THE DARDANELLES

Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1915, Page 5

THE DARDANELLES

THE NAVAL OPERATIONS. ASHMEAD BARTLETT ACAIN'. ATTACKS MP>. CHURCHILL. London. Nov. 24. .Mr. Ashmead TiartleU, in the Times, makes a biting four-column analysis of Mr. Churchill's- attack on Lord Fisher and his statement regarding operations in the Dardanelles.

He says that the Admiralty commenced operations at the Dardanelles without reliable information of the essential facts of the Turkish defences. They merely trusted to the Queen Elizabeth's 15in, guns. The result of the operations till March 4 was to prova that, although reinforced earthworks could be smothered by shell-Are and the gunners driven into bombproofs, all the damage was unimportant unless there were direct hits upon the guns. Meanwhile the mine-sweepcrH made little or no progress. It was impossible for destroyers and trawlers to approach the mine-field* by daylight, owing to the fire of the forts and the concealed batteries on the coast. On the nights of the 11th, 12th, and 13th the desperate experiment was made of allowing the destroyers and trawlers to go a'bove the mine-field and sweep down with the current. They were exposed to a terrific fire, but little results were attained. The enemy on the lDth actually allowed the destroyers and trawlers to get right in the centre of the mine-field before they turned on the search-lights, and then opened such an awful (ire that a general sauve qui pent ensued.

Jt was obvious that a clearing of the mine-field was essential, as no admiral would take a fleet through three lines of mines under the fire of a hundred guns.

Mr. Churchill apparently succeeded in changing the opinion of experts, prudence was thrown overboard, and a decision arrived at to rush the Dardanelles. Lord Fisher, however, became sceptical about the whole enterprise directly he realised the inability of the fleet to clear the mine-field and locate other under-water defences, and its inability to knock out the mobile batteries on both sides of the Straits. These obstacles, however, had the reverse effect on Mr. Churchill, who nerved himself with greater determination to see the thing through. This led to the attack on March 18.

The public was led to believe that this was a deliberate attempt to force the. Narrows and reach Constantinople. This is untrue, the fleet was only aiming at silencing the forts in the Narrows to enable destroyers and trawlers to sweep the mine-field. It is also untrue to say that but for the disasters to the Bouvet, Ocean, and Irresistible the Straits would have been forced. When darkness came the enemy's main minefields were untouched, and the operation only resulted in knocking out two guns at Chanak and killing 35 Turks. We attempted the most difficult operation, as usual under-estimating our opponents, without adequate information on essential points, persisted in the effort, and got a fair and square beating. By preventing the renewal of the attack Lord Fisher saved Britain from a disaster which would have transcended any other in our naval liistory. The Turkish forts were practically intact, and the mine-field untouched. The Tunes also fathomed our plan, and realised that however torrible concentrated fire, seemed its material results were relatively small. No British ship was within 9000 yards- of the Narrows

WINTER CAMPAIGN BEGINNING. NEW ZEALAXDERR AT WORK AGAIN. Wellingon, Nov. 25. Mr. Malcolm Ross, New Zealand war correspondent, cables: —"There has been comparative quiet along the whole front for several weeks, and no fighting of importance is taking place beyond the usual bombing of trenches, sniping, and the exchange of artillery fire. The troops are settling down for the winter campaign, but present indications point to the main scene of action changing to the Balkans.

'The enemy has recently been concentrating his gunfire largely upon our perimeter, and, • apparently because of the promised Germanic assistance, has been slightly more prodigal in the expenditure of heavy ammunition. He has also brought some heavier guns to hear on the Anzac zone, including one battery of Sin. howitzers. He recently bombarded one-of our positions for threequarters of an hour with ten guns, including the Sin., firing salvos with common shell from a Gin. battery and firing shrapnel from two smaller high velocity guns. Considering the expenditure of ammunition the" casualties were surprisingly few. Our battleships, cruisers, destroyers and land batteries replied whenover targets were discovered.

Considering their dominant situation, the Turks show no enterprise in attacking. Occasionally deserters wander into our lines and surrender, others in trenches hold their hands above the parapets with a view to being wounded by our snipers rather than continue in the firing line. This, however, must not be considered an indication that the army as a whole will not continue a stubborn resistance.

Of the New Zealander.> only the artillery and engineers have taken part in the recent fighting. Both the infantry and mounted men have been for eight weeks in a rest camp on an island beyond the sound of the guns. Having recuperated, refitted and absorbed reinforcements, they returned to the peninsula. They wore loudly cheered at their departure by incoming New Zealanders on a troopship and the sailors on the. warships. The infantry have re-entered the trendies, and the mounteds are in reserve in 'bivouacs. The reinforcements arc a fine-looking lot, keen to enter the campaign.

Colonel Rhodes, after inspecting the hospitals and pnsla) arrangements in Alexandria, has been for the past eighteen days days visiting the dressing stations and casually clearing stations on the peninsula. Tie also made an extensive round of the firing trenches practically) alone the whole of the Anzae, Hellcs, and' Siivla fronts. He m returning to Egypt to inspect the Cairo hospitals, and proceeding thence to Malta, and perhaps to England. The Mahcno has returned here after conveying the sick and woundtd to London