GETTING A GRIP.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 225, 21 September 1915, Page 6

GETTING A GRIP.

TOUGH TASK ON GALLIPOLI. PUSHING THE TURK BACK. AUSTRALASIANS' WORK WINS GENERALS PRAISE. DAREDEVIL WARRIORS. HOT ATTACKS REPULSED. I 5. FIGHTING IN THE DARK. j TURKS LOSE THOUSANDS. I STORIES OF GALLANT SORTIES. I ;Hj Cnti'.e — rrp«9 Association -Copyright' I KrrriviHl 0.5 a.m.) I.iINIX)\. September 20. In h - Lit. -i ill,pat h on tin- l>.ir.lu n/ilvt opera: urn« Mr l.m Hamilton -n- • I lielcrm.ned on M.iv ~ t., i-nntii'iiiu the fehauce Tin- inai:\' urju-ni nil.* for rriiiforcenieliU tiu tin' | i •"■ iml< criti-sl light.ng lvi.i forced n«- tn d.« o:_.in:.o ami mix together neteral fur ru.it ion* in the i-outhcrn group, tn t:..----i-\t.-nt. .-yon. of ihc Krynrli on ~nr right having ii Hritish battalion on their ex treine rijfht. It became n.ro.-iiry to form temporarily a oohipiMrte brigade, consisting of the. Second Australian and New Zealand Brigade*, withdrawn f--r the purpose from the northern nection,ami ihp naval brigade. "During tin- three days from May 0 to May s. our troops were destined to be M-MTeh tru-l. They wore aSout to I" 1 attacked in a s«-rit-* of positions »cirn titii-ally selected m advance, which. although not yet joined into one l.ne i>l entrenchments were alr.-a,t v strengthened by works on the more important tactical features. Strong attacks by the Anglo-French force on May fi an.l T had gained 200 yds or 3OOyd*. We occupied or pa*eed over the tir,t line of] Turkish trenches, but. the new lines; needed C"on»oltdatinjr. "I was certain that fre*h reinforcemenU were the Turks. 1 deei.le.i to i-al! the men to nuike one more push U-fore new enciin forces roudd Ret into touch with the unrounding*. M>' plan for the freeh at Lack was for the; New" Zealand Brigade to aityanec through th? line we held during thii mtflit of the 7th and presa on tow»r.li Krithia. Simultaneously the 87th llruado would threaten the. 'work »e«t of the ravine an.! steal patches of crmjnd from the, areas dominated by tlio ijerman mu'hinc i guru. N.Z. BRIGADE ADVANCXB. "On the Sth, aite. heavy fire from the! ships' batteries on the whole front, the' New Zealand Brigade began to move at j half pa.-t ten in the inurn.n.'. meeting' with strenuous opposition fruni the re | inforced enemy. The Nc-.v /.eal»nder« pushed forward on the right and ad- \ vanced :n the centre. gammß about, 200 yds. but could make little further progress. "At liaif-pa.it five o'. 10.-k in the after- ; noon I ordered the line to be reinforced by the Australian Brigade a»d '" advance after a heavy artillery bombard j ment. Some companies of the New i ZealanJeri did not receive ord«'m in 1 time, but, acting on their o» n initiative.! pushed on. maki.-.? the whole nlvan-v, Mimiltanenii»ly. The Br;li-li »d»aneej could !><• followed by the eparklc of j their bayonet*, till the long lin-s were entirely lost in clouds of tmokr " MISSED THE MACHINE GUNS. "The S'nefaleso tirailleurs fucrd ihc Iheaviftt Turkish artillery, but "ere rampelted to retire. They rallied for another i ! rueh forward, but met with another ] repulse, and U.en a -mall mip|«>rtins: column charjjfd along the crest of Kerev,-.lere. Then the. darkness wt in Scxt morning it »«* learmd that the) J New Zenlan.l. r»" firing line had marehrd over the enemy* . levrrly rom-rnl.