THE GALLIPOLI FIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 August 1919, Page 9

THE GALLIPOLI FIGHT.

ENEMY DOCTORS-' OPINIONS TURKEY DEFEATED FN' SPITE OP WITHDUAWAL.

•[By E. R. Peacock-, in Melbourne Herald.] "With Turkish losses at more tlwn 400,000 killed and died of maladies, there is no doubt the Goliipoli eampa.k.'n was a great victory for iiic Allies, notwithstanding the withdrawal. Turkey was defeated.'' .Such is the united opinion of ji number ot doctors who sened with the enemy army on the Peninsula against the British forces. The armistice terms compelling demobilisation enabled tlie.se to return to iJii'.r homes, and they are now pracl.isiwr ihcir profession in hospitals and privately in Smyrna. Dr. Xicolaides is a Greek, sneaks jvootl English, and has the reputation of bcii:;r an exceptionally skilful surgeon. Other equally capable and reliable men desired for various reasons that their names should not be mentioned, tome of them were on the Peninsula from the beginning, and left soon after the'evacuation; others were there right up to the termination of hostilities. During our interview conversation was general, and statements made were corroborated by i one another.

DEFENCE ILL-PP,SPARED. "There is no doubt hart there been a joint military and naval operation at the time of the first bombardment in. February, 1915, the result would have been successful, and the Dardanelles would have been forced," said one odk-er. Although an attack was expected, the dofence was ill-prepared. The bombardment resulted in very heavy casualties, both killed and wounded, while the Turkish facilities for dealing with the wounded were altogether inadequate. The villages and coasts generally were previously occupied principally by Greeks, who were regarded as disloyal, and belitved to be supplying information to the Allies. These people were compelled to leave their homes, and were deported inland. Erenkoi, Krithia, Maido3, and Anafarta were instances where whole communities were expelled from settlements and forced to wander away from the scene of activities. The men were pressed into labor corps, unurmpd. without pay or adequate food or clothing. The women and children were left to do the best they could .for themselves. The condition of these people was pitiable in the extreme, Large numbers dying by the roadside from sheer exhaustion. The bombardment shattered the houses, and the Turks looted them, so that at Erenkoi, Krithia, Maidos, and other villages there was not a habitable house left. THE FIRST BOMBAKDWOT. After the first bombardment thee was groat activity displayed in erecting defences along the coast, an! making preparations to avoid any i'l-.tniv; surprise, so that when the kindm-' took '.place the Turks had been cont'iient no permanent footing could he secured. They were greatly astonished at the successful manner in which the landing/ was marie. They fw;gh; and desperately to prevent occupation by the attacking force .In the face of this suet ess against overwhelming difficulties of the landing parties and the appalling destructive fire of the Navy, the Turks had grave doubts whether they would be able to hold the Peninsula. Enormous reinforcements of troops were called for and supplied, but they iver- simctercd ami destroyed in a terrible manner by the shells and bombs.

The officers who discussed the subject with me were connected with three principal hospitals— at Aga Dere, Dogali, and Yalova respectively. Asked if ijiey had many Australians in their hospitals, there was not one who hud ever attended a single Australian. There had never been many Australian wounded taken prisoners . The lighting had been too keen and bitter tor that A few British, but not many. ' The condition of their own sick and wounded was awful. In the early days there was some wounded as ll'in result of dose combat, but most of the casualties which reached the hospitals were caused by the naval guns' shells, aeroplanes, and sandbombing. S°veral plans were discussed by (ho Turkish military officers and attempts made to drive tin; invading force into the sea, but each failed disastrously for the Turks. At the same lime, their reserves were so groat that when the invaders advanced a little and look fresh positions the Turks were able by force of numbers to sacrifice more men and recover the lost ground

TURKS SUFFER TERRIBLY. The hospital accommodation of (he Turks and facilities for dealing with the sick and wounded were sadlv deficient. The patients suffered tevribly. There wag an entire lack of transportation, stretchers, or means of getting tie badly wounded to the hospitals; consequently very many poor fellows died where they Were hit who might have been saved had there been ordinary means for dealing with them.

