THE AUSTRALIANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1915, Page 6

THE AUSTRALIANS.

TRENCH WARFARE. TURKS TRAPPED. REMARKABLE INCIDENT. (By Captain C. E. W. Bean, official press representative with the Commonwealth troops.) Gallipoli, May 29. the enemy, though reinforced since the attack of May 19, has not made a further general attack, but has been tunnelling for days against a portion of our line where the trenches approach within ten yards of each other, and, indeed, at one point actually are connected by a communication trench. Our engineers twice during the week countermined and blew in the enemy's tunnel. Last night the enemy's third tunnel was known to be only a few feet away. Early in the morning the enemy blew up a mine beneath our trench. Some of our men were thrown to the ground half stunned by the explosion. None, apparently, were killed, but the first thing noticed was strange gruff voices outside the trench. Tho Turks then threw a perfect shower of hand grenades into this short length of trench and got into a small portion of the trench from which our men had drawn aside.

TURKS IN OUR TRENCH.

Probably 50 Turks dropped into the trench without much difficulty under the confusion and dust of the explosion Once there the Turks found themselves in a short length of trench divided from our men in the same, on one side by a mound of earth thrown up by the explosion, and on tho other by the traverse of the trench.

I'rom that time the position of the Turkish invaders was worse than if they had never arrived in the trench. They were unable to do anything except throw a few bombs amongst our men hemming them in. Their fate became every minute more certain.

This portion of the line happened at the time to be held by some Australians of the second contingent, who, except on the first few days of the landing, had been subject probably to the severer strain of any portion of the force. Shortly after sunrise the enemy attempted a charge to reinforce the men isolated in our trench. Our infantry was waiting, and charged over the trench to meet them. The Turks did not wait, and our men next attacked tho Turks in the trench with hand grenades, and at about 7.30 charged with bayonets over the parapet.

ENEMY SHOT DOWN. It happened at this same moment that the Turks were making a second attempt to reinforce their comrades, and our me», some even coolly standin" at full height in the open, shot them down Few of the Turks, if any, regained their lines.

Our men re-took the trench. Presently, however, they discovered that a portion of the connecting trench in thia dark rabbit warren was occupied by some person who was barricading himself, and would not allow anyone to pass. Some thought it was ii Turk, others thought it might be an Australian who imagined tho Turks to be still m the trench around him. A partition was quickly built against him, and when he was found to be a Turk he was immediately attacked, and, being bombed by us from all sides, and by his fellow lurks from the rear, he surrendered. f It then turned out that there were 17 Turks there. They walked through our men, who slapped them on the back and gave them cigarettes.

Some of the Third Contingent also .<:"!; pari, in this fighting. The attacK was purely against one small section of trench, and there was never the least fear of the enemy succeeding. Our troops were determined at whatever cost to retain their trenches intact. Only on ono previous occasion had any Ajrk. ever entered an Australian trench, that was during the fighting on May l!)th, when seven Turks dropped into the same portion of the trench dur. ing the confusion following the explosion of bombs. Our troops in the same trench held them from one side, while they were shot down from the other. One man managed to jump out of the trench. He ran down our side of the slope, and fell exhausted from wounds inside our lines.

The enemy now is estimated to have lost three thousand killed and at least six thousand wounded. That (lily's loss, at any rate, was very heavy The' enemy's loss last night was probably three hundred. '

Lyery day a sprinkling of Turkish alm"'H T «P, racing along the beach or dropping l.urriedlj" ■to the trenches. Often they attempt to kiss our ofheers' hands. BASELESS ATROCITY STORIES. The conditions of the burial armistice the other day on the whole were very honorably, observed. Our wounded ia the enemy s bands are said to bo well cared lor. A few stories of atrocities are current and may reach Australia. I cl m only say that the principle one, which I have tested, proved wholly „„tn,e. Sonn jlimw uin bullets have been picked up, but the stones of explosive bullets are quite without foundation, and are due to "'7 mnn ■''wiimU.rHUndiiig the curious '1 mile crack of the Mauser rifle. Soma m the wounds are. terrible, and I would l»»t them down to expanding bullets had not seen wounds ~uite as terrible in the heads of the Turks. Going outside our trenches, New Zeaandcrs captured a trench on the left m V'.'f'r il ', ,art - y " f the Australian •ith Battalion also sortied and bayoneted snipers m a trench far beyond the rMit "ml returned without a casualty, largely 'liie to the bombardment of a destroyer