-d machine p!in« without «-«-ina them. The; machine pun* t<-<>!*-i\mg fire over thy supportn an yh<\ v rmmp up rauw.l hear; I<ik». buC th/ fir»t line pr.-M.-d on. and arn\<"l witiuri a (•-« rtiril« ,f tf«>j Terkutn trrrj »'>i.h had hold I int Uμ «Jrj «.»vmitt thry dug theru-hr. i , ; Tie Au»tPaH»i» Hrijra.l.- h*,| adranred, drt>p,te ImiT l<«w« froai -hn,.,,.- ma ! rhino-gun icd t.flr fur. and pi v" rr *"'J fro.n ::iiO to 4flo vnriU •The tleterroin'M \x',»nr »h.«n by t>i.ri Ne-.v Zeaianl anj \llWtralian lir.L'ide*: un.ter Colon'l .lohneton aril 1 <ilonrt M.-ray rerpei-tively i, worthy of liarticn lar prime Thr.r lo«ne« were iorre«!«)nd intflv heavy, but, dwpite fierce counter attacks, by numerous fre».h troops, the* stuck to what they won with admirable tenacity. A SOLID GAIN. "The net result of Thilnxla.v'a fighting .I, a gain of (KHI yanle on the Ilnt.*h r.plit, 4DO yards on the left and centre. The ' French had raptured a\\ the ground in front of the firm at Z)imnn-r [man, and nlno a. redoubt, for which there »at ..Iminate Ik'ht.ng .luring the whole of three ilnvi. Tliip may not neeni much. but in actually more than nt flrat meet* ttie eve. The Turks and their lirrmin liaders were quick to the fact, and from nightfall till dawn of the 10th efTi>rts were made everywhere to pitf-h us back, one upefially heavy attack culminntmg in ;i violent hand-to-hand conflirt. Kverywhem the assailants were repirlsed, an,l now for the first time 1 felt we had planted a fairly firm footholj on tho point of the Gallipoli I'enincu!a. SECOND FIDDfLE PLAYS A SOLO. "Meanwhile in the northern zone the Australian and New Zealand Army Torpn etrengthened their grip on the Tiiriilrih soil they na 'l ' )o( ' n defending by digging theneolvee in more and more firmly on those cHfTe on which it first eeemed their foothold was so precarious. Their rule at this stage of the operations was. firstly, to keep open the door lending into the vi tab of the Turkish position; and eecondly, to hold up ac large a body v poeeiWe in front of them, and B o

10-sscn the strain on Capo Hollos. In fact. An.'ae wan cast to play second riddle to the Capo Hollos part. Out of harmony .vitli the daredevil spirit animating the warriors from the south, it cone about that the Australians' un I New Zealanders' defei-.ve always tended to take ~n the character of an attack. ITheir lino I t the period formed a rough semi.-.rile inland from the b.-.ich at Anrnc love, with a diameter of nhout 1100 yards. The firii.gl.no iim every ivhero close to the enemy's trenches, in all sections sapping an I counter-sariping an I bomb attacks ...ii! on inoossantly l.ill nn An/.a.- ( .no, of all calibres from 11 in. ~:., lo field shrapnel. MOWING DOWN TURKS. " Vroun I i.'n.niV- Post the contest above an I lielou ground « is particularly severe. We earned ~n tin- !Uh Ma.. so.'i.c of the ,ne:!.is (:,■„,!,„- with the bayonet. Uo ,-t..:,1..-h,-d tri>o;»s in them and -, -it up re iiior.oni.-nts. A strong Connie: Utile's, nt dawn, however, lore-1 I us to • '...- i. . 1 •■ the Iron,-ii,-. !n opposing] this counter .Utile's oui gnu- did great 1 e\c, ut.on Wo dis.-ov, :, I Liter from a I lurkssh ,-ni ,-r's ,!:.,-■, that liifl wer. I -01, I and .'unn s„ in led. A sort!,, nn the j in .