THE CAMPAIGN IN GALLIPOLI

Grey River Argus, 25 October 1915, Page 2

THE CAMPAIGN IN GALLIPOLI

N.Z. MOUNTED IJfITANTRY IN ACTION

CAPTURE MORE TURKISH

TRENCHES

AFTER HEAVY BOMBARDMENT

Oallippli PnJnsula, .2Sth August. The New Zealand Infantry Brigade lias not been doing much fighting lately but a. section of the New Zealand Mounter! Rifles Brigade was again in action yesterday on the left fiank. liicy participated in a hot fight and again acquitted themselves well. The fight was in the vicinity of a low hill —known to us as Knol (i0 — situated in the broad valley to the westward of the Anafarta villages. Af this point, the urks held a strong position, and it became necessary to dislodge them front some of their forward trenches. With, them were associated in this ad. vance a force from the 4th and sth Australian Brigades. In all there were probably not more than 2000 of our troops engagedThe fight was preceded by a bombardment, from land, artillery, and the guns on Hie ships off the coast. Our own artillery, which had been to some extent rcdisposed to meet the situation, did effective work. In the afternoon I went out with the Colonel in command to the foreward trenches to view the position. One of our batteries was already in action, registering upon the Turkish ternches and on the next hill another battery, drawn over rough ground by horses and then man-handl-ed into its position across still rougher ground was also ready, speaking volumes for the energy and enthusiasm of these New Zealanders, who had .been hard at work all day and all night. Nearly all the batteries were well concealed, so that not even an aeroplane could spot them. Crossing a flat to the farthest-out battery a stray bullet just missed us, hitting the ground a resounding whack not more than eighteen inches off. Further on, as we were crossing the little valley near the barley field, the Colonel said, "The last time we came over here they fired two shells at us, but they were ten or twelve of us." He had scarcely finished the sentence when a burst of shrapnel peppered the nose of the ridge right in front. We changed our course slightly, and after a time came upon our farthest-out guns in a splendid position, looking straight out to the front. Turkish trenches ou Knoll (50. Here, under the shelter of the shields, . some sandbags, and a narrow, shallow trench a gun's crew were sheltering ready for action. The Turks; during the engagement, spotted this battery, and aimed some shrapnel and high explosives at it, but the men stuck to thuir work gamely, and did some fine shooting. From this point wo followed a winding trench to a point where we could ob_ tain a clear view of the Turkish posiliori. The enemy as usual, was well entrenched, and had the advantage of height. It was quite evident that it was going to be a stiff fight. In the preliminary bombardment, which lasted for an hour our howitzerbatteries rained high explosive shells to the number of about. 500 upon the Turkihs trenches, the great bursts of earth and sand giving clear demonstration th:\t the registering had been successful and the sustained lire accurate. The effect was seen afterwards in the enemy trenches strewn with dead. Meantime, the field guns had been busy sweeping the approaches to the objective by which the enemy might send rejnforcemer.ts, and also in shelling the Turkish trenches farther along the front to the south-east. The enemy ni'tillery was kept well in hand until the actual assault was launched. Then the firing of one battery of "seventy -fives "was effective, the observation being good and the shrapnel bursting low and generally at the right spot. ■T1)0 New Zealanders during their advance captured one of the enemy machine guns, and 30,000 rounds of previ-ously-captured Turkish ammunition, was sent up to he used on the enemy per medium of their own gun. At 5 jvn., after a brief pause, the artillery switched on to targets right and left' and farther ahead, and the infantry advanced to the attack. Throughout all this bombardment, the onemy.had held his lire in restraint, Mil t-lIPTe was scarcely a Turk to be BPen. Ji'ftwV fls our men clambered out of their trenches nnfl began to advance upon the enemy trenches tliore was a great burst of rifle and mflehine-gun fire, and shrapnel from the unseen Turk 'wU gun* also began to burst above them. They made avcry gallant for. ward dash and gained the trench on the left, but they were hpayily bombed, and after a good deal of .fighting., found that they could not hold it, — c Australians on tho right turning a'corvev, found a Turkish machine-gun playing on them at close range, and were

unable to make much headway. The New Zealanders, however, to the number of 300, assisted by 100 men from the 18th Battalion of the Fifth Aus. tralian Brigade, advanced gallantly and determined in the face of a hot fire and captured three' of tho Turkish trenches. The Auckland and Canterbury men were in the first line, the Wellington and Otago men in the second line. The New Zealanders found the first trench still held by Turks, and these were mostly disposed of with rifle fire, a few being bayonetted. In the second trench there was scarcely a Turk to be seen, but the third trench, which captured a machine gun, was cap turcd only after very severe fighting. One young New Zealand .officer had a hand to hand fight with a sturdy Turk, who, before he was finally disposed of, succeeded in wounding the New Zealander. The officer had had his rifle shot away and the Turk on his entering the first trench bayonetted him, in the leg. Then they fell upon one another at close quarters. The Turk, using a sarp pointed table knife, wounded the officer in the arm. Menn«inc mo Tatter was feeling for his revolver, but, the case being a new one, he had some difficulty in getting it out quickly. After a little more of the knife and the rough.and-iumble the revolver was unholstorfid, and then — ".mnfeesh " the Turk! The officer carried on for several hours, and then his leg gave [out. Our losses were considerable, but the Turkish losses appear to have been much heavier. " There must have been nearly a thousand Turkish dead in the trenches before the evening was far advanced. In some places they were piled two and three deep, and our men advancing up the trench, had to scramble prostrate forms. This was in quite- the early stages of the fight, and was a tribute to the accuracy and effectiveness of our artillery- Our machineguns and the rifle fire accounted for a good many more, so that altogether tho Turkish casualties must have been se. vere for a defending force in a strongly entrenched position. This afternoon when General God ley went out to review the position, the j Brigade was formed up, and in a few words he congratulated them upon tho excellent work they had done in this campaign. He referred to what they had accomplished on Walker's Ridge, and also to their particularly brilliant performance in capturing the nearer Turkish positions and covering the attack of the assaulting columns on the night of the (sth August. Their exceptional gallantry in the hand to hanti fighting that took place in the darkness in most difficult country on that occasion and would for ever redound to their credit, and would, he felt sure, bo looked upon as a stirring page in New Zealand military history. He feelingly referred to the death of Colonel Bauehop, who on that, occasion was mor 1 tally wounded while gallantly- leading the Otago lioginient, to the loss of Major Chapman, who was killed while leading the Auckland Mounted Eifics, and also the loss of Major Overtoil, of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, who just previously had made a difficult and dangerous reconnaisanee of the country to be traversed in the darkness b3 r one of the assaulting columns. The regiment had fought with great courage and endurance. Notwithstand ing their reduced numbers owing to the heavy casualties, he felt sure the spirit of the Brigade was as keen as ever, and he knew that if he wished to call upon them for any special effort there were no troops that he could call upon with more confidence than those of the New Zealand Mounted Eifle Brigade. Yesterday, the graceful lines of the two-funnelled luxuriously appointed Maheno, the New Zealand Hospital Ship, appeared in the Gulf of Snros, and she quickly steamed to an anchorago beside a sister hospital ship. She arrived just in time to enable those on board to form some idea of what a battle on a small scale is like. Doctors nurses and crew were spectators of the afternoo.n's bombardment. All night long her blaze of golden light gleamed on the calm waters, awaking memories of their own dear land in the minds of many n New Zealander., All nigjit long tho doctors and nurses and attendants were busy with the wreckage from the battlefield. This morning, with a full cargo, she lifted her anchor and, the foam flying from her propeller, disappeared across the horizon. •