WAR NEWS.

Grey River Argus, 23 October 1915, Page 8

WAR NEWS.

THE FIGHT FOR CHUNUK BAIR.

NEW ZEALANDERS STORM THE

HEIGHTS,

FIERCE FIGHTING ON THE RIDGE

ONSLAUGHTS BY BRAVE TURKS.

(From Malcolm Ross, Official Correspondent with the New Zealand Forces.) No, 3 Outpost, Bth August. By 5.45 a.m. on Saturday, the 7th August, the Otago, Wellington, and Auckland Regiments had joined up .on Rhododendron Ridge, and were about to attack their objective, Chunuk Bair, the curving outline of which we could see clear out against the eastern sky, some distance back, and several hundred feet above. A slight diversion was caused by the appearance of two aeroplanes, one a Taube and one an English machine. For a time we were thrilled with the expectation of a duel in the air overhead, but the speedy German machine made off in a great hurry, with a thin bluish line of vapour streaming from his exhaust. The English pilot followed him for a while, and then turned and went on with his observations. Off shore the balloon was up aboye its mother ship, and a vessel was shelling m the direction of Anafarta, searching, no doubt, for a four-gun battery that had come into action against the landing. Our wounded were being brought into a dressing station not far ftom the beach. Turkish wounded were also being carried in and attended to, and by this time there were 200 prisoners within our lines. The Turki ish prisoners were given food and water. Three hospital shi spstood out in the offing. About 9 a.m. there was a lull in the firing, and sometimes a full .second would pass without a rifle shot being fired. The ships' guns were silent. Half an hour later, however, the bombardment was resumed with an ear-straining noise. By this time the New Zealand Infantry Brigade had advanced well up the slope of the hill, but, as they had to run the gauntlet of fire from the Turkish trenches, and also from a mountain gun, they were held up for the time being. Tehy were being enfiladed from Battleship Hill on their right. Meantime, tho Turks had appeared on the crest of the hill, and we could see them quite plainly against the skyline. One big man came bravely out into the open and waved his men on. Some of them came over the crest of the ridge and dpwn the slope for about 100 yards towards our troops; but they were met with bursts of shrapnel from our howitzers, and we saw several drop. The officer bravely urged them on again and again, but finally they gave it up, and retreated over the ridge top. The ships were signalled, and they soon were searching the ridge with shrapnel ahd high explosive. We saw some Turks drop, but once they had retreated over the skyline and on to the reverse slopes they were comparatively safe. In a saucer-shaped hollow on the shoulder of Chunuk Bair we could see our reserves clustered. They remained there all that day, the next night, and most of them also during the J following night, and seemed fairly safe from the enemy's fire. A second bombardment by the navy hit all along the ridge, but the Turks had got into safety, so it was decided to discontinue the gunfire till nightfall, such of our own guns as could reach the position registering upon it in the meantime. For the present the New Zealanders had failed to reach their objective. That evening a long line of Kitchener's Army, as it is called, headed by the "East Lanes.," poured out of the communication trench, filled their bottles at the water depot, and proceeded under cover of the night to take up their posi- . tion in the. firing line on the left. They seemed a likely looking lot, well disciplined, and well trained. They had had a few days in the trenches at Helles, but this was something different even from Helles, and very different from England. They were to be" tested under very strange conditions, and in very unfamiliar surroundings. In the "Rest" valley in which they had spent the night quietly waiting, they had had quite a number of casualties. They were, however, in very good spirits, and made inquiries if there was any ''foitin' " to be found about here. We assured them that there was — just a little.