The Dardanelles.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVIII, Issue 288, 14 May 1915, Page 5

The Dardanelles.

CONSTANTINOPLE DEPRESSED. TOO MANY TURKS KILLED ; FEARING THE COMING OF TH ', FLEET. \ TROOPS FORCING ONWARD. i Received May 14, 12.15 a.m. Athens, May 13. There is great depression in Constant nople. The number of kil'ed i:i rcvei : battles exceeds the most severe actioi i in the, Balkan war. Popular alarm ; intensified by the news that a Britb submarine entered the Sea of Marmor i Knver Limali Pasha is credited wit ordering tror>]i.s not to take prisonei He proposes to mount batteries in tl Iv.mipean quarter in order to draw tl ; lire of the licet if the Allies penetra the Dardanelles. The Genua 113 have decided that if tl worst comes they will take the doebc Breslau, Hamidieh, and eight dost.royc and the best merchantmen to a neu'tr port by running the gauntlet of tl Russians on a dark night, when 11 north wind will prevent the Russia flotillas from Hearing the mine-fields. London, May 1.1. The Daily Telegraph correspondent : Mitylene says t ; :e Turks on Friday wei fighting desperately, to prevent' heir pushed into tire sea between Maidos ar Gallipoli. 1 The Allies from Ilndonl liahr to Gal ; Tepe and the Gulf of !>aros are converi ' ing on the -enemy. ; A DESPERATE BATTLE. NOW IN PROGRESS. TURKISH REINFORCEMENTS SHELLED. Athens, Ma\ ( 12, A desperate battle i; proceeding t)t tween the towns of Gallipoli and Maido, The Queen Elizabeth is tiring from th Gulf of Saros on the Turkish reinforce incuts. THE WARSHIPS ACTIVE. AX rXI'RECKDEXTED TSOMBAi.--MKXT. Received May 13, 4.30 p.m. " Athens, .May 12. On Monday there was a bombardment in the Dardanelles of unprecedented violence. It lasted thirteen hours. .All the largest battleships participated. RUSSIAN FLEET AT WORK. THE BOSPHORUS BOMBARDED. Bucharest, "May 12. The Russian fleet destroyed a modern fort on the Bosphorus. * GREEKS ORGANISING. TO REALISM TTTLTR DESIGN'S OX ASIA MINOR. Athens ,May 12. M. Venezclos is at Mityi<->ir uigamsing ii Sacred Legion of 50,(100 mvn for the purpose of realising the Hellenic programme in Asia Minor. THE LANDING OF TROOPS. HOW IT (WAS EFFECTED. TIIK BRITISH TAKE PART. London. May 12. A correspondent states that while the Australasians were fighting gallantly "gainst heavy odds the British troops ivere crowned with equal laurels on the Southern end of the peninsula. The dory of the successful landing 0 f the ilttli Division shows devoted heroism and ielf-sacrifiee. Already the line stretches ■it the southern end along the whole peninsula and from the lower slopes to the heights of Aehi TSaba. Both flanks (ire. secured by artillery and warships. Dm army faced a heavy task, and holds i, fine tract of flat country and convenient lauding places with immunity from the enemy's guns. The southern landing was different from the northern, so successfully solved •>y the Australians. There was'no foreshore, and there were jagged rocks at Intervals along the stretches of beach where the Britishers disembarked under cover of the warships. The enemy were holding tiie heights 700 ft. above', commanding the lauding, but nevertheless «, landing was effected with heavy losses Htcr a desperate whole day struggle. At points the Britishers literally (dung to the edge of the cliff, exposed lo a raking fire from fortified ledges, l'iie beaches were covered with barbed ivire, and the naval units, in attempting to cut it, were shot down by concealed maxims. The Engineers anil Royal Xaval Brigade rushed on and swarmed \ip the cliffs, capturing the outlying trenches and checking the enfilading fire on the foreshore. The Turks did not dare leave their trenches. There, was a serious development at night-time, when the Turks were heavily reinforced and savagely attacked the bench parties. The olfieens, bluejackets, I'liginecrs and naval men who were disembarking stores on the foreshore, were ordered to rush up to the firing line. Others carried up ammunition, and after night-long fighting the Turks were driven oil with heavy loss. Another landing on April 2."> was memorable for the novel experiment ol running a transport ashore to facilitate the disembarkation of troops and avoid exposure. The transport's steel sides nlTcred cover, saving hundreds who disembarked. Doors were cut in the sides and twelve maxims mounted in the bow, whose fire covered the landing. The transport swept in, preceded by pinnaces nnil boats for the landing. She grounded m dec]i water on a rock reef, and a lighter was brought up to assist in the disembarkation, the men holding the lighter under a 'mil of bullets. Meantime maxims and pom-]ionis wei'"' raining a tornado on the transport, and the first landing party of a hundred were almost annihilated, and the disembarkation was deferred. Two liun-

