THE GRAND ATTACK

Grey River Argus, 29 October 1915, Page 7

THE GRAND ATTACK

FIRST TIME TENDER FIRE

CANTERBURY TROOPER 'B IMPRESSIONS

In a letter to his joungesi brother, written from Helopolis ou August «'.f th Troper H. D. Webb fC.Y..C.) second sun cf Mr. 8. It. Webb, or Norman's read, Papanui, aud formerly of Lyttelton, avlio was wounded in the thigh on August 11th, and who <ts returning to. Xew Zealand in the Tofua, gives his impressions of the great night attack in which the men of the Catnerbury Mounted Bines won fame and paid a heavy price. I spent my birthday on Gallipoli Peninsula, but my "leaden birthday present" Avas tAvo days late. I have forgotten Avhat it is like to get a letter from NeAv Zealand. I saw one of our chaps (C.V..C;), yesterday, and his neAvs rather broke, me up. There are only a few fragments of our regiment left. Mr. Norris (regimental sergeantmajor) «s killed, He was hit one morn ing, and as there were practically no officers left, he continued to work all day, and suddenly collapsed and died in the evening. Just about all my friends are gone.. There are still one or tAvo on the Avounded list who will get through I hope. Oh; kid! it is hell, this Avar, and may those who are responsible for it have to bear their share of its burdens. 'Tis enough to break your heart Avhen. you think of all the gne felolws and true friends whose hand you have shaken for the last time. We are paying a terrible price for our victory, and there will be many thousands of sore hearts in Australian and New Zealand. , .. Yes, I believe the worst is over, now that they have moved forward out of our narrow lines at Anzac, They talked about France being worse than Oallipoli, but Ithinlc that in proportion to the number of troops employed the casualties were far higher on Gallipoli. Besides that, you could noc go anywhere in the Australian and New Zealand position where' you were absolutely safe. All the time you had your life in your hands. In France you are taken a dozen miles behind the fi ring-line for your rest e-amp, and there you are safe. I don 't Avonder that many of our chaps are loking old and jjoiug grey.

After describing the night attack by means of a rough sketch of the country around Anzae, Trooper Webb proceeds: — "We camped at No. 3 outpost on the Thursday night, and left it to attack at 9 p.m. on Friday night. A destroyer shelled the enemy's position for twenty -minutes: her light Avas switched off for ten minutes and then she shelled again for ten minutes. At 9.30 p.m. we were to attack. Unavoidably the destroyers searchlight was switched on to us as we were in a direct line between her and the position we were attacking 1 . The three machine -guns on those hills caused nearly all our casualties — they made a hell of the little flat over which we had to advance, with no cover other than a bit of a ditch. I was one of the Colonel 's messengers, and had to be running over that flat on several messages. We got all sorts of missiles from the Turks — bombs, grenades shrapnel and machinegun and rifle bullets. They fired flares, too, and rockets. They were expecting our attack, as we ran into some of them as scon as we turned at right angles away from the sea. . . . The Colo nel sent me to find Captain. Hamraosd, and while I was away some few seconds, but .in the interval I got a bullet through, the wooden part of my rifle between my arm and my ribs. My rifle was slung over my rigth, shoulder, and my right arm was holding the sling at the butt.. When- the bullet hit the rifle, the force of the blow made me think my arm was off. I grabbed at it above the elbow ,and found it was all there. When I got back, the Colonel was wounded ,and lying in the bottom of the ditch. . ,Sergreant.Major Norris was going off at the double ti> attack, i turned half round to give my message to Captain Blair, and then got my allowance of lead. It felt like a kick from a horse, more than anything else. I got into the ditch, and as our chaps were all charging on, I tied myself up i and then trie dto tie the Colonel up, but he told me to lie down,or I would get hit again. ... So after another try I did lie down ,and just as well, too] for the Turks started to rain bulled round where we were ,and 'twas mai vellous how we escaped. I hadn't been there long before a chap lying half a chain down the ditch was asking for someone to tie him up- I crawled dowu, but my own wound started to bleed again, so I had to stop. . „ . Soon someone came and took the Colonel away. The other chap and I started a bit of talk occasionally, but every time we spoke two or three snipers fired, so we stopped yarning. "AVhen things got quieter, and we knew from the cheers and row that our chaps were doiug all right, we decided to crawl down the ditch to the outpost. 'Twas hard and painful work — Frost, the other chap, being hit iv the junction of the neck and shoulder, and through the shoulder blade. We hadn't gone very far before the snipers start, ed again, but they missed us all the way, thank Heaven. Then Frost s wound started bleeding badly, and as all our dressings were used up, I tore up my cholera belt, which was just, the thing. While under fire, I didn't feel the least bit seared of being hit, though I felt far more anxious about the success of our attack than myself While I was lying hurt in the ditch, I was a bit scared of being hit again. Till that night I was very curious as to how I should fed under fire. I know now that 1 am not frightened anyway. Of course, under some circumstances, now I might be a 'funk,' but I don't think I would let anybody know I felt 'funky.' The journey down to the out post was a genuine nightmare. I found a pick, and took the handle for a walking-stick, but was done up when an Australian, Avho had been hit in the hand, came along, and half carried me the rest of the way."