was put ashore on the Gallipoli peninsula, and to, give the warships immense assisance in their attack. Such a land attack would probably prove decisive. The beach on the west of the Gallipoli peninsula is well suited for a landing and is only about seven miles from the main forts. The straits have twice been forced in the v immediate past. On February 19th, 1807, Vice-Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, with a squadron of eight sail of the line two frigates and two small craft, passed up with, trifling damage, losing only six men killed and 51 wounded, though the forts fired on him at close range On his return journey he was again attacked but ran the gauntlet with a loss of 29 killed, and 138 wounded. On this occasion a num. her of immense stone shot struck his ships, and two actually .remained fixed in their timbers.

On February 13th, 1878, Admiral Sir Geoffrey Hornby, with the British ironclads Alexandra, Agincourt, Achiles, Swiftsure, Temeraire and' Sultan, and the despatch boat Salamis made the passage. The Turks were expected to attack him, but when he arrived off the Narrows, he interchanged letters with the Governor of the Dardanelles, Husqin Pasha, and that official Iniformed. him . that “from motives of humanity” he refrained from filing. The British noticed that the tempions or plugs were still in the muzzles of thp, ’Turkish guns' and saw at once that the Turks old not mean fighting. The weather was thick and snowy, and such was the difficulty of navigation that ihe flagship ran aground though she was soon got off. By a clause in the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1856, the Dardanelles are closed to the warships of all nations except Turkey