-.'it ol I , 1 lib ha I for IU) object the . li, in.." :u ni th. 1 .irk.sii trcn. iiif. hut it J la.led " . A BRAVE AUSTRALIAN. I "' >:•- the lirtoonth I d.-.-ph r . t that : General I'.r.d.-.-. in c0n,:,,.,,,.! ~, t :„- ----; \ustralinn-, i ivod a fatal woiin I His snicoio ami -,„•:,■,„.„ ~,, ,:,..„!.„„ j I" 'futv stnii Is ~iii n i.i.i I, indreds ol . other I,rave ollieer- who liavc K „ne. (in j the )sth. An/a.- i ~n,. ».,., subjected t" ,1 heavy bnmb.ir.liii, nt. At midnight the! ! ni.-t nob in inn, Inn.- gu„ and rule Dr.we have v.-t experienced, broke o it. j IL my I iirk.-h attl, ks w, r ,. made on 1 "HI left oil No, .' ..It ion, bill they Were. l-..tc.i ..if v. th 1,..,. Another attack It-fore daylight on II .-. nttc ~( th,. ' sc lon "a- r,-; i-.it. .1 I-, ir nines. but ! i.V'x. - r. [0i1.,-,I » ih hen v !,,„,. Al lin 4 i , I", k Ihe lallle ~ i, | | ir | v going. Th- ~._,,n'. _~„„ ,„.•!„,).„„ , w ,| V o in ,ioi, and inno nn hors, kept up a fin mils rauiionado At H nil the Turk" were pros.ing ,i..-i;n.| the left ~f i , urt ne.v's 1',,-t si,,| th.- ii-lit ~: yuinn's I Post. Ihe in.!, making this tt tt.„ k were! una',:, to (~. ,- the lire from Ihe right | and swung t.uin.l t,, Lie left, where they sutr.-rod severely from the trenches he .yon I i/u.nn's Post, giving w-.n under the heavy loss.-. A., or,ting to a prisoner's I report, tiurtv thousand, nicludiiig live (r.-ih rrgimeiils, Wore used. I.em-ral v,,i, ,s.i!i ;,-!- himself v.a- commanding j the .iiia.k Over three thousand dead] of the enemy were lyiriß in npt-n view of! our ■ tr-nrhes, a large proportion Ix'ing doe lo artillery lire. o-ir ca.iialti.-j. ' w.-re about one hundred killed and five j hundred w-otiri led. A GERMAN TRICK. "On the jnth, al live in the afternoon. I , wh.to Mags, bearing crescents ithe Turk j ; ish "Kcl ( ,„,.", I.egan to appear all along the line. Major-General Walkel met th- liirk:-':i ollioers halfway lw tw.-en the tr-ii,lies, and the enemy j a-ki i (or a suspension of hostilities f.,r ' the removal ~1 the deal and wounded.. '.cner.il Walker said lie had not the pow-r. but would exchange' letters at eight o'clock. In the meantime hostili ties rcoiiuuenccl tor ten ni.nuii-p. tl.-ar ing of I—est- movements. General Bird , wood ordered the trenches to he uianiici ' against po-»iblc otla, k. 1 j Tiio enemy's concentration continued and everything pointed to the Turks' intention to use the. la-t of daylight to. I got troop, into position without being i shelled. A message was sent across slal.ug lha! the clearing away of the, ideaV an- v.oun.'.od would not be allowed 'during tin- night. Immediately lire. j broke out on the front of our r.glit sec-' 'tmn. Masses of Turks advance! behind I | the line* of unarmed men holding up i their hand. hiring liecamo general I all along the Turkish line, accompanied i I l, v a heavy bombardment. Evidently [ the attack a«' prearranged. As the I T.rks seemed anxious to bury their, dead, an,('human sentun«v/rt and medical I j ~,once both favoured that course, | j Lent Colonel liraithwaite. my stalT olli i ior. to a--i»t General Birdwo.nl In] ! making arrangeiii, nt- The result was a j suspension of arms on ihe 2-lth. from V 7 .'in to 4.-10. Three thousand TurkisU | dead killed on or since the 18th were remove! .