ARE WE GETTING IT?

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 248, 19 October 1915, Page 4

ARE WE GETTING IT?

WAR CORRESPONDENT'S GLGOMY

VIEWS

"EVERY CONCEIVABLE BLUNDER"

AT THE DARDANELLES

MAGNITUDE OF SERBIAN CAMPAIGN

MACEDONIAN STRUGGLE COM

MENCES

ALLIES DEFEAT BULGARIANS

SALONIKA RAILWAY SAVED

BLOCKADE OF AEGEAN COAST

ANOTHER BIG STRUGGLE FOR

DVINSK

AT THE DARDANELLES.

CO-OPERATION OF THE NAVY*

SPLENDID WORK OF DESTROY

ERS AND TRAWLERS

MR BAIITJ^BTFS NARRATIVE,

[Press Association.] (Received Oct. 18, 4 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 17. Continuing his narrative regarding- , the work of the Navy at the Dardanelles, Mr Ashmead Bartlett says: "Spring brought fine weather andi sunshiny conditions/ but the work of the destroyers was harder. When! active operations against the Dar-<* danelles commenced in February, many destroyers' werie engaged in! mine sweeping, after the outer forts; were reduced to ruins, under heavy fire from the remaining forts andt concealed batteries. They were struck and suffered heavy casualties* When it was decided that the great*attempt to force the Dardanelles should" be made'with the fleet alone, without waiting for the army, the* preparatory work fell upon the truwl&js. Tli© difficulties were almost insurmountable. On March! 18th, when, the great naval attempt was made, tho destroyers. took ,a» secondary part in the fighting, but* did splendid work in sweeping ahead ot the battleships and saving the crew; of the Irresistible.

"Tho failure of the March attack led tho fleet temporarily 4to withdraw to Tenedos and Mudros. The destroyers during the landing on April 25tbj carried close inshore a second battalion of infantry, supporting the first landing parties. No.one will forgeto tho sight of the long low craft packed with khaki figures.'creeping closer and closer inshore. The destroyers wore ever ready to' lend.. a helping hand. One day two- British transports were lying locked together closes to the beach. A shell damaged the* steam winch, which was unable to> raise the anchor. When a. Turkish! battery opened fire a destroyer dasbred in. to the assistance of the. transports and placed its . frail .form between them and the enemy an<s emitted great clouds.of black smoke* as a screen against tho gunners. Iti is a miracle how the destroyer! escaped:, but she remained. until thai transports were out of range*. "German submarines arrived in tha middle of May and the most valuable* battleships were sent away. Only tho older craft were kept to protect the» army's flanks. The destroyer flotillas meanwhile cruised round and round? and searched every yard of water forl, the suspicious ripple indicating a peri-f i scope. Whenever the scare of submarine was reported every destroyer* would dash up at top speed endeavor-* ing to ram the enemy, while thof battleships commenced a series of evