GALLIPOLI.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17076, 27 January 1916, Page 10

GALLIPOLI.

DETAILS OF THE EVACUATION. THE “DIE HARDS.” (By CAPTAIN C. E. AY. BEAN, Official Commonwealth correspondent.) LONDON,- January 13. So it is over. AVhen the Australasian troops left Anzae. no one had the least- idea whether Hellos was likely to be. evacuated; but everyone realised that it might now be much harder to evacuate it than ever before, because, the Turks avoulo keep the closest possible watch. I "-as at Holies ou Christmas Day. and then the Turks "were bombarding the beaches more heavily than before. Eightinch guns from Anzae were appearing on the southern front. The only advantage at Helles was that it was more difficult to obseiwe. But cveiy day since Anzae and Suvla Ayere evacuated, one or more Turkish aeroplanes flew low down over the British position at Holies, obviously seeking signs of abandonment. .Hoav it was carried out Arill be intensely interesting to learn. . . , ~ Now that Hellos is evacuated, it may be permissible to explain the general method of evacuation at Anzae. The Anzae. evacuation cannot be repeated eiseAvbere, in this or any other war. because no other position similar to Anzae ever existed. As T pointed out in my last dispatch, the Turkisn centre. Avliich lay on the famous “ neck,” was actually within 000 yards of Hie north beach piers, from "hich the majority of the troops embarked. If the Turks bad realised our lines had been weakened', and had broken .through our trenches on the neck, they needed only to advance 300 yards in order to reach the edge ot the cliff, from which they could bare looked doAvn. as from the gallery of r. theatre, on to the whole process of embarkation. coins on -lOOft below, and bOO raids "awav. It was obviously neces-sit-v to hold these central parts of the lin n while troops from the extremities of the line, miles away to the north and south, crept in through the long communication trenches. 1 almost uikloi the nose of the cnemv. Avithout giving him the least hint cf what was going THE PREPAR ATIONS. ]„ the first place, all the non-essen-tial corps were sent away during the previous week. Night after night on tlio beach, one found trooping b> along covered routes down to the piei s, ambulances, hospitals, engineers, army sendee corps—all the men, in I act, except those actually carrying rifles. Reserve battalions of infantry, all guns that could be spared, and all artillery that could be subtracted from Anzae without the enemy noticing it, were sent away nightly, until there iemained m Anzae only the infantry actually necessary for bolding the line; enough guns to make a show of keeping up the usual lire; and sufficient stores and tents to avoid attracting the attention of the enemy. In this manner half the force had already been Avit iidraAvn before the real evacuation. Although these movements took place actually* under the nose of the enemy, the trench digging at Anzae had been so complete that everything passed unseen through deep sunken roads to the actual beach. Mule trains had been used to go out with water and ammunition nightly, and except lor what appeared to he the ordinary nightly .movement. the enemy siuv no movement at all, except a eonscant service of boats and lighters all through the night to the trawlers aim transports, ivliich used to steal in and lie. diinlv outlined, a mile or two from shore. It had been quite normal of late at Anzae to move away during the night, several battalions to the rest crimp, and to land numerous reinforcements : and any fine night was alAvars consumed in hurrying load after load of stores and ammunition from the transports to the beach. During this week, of course, the import of stores Avns all stopped, and it is doubtful if the traffic visible amounted to very much more than an ordinary night s movement across the anchorage., Indeed, the, first Mgii Avhieli mode me realise that anything unusual Avas in the wind was when I happened to notice, in passing along the beach, that cases of big gun ammunition were going out on to, the pier instead of coming in. A great part of the force did not, realise Avhat was being done till some days after this. AN ATTACK DESIRED. Such was the situation up to the last tAio nights. Up to then everyone at Anzae "would have been only too glad if the Turks had attacked. Eoi months we had been hoping they would do so, and no one had. the least doubt that if they had attacked while the firing line was still held by the normal number of rifles they Avould have received such, a smashing Woav as to make evacuation aftenvards a perfectly safe operation. The Anzae hills during that month had been so undermined by galleries of magnificent tunnels, 20ft underground, that there was very little danger, even from the biggest guns, along the great part of the line. In some places a whole.