GALLANT NEW ZEALANDERS

BATTLE OP ACHI BABA. AN ATTACK THAT FAILED. [By the San Francisco 'Mail.']

In the battle of Achi Baba in the Dardanelles on May 6 and two following days ,a general attack was made against welldefended Turkish positions. In describing the battle, Mr Ashmead-Bartlett gives a graphic account of the tactics in operation. " The Allies gained some ground," he wrote, " gained some ground, but Achi Baba still, looks defiantly on the plain beneath. It is obvious that positions such as those held by a foe indomitable as the Turks can . only be won by extreme patience." On May 6, he says,, reinforcements had reached our army and also the French, and, sufficient stores and ammunition having been got ashore, the allied commanders were able to resume the offensive against the enemy's positions, which had been suspended, save for some local advances, since Wednesday, April 28. Now began one of the. most remarkable battles which have ever been fought, and every detail of which, owing to the peculiar nature of the country, could be followed almost with the naked eye, and with the utmost ease through glasses. The eventual objective of this great offensive movement was to obtain possession of the height of Achi Baba, but before this could be attempted it was necessary to obtain possession ,of the two great arms of . that sombre mountain, which stretch out, the one to the Gulf of Saros arid, the other to the shores of the Dardanelles. — Haven for Snipers. — The right -arm of the mountain ends* at the head of a great donga. From the top of this donga the long broken slope leads up to the village. of Krithia. The ground is covered with this awful shrub and broken into patches of heath and Scotch firs. There are ravines, low hills, and dead ground, which afford every sort of concealment to an enemy, everywhere. The Turks have dug endless trenches, which are only located with extreme difficulty, while their machine guns areconcealed with that masterful skill which i* such a prominent feature of German warfare.. *From Krithia. the ground rises more steeply to the right-hand shoulder of Achi Baba itself. The left arm of Achi Baba stretches to the Dardanelles, ending at Totts Battery. On. the far side is the river or stream of Kereves Dere. . This arm is less broken" than that stretching to the. Gulf of Saros, and the ground is not covered with the same dense shrub. — The Allied Army. — On this memorable morning of May 6 there stood drawn up in front of the Huns and Ottoman Turks the army of the Last Crusade. The main road to Krithia runs ' through the centre of the position, and roughly divides the ground into two portions, that on the left, facing the right * arm of Achi Baba, being held by the English, and that on the right by the Frenclj, but some of our troops were over the road supporting the French left wing. ' Thus the* British left rested *on the Gulf I of Saros and the French right on' the Dardanelles. On either flank, out in the Dardanelles and along the Gulf of Saros, lying close into the shore, were our battleships and cruisers, with their guns trained to sweep every yard of the enemy's position, and further off lay the forest of masts and funnels of the immense fleet of transports which had disgorgedi tluV mixed host between the forbidding, sombre arms, •of Achi Baba. — Mystery of the Enemy. — But what of the enemy ? What was this great army drawn from so , many climes and so many nations facing ? That was the mystery we were u about to solve. Not a Turk, nor a Hun, nor a gun, nor hardly even a trench was visible. (sur army was drawn up in the following order on this the first day of the battle : — On the extreme left tho 87th Brigade held the. -great donga and the trenches on the hills beyond. The line was prolonged to the right by the /88th Brigade, and then on to the Krithia . road by part of the Naval Division. On ihe other side of the road was another brigade of tho same division. Behind the line the Indian Brigade; the Australians, and New Zealanders stood in reserve, and behind thefn the newly-arrived Territorial Division. On, the right the French stood, with the blue-cdated Senegalese in tlieir front line, and' with the light-blue French infantry, ;the red '. Zouaves, and the Foreign Legion in reserve. —The Objective of the Allies. — The immediate objective of the English was to push forward our left wing, and at the same, time 'to endeavor to occupy Krithia and the ridge on which it stands. The immediate objective of the French was to advance up the spurs and get astride the Maidos road, and at the 'same time to advance in the valley of the Kereves River. It was decided that our Jeft wing could not advance until the French had made good .their footing on the right, otherwise 1 ' our' 'advance could be enfiladed, therefore the first