drcd men were packed like sardines 'tween decks. The troops landed .under cover of darkness safely. At eleven o'clock a furious Turkish fusilade swept the beach, -but did no damage to the advance. On April 2(i, after a desperate light, the trenches were won, and the Turks fled, and the beach was cleared and the way opened for the advance inland. T ! ier« is no finer tale than the landing of the Australasian ami British troops! THE AUSTRALIANS' DEEDS. PASSIXIi THEM OX T<) TUB CIULDKEX. llecived .May l.'l, S.ll). p.m. 'Melbourne, .May 1:1. The Federal House carried with enthusiasm a resolution congratulating the Australians on their soldierly qualities . at the Dardanelles. ' After rousin-'' t speeches by Mr. Fisher and .Mr. Cook! „ -Mr. Fisher undertook to have the resuliis tion and speeches printed and dislribut- , ed to the soldiers at the front. -Mr. Fisher favored Mr. Pajre's suites , tion that the State school teachers ~ should he direct:(l to read Mr. .Vdimcad c liartlett's description of the Dardanelles ~ fight to the children. I'DAISK FI.!K NK\v ZEALAXD TiKJOI'S. INSPECTED i;y URU.'ADIEItI C-EXEIIAI, I OX TIIK EVE OF LKAVIXi! VOM ' DAItDAXELLES. A very interesting letter, dated :>:Si\l 1 March last, has been received b,- the ; lion, dames A'leu (Minister of Defence) - from a responsible officer in Egypt. Jn J.e course of the epislle (which was wntten just before the New Zealanders left for the Dardanelles) the writer savM: '"I am writing in our mess tent h.y candle light, and we have no luxury. We have been warned to leave at any moment. Wo all think that we an. bound for the Dardanelles, and feel that it would be a great thing to take part in the fall of Constantinople. Just think! Young Xew Zealand and Australia to drive old Turkey out of Europe. The forts appear to be formidable. I knew- i would never feel at rest till I was sure we (Field Artillery) were really fit. After four months' training I feel we are quite well and readv to take (he Held. The ollicers are loyal, zealous, and capable, and their average ability is quite on a par with the majors of my own . regiment. J fell certain that they will all turn out a credit to Xew Zealand, it is a great thing to know that, whatever happens, the show can still carry on. The howit/.'r battery is well officered, and has improved rapidly, f expect we shall have a hot time of it, because gun-fire is everything in supporting infantry. Yesterday we had an official inspection by the Egyptian High Commissioner and various generals, including flrigadier-deneral Owen, who. ' commanded first an artillery brigade and then an infantry brigade in France, ! and was then sent out to us. lie reports : wry highly on our brigade. He is an ; eminently practical man. With regard ; to the Turks, no doubt you know all About them by this time* They made an attack which was foredoomed to failure. They had no sort of a chance. , . . Only the Nelson company had practically anything to do with the 'sera]),' . . . and it was not necessary 1 for us to help them. As 1 write, iii- ' formation has just eoine in that HH)O l Turks made another attack last night, ' in the vicinity of Suez, but our people '■' sailed out and defeated them. I have ' practically no trouble with the, respect- ' able average young Xew Zealanders, ' only with a few 'rotters.' What a man ' of all things requires when soldiering r is a firm head. . . I give prisoners ' every chance in the hope of reforming ' them . . . but when 1 feel assured they are defying me f punish very heavi- 1 ly. I have never had much trouble with c Hi;; men."