THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 December 1915, Page 6

THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.

HOW THE RETURNS .'JSS COMPILED A DIFFICULT PROBLEM. (From Malcolm Ross, Official War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces). 11th October. I note there haa been some criticism in regard to the apparent slowness with which the names of those New Zealanders who have fallen on the Peninsula have been forwarded from the scene of action. Whatever may be said to the contrary, the method adopted is the belt that could be devised. In fact, it is the only safe one, and if people only knew the almost insuperable difficultlet that have to be overcome in the difficult situations that have occurred out here, along a hampered line of communications, due allowance would undoubtedly be made for the delay. To begin with, battalions send in their reports once A week-direct to the base. That is to save dealing with' two usual intermediate channels of communication—the Brigadier and Divisional Headquarters. This report contains the names of casualties killed, wounded, missing, prisoners, and sick. The base in thiß case is necessarily at Alexandria. For each man there is a page in a loose-leaf ledger, and particulars are entered opposite his , name. The first return—especially after a battle of any magnitude—is invariably incomplete, and contains errors. Before an accurate list can be made out for transmission it must be checked, with other returns and information such as the base receives from the medical units and the hospital ships. When these returns are compared, a large number of discrepancies are found. Thus, in the battalion report, Pte. Jones may- L -oft the strength of what a comrade has seen or imagined he has seen—be reported killed in action, whereas a week or so later he may appear in hospital suffering from lumbago! Mistakes are especially apt to be made in the case of a big battle, or where a position has to be stormed in the darkness. The mistakes are equally numerous in an action where a force has subsequently to retire over that it has captured. Many of the bodies are never recovered; they lie in the no-man's land between the opposing trenches, into which none dare venture, even under cover of night. Others Are buried by the enemy in hurriedly diig graves amongst the scrub or in the trenches, where they fell. Thus it will generally be found' that not many of those finally classed is "missing" return, though sometimes days afterwards a few stragle in, wounded or exhausted by the fighting. Many a man lias saved his life by shamming dead when he has found himself in n hopeless situation: but, generally, (he New Zealanders and the Australians fight on. and after a few days there is not much chance of the return of their "missihg," The only hope is that, either wounded or unwounded, they arc prisoners in the hands of the Turks, in which ease ther will be well treated, for the Turk, unlike the Bosches, has, on the Peninsula, at least, proved himself humane and a clean fighter. Great care has also to be taken in eases where men have been almost' blown away by bombs or high explosive shells. Over and over again, in a eharjfe, men. have been reported killed, and afterwards they have come in, wounded or untouched. There have even been cases where a chaplain lins reported burring a certain man, and that man lias tnriifcl up safe and sound! Thus, it will be seen that needless anguish would he caused to many parents if nnv imd'io celerity were exercised in forwarding the •lists.

The delay in the fust instance was no doubt longer than it is now; but is easily accounted for by tlie character of the lighting and the enormous and tinlooked for number of casualties In that case one must remember that our men were fighting hard and practically continuously for a month ttndtir extraordinarv difficulties in regard to the transport of wounded, ammunition, food, ami water. The mails were the last thing to be considered. It became a question of succouring the wounded and maintaining the living rather than seeking- out the dead during those first terrible days. Jt may seen hard to sav it, but, after you have been in war for only a brief time, you realise that it is much more important to supply Mrs. Smith's son with food, water, and ammunition than that Mrs. Jones should he at nee advised of the death of her son. And, what is more, one feels certain that the mothers of such sons as hare fought and died here will be the first to realise this when they know the circumstances. The first estimates of the casualties ore in nearly every ease exaggerated. With the official ns well as the/unofficial decounts it is the same. A man will tell you that his regiment has been cut to pieces: that only forty or fifty arc left! It is presumed that tlie rest are "casualties," but for dnvs afterwards men will come dribbling in, and, after all, it is not so bad. It must also be remembered tfc.it in the first week of the fighting it was largely a soldiers' battle, and tho units got almost inextricably mixed up, and that everyone, including* the officers', had come ashore as light as possible, and' practically without office requisites and conveniences. Tlie company commanders brought their rolls with them in pocket-books, and the regimental records were brought ashoro in the packs of the people concerned. Several of those officers were killed on the first day, but, in any case, some days must have elapsed before, under the shrapnel and the continuous sniping, they could calmly sit themselves down to compile a list of the dead, the wounded, and tho missing. A friend has written suggesting that tlie hospital ships might carry the lists giving the names of the dead if the wirelesß is blocked. That is quite out of the question. The hospital ships in no way come under the control of the Army on shore, and they go their several ways at the behest of those who are directing flie sea lines of communication, the captain and the medical officer in charge frequently not knowing till they get a signal at the last moment whether their destination will be Mudros, Imbros Alexandria, Port Said, Malta, or even England! As for the wireless—well, that must be reserved for "operations!" There is now a cable between one 01 the islands and Alexandria, and it will be noted that the names of the officers who have fallen are sent by cable. It (may be thought that a preferential discrimination is being Bhown, Such is not the ease. The names are cabled simply because it is of urgent importance to replace as quickly as possible those officer! who have fallen in battle, or who have become seriously ill. In the case of the woynded there is no difficulty in givtof prompt information, as accurate lists can be obtained from the ships as they come in. I have dealt with this matter at some length, not as an apologist for the Army—the Army has its faults and fail, ings like the rest of us—but simply to clear up a misapprehension of the facts appear to be current in N«w 2wn