FIGHTING ON GALLIPOLI.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 October 1915, Page 3

FIGHTING ON GALLIPOLI.

BATTLE NEAR ANAFARTA. FURTHER GROUND GAINED. (From Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces). Gallipoli Peninsula, Aug. 22. On the 21st August, a battle, in which a section of the New Zealand Forces played'a small but important part, was commenced by the 9th Army Corps near the W. Hills. These hills lie at the end of a plain joining on to a valley eastward of Suvla Bay and the Salt Lake, and between the Turkish villages of Anafarta Sagir on the north and Blvuk Anafarta to the south. Their highest point is just over 300 feet, and, (though they occupy a subsidiary situajtion to the higher kills to the northward and the still higher points on the Sari Bair Range system to the south, they command an important position near one of the Turkish lines of communication up and down the peninsula. They are marked on the Turkish map as Ismail Oglu Tepe. The battle began with a heavy bom!bardment from the ships and destroyers and the'batteries on land. Owing to the configuration of the country and the area occupied by the contending forces there was no very safe place from which one could get a good view of the fighting, which promised to be of an interesting and spectacular nature. It was not long before we came into the zone of the artillery fire and had the shells from our own batteries—New Zealand and 13th Division—screeching over our heads. Our guns as usual had been cunningly placed, and as battery after battery opened fire and the shells—several at the same time—went tearing through the air overhead, the noise made conversation in an ordinary tone impossible. Looking to the right we could see clearly the long lines of Turkish trenches on Chunuk Bair dominating the line of route we had adopted, but the range from the top was a long one, and the snipers on the nearest slopes—apparently absorbed in the battle that had commenced —paid us little attention. Somewhat out of breath, we reached the top of the further ridge. Peering over this ridge into the valley below us at the foot of the Chocolate Hills and the W. Hills, a wonderful battle picture was unrolled before us. The shells that went shrieking overhead were bursting on the Turkish position and were sending columns of dust and smoke into the air. High explosive was being used. The Turks were in their trenches —there was scarcely one in sight—but the fire must nevertheless have been effective and somewhat demoralising. Opposite, there was one continuous rattle of rifle fire and the Maxims were eating up belts of ammunition, adding to the din and dealing out death and T vounds to friend and foe. The noise of the battle had become almost terrific. Down on the level land near a red-roofed farm-build-ing we could see the men of the 9th Army Corps advancing to the attack in open order. Their position was an exposed one, and was dominated by the Turkish fire from the crest and slopes of the W. Hills. The fieecj puffs of shrapnel burst above, and the bullets falling on the hard, dry ground hit up little puffs of dust and thinned the ranks. The machine guns cut up level lines of dust across their path, making the lines still more slender, while the rifles, too, played their part. Over and beyond all this went our own high-explosive and shrapnel and machine-gun and rifle-fire on to the Turkish position. One line of our 9th Army Corps troops made a brave charge across the open between the scattered, stunted trees, wavered for a moment and started back for cover; but the gain of ground won was still on their side, and presently we saw them again charging forward through the deadly leaden hail. The Turks had a)\ the advantage of ground and cover, and it required great courage on the part of our soldiers to stick it out under such adverse conditions. The bursting shells had by this time set fire to the dry herbage, and the columns rising from these fires mingled with the smoke and dust of the battle. The fires burned for hours, and some of the wounded on both sides must hav.e been caught in the flames.

Some of the Turkish trenches were only a few hundred yards away. Presently, when la portion of our force consisting of the Welington and Otago Regiments of the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade, 500 of the 4th Australian Brigade, a battalion of the 29th British Brigade, and No. 2 Company of the New Zealand Engineers began to move forward toward the Turkish left flank the fusillade increased, and a stream of Turkish bullets began to come over our heads from another direction. This portion of the force under the New Zealand General moved to the attack from trenches held by the South Wales Borderers and the 4th Australian Brigade early in the afternoon, the latter meantime assisting by heavy rifle fire on the Turkish trenches. At the outset this advance was met by heavy Turkish rifle and machine-gun fire, and the Otago Regiment suffered a good deal. The- Canterbury Regiment, which appeared to be in a slightly better position, was the first to gain and occupy the front enemy trench. This force did what was asked of it and held the position. About the same time British troops and the Indian Brigade moved forward, capturing the Kabah Well and the enemy's position there, and the Gurkhas, fighting tenaciously as usual, made a further advance eastward up the valley in co-operation with the attack by the !)th Army Corps. By 3.40 p.m. the whole of the available forces on either side that could participate seemed to be engaged in the fight, and the din of battle resounded on .every side, while the smoke and dust from shell and fire began to spread a thin greyish pall over the field. High above, one of our aeroplanes, with the red circles on its wings, sailed gracefully against the blue of heaven, observing.