day's fighting was alino'st" 'entirely cemfined to the right wing. Exactly at 'll the French " 75's " round Sedd-el-Bahr began a fierce, and sustained bombardment pi the right arm of Achi Baba and the broken country under its summit. The battleships also opened fire. At 11.30 the .blue-coated Senegalese (crept from their trenches and swept forward in open order up the right arm of the mountain. For some time they made steady progress, their artillery covering ' the advance beautifully, bursting shrapnel 50 yards ahead of the firing, line with that precision peculiar to t the French gunner. .When the infantry topped : the slope overlooking the valley they found themselves . most strenuously resisted by the Turks from their entrenchments oh the .other side of the crest, and the 'advance was held up. Part of the firing' line wheeled to the left and moved forward up the arm towards the Maidos road, , while our Naval Division, supporting the French . left, also advanced across the low, broken, ground under a heavy fire, which caused many casualties. ■*'•■■ —Concealed Trenches. — The advance towards the Maidos road was partly successful, but was eventually held up by a redoubt and carefully , concealed trenches. In vain did the ships' guns and the " 75's " pour shrapnel and common shell on the position. Nothing checked the fire of the Turkish infantry. Time and time again long waves of dark blue-coated Senegalese swept forward, „'•' only to break before the storm of bullets.. * Then they were withdrawn to the second line, and the light-blue regiments., tpok

their place. The fighting ebbed and> flowed all day. but the Turkish infantry could not be "shaken by our terrific shell fire, or rather our guns could inflict but little damage on their well-made trenches, which were found to be Bft deep and extremely narrow. At 4.30 it was finally reported' that the advance was held up, and, as it was not considered advisable for .our left wing to push forward until the French had made good their footing, the fighting gradually died down at halfpast five. Although the French had not succeeded in getting astride of the 'Maidos road, they had made substantial progress, having pushed forward their line almost due east for over a mile, and had obtained a foothold overlooking the Kereves Valley. The Turks scarcely fired a ronnd from their guns all day, and this gave rise to the belief that they had withdrawn them or were short of ammunition. That night, between 10 and 2 in the morning, the Turks delivered a series of counter-attacks against the French lines, which were repulsed. — Furious Bombardment. — On Friday, May 7, at 10 a.m., our ships I opened. Tip a furious bombardment of the right arm of Aclii Baba, sweeping the broken country at 'the head of 'the great donga and the slopes leading up to Krithia. The shell smothered every yard of the ground" and it seemed impossible for anyone to live within this zone, as the shrub and ravines were yellow with bursting lyddite. After a quarter, of an hour of this rapid fire from the ships and batteries on shore, there was a general advance of our left wing. The 87t'h and 88th Brigades pressed forward through the shrub at the top of the donga and in the. centre towards the Krithia road. No sooner did they leave- the shelter of their trenches than the Turkish, infantry, who had been lying absolutely quiet, opened up a tremendous fire from concealed trenches, the existence of which had been suspected, but whose true position it had been impossible to locate, and it was obvious that their morale had suffered but little from the fire of the fleets' guns. Nevertheless, our infantry, advancing in perfect order, with lines of reserves and supports occupying the vacated trenches as they moved forward, gained considerableground and captured some of the enemy's trenches, only to find themselves held up by others. — Among Scotch Firs. — Throughout the morning the enemy used his field guns actively against our left wing, generally concentrating Jiis fire on the reserves and supports. At 1.45 on a of our regiments, which had* got too far forward and had occupied a dense patch of shrub and Scotch firs, was obliged to retire; under a -tremendous hail of bullets from machine guns. " The fighting along this part of the line went on all the morning but finally died down towards 2 o'clock. Meanwhile on the right wing the French, had been very quiet all the morning, but at noon their artillery again' opened up a furious 'bombardment, and at 3 o'clock there was a general advance up the slope towards the Maidos road, while the Naval Division on their left also pushed forward. This movement gained considerable ground. At 4.45 the Turks brought a great many guns infco action against the French,' plastering their advanced trenches with shrapnel and sweeping