THE CANAL FIGHT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 16808, 18 March 1915, Page 9

THE CANAL FIGHT.

UTTER ROUT OF TURKS. NEW ZEALANDER3 ENGAGED (Special Representative, of Melbourne "Age.")

SUEZ CANAL, February 11

" During the night of February 2 and 3 the enemy attempted to cross tho canal near Tusun.'' lis this simple sentence has the official communication been made of the long-turenteii-ed attack on tho Suez. Canal by tho Turkish army—the attack which reached a head only after a w'eek.'s hesitancy and delay, and which ended after •18 hours of desperate fighting in lamentable failure. 'The outstanding features of this hazardous undertaking have reached you by cable, but tho

desert was stiil stained with blood, and graves were still open, when I passed along through our trenches to what had been the tiring lino a short? time before. Of many desperate adventures in the land of the Pharoahs —the suppression of rebellious, expeditions against the misguided Arab —none needed greater organisation, resource, courage and determ.nation to bring it within measurable distance of success than this effort to cross the narrow waterway that so nearly unites East and West. Its "failure has been due, probably, not to any want of

courage ou the part of the enemy, but to sheer lack of appreciation of the forces both of Nature and the Empire which stood in the way. Looking dispassionately, if one can look in such a way, at this attack, no other motive for it can be found than that of a, political move, in which the Turks were tho instrument -in the hands of a, relentless ally, and they have been sacrificed in an effort to break down British prestige in Egypt. By the crushing defeat inflicted, our arms shine more gloriously, our cnemien are worse confounded. Egypt is still moro calm.

'.' Briefly, the situation presented to the invaders was a canal' 90 miles in length, protected except for ton miles adjacent to Port Said, defended by inundation, by a line representative of tho English and Indian troops entrenched on the banks, and a deep blue channel dotted at intervals with grim pjrey warships. The Turkish army came swarming over the hills, which. lie back in the desert ten miles or more from the canal. Patrols had come into touch, sniped at one another and retreated. Our aviators reported a general advance, and advised of largo bodies of men moving in sluggish caterpillar, fashion as they saw them following the caravan routes from the general camps in the heart of the Sinai "Peninsula, where water was plentiful. They came on over the last range of mountains and deployed from Kantara to Suez, and' in one night swept down on the canal at a score of points, hoping to find a. weak link in the chain of defence- The attacks were for the most part elaborate feints, designed *o covet the main attack at, or rather between, Tusnn and Serapeuni. midway in the canal, .which suggested the best strategic advantage, as both railway and water communication approaches close to the canal banks here. To cut these would he to isolate Lower Egypt.

THE MAIN TURKISH ATTACK

Froim the last day in January, wneii I the final reconunis.-<ance had been made lover the hula opposite Tusun, unci toeiapeum, six miles soutn of Jjukc 'Unison, tno .British commanders watched large masses of the enemy moving like blacK j clouds along tlio western slope of ranges, ana' knew that guns, baggage ana camel trains had been moved up from tho base, ■ Moiya Harab, an oasis to the south-east, where the chief water supply was located. Day after day our patrols plodded through sand, only retiring benind trenches at nightfall. On the night of the 2nd the 'Turkish force began to work its way across the desert from the last camping ground at Katjb el Kheil, twelve miles from the canal,

The order for advance was given at 6 p.m. that day, by which time there were thin trickles of tho enemy's men streaming down the lulls for forty milets to the north and forty miles away to the soutli of the canal. That night and next morning tho attack doveloped at Kantara, and points north of Lake Timsah and soutli towards Suea. There was almost pitch darkness, for the moon had set early and clouds obscured' the stars. At 3.30 a.m. on the 3rd shots were first fired on the Tusun post. The alarm spread up and down the line, and' a torrent of riflo fire burst from the British trenches and Turkish advance parties from the desert, which had been bare of life at dusk. There appeared a thousand flashes from the enemy's riflos. Tho spot where the Turks had dashed forward was covered with tus,socks, which gave them some cover, and here they commenced to dig in trenches which completely ■ covered them, but

this was not known until the light camo. Meanwhile ten minutes after the first burst of fire the first advance party of enemy reached tho water's edge. It was composed of scores of men carrying what might hevo been mistaken for coffins, but which were pontoons and rafts, thirtv men bearing forward each boat. The boats were designed after the pattern used in the German army. They were of zinc, and were made in Constantinople. Each of them was fiat bottomed, and fitted with hooks and rings for linking together as a pontoon bridge. They had been carried on waggons drawn by oxen thus far, used incidentally for holding drinking water in the desert, dragged for miles through sand for tho final rush on the

