SOME WAR MYSTERIES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 79, 1 April 1916, Page 6

SOME WAR MYSTERIES.

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT LOST LEGIONS.

The fate of a portion of the Ist Battalion of the sth Norfolks in the abandoned Dardanelles operations will rank as the biggest mystery of the war. Rudyard Kipling's weird story, 'The Lost # Legion,' ha sbeen matched, for Colonel Sir H. Proctor Beauchamp, fifteen officers, and 238 men have absolutely disappeared from human ken. Sir lan Hamilton has told how they charged the enemy's position, passed through a village, and on to a dense wood beyond, "pushing on, driving the enemy before them." The rest is silence. "Nothing more was ever seen or heard of them. They charged into the forest, and were lost to sight or sound. Not one of them ever came back."

The forest into which they charged was scoured through and through the next day, but not one of this band of heroes, dead or alive, was found. Though there have been reports of certain "belongings having been recovered, there has been no verification of this. Not the slightest trace has been met with, despite every effort. They are the Lost Legion. In the last South African war there was an instance of a British force apparently being swallowed into the ground. An entire squadron of the 18th Hussars galloped into the darkness, and utterly disappeared. Nearly a week later it was found that the squadron had been captured by the Boers, who had lain in wait for the too adventurous body.

There were several somewhat similar instances where large bodies of men were captured without leaving any trace. Here the parallel with the case of the Norfolks ceases, for the only men known to be captives in the hands of the Turks are one officer and twelve men, who fell out before the wood was reached, when the full body consisted of seventeen officers and 250 men.

In the earlier South African wax, in December 1880. the 94th Battalion left a station and disappeared. Many weeks later little parties of footsore and ragged men wearily crossed the Natal frontier, bringing tidings of the Lost Legicn. According to the tale of the survivors, the battalion had been surrounded by the B'oers at Branker's Spruit, and the colonel, with a number of men, had been put to death; the remainder had been disarmed and set adrift on the veldt.

A troop of the 10th Hussars once disappeared when out on active service in Afghanistan. In the darkest days of 1879 the troop went into the bitterly cold night, not -a man living to' tell the tale of disaster, Except for a riderless horse which galloped back to camp, no intimation of it was received.

Long afterwards the mystery was explained by the finding of 46 bodies, which were buried in one grave at Jalalabad. It is believed that the men took the wrong road, and tried to ford the Kabul River, at an impassable part. The leading files were swept away by the rushing torrent, the others following until every man had been' swallowed up by the swirling waters.

The same country provides an appalling example cf a Lost Legion. In 1339 an army of 21,000 men, under Sir John Keane, entered Kabul. The story of what followed is too long to relate in detail. It is sufficient that there were massacres of high-placed British officers, a 65 days' siege of the Anglo-Indian army, and a capitulation, followed by a promise of escort back to India. The retreat began in severe weather, and of the 16,500 men who- set forth, only one man, Dr. Brydon, lived to carry the dismal tidings bac kto General Sale at Jalalabad.

A remarkable example is furnished by the disppearance of the 23rd Light Dragoons, a regiment which disappeared for ever from the Army List as well as from the field. It last fought at Talavera, but at the close of the battle it was found to have vanished completely, while gallantly charging an entire division of the French army.

Amongst the mysteries of history place,must be given to the unaccountable disappearance of Nana Sahib and his army. After we defeated the bloodthirsty monster at Delhi, he fled northwards with his sepoys, leaving not a trace behind. Many gues.ses have been hazarded regarding the fate of the armed force, and some writers

have stated that the body obtained refuge in lands beyond the confines of India. The most likely supposition is that this Lost Legion was annihilated by the fierce hill tribes when seeking to enter Baluchistan.

BROKE EVERY BARGAIN. THE CLYDE MALCONTENTS. UNION LEADERS LOYAL. LONDON, March 30. Mr. Lloyd George informed the House of Commons to-day that cvi'ry effort had been made for months past to secure a settlement of the Clyde disputes, but malcontents had broken every bargain. He announced that Mr. Arthur Henderson is going to the Clyde to put the Government's case before the strikers. He added that the union leaders had been perfectly loyal. CROWN PRINCE OF SERBIA. VISIT TO LONDON. LONDON. March 30. J Prince Alexander, Crown Prince of Serbia, arrives in London on Friday. N.Z. OFFICER HONOURED. LONDON, March 30. The honour of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour has been conferred upon Brigadier George Richardson, of New Zealand. SUBMARINE CAPTAIN'S PUNISHMENT. LONDON, March 30. The New York World discusses the punishment of the captain of the German submarine which sank t-he Sussex, and declares that Americans will only be satisfied if the punishment is publicly administered. Public opinion is rising. THE BLIZZARD IN ENGLAND. MANY EXPRESS TRAINS LUST. LONDON, March 29. As a result of the blizzard many express trains were again lost to-day. Officials in London admit, that they do not know the whereabouts of the trains in the absence of telegraphs and telephones. Some of yesterday's trains arrived to-day. Some lines in South Wales are seven feet under snow.