OPERATIONS ON THE PENINSULA

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 20 May 1915, Page 5

OPERATIONS ON THE PENINSULA

ASHMEAD BARTLETT'S ACCOUNT

LONDON, May 19

Mr Ashmead Bartlett, the war correspondent, in his narrative of the operations at the Dardanelles, says the navy is working incessantly in connection with the landing of troops, animals, guns, stores, and ammunition, and at the same time is keeping down the enemy's fire. Deep-water piers have been built and roads cut, and the work never stops. The army and navy is a j marvellous organisation which is yet coi operative, and carried out their work I with great difficulty. • The enemy aircraft efforts to bomb the warships and the crowded beaches excite derision. One shot blew up a 4 gun-caisson, killing a man and the norses.

There is a wonderful scene at night at the southern end of the peninsula, giving the appearance of one of the world's greatest ports. There are masses of lights on. the seashore like several towns, while at sea hundreds of great transports and numerous warships lie packed outside the forbidding and still-defiant Straits.

The English and French reinforcements arrived on May 6, and now commenced one of the most remarkable battles ever fought. Almost every detail could be followed' with the naked eye. The battle was of the old-fashion-ed type, being chiefly conducted by the commanders from what they could see with their own eyes, apart from the field-telegraphs and telephones. The eventual objective was the possession of Achi Baba. •

THE FIRST STEP was to get possession of two great arms of Achi Baba, stretching towards Saros and the Dardanelles. A perfect view of the battle was obtained from a- hill six miles distanct. The Allied armies were practically fighting on a rhomboid, one side of which terminated with the peak of Achi zJaba. Two other sides were already in our possession, and were covered by the warships' fire. The enemy's snipers occupied the rugged scrub which covered the ground, and they had to be hunted out man by man. Ravines, low hills and dead ground offered every kind of concealment to the enemy, who constructed endless trenches, which could only be located with extreme difficulty, while machine guns were concealed with masterful skill.

I The British left, including Austraf nans and New Zealanders, rested at I Saros, and the French right on the Dardanelles, with our warships on either flank sweeping every yard of the enemy's positions, not a sign of whom was visible. There was nothing more remarkable than the way the Turks were dug in. Deadly stillness prevailed, broken only by the occasional bursting of shrapnel. The

. AUSTRALIANS AND NEW 2EALANDERS were in reserve behind the Indian Brigade, and the immediate British objective was to push the left wing forward and at the same time endeavor to occupy Krithia and the ridge on which it stands. The French objective was to advance up the spurs and get astride the Maidos road, and at the same time advance into the valley of the Kerivea river. The first day's fighting was almost entirely confined to the right wine. It was necessary to get a good footing on the right, otherwise the British advance could be enfiladed. At eleven o'clock the French "75's" round Sedd-el-Bahr began a fierce and sustained bombardment for half an hour. At the same time our battleships turned their big guns on the upper slopes of Achi Baba and the trenches in the Ivereves Valley. At 11.30 the Senegaiese in the left trenches swept forward in open order up the mountain w-ith steady progress, the artillery covering them beautifully, bursting shrapnel fifty yards ahead of the front line. When the infantry reached the top of the slope they met with strenuous resistance, and the advance was checked The guns of the ships and the id's" pounded shell and shrapnel vainly for the Turks' fire was not checked. The Senegalese repeatedly swept forward, only to break before the storm. The

FIGHTING EBBED AND FLOWED all day. Our guns could not 'inflict much damage to the enemy's trenches which were Bft deep and extremely narrow. Although the French did not succeed ill getting astride the Maidos road they made good progress, and obtained a footing in the Kereves Valley. On the 1/th our ships furiously" bombarded, sweeping the broken' country slopes leading to Krithia. Shrubs ana ravines were yellow with bursting lyddite and it seemed impossible that anything could live in the zone. Our left made a general advance. The 8/th and 88th Brigades pressed towards the Krithia road, but they had no sooner left the trenches than the lurks opened a tremendous fire from a concealed position. The advance was continued, and several trenches were captured. The enemy's field guns were concentrated on our reserves. One of i i our regiments got too far forward and I was compelled to retire under a hail from machine guns. The fire died down early in the afternoon. The French opened A FURIOUS BOMBARDMENT and then advanced and gained considerable ground. The Turks brought many guns against the French, and

and ewept down the slopes tinder an unbearable fire. Their reserves gallantly counter-attacked, and reoccupied the abandoned trenches and held them tenaciously through the night under heavy fire. Meanwhile, the British concentrated artillery on. Kntb,ia* ,The, infantry prised forward < under furious machine gun fire, and occupied a number of ravines. On our extreme left the British made a sweeping movement towards Hill 400 behind Krithia, and were met by tremendous shrapnel nre. Shells Burst right over Our ißen, fed whole companies disappeared in clouds of earth, but

THEY NEVER WAVERED and advanced, losing heavily. As the enemy aim high, most of the wounds were slight.-Darkness;stopped the fight within eight hundred .yards of Krithia '. The Turks fought with*-extreme bravery and determination, whilst their handling of artillery was masterly. The battle was resumed on the 18th with greater violence. The flee* shelled the ground behind Krjthia. The British infantry left and centre advanced under a withering outburst. Both brigades doggedly faced it, and sometimes were driven back. Eventually, they got in a'position to make a final assault possible. The New Zealanders moved forward with the Australians on the left, and over the whole battlefield the lines were straightened. The positions of the units were ascertained to enable the ships to gauge the range. At 5,15 every ship and every shore battery opened .

A STUPENDOUS,EIRE. The hills were covered by .immense' clouds of yellow, and made a magnificent spectacle. The noise was frightful. Thousands of bursting projectiles, likfe volcanoes, weref bursting everywhere; and' it looked as if the whole country was afire. The bombardment lasted fifteen minutes. /The - infantry,., leaped the trenches and dashed towards Krithia, and the French towards the Maidos road. They were met by a murderous Turkish fire. The New Zealanders hurried forward in a solid phalanx, aaM were joined-fty-'maiiy of/the^th Brigade in . v A MAD CHARGE. They bayoneted all in the first Turkish trench and then passed over broken ground shooting and stabbing. Many were falling before the terrible fusilade, but NOT A SOUL TURNED BACK. On the right the Australians, with the New Zealanders, advanced over coverless ground, facing a tornado of bullets, being enfiladed by machine gun fire from the right, which our artillery was unable to repress. The manner in which the Australasians went forward will never be forgotten by those- witnessing the advance. They went steadily, as if on parade, sometimes doubling and sometimes walking. They melted away under a dreadful fusilade, but reserves filled the gaps. , A point was reached beyond which it was impossible to advance. They lay down and attempted to reply to the enemy's concealed fire, and entrenched themselves where they lay. It was obvious that Krithia could not be taken by a direct assault. The French carried out desperate bayonet charges. Darkness ended the conflict, and the end was not achieved, though some ground was gained.