AGAINST THE SENUSSI.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 March 1916, Page 6

AGAINST THE SENUSSI.

THE FIGHT IN JANUARY. Writing to his parents, who reside in Leicester Street, St. Albans, Private G. M'Nelly gives an account of the fighting in Western Egypt on January 24. He says:— ..." "Our old friends the niggers gave us a bit of excitement on January 23. A lot of the tribes of the surrounding districts made a concentration camp about twenty-eight miles out from our camp prior to making an attack on Egypt, so, of course, it fell to our lot to smash i'p their camp. Consequently we went out and attacked them. The' first day we marched about seventeen miles and camped for the night at some wells. Next morning we marched about seven miles, and then our artillery In front of us got busy, so we knew there was going to be something doing. First of, all, the Sikhs advanced, and soon the crackle of rifles and machine guns reached us; and then the lead started to fly about. They were whistling around our ears like bees, and kicking tip the dust good-oh. The first chap I saw hit was a South African officer. He got one right through the nose while we were marching in fours alongside the Africans. Soon our own chaps started to drop. I expected to stop a bullet any minute, but somehow I missed them. One chap I was marching bpside got one fair on the kneecap. The enemy were using Turkish bullets, sharp-pointed ones, with nics in them. Things were very lively for some time, and then the African's and our boys advanced and chased the enemy back a good bit. That quietened their fire a good deal, and we kept on advancing good-oh. Then all of a sudden we heard a pom, pom away in the distance, and then heard" something whistling through the air. Then bang, bang! just in front of us. and down came the shrapnel bullets in a splutter. Four or five, of us signallers were standing in a group at the time, and ive got our share of the shell, but luckily there were no hits. Pom, pom! she would go again, and then another shower of big rain-drops appeared to be falling all around. Next a dozen or so machine gun bullets would whistle past, and then n few ricochets would scream alon?, and then two more shrapnel shells, ji> s t to alter the programme a bit. It was very interesting. Our officer was running about good-oh, and didn't care tuppence about the bullets. He told me he was going to have a shot out of his revolver, even if it was only at the sky. Then lie moved off and had only gone about forty yards when a shrapnel shells burst in the ground a bit in front of him. Next thing I heard a yell and saw him drop. When wo got up we saw he was badly, hit. He had been shot right through the right lung. Whether it was the shrapnel that hit him or a stray bullet we don't know. Luckily a surgeon was close at the time and so he was quickly attended to. Shortly after another of our chaps came along with a bullet in his thigh. It was not long after that before the aeroplane spotted their guns and gave v our artillery their direction, and then the music started. After a few shots they cleared out and- took their artillery, and it wasn't long after before the whole lot of them took to their heels. The enemy's casualties were about 200 killed and 450 wounded, and ours were 230 wounded and 31 killed. Anyway, we settled their camp for them and killed a Turkish officer, who had evidently been in charge of their artillery.

the scrap finished at about four o'clock, and so we marched back about three miles towards camp, and then camped for the night. Tt was a bitterly cold night and rained heavily„«nd to cap all we didn't have either blankets or overcoats. They were back in the which had been bogged away farther back, so we had a pretty rough night. Novt day it was a case of slopping through the mud as well as carrying the wounded and pulling motor-cars along. Tt was pretty tough going. But wo trudged along" all that day and camped at some wells seventeen miles from home. There we got our blankets and coats and. also some more kai, so that night wasn't so bad. Next day we got to it again, and landed back here, at about five o'clock, and all glad it was over for a while at least. So ended my first baptism of fire. I won't be sorry if it's the la«t either. I hope I can tell vou more about it some fine day.