canal, and then lifted on the shoulders of troops amidst a hail of bullets. Tho first boats were slipped with a splash into tho water tho Turks had chosen ho carefully. Tho banks at this place are low, and there is a series of depressions which enabled tho troops to advance without much difficulty, but once on tho bank of tho canal nothing could protect them from the withering fire from tho opposing side, 100 yards away. Most of tho pontoons (eighteen seem to have been brought to the edge of tho canal) were launched midway between Tusun and Serapeum—some over a low rubble will that afforded a cer-

tain amount of protection. Tho Turks crowded into the boats, rowing J»ard for tho western bank, but of six boats that started only two touched the opposite shore. By this time the quickfiring guns concealed on the banks were mowing down men whom the gunners could not see on the opposito bank, but their shrieks filled the air. The Turkish crossing was covered by

three machine guns, while, from the rear their heavy artillery searched our lines with shrapnel that burst and rained bullets on tho saud Four boat loads wero sunk in mids;ream, and the pontoons were riddled with bullets. The Turks, many of whom were wearing white bladder "floats, wero shot down in the water or porishe 1 m the general struggle. From two boats that reached the west bank one-half of a company that charged up the sand dunes were shot down. Not a man reached the trenches. Before the offi-

cers. seeing the fate of their comrades, could 3'g themselves in a score or more were killed. The remainder were frantically entrenching in soft mud—l could see the marks of their fingers—and ■were crouching down behind the tussocks and reeds. There, in the morning, thev w«ro found and captured. Meanwhile other boats had boon launched- A whole brigade of the enemy, composed of 4000 Syrians, Armenians and Anatolians, was trying to force the

passage. Boat after boat was hurried up across the sand, now swept by terrific lire. The whole of the boat crews were killed" and crushed beneath the flat-bottomed craft. Boats that were launched and filled with troops became at once floating targets for our machine gum, to crumple.

THE GAME WAS UP. Gallantly tne enemy fought when they had failed to effect tne crossing, ami wnen tneir boats were scuttled. They had failed' in tneir oojective. On either flank our riile fire Irom entrench-

ed positions held by Indian and New Zealand troops swept their ranks. Their artillery was sending shells wide of the mark, not seeing their objective in tho darkness. Witli dawn the attack must be abandoned. Tho appearance of a battleship settled a-ny chance of a bridge being built, for the last pontoons afloat were riddled with shell fire. The banks were strewn with dead and tho timber of rafts and beams to connect the pontoons. Our artillery, now that there was light, was dropping shells over tho Turkish force, raking the lines from end to end with an en-

filading fire, but the enemy's attack did not crumple yet. All day the fighting continued at a 1200yds range. Entrenched amongst sand' ridges dotted with bushes, the Turks were only driven buck late in the afternoon, having suffered appalling losses. From entrenched positions both on the right and the left flank, attacking parties, of Indian troops had lined the ridge and fired down on the retiring enemy, but the Turkish battery of four fifteen-pounders was in .a good position, and pounded shrapnel on the canal stations now

visible along the line of fire and pine trees that border the canal on the west bank. They had managed to bring up a 6in nun which threw shells into our camp. When darkness came again the Turks retreated precinitately and joined 'the main body, that had .lain concealed in a great depression about seven miles awav. There was a force estimated at 10.000 men ready to dash up when tho bridge should be built. They had now, with all the baggage, been hurriedly withdrawn, and continued a determined resistance. The brigade on

whom had fallen the fiebtme was roea'it to cover this retreat, but tho I<*;s of life was enormous. From Lake Tinisah a battle.shh> gunfire hastened the retreat, as shells hitrit over the fleeinc column. A GERMAN OFFICER. KILLED. All nignt on the in-u tncre was siuping from the Turkish trendies. .it was believed that omy u teiv troop.* had been left, aoandoned l>y their com-

rades. Early in the morning a party set out to drive them from tneir position, but their numoers were larger than was estimated, and reinforcements had to be brought up. Soon the enemv wa;, surrounded and attacked from all points. Meanwhile a converted cruiser had been struck by the Turkish guns. She steamed up the canal towards the point of battle. Though her bridge was protected with sand bags, tho lire of the entrenched Turks wounded ihe pilot, whoso leg had to be amputated. Ho, however, heroically insisted on

guiding the ship back into Lake Tnnsab, where she was unreachable by ihe Tiukish fire. It ■was on the banks of the canal a: tins place that a German officer. Major von den Hagen, was shot, and as I passed the spot I. saw silhouetted against the blue sky the. black wooden cross erected over his gravq, while along tlie banks of the canal werj yet moist sands covering the bodies of" over 500 Turkish ft'oops fallen in the v»in