-r buried. AN AFFAIR OF MINES. -"Til" lighting from the '-Sth May to '.Mb . I line so. in, I to concentrate round i v.ir.nn's Post. Enemy galleries wore doI looted, and the wuk un thetll vvas ■ stoppis! by counter nines, which killed | twenty Turks and wounded thirty. One I gallery, however. w_. overlooked, and a I mine was sprung at SAO on the morning ~f the g'>.li on the centre of C'.umn's Post. Tii" w»» followed by a very j heavy bomb attack, before which the -il, .rsti..n on our left centre fell back, | letting in a Turkish storming [«irty and isolating the sub-section on loft from I the two on the right. I "At 5.30 we counter attacked, and in half an hour the position was retaken with the havonct by the Fifteenth Airs trulian Infantry, led by Ma |( .r y-.unn. I who unfortunately was killed. vv .■ j Willed or captured all the Turks in the i trench, and the work of restoration i commenced. BLOODY REPULSE. " the Tnrks again attacked at 8-0, -iprsnrio.i by artillery, machine gun, and rifle fire, nnd showers of bombs from the trenches, The ite_dinf-» of the in- • fantrv and the line shooting of our guns enabled us to inflict a bloody repulse, demoralising t l "' enemy with such an rlTeet that their second line of bomb throwers I fhmg missiles into the middle of tiicir . own first line. At 7.10 the attack slack ened, and at H 4.". practically ceased. Our • nii-ualt.o.s were two otricers and thirtynine men killed: twelve ollteers and 170 ' men wounded. The enemy's low must ' have been serious. Except for the first withdrawal in the confusion of the mine ' explosion, all ranks fuught with the i greatest tenacity and courage. On tho 30th two parties at Quinn- Toot *ent i forward, cleared two enemy saphea.-, i and penetrated the trenches beyond, but ■ were gradually driven back by a counterattack. dfi-piU' our heavy supporting Are. ! The casualties wore chiefly caused by I bombs, of which the enemy eeem to have • an unlimited supply. On the night of the Ist dune two New Zealand sappers crept out and laid a charge of guncottnn against li timber and sand bag bum':, ' proof shelter, which nw completely de- ! s-troyod. [ TO DISTRACT ATTENTION. : "At sunset on the .th June the Anzac i Cove force- carried out three enterprises 1 m compliance with my order, so that the r enemy's attention might he distracted ■ while an attack was delivered in the ! southern zone. Firstly, there was a de- ; monstration in the direction of Gaba" > Tope, the Navy co-operating and bom 3 barding the trendies. Secondly, there

was a sortie at 11 o'clock at night to wards v trench 200 yards from Qyiinn's Post. This failed, but a second sort c of a hundred men it 2.5.*) in the morning penetrated the trench, demolished n ma eh.no gun emplacement, and withdrew in, goo,| order. Thirdly, at 11 at nigirt a Quinn - Post party of sixty, accompanied by born!, throwers un either Hank, stormed an enemy trench, bayoneted many, and raptured twenty eight of a working party. "Meanwhile wo honvilv attacked tin Turkish trenches on :!,',■ left, oar ma chine-gill—, and grenades drawing very heavy lire. After day break the Turks strongly attacked the 'captured trench." using a heavier type of bomb than hitherto. \t O.'lll we 'were obliged to iCim ! don the tion.h and retire to our n-.ginalj fire-trench, "ur cat.ualti.ti were SO, and those of the cn.