the ground behind -them to. prevent supports being brought up. Nighf caine with the French still holding on tenaci6usly under a heavy fire from the enemy's feunsV .' I '.: —Brigade Advances. — Meanwhile throughout the * afternoon thore had* bqer, no further fighting on our left wing, and between 2 and 4 the firing died down to an occasional exchange of rifle while our men were busy making good the positions they had won earlier in the day. At 3.15 a brigade was moved from the centre to support our left Aving. It had been lying concealed -all day in the broken ground, ' and •the' companies, marching- by platoons in artillery formation, swept along the coast towards the great donga., providing a very fine spectacle. At 5 o'clock another furious artillery fire was conloentrated from, all our guns on the right arm of Acbi Baba and on tho village of Krithia, and a quarter of an hour later infantry again pressed forward on the left centre. Once again the rifle and machinegun fire became fast and furious, but our .men made steady progress, capturing further patch**, of the scrub a.nd occupying more of the ravines. At 6.10, on the extreme left,* by the sea coast, long lines of khaki figures suddenly seemed to emerge from the head of the great donga and. to press forward, making a sweeping movement towards Hill 400, behind Krithia. They were met by a tremendous shrapnel fire from the Turkish guns, just as the French had been on the right. The shells burst night over our men, and whole companies disappeared from view in the dense clouds of earth and sand thrown up by tho bullets. These great khaki waves, however, never wavered. One after, another they pressed forward, losing heavily, but, fortunately, the ■enemy's aim being high, most of the wounds were slight. This advance ou the left ga.ined much ground, and was finally brought to a stop by the darkness. • . • —The Third Day.— On the morning of the Bth, at 10 o'clock, this battle, which had now lasted : for two days without was'continued ■ with even greater violence. •The ships opened' up another tremendous' bombardment of the right- arm of Achi | Baba, of Krithia village, and the ground behind. When this had lasted for half an hour our infantry on the left and ' left centre again advanced to the attack, and again began one of those furious outbursts of rifle and machine-gun fire, which showed that the Turks were still holding their trenches with - jttieir old determination. Nevertheless; the 87th and 88th Brigades were not to be denied, and continued to- gain-v ground. Throughout the morning the fight became a series o'f local combats •of intense ferocity for odd ravines* trenches, arid', hills..- Sometimes" -we were driven back, but gradually the whole fighting line was' pushed . forward in front of Krithia to a distance which rendered a final assault ou the village possible. The whole of the plain seemed alive with .these khaki-clad infantry. It was", in- I 'deed, a perfect example of the classical British attack carried out over a broad front so as to concentrate the* maximum number of men in/ the firing line for the

1 final assault on the enemy's position with minimum of loss. These reserve troops, who were now moving forward to the firing line, were the New Zealand Brigade, which moved up to pass through the 88th Brigade for the final assault, and on their left the Australian Brigade, who passed through the Naval Brigade on the left of the Krithia road for a like purpose. The 87th Brigade still held the ground at the top of the great donga, while the Indian Brigade and Lancashire Fusilier Brigade acted as a general reserve. — Calm Before the Storm. — At 1.30 p.m. these final movements were completed, and there came a complete lull all over the battlefield, the only incident being the appearance of one of the enemy's aeroplanes, which atttempted to drop some bonibs on the beaches and ships without doing any damage. Exactly at 5.15 p.m. there suddenly ope'ned from every ship afloat and from every battery ashore the most stupendous bombardment it has ever been my lot to see. In fact, those officers who had previously served [ in France declared they had never seen j anything like it there. It was now 5.30, and the bombardment had lasted exactly a quarter of an hour. Everyone knew that something decisive must happen soon, and the suspense was great. y — "To the Assault." — • Suddenly, as if controlled by a single will, the guns ceased to fire for a few seconds. This was the signal for" the infantry, who had hardly been visible, so carefully were they lying concealed amid the scrub and in the trenches. As one Win the entire line, from the head of the great donga to the Krithia road, leapt forward and rushed to the assault of Krithia. At the same instant the light and dark blue columns were seen to burst