attempt to bridge the canal. Amongst iho various articles found on the officer was a khaki wallet attached to the scabbard of" his .sword, containing a white flag about 30 inches square. At the top end was a small green pocket, into which could be inserted the muzzle of a rifle, while a long, cord was attached to the other end with a ting in the middle, thus making it &a < fft'Cjtive and definite signal of tn <e. The w\llot was about 3 inches wide and IS inches deep, with ban-is in khaki binding it to the scabbarl. It. forms one of the most remarkable "trophies" vet taken during the v. or. ENEMY'S TERRIBLE LOSSES.

All night during /the action and on the- succeeding night tho enemy could be seen by flashes of fire and the glare of bursting shells carrying away their dead, each ou the backs of a single man, while the wounded were taken on stretchers. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate the-losses suffered, but our troops buried nearly 609 bodies, while there are traces bi tho desert of appalling havoc. It seems certain that the enemy's information was astray, and that they never expected to find the force they did at this point. THE FEINTS ALONG THE FRONT.

Wliile the battle was raging at Tusun and .Serapeum, fierce attacks wero being made on Kantara and Ismaileh, as well as other posts along tho canal. From official reports it appears that the attack in the vicinity of Kantara commenced before daylight on Febru»ry. .3. but was met by a. strong tire from tho trenches, and could make no headway. They were never able vo approach close to the positions, and a village on tho east bank where they might have found coyer had been razed by our artillery many days before. Kantara is the point .at which the caravan route from Gaza and El Arisch cuts the canal, and is one of tho guard stations of the canal. The enemy left 21. dead and 25 wounded on the desert, while many prisoners fell into our hands. Later in tho day they returned to the attack, coming on from the south, but were stopped

1200 yards from the lines, and again forced out of mnge. Our losses were very slight, while from the latest reports I gather that over 200 of the enemy had been buried at this point. Indian and some New Zealand troops werp in action during this attack. Since the firing ceased many deserters have been captured. THE ENEMY IN FULL FLIGHT. By the morning of the sth there was hardly a Turk (except those who determined to give themselves up) within twenty miles of the canal. The latest reports are that they havo ret;red fifty miles to the south-east. It

is considered is duo both to the discouragement of the troops and a lack of water in the western part of the Sinai Desert. Opinion is divided as to whether they are likely to renew the attack, a? the moral effect of their defeat has been T - ery pronounced, but it is alleged that an army from .Smyrna is to launch a second assault.- Prisoners and certain authorities believe it most unlikely that there will be any further attack by the troops just turned back. Scores of deserters have been brought to headquarters. All state that they were forced to take up arms against their wi'l, and are glad to have escaped.

Rumours to the same effect that previously reached Cairo arc confirmed by the men, who state that they belonged to an irregular body forcibly impressed from the Bfdouins and Follnhin of ••iouthcrn Palestine. The Turkish officer who caused this action was Muntaz Bey. at one time A.D.C. to Enver Pasha, but now with the Turkish advance army. It is asserted hero that tho Turkish commander-in-chief, Diemah Pasha, was present during the action at Tusun. The exact number of the enemy's losses cannot be estimated, but every d«y ch-acl bodies are discovered. Until the 12th I learned that over 1000 h«d been bur ; ed. Ac-

cordinc; to an. official communique it is allowed that vhere are five wounded For each innn Wed. \vhieh would bring Turkish ensun'ties over the whole front nn to over GOOO. Tin's i« excJ'is'Ve of "00 prisoneii; in our hands. We have alsfl capturpd three msclrine-guns find a convoy of 90 cnmels, hi don wi+h I stores and ammunition, while over 800 rifles and holt's have been brought to |

Cairo. There are eighteen pontoons in possession of the British. JVlany have been dragged from the bottom of the canal. Sonic- were found in the desert, abandoned by the enemy, and some boats were dragged back when the retreat began. WJTHIN SOUND OF THE GUNS. After referring to tho Victorian troops being ordered to tho front the conospondent continues: As the train crept riear to the canal the troops heard their first big gunfire. It was this night the general attack had been made by the enemy, and the distant roar of guns and the faint, crack of rifles could lie heard. A shell burst amongst the distant lino of pine trees ahead and lit up buildings, but the camp beside the station u»is very still. The men rolled themselves in their blankets and lay down in the si'.nd by the railway •■.iding. The New Zealand tents were pitched near by, and - troops were standing round tho camp fires already burning low in the middle of the night and the early hours of the morning. Other troop trains came puffing in. Above the genera! murmur of voices or stealthy black figures stumbling through the dark came the high ehsflenge of the sentries. Indian sentries were stationed at a score of i oints. So came one Australian, sleepy and tired, and was challenged.