-uiy were crisalerably heavier. PLUCKY AUSTRALIANS. "i n the ."no u„ officers an 1 Inn men of the F.rst Austialian Infantry made a |s„r! o from Quinn's Pix-t. their objective] being the destruction of .1 much,tic gun j n a trench known to have German ~lli eers in charge A special party oi men I under 1... ..tenant Erie Lloyd, .1 leb.-.l fori the machine gun Cue managed to lire i three rounds into the gun at a range r.! '.It. and another throe nt tin- ..in... range through the loophole The dark iie.sn ~f ihc tr,-:: :, and the overhead cover prevent',! the use of the bavunet. but! -on..- damage ..as done by -I ting J lo.vn over the paiopct. As much oi 'Intrench a, p.<--,',io was d'lsti. inllcl. Th, , irty .»..s . ni1,,,!, I all the time by ma I ■i'l.no g-ins on either Hunk Ihe anil nf j the gallant iie-ailt was alia.lied, .nil I the part, wit Ir-w in g ,<,l or lor with ! their w. Un led. 1 he total en-unit..-, of I i i.c so:t ion i -•■ t-h.rtv -\ | DRIVE THAT MISCARRIED. I here Were ,n. i-s.iiit attooks an! 1 iinlor atta- .-. s 1.11 the en lof June. : .hi, h C I ,-, c.sl. |.ye led the ,-_- 1.11t.v , -t. ■-. ..-r il ul tne.c daily encoiiutors I woul 1 .mi,, 1- .... the .„!,,.-, t of separate I )d_patcli(ss in t' •• campaigns ~f n,y \ ■ rV.V ' but C.inn it ,'.,"'. '• ~, til nil lie- lliollt oliei Iho.-e briefly I mention one example each! from lii.- Frer. i. Itrit.sh, an I An.-i. I -pliere.. so that one may un leret.ind the] ! tr,,,.,-s' energies and fortitude. | "i m Ihc n.ght of Juti! -"'f, the T.ir'sS j tinier Finer l'.i..ii.i's dir.-ct personal j ~-,|,-r t., drne us all into the ni ma-loi ] a big ntt-a. k at Anrac. principally on the i»>rti.iii of ihe line under General Sr |A. J, Gudley. From mi In glit till 130 musketry and gun l"_e of the gt.-it.vt I intensity was ;«,ure,J on our trenches.! .an I heavy columns then advanced to tii-, i ast<ault. but were completely crumpled lup by the m::-l.,-trv and much ine guns of ! the 7th .in ISt n Light Horse An hour, liter another gran I a'M... against ,nir| left was equal', cut t.. p-.e. by artillery an I rifle lire The enemy's cas.laities may be j:i Ige.l from the fa.-t that lin the areas ttxponcd to view Isetween j US) and iOt) a etc a.-tially eVm to fall." LEADERS PRAISED. I Sir lan Hamilton eulogises General | I|.,i__ti Is .larmg in danger, un I ha, -~i.iv iii crisis; General HunterVV .-.ton's reoidute geniut. for war; lion oral Braithwaite's untirinsr loyilty; un-l General Maxwell's remirknblc a Iminis , trative abil'tie, ,n F._'v;t, General Bird \ w.>„i hid been the „uill of An/Ac. Not f>r a single da;.' had he quitted his post IHe was cheery and full nf human »yrn | pathy. and spent many hours out if, ' each twenty four in inspiring the .i. j fenders of the front trenches. 1! he d.,1. ■not know every soldier in ha force, au 'least every soldie,- b.ilieved he was. known, to h - ,-hief Grncnil Hamilton con j dole: "i mi:.'! r.-i.-r lo the shadow cast over the whole of our adventure by the; ;,«.., of n> many g-aiiant. true hearted i comrades. Svin.o ao shall ii.-v.-r s c ,. again;, , some have tho mark of the Dardanelles 1 set upon tnem f.r life; uihers. thank God. by far tne greater proportion. »iU| be back in due course at the front." , i .. !