AN OBSERVER OF WAR
MR. A3HMEAD BARTf.KIi VISITOR TO AUCKLAND THE GALLIPOLI OPERATIONS? ■•• On tlie principle that the looker «on.' sees the most of any game, particularly when lie sees it from an especially favorable vantage-point, Mr. Ellis AsluneadBr.rtlett, the British war eorrespoiulent, who was in Auckland on Monday as a. through passenger hy tlie Niagara to Sydney, may well be considered to know moie about the Gallipoli campaign than most men. Mr. Aslmioad Bartlett,, if will he remembered, witnessed the .sensational landing of the British and Australian troops in April last, from the' iWk of a warship. His description .of the lighting, contained in his despatches to English papers, and recabled to New Zealand, was the first and most brilliant account of the operations that was received by coloninl readers. Therefore, his first-hand views on the campaign generally, and the behaviour of the New Zealand troops in particular, as detailed in a conversation, are of peculiar intercut. Mr. Bartlett is on his way to Australia for the purpose of deliverjng a series of lectures upon the present war. Sc;'ing that he has been on every front in the present war. with the. exception of the Russian and Italian, and Uiaivhe remained at Gallipoli up to the time of the last serious operations prior to theAllies' withdrawal, his equipment for tlie purpose is exceptional. ATTACK WAS A FORLORN HOPE. Mr. Aahmead Bartlett confirmed tlie impression conveyed by recent state- J ments of New Zeihrnders who took part in the campaign that the landinj upon, 1 the peninsula was a forlorn iw>i* tr««i i a very e.u\ '"'.'-: a'tf
mmmmiiimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmmyti ' \ pect of driving back the Turk* from t£|' shores of the Dardanelles was "At any rate," he said, "it became ftwK lutely a forlorn hope immediately atari the debarkation of our troop». In tM landing wo lost so large a proportion Ml our army that it became impossible V» push forward at once, and the del** that was entailed in bringing up lew* forceineuts enabled the Turks W
strengthen .their positions to such «A<s teat, that, a» the event proved,-we W« quite unable to dislodge thein. The hoM became reduced to the vanishing pdw when' the landing at Suvla Bay tool place. What was attempted there wpl an impossible operation, and" after it failure the eventual withdrawal, «lHe successfully achieved, became InevitabU "The, whole situation at the fatW nelles Was changed entirely from "(ft moment that Bulgaria entered in struggle," said the war correspondent '•Until then we had a chance of landln, an army which might have secured ta peninsula. When once the declared themselves against us thaj $ cam" impossible." THE SITUATION AT SALONIKA'.
With regard to the position takes ttjil by the Allies at Salonika, Mr. AslilMtgj Bartlctt considers that .it is one thtfj can easily be held against any forca'tfcjsj Central Powers are likely to bfiftjf against it. The town is partly engirilltf by ii semi-circle of hills, which, wlttq! fortified in the manner that is made possible by the use of powerful artillery,' form a strong defensive position. With the assistance that can he given by ffa guns of the Allied fleet he does not «•' how their defending army can posljMy be displaced. '.', . "But," added the visitor, "tltire Ai little chance that the make any serious attack upon eUafr Salonika or Egypt. Their policy is n compel the Allies to concentrate iw forces on the shores of the Aegean altj in Egypt, in order to weaken in tfittt 4fj gree their armies on the AVestorri itotm I cannot regard the demonstratidj against Salonika and Egypt aa othsj tiian feint attacks. Certainly, the*! chance of making any headway againff us in Egypt is negligible, however n£ cessary it may he for our authorities t* be on guard against possibilities." WESTERN FRONT STILL TUB gff^ "It still remains true that the WeaforU front is the key to the whole situation The actual result of the fighting in tnjt Balkans matters nothing. The purpose of tho Germans in that region is tb make us pit as many men as possiltte against the Bulgars and the Turks. TJ(* penetration of their army into Turkey tt of great military consequence. Ttutt had already grained their greatest aa) vantage in the way of food suppUjjl by means of Bulgaria, for that cot* try had had an exceptional harvest Turkey can give them no help of that kind. Her crops have been po« partly because she had ndt reooverliii from' the devastating effects of the Ml . jvious Balkan wars. As a mattef 4j fact, the Turkish army on the pentfe snla was largely fed by aupplie* brOUjJi 4'rom Bulgaria." •" NEW ZEAL-ANDERS AT TOT FRONT Of the New Zealand and Ajfctralili troops at Gallipoli, Mr. Ashmead BAr| lott saw a great deal, and he founl that to sec them was to admlre/tJSeI, grit and soldierly qualities. "I *aj frankly,'' he remarked, "as one who i& been in every campaign of consequejK for the last fifteen years, eiiiwrwiffli . spectator or fighter, that I havo nes I seen a more magnificent body of nw than the Australasian troops. In ft trench work the Initiative of the mais the ranks was most serviceable. TMj ' did not need to depend ivpon thsi officers, as do so many armies. Bw when the officers 4be_ shot dowHi|| , men were able to on without tIH direction. That sort 'of thing, a<U| , to their physical qualities, renders tbj| ', especially valuable as soldiers."., jj As to the work of individual colonial Mr. Bartiett can only «peat: of thM whom he was :;b!i; to id<£i;fy, -flB ' i i iijitikv;, "lie. miuo into personal c| >ntS [ with r;,."one! V.i" .ne, of Taranaki, as J ■speaks enthusiastically of that office* ~ work at Quinn's Post. The colonn '_ death at Chunuk Bair, after he and S i men had obtained the highest pon readied during the campaign, be fl ,- scribed as a great loss to the army; Cffl " tain Wallingford's splendid work win the machine-guns was also well know to him, though he had only thought?*! Wallingford as an Imperial officer* m was unaware till last night of hi» (j&t section with New Zealand. . ,;a Mr. Ashmead Bartiett strongly M operated with Mr. Malcolm Rosa, jffljg I Zealand's official war correspondent, tw gi-eat extent each relieving thc"othe*3 a considerable amount of work, 'sl instance, Mr. Kcss "covered" .(ho AMI portion of tiic operations in the jit veresis of both. j AMERICAN OPINION. 'J > In passing through America, llr, hAh t mead Baribft delivered a liujnljJifTl t leciurcs in iho United Stfties. ' Da ' cussing tue-f|Uestion of American feelbj in regard to the war, lie declared t£§ public oiiiuicn in ihe States i« ovw «irhelming)y in favor of the Allies. Eh amongst men of German descent ] found signs of genuine sympathy' -wi I Britain. Moreover, he met with Uj ! versa I evidence of disgust at, tho a| tude of President Wilson, On the oth I'Vaud it was widely held that the call of ,'.he Allies had . benefited more I Aiwrican neutrality than it would nj ~ the United States'come into the wl | at any rate before Britain, had organ!*! (.her munition supply system. " I The war, in Mr. Ashmead BRitlet ,iOT>faiioii. i- alreiuly won. What isigcs I" to ,end it is one of the antagouiots fin ing that rt is losing economically by { contimiauce of hostilities. There vj be no such thine as any paiiieui victory. We miut bu wcpßr ' -for a long drawn out i-trugglo bofci ' GVrmany i'cially succumb-. For I|H roason our n,i(ional policy ought to'-.' [. to avoid lavish expenditure, and «» ' sern' °ur ineaKs, in order to he afclo.; holdout strongVy to the bUk:' end;-';
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Taranaki Daily News, 10 February 1916, Page 5
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1,273AN OBSERVER OF WAR Taranaki Daily News, 10 February 1916, Page 5
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