from the French trenches. They also had lain quiet all day, and they also rushed forward up the slopes towards the Maidos road. Line after line of khaki figures emerged from cover and dashed forward with the sun glittering on their bayonets, and no sooner were they clear of the trenches than the bombardment was re- ' sumed, the ships' guns again shelling the \ higher ground, and our own artillery keeping up a white surf of shrapnel only 50yds ahead of the firing . line. But, in spite all this preparation, the enemy was waiting and ready. No sooner had our men emerged from cover than a per- i feet storm of rifle and machine-gun fire was opened up from the trenches, shrub, and ravines, over which the shells had been and were still bursting. — New Zealanders Charge. — The New Zealanders hurled themselves forward in a solid phalanx, passing through the 88th Brigade, and many of the gallant men of those regiments, refusing to yield any right of way to them, joined their ranks and. rushed forward in their mad charge. Tlie line entered one Turkish trench with a rush, bayoneted all there, and then passed on into broken ground, shooting down and stabbing, and with men falling amid the terrible fusillade, but not a soul turning back. No sooner had one line charged than another pressed on after it, and then a third. On the right the New Zealan "ers and the Australians advanced at '.'"!> same moment, l:ut over much, more or- '.'round, which provided little or no cv •. They were met by a tornado of bi.-iot-s, and were enfiladed by machine guns from the right, and the artillery in vain endeavored to keep duwn this fire. i The manner in which these Dominion troops went .forward will nevar be forgotten by thf'se who witnessed it. The lines of infantry were enveloped in dust from the- patter of countless bullets in the sar:-dy soil, and from the hail of shrapnel poured on them, for now the enemy's artillery concentrated furiously on the whole line. The lines advanced steadily as if on paradic, sometimes doubling, sometimes walking, and you saw them melt away under this dreadful fusillade, only to be renewed again as tha reserves and supports moved forward to (replace those who had fallen. — Not a Man Retires. — In spite of all obstacles a considerable advance towards Krithia was made, but at length a point was reached from which it was impossible to proceed further. Not a man attempted to return to tho trenches. They simply lay down where they were, arid attempted to reply to their concealed enemy, not a man of whom disclosed hie position. Only a few hundred yards had been won, it is true, but Ihese Australians and Nfcw Zealanders were determined not to budge, <m4 proceeded to entrench themselves where they lay. It became obvious however, at the end of an hour, that the attack had' spent its force, and that the hope of taking Kritlhia by direct assault must be abandoned. On the right much the same scenes were being enacted on the ground over which the French were advancing. Whenever I could tear n\v eyes away from the khaki lines moving forward, thinned but still steadfast, I watched the French. A confused memory remains of solid lines of Senegalese and light blue infantry "charging forward, then recoiling, breaking and retiring a little under a hail of shrapnel, only to renew the attack a few minutes later. ' There seemed to be a succession of desperate bayonet charges taking place all over the slopes of Achi Baba's left arm, and the French at one time made a most -pronounced advance, covered by their " 75'5," which kept tip an unceasing fire, .on the Turkish trenches. . — Main Object Fails. — Tho attack looked as if it would lead to great results, especially when the light blue infantry stormed one of the Turkish trenches at the point of the bayonet. It was one of the most dramatic moments of the whole scene, for the Turks could not retreat to the valley beyond, being cut off by tho fire of the "75'5." The French lijie of glittering bayonets was within 50 yards of them when the- survivors came boldly out, stood on the top of their trenches, and fired into the advancing line. The French hesitated for a moment, as if expecting a surrender, and then rushed forward, and both lines' clashed on the top, finally disappearing from view, .over the crest amid .clouds of dust and shrapnel. I do -not think any of the Turks got away, but no sooner had this position been won than the French Were driven back again by the firo of another trench and the rapid salvos of shrapnel, the Turks or Germans handling their guns with gireat skill. TJu's check was only ■temporary, and a counter-attack of a farge number of . Senegalese retrieved the position. This confused fighting went on all along the line, until at 7.30 the gradual approach of darkness put an end to this terrible ! combat. i