"Halt! Who goes there?" The Ind'an troops know the English cem.mands..

" Friend you silly ass. Who did you think it was?" Vet not two miles away were .the trenches end the Turkish line. But a mile further ou was the ci'iil. "?<> cross it was the reason of the enemy's

presen<'i< Just ahead, marching along nil asphalted road, was tiie company of Australians returning to camp after 24 hours in the trenches. Besides the usual kit, they had strapped round their shoulders waterproof sheets. On a couple of service wagons ahead was tho rest of their equipment, comprising a couple of blankets apiece. __ I noticed that the waggons wero New Zealand vehicles, for the two forces are joining into one, each helping the other. They had been relieved by some Dominion troops along the section of trenches where the Turkish fire had once been fierce. The men bad to sleep in couples, pooling blankets and lying as close as possible for warmth in what trenches there were. It opened the eyes to the real thing, and what it me.ant to take cover in earth like womj bats, and dig down and down until 1 neither shoulders nor head could be S seen, nor yet the top of the peaked 1 tent that served as a general store. , Long, narrow comniunica.tion trenches, twisting, turning at angles back from the very outpost of the positions .to stronger defences in tho rear, built of rocks and protected from shrapnel by corrugated iron and stones —what places in which to become confused as bullets spat up the. sand Overhead' on either side .of the open way—with scores of passages leading by irregular ways to loopholes, where sand bags were piled. Many realised now that, well as they may have been entrenched in the desert, they had but scratched the surface as compared to this work. On a slender pontoon bridge in 'the middle of the canal I halted. A stream of protesting camels was passing over the deep bluo waters laden with water tanks, picks and shovels- They rpeked tho bridge, and I rested my hand on the protecting rails. The drivers twisted the tails of the beasts, and tho train moved forward moro rapidly. It was one of the bridges flung across the canal by our engineers, which had gained them unstinted praise from an'officer high in the Royal Engineers. He had already protested against their being moved, and now officially recorded that the Australian Engineers had done.remarkably good work on the. canal with the utmost dispatch. They had constructed a floating bridge without tieing a single knot. Their zeal was unbounded, for they had toiled until after 2 a.m. until the work was completed. "And," concluded tho officer, "they are the best lot of fellows I have met."

The bridge was broken up into sections about 14ft to 18ft long. Wooden beams, cunningly jointed, had' been fitted together on buoys used to mark the course of the canal, and commandeered now for the work in hand. Fourteen of these sections would in a little moro than ten minutes be floated together at any point and joined, making an excellent way 10ft wide, capable of bearing tho regular tramp of infantry in fours. While I was watching the bridge being built, ordinary river punts wero lashed together to allow tho camels to pass over, and wero then broken up as a steamer came through tho placid waters. It had been tho Turkish objective to build m such a way. They had come _ with boats specially prepared, and abjectly failed. . As tho launch churned the waters of the canal into foam, a tug dragging a bargo approached • from Serapeum,. where the battle had been fought for the crossing of the canal. The barge was deeply kiden with stores and chaff. Smoking a briar pipe, and lying at full length on chaff bags, was an Australian soldier. Near him were two Now Zealanders, in Baden Powell huts, arguing about how some shell had burst. In front of the barge were Indian soldiers, their brown legs dangling in the waters, quietly combing their beards. At the stern"wa,s a group of our men and officers studying a plan. An officer raised his field-glasses to look out over tho desert, towards tho hills over which the Turkish eoiumn had last been seen. Following his gazo my eye caught a camel tram moving across tho desert with a number of horsemon riding apart. They wero no doubt' sotting out to visit abandoned Turkish camps at the foot of and amongst tho hills, but this was only one of many parties of troops wo passed. On the banks where Turkish troops had fallen there were patrols of infantry, and they held up for observation the blackened belt of a dead Turk, and a fragment of broken shell found buried in the sand. In tho still of tho morning, in tho radiant colours of the desert and the waterway, that the sand should here be stained with blood seemed unreal, but grim realisat;on was borne homo by a Turkish sold;er dead on the ba"k. with water lapping round his yellow peaked cap, drawn t'ehtly his head, his crumpled uniform and worn boots reflected on the water with a background of green busli and yellow sand dune.