- battalion could have marched, by a dozen entrances, .straight into the bowels of the hill, and have remained in perfect safety during the bombardment by any guns in the world. But one kiu*Av that by the night before the last it would .be necessary to withdraw at least.half pf flip rifles by whom the trenches were ordinarily garrisoned. For the whole of the next day Anzae would be garrisoned by onc-liaif the number of rifles normally considered necessary, though a great number of machine guns were still left. As for artillery, only a feiv old howitzers, wnnse Aiobbling sights had long made them almost as dangerous to friend as foe, arid a few Australian field guns, which were practically in the firing line, remained to keep up appearances. It was an exceedingly anxious time during the long hours of that lust day. One had seen roads and paths ashore on the previous day as empty and desolate as those, of a deserted city. Special •“smoking fatigues” had been told off whoso sole duty it airs to loiter round the places which are visible to Gaba Tepe. These duties were much enjoyed, until they were so successful that “ Benchy ” planted three shells right on to the path where the fatigue was lounging. So the day was safely passed, and darkness began to fall on the last night. The plan at Anzae, which was quite different from that employed or is over likely to be employed elsewhere, tvas as follows: —The A\-hole normal garrison of every section of the firing line was divided into three parties. A, rj and C. C party, amounting possibly to a thousand or two, would be left holding the whole five miles of the outside line, faced by 40,000 Turks. Everything depended on them keeping up the appearance of a normal night. At the same time the extremes of the line, and especially those on the far left, Avore as much as three miles away, up steep, tortuous and empty gullies. 1 lie men would have to leave them at least one hour, and in sonic eases tAvo hours, before they left the centre. The echoing at Suvla was quite different.

At Anzae it depended on the hist small party sticking to the Avhde outer lme to the very last, not trusting. • inner line, hut hoodwinking the Turks into thinking that the whole gnin&on was still there. , That last partv was known as the “Die Hards.” they were not asked to volunteer. They were deliberately chosen, because the authorities Avanteu to -mi the men whom they themselves thought suitable. The result was <l"'™ extraordinary. Competition to stay behind in this batch was very keen, and in some units the commanding officers were flooded with complaints from men who had not been chosen, asking ' there aauis anything against heir record Avliich lv.d caused them to be overlooked. “ I was there with the first lot, they argued, “ and 1 consider 1 have a rirdit to he chosen for the ‘ Die Hards.’ ” This hast party itself, smalt though it, was, divided into sections, to steal aAva.v, one after the other, in tlio last hour. As dusk foil on the last day one realised that the position opposite to one on that low, dark, shape of mountain, which loomed in the moonlight over the milky -sea, was already held by only a handful of hold men. "Personally, when T said good-bye to them the day before, ,1 had only the very faintest hope of ever seeing them again. The pnlpitat'ng anxiety of that long night will best bo understood from the "following extracts from my diary. A DIARY. G p.m. —Nothing Avhutever in the grev shape of the land to suggest that the'Turks have the least hint of ivhat is "ding fonvard. I know, as a matter” of ?nct, that at this moment, and for the last half-hour, some parts of our line have already begun to bo held weakly. and that the men uho formed part of their garrison should at this instant ho stringing toAvards certain concentration points, deep in tlio gullies. Party after party avi!l be filing down from all directions. T happen to .know that just at one or two places, where reliefs to and from trenches ordinarily pass at this time of night, the Turks Avill actually see them moving, if the moon is bright enough. Ba7i tlio grey mountain is sleeping under Lite moon,'and tbe red pin-points of the incinerator fires are Avinking exactly as usual. The grey smoke of the evening tires curled upwards from the outlies” From -the crest comes the lazy "pick, pock'” of desultory rifle lire. B.to’ p.m.