The Dardanelles

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 279, 4 May 1915, Page 5

The Dardanelles

CAMPAIGN OPENS WELL. A BRILLIANT LANDING. THE FRENCH ADVANCING. THE QUEEN ELIZABETH'S GOOD WCT"* Received May 3, 11.30 p.m. Athens, May 3. The- newspapers, in publishing accounts of the landing, express the utmost admiration of the courage and determination with which the Australasians, the British, and the. French fought through what was believed to be impregnable defences.

Only four thousand French landed at Kum Kale, although twenty transports were there with a view to giving the Turks the idea that a great disembarkation was- being made. The French are now advancing towards Erekeit. Several forts in the Narrows havf, been silenced The bombardment was incessant on 'Saturday. The Queen Elizabeth's guns did terrible execution in the enemy's trenches. The tremendous displacement of earth buried many. A desperate battle took place in. the vicinity of Maidos, a Turkish battalion being captured. -NEW ZEALANDERS KILLED. SEVERAL MEN WOUNDED. EX-NEW PLYMOUTH SOLICITOR WOUNDED. Wellington, May 3. Information has been received of the following further casualties in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force,: DIED OF WOUNDS. No. S/Tol, Private Alfred Richard Wayward, lllth (North Otago) Company, Otago Infantry Battalion. ' Next or kin, John Hay ward, Abbotsford, Dunedin. No. 8/152, Corporal Peter Couperthwaite, 14th (South Otago) Company, Otago Onfantry Biittalion. Next of Icin, A. Gibson, Kelso, Otago. No. 12/483, Private Robert Watson, 6th (Ilauraki) Company, Auckland Infantry Battalion. Next of kin, John Watson, Tirau, Auckland.

These casualties occurred between April -<» mid May I. WOUNDED.' Wanganui, Mav 3. A private cablegram states that Lieutenant F. K. Turnbull, solicitor, of Wanganui, a member of the first Expeditionary Force for Egypt, was wounded, and is in the Alexandria Hospital. (Lieutenant F. K. Turnbull is well known in New Plymouth, where he resided some few years ago'.) Blenheim, May 3. A cablegram has been received stating that Lieutenant Owen Mead was sli'ditly wounded at the Dardanelles. Inglewood, May 3. A cablegram from Alexandria' this morning states that Rupert Nicliolla a well-known local man, has been wounded m the thigh.

AUSTRALIAN LOSSES. TEX MEN KILLED. Melbourne, May 3. Additional casualties.— Lieutenant Hompton, severely wounded. The latest official list gives ten additional men killed. 28 KILLED; 27 WOUNDED. Received May 3, 9.20 p.m. Melbourne, Mav 3. The first list of killed included W.„V. Knight, originally of Waiparu, New Zealand. , All the deaths recorded in the Dardanelles are hospital cases and were the result of wounds. No names of men actually killed in action have been received up to the present. Twenty-eight killed and thirty-seven wounded have been notified. HOSPITAL SHIP FROM AUSTRALIA. Received May 3, 0.20 p.m. Melbourne, May 3. The Admiralty has acquired the steamer Karoola. She will proceed to the Dardanelles as a hospital ship. PROGRESS OF THE WOUNDED. Received May 4, 1.40 a.m. Melbourne, May 3. A cablegram has been received stating that the progress of the wounded in the Dardanelles is generally satisfactory, except in the cases reported dangerously wounded.

WOUNDED TURKS. 500 ARRIVE AT CONSTANTINOPLE. Received May 3, !>.20 p.m. Athens, May 3. Reliable advice from Constantinople says five thousand Turkish wounded have arrived from the Dardanelles. NAVAL CASUALTIES. THE LATEST LIST. Received May 3, 11.50 p.m. London, May 3. The naval casualties at the Dardanelles, from 'April 23 to April 30 were: Twenty-six killed; sixty wounded.

PROGRESS OF THE FIGHTING. BOMBARDMENT CONTINUES. Athens, May 2. The British at Sedd-el-Bahr advanced and captured Kamba Tepah Hill, commanding a large portion of the peninsula. The capture greatly facilitates the destruction of the mobile batteries,

.Weeping The town of Dardadoh is reported to Tr.ri.i,:,' iroop* have concentrated in the vieliay ~f },l : ;i,!oS. Ti.o licet .violently bombarded the Xa-ara forts, which did not reply. MOVEMENT ISY THE FRENCH. Athens, May 2. '.V report from the Island of Mi'tylene !ate.; ti.at the Frenchmen's purpose •i' facilitating the British landing at Sodd-el-Bahr having been achieved tliey re-embarked at Kum.Kale (Asiatic side) for a soL-ret destination. AS CONSTANTINOPLE SEES IT. A STORY OF TURKISH SUCCESS. (Times and' Sydney Sun Services.) Received May 3, (i p.m. Constantinople, May 2. It i.; officially stated that during the first battle at Ivuni Kale the Turks did not lire a single shot, hut repulsed the enemy with the bayonet, The Turkish batt'eisics damaged the French cruiser Jeanne d'Are, which retired ablaze, and sunk. An English destroyer was damaged. The warships Majestic, Triumph, Yen-r-tancp, sixteen armored warships, and many destroyers took part and fired -hirty thousand shells. Only a few soldiers were slightly injured. The Turkish shells liit two transports. One ran ashore. They also sank several sailing boats filled with troops, which a destroyer was towing.

I WIDESPREAD PRAISE. WORK OF THE AUSTRALIANS. London, May 2. The Observer is confident that the (Australians and New Zealanders are not behind the Canadians in Flanders for resolute soldiership and contempt of death. They have already made good their hold on the lower slope of Sari Bair, one of the highest hills on the rugged peninsula. THE CHIEF AGENTS. ,p. ~T Sydney, May 3. ine Herald, commenting on the Dardanelles fighting, says the manner in which our forces behaved evidently surprised the best expectations of our friends. That these are high is shown hy this position assigned to the Allstralians and New Zealanders, who have already establish a claim to be regarded as the chief agents in the passage of the Dardanelles when this is completed Ihe Telegraph insists that the lesson will be learnt from the casualty lists of the necessity of more recruits.'

MESSAGE TO GENERAL GODLEY. , n Tr T Duriedin, Mav 3. Hie Hon. J. Allen sent the following message to Sir Alex, Godley:-« I have read with quickening pulse the meagre news of your magnificent doings. New Zealand awaits the casualty lists with n. fortitude born of pride that her sons nave proved themselves worthy in this tune of trial. Please say to your command, ami especially to the wounded, our hearts and thoughts are with them." ADMIRALTY CONGRATULATIONS. T,, ~ Auckland, May 2. llie Governor has received the follow. ;iiig message from the First Lord of tie behalf of the Board of Admiralty, I desire to express my heartiest congratulations for brilliant and memorable achievement of Anstri'i"V"',™ P \? G,lland tro °Ps 'it Dardae'etis mi"'i -T.™ 1 t le,p «™P"» «mt the fleet is filled with intense admiration at tuo teat of arms accomplished by the iirmy. (.Signed) Churchill." ' His Excellency has replied as follows; On behalf of myself, my Government am the people of New Zealand, I desire to thank you and the Board of Admiralty icii the very kind message of congratulations which you have sent. It is a source of great gratification to evervone in this dominion to feel that their troops have been so closely connected in these arduous operations with officers and men ot the Royal Navy, to whom the Umpire owes so much. (Signed) Live--

lnw£, ? o,len «y '«« afeo the folImuiig telegram to the Governor-General of Australia:-"! desire on behalf of which A ""n* 0 . co . nve y' to y™ the pride winch this Dominion feels in-being so closely associated with the forces of the Commonwealth of Australia in the pres. out great undertaking in the Dardaidles, and rejoice that the two forces lei? m J^ m } l Y distinguished themselves. (Signed) Liverpool."