POTTING THE TURKS. At this time the artillery eased off for a while, and the warships and some of our guns appeared to switch on to targets further ahead. Some effective bursts fell on to the Turkish trenches. At the same time we could plainly see the Turkish shrapnel bursFmg over the reserves of the Oth Army Corps advancing over the plain from the direction of the salt lake. The five about us became hotter, and wo made for an abandoned Turkish communication trench that promised some shelter in front of our present position. As we entered at the one end, a Turk in his grey uniform disappeared round a corner farther on. It was now clearly evident that we had indeed got quite close enough to the battlefield, so once again we hurried back to our ilea bnsli, only to find »I

couple of bullets deliberately aimed at us by our friend the enemy, who, apparently, was a member of an advanced post, or some sniper out on bis own. We beat a further retreat to the old Turkish trenches on the reverse slope of our ridge, and then for a time were content to remain examining the litter of war that cumbered the ground. li> one of the trenches we found an English rifle, with its stock smashed in two places, its barrel rusty, and its bolt action somewhat out of gear. One of the bullets that had caused the damage was still embedded in the wood, stopped by the iron of the barrel. One could not help speculating upon what had happened to its late owner. An envelope addressed to "No. 11332, Pte. C. Nash, D Company, sth Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment," lay near a scabbard, One began to speculate upon what had happened to the Wiltshire private. In the scrub were some long broken strands of the thin German telephone wive used by the Turks, gas helmets, and field dressings. The Turkish trenches were all scrupulously clean and scientifically constructed, with little embrasures at intervals to protect the riflemen, and grooves upon which a rifle could be laid at night-time for effective fire.

The slightly wounded were already beginning to come down the track to the dressing station with arms and hands and leg 9 swathed in first-field-dressings —Englishman, Australian, New Zealander, Gurkha, and Maori. They were full of tales of the light, but could give no connected or coherent account of it. Just behind the first lot of wounded men two Maoris were bringing in three Turkish prisoners whom they had captured. One of the Turks saluted. "Stop that!" peremptorily ordered the Maori. "Oh, he's only saluting," said the colonel. "Never mind/ replied the Maori warrior, "I don't like him put his hand up!" "They seem quite peaceful," said another member of the party. "Oh, yes," replied the Maori, "he's quite tame."

THE BATTLE DIES DOWN. The field and other artillery under the New Zealand section of the defence once more did good work. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the guns were switched off from assisting the Ninth Army Corps in order to help our own troops on the right. Two of the New Zealand batteries, observing reinforcements coming up from the direction of Anafarta to help the Turks got some shells in amongst them with disastrous results, and a howitzer battery bombarded the trenches on Kaiiajik Aghala, where the enemy was offering considerable resistance to our advance. We gathered afterwards from prisoners captured in the vicinity that this shelling was very effective and had killed and wounded many of their comrades. Our troops having gained certain advanced positions, by evening began, tired as they were, to entrench. It became necessary to protect them by artillery fire, and during the/night one of the howitzer batteries could be heard fining at intervals to keep the Turks from again gathering in force for a counter-attack. Other batteries did good work on other targets. During the attack the New Zealand regiments captured two of the enemy's machine guns, and one of these was promptly turned round and effectively used upon the retreating Turks. For six hours the battle raged without cessation, though, as the hours passed, one noticed that there were periods of decreasing intensity in the firing. Intermittent and at times vigorous fighting continued until far into the night. At 2 a.m. the moon, which had been aiding the marksmen, became hidden behind a bank of cloud that overhung the Island of Imbros, leaving only the lights—gren and red—of the hospital ships upon the water. The hillocks of the beach loomed darkly against a sombre leaden sea. The battle had died down. At intervals came the crack of the rifle of a sniper on the hills behind. The mule carts, bearing supplies, rumbled in. Other mules bearing bombs and ammunl. tion to the firing line crossed the flat and disappeared into the darkness. On the edge of the battlefield the leaping flames of the grass fires lit up the surrounding gloom and revealed spectral trees. Down below there was a sharp call for "more stretcher-bearers." The back-wash of the battlefield was being attended to. In a fold of the ground just above the hospital tents there was a Rembrandt picture of a man lighting his pipe beside a fire on which food was cooking for the weary and the wounded.