—Some of the ships Avliich were to carry the “ A ” party are getting along without the least hitch—actually ahead of time. Some gun has flashed down near our bench. Probnbiv it is one Avliich avc are leaving behind. so that they can be fired up till the very last moment-. The plan involved leaving nine guns at Anzae. and possibly a few at. Suvla, hut avc are leaving no ammunition '.anywhere: The onus will, of course, be destroyed the List thing before leaving 10.3 p.m I kno.w that troops of “B ” party are uoav coming off. They aiv using not only the North Beach piers but also the pier in Anzae Cove, on to which “ Benchy Bill” can put shells Avhenever he likes. The hell of some ship across the water has just struck midnight. 1 know that from this time ofiAvard the Aihole line at Anzae is held by about 2000 men. Mile after mile of it, along those dark ridges and right up to the apex, tlio Avhole five or six miles of the trenches are empty, except for a handful of l>old men, who are busying themselves in keeping up ordinary a ripen rances. Far down every gully is hurryinn a section of the main garrison, aiul a <U;tr; padded feet pound round the last corner to the bench there remains nothing behind that thin line of watches, in the trenches high on the ridge, save the vast empty valleys and dark silent scrub that clothes them. A bomb flashes at the “ neck.” The rifle. fire seemed to me to increase ever, so little opposite Lone Pine, hut it mqv he imagination. “ Beachy ” lias fired one shell. One transport is moving in, and another stealing, out. It is getting- very near to the time lvhen the i AvitVidrav.nl of the last partv from cerI tain portions of the line will begin. 130 a.m. A bomb on Apex. That is evidently the last demonstration of the party there. From this moment the apex is free to the enemy. o a.m.—The first lot of “die-hards” must- he leaving Quinn’s Post. On the left, just now the greater part of the line must he absolutely deserted. 030 a.m.—The last lot or' “Diehards” is at present leaving the extreme right : exactly one hour after those from the extreme leit; I lie right has not lioarlv so far to go to the beach. Tn Quinn’s Post there can onl.m be tAventv men left, and a mere handful in Loire Pine. The Turkish trench is within fifteen yards of ours. at both places We still hold—and will have to hold it to the very last—the trenches opposite “ the neck. ...... 'A thick mist has gone over the moon. There is quite a fair amount of firing from the. centre- Both wings' arc silent as death. TRENCHES EMPTY. 3 nn , —solitary Turkish rifle or two. firing both on the right and loft, where no one has been in our trenches for over two hours. YTc are purposely, firing off no mines, and leaving, none, except in one place only, and that is opposite the “neck.” The firing of the mines before we leave would only put the Turks on their guard, hut the a nP ck ” will he the last place left by our troops, and if the explosion of the mine can hold the Turks hack for fifteen minutes from., our trenches, an that place- overlooking the beach, then all will be safe. For that reason; :onr..qn r winners have put 34 tonw of explosives i'iwh 1 - beneath the lurkisli trenches on tlio “ neck ” We had two tunnels out far beneath the Turkish trench there, in ease of need- This mine of three tons if we decided to fire it, should rend' the “neck” to pieces, 3.13 a.m. —Lone Fine-is now empty.; 3op n pa.—Quinn’s and Pope’s are abandoned. It is an extraordinary enainw 101 a fine history. Quinn s—the trench that the Turks could never take at whatever cost—w o . have qmetry left in the night. It lies open to them. 3 9.3 am. The trenches opposite the “'neck” have at this moment been 1 0 ft/ Old Anzae line is hoav open to tlm Turks, along every part. A deenltorv fire still continues, exactly as on the other nights, from the far right to the far left. , , , 39 p a.m. —Just, now a huge red cloud roiled low across the “ neck ’’—angry, revolt inn- fumes, glowing orange for an instant and then fading into night Thev Avore the two mines nt the “neck.” ’A great finale to the history of Anzae.