"THE PORTALS OF HELL." A FRENCH EYE-WITNESS IN THE DARDANELLES. GRAPHIC STORY OF THE BOMBARDMENT. (London Express Correspondent.) Koine, March 17. A French eye-witness, who wag an eye-witness of the operations of the allied fleets in the Dardanelles, contributes to the Corriere delta, Sera a graphic account of the 'bombardment. When he left.the Dardanelles on March 10, the Allies' fleets, he savs, were engaging the fortresses of Dardaims and Chanak; the firing was intense, and the Inrkish batteries replied fiercely. It was on the morning of February 25 at 7 a.m. that the Allies began to" fire at the outside forts of Kum Kaleh and Sedd-el-Bahr. There were fourteen British ships and six French; some from the Mediterranean fleet, but more belonging to the Atlantic squadron, which had already destroyed the German squadron off the Falkland Islands. i The battleships Agamemnon and Gaulois began the 'bombardment l>y firing at a range of about nine miles.' The fire was well regulated, and all the shells fell on the forts, which defended themselves well, sending farly accurate shots. At 10 a.m. the super-Dreadnought Queen Elizabeth, with her wonderful new projectiles, began action. Helped by the preceding shots of the other warships she was able to gauge her aim accurately, and even her first shells struck the target. As every shell burst a whole mountain of earth sprang into the air, and was visible even at a great distance. All the batteries were thus destroyed in turn. At 4 p.m. not one could reply, ibut the Allies' ships eontnued to approach in order to complete the work of destruction.

When night descended the spectacle became terrifying. The entrance to the 'Dardanelles was marked bv two great flaming furnaces. Where a little time ago there were forts, only huge, soaring flames were visible. The two banks of the Dardanelles seemed to ho the portals of hell, Rv the light of these fires the minedestroyers at once began their work of dredging 'between the straits, tat though they expected to find a real field of mines, there wctc, in fact, only a few

Imrriors wai anticipated, there weiv .>nl\ IWo IiUIICS. Tin! bombardment of tin. ',,-■'.■ i-i, ■'■•■ <•<«,,(,, 1.,.f,,v the .arrows "'of Uiannk, was relativcl*- f ,n V '„ t -uikc they an. well i„ v.V.v "and batteries, hut fro,,. j*ariiun ils to Chanak *' e "';;. °! f'"';, 1 ' '»"<■■' "tcmliM anil the haUcms well hidden. Nevertheless the. task is progressing though slowly.

All the batteries which were engaged up to a point within ten mile., 0 f thanak, were of an old type, bm vicir s | loo t. ins was very good, anil some shells hit the Agamemnon and the Caulois, which were always in advance,

I'hc French officer adds that there had been no 'serious damage ooi.» io any of tlie allied warsliips, ami there wciv only a small number of casualties anion" t'-i'e crews.

Hie men rejoiced at what seemed extraordinary good luck. As thev put it, "The Turkish shells don't bite," and t.iey were keen to go on- up to Constantinople, in spite of the fire of the forts ahead. ,

The officer was reluctant to predict when Constantinople would he reached, but he said:—

From what I have heard, the admirals calculate on fighting* the forts for at least another month. The greater part of this time will be spent about the narrows of Chanak.

"Once past .those forts, the others will fall as did the forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles.

"The fortifcatioin of the islands in the Sea of Marmora are useless, 'because the ships can keep a distance from thcln, and the mines cannot he dangerous, because the great depth of water prevents their being anchored, and the floating mines will all be carried in one direction by the strong current, so that they will ha avoidable."

As to the possibility of a land attack taking place on Turkish soil, the French officer says that such an action is not necessary in the circumstances. It would be enough to prevent the Turks refortifying the Dardanelles, for the Allies to leave two modern cruisers on the spot.

In conclusion, the officer says:—"lf they could for one moment see the good humor and satisfaction which heams from the faces of the two admirals who are directing operations, the most pessimistic would be convinced of the final triumph of our undertaking."