Abnormal sickness was prevalent throughout the whole campaign. The metV.cal eases were even more numerous than the surgical. 'Malaria, pneumonia, rheumatism, typhus, fever, scurvy, dysentery were present practically all the time. An outbreak of cholera occurred, but this 1 was fortunately overcome and suppressed. The sickness was terrible, resulting from malnutrition, lack of clothing, unhealthy general conditions, want of proper means to treatmaladies, and lack of needful nourishment. The Turk can live and riant on verv little, but he did not got' that Utile. The bad bread, olives, and beans he got were not sufficient, the consequence being terrible suffering and extraordinary mortality. No one here knew accuralcly the full number of the losses, but official sources declared them to be approximately hal f a million dead from wounds and sickness, probably in equal proportions.

EVACUATION WAS A ItRUKF. The doctors could not. say that ihe Turks contemplated retiring before we evacuated. They still had large numbers of men and very strong defensive positions, but tlicy were greatly relieved when the evacuation took place. It had been a disastrous campaign for the Turk. The cream of his army was absolutely wiped out, and hundreds of thousands more held up from being used in any iield action.

In the opinion of the Turks, the retreat was very cleverly carried out. Not a man was left behind, no horses, nor any guns. The food and stores left, were a great boon, and lasted for more than a year. The medical comforts, beds (of which there were about 400),

blankets clothes, and buildings or barracks for soldiers were all quickly apprGjiriat'jd. After the evacuation the number of armed troops was reduced to about 70,1)00, v.im, were employed in strengthening the defences against any possible furt.cer attack. There were also some 10,000 to 15.000 Christians, Creeks and Armenian.-, unarmed forced labor corps, employed under Turkish soldiers in road making and other similar work. The Austrian Kmperor contemplated paying a visit to lb'- battlefield, and great preparations were made to enable him to sec everything of interest. The intended visit was never made.

TsO DRfiRCRATIOX OF GRAVES. ]>. Xicoiaides was asked if he had seen the graves of Australians or New ZealandiTs desecrated by being dug up. He was very definite in his statement. "Xo, 1 never saw any bodies disturbed. The Turks arc very reverent towards the lieu,!., Before a man is dead they will do anything, take everything from him, and let him die or kill him; but when dead they are very reverent and do not disturb his body."*

This agrees with the indignant protest of the 'Turkish general Mustapha Keir.al Pasha, who declared: "lit is agjinst the Turk's religion to interfere with a dead body, and a Turk will not accept or wear anything that he knows has belonged to a dead man.": The Greeks do not have any such scruples, for if the relatives of a dead person are not able to buy the ground right out wherein a person is buried, in .some places the body is after a time dug up, the bones removed and stored ineellars, or otherwise disposed of. One of the doctors said that he had seen graves whieh had been dug up to get valuables from the dead, but he could not say bv whom this was done.

WAS LAXDiXfi-PLACE THE BEST? Commenting generally on the campaign, the general opinion among the doctors sccm"d to lie that the landing could have been made with less loss and better ultimate success had it taken place at Kx-emil, at (he head, of the Peninsula, above the liulair line. The work of the Xavy was a theme of universal admir-aiion. The sinking of the Barbarosa (with loss of all hands—more than 1.0)0—not a soul being saved) by naval lire across the peninsula was referred to. Jn other places shells exploded over or among large bodies of men, and wrought terrific havoc, so that whole divisions had to be reconstructed. The cd'eet of these terrific bombardments was demoralising in the last degree.

Summ.'iri.-ing the views: There was good strategy in attacking on the Peninsula. The atiackcrs were magnificently brave men. The lighting was of the fiercest description and the retreats were cleverly executed, the actual result being an enormous death-roll of Turks and 11 very large force held up here incapable of being u.,cd elsewhere. It was the conviction of these men inside the Turkish lines that the military power of Turkey was crushed "■"<<?, destroyed on the Gulllpoli Pwiiisu,