FIRMLY ESTABLISHED.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 August 1915, Page 10

FIRMLY ESTABLISHED.

ALLIES IX GALLIPOLI. DAILY BOMBARDMENTS. Renter's special correspondent at the Dardanelles circulated the following despatch under date June 3:— "The British and French armies are firmly established on the peninsula in positions from which no efforts of the Turks can drive them. They arc well equipped with all the. needful stores, mid during the weeks that have passed since the landing important reinforcements have been disembarked. The regiments depleted by the heavy lighting in April and May have been brought up to strength, and our army is no longer dependent upon the navy, except for the keeping open of our sea communications. "How well the navy is able to discharge this task I have only to raise my eyes to convince myself. From the deck of the historic River Clyde, on which this despatch is written, one Han

' close view over the activities on two iritish landing beaches. A down larin transports and numerous smaller craft lire in sight, all of which are, or lately engaged in, putting ashore material for the army. Daily men, horses, and hundreds of tons of stores are landed unchecked, and to all intents and purposes unhampered, byt the enemy.

VIGOROUS NIGHT ATTACKS.

"If one could see through the massif of the peninsula, similar scenes of activity would be visible at the other landing beaches on the northern coast. We go on unloading practically undisturbed. Ashore the anny is still engaged pushing out and straightening its front by means of nocturnal rushes and much spade work. Provided nobody starts firing, these tactics are generally successful, but if firing starts from some neighboring portion of the line the Turks set up a fusillade all along the front, and work is impossible for that night. The enemy lately delivered several vigorous night attacks against isolated portions of the line. Now that the tranches are so close, the men amuse tte-n----selvos by playing tricks of various sorts on the Turks. Occasionally they signal to the Turks reports on their shooting, waving a stick or a rifle In a certain way to indicate whether the last shot was good or bad. The Turk* sometimes respond in kind/ but neither side accepts iinplicity the other's information. MORNING AND EVENING "HATES." "During the last few days the enemy's artillery has been more active, flls 'morning and evening hates,' as the soldiers call the daily bombardments, have been more prolonged and vicious. On Tuesday the 'evening, hate' lasted nil night, and merged into the 'morning hate' without a break. The front trenches are little bothered by these bombardments. The enemy tries to reach the landing beaches, the reserve trenches and the rest camps with shell! knowing that he has greater opportunity of doing mischief m a camp, men are walking about freely, than in a trench. "The consequence is that all the camps are perfect rabbit warrens of shelter pits and dug-outs, to which the men can retire when, the shelling gets too hot. They have,'"however, a fine contempt for cover, nnd show themselves freely even within sight of the enemy's trenches. Sometimes the enemy drops a salvo of half-a-dozen .or more shells simultaneously into a certain camp, hoping to catch the men before they can disperse. The noise is terrific—usually more so than the damage. Our beat protection is, of course, our own artillery, which is superior to the enemy's. "The value of presence of mind under shell fire was signally demonstrated at Sedd-el-Bahr beach yesterday. A French soldier was carrying two buckets of water to mess when a shell bunt nt*r him, and broke open a cask of wine. The soldier instantly emptied the buckets, filled them at the rapidly ebbing oask, and returned to mess drinking wine instead of water. Hub incident it typieal of the spirit in which our men tmt the enemy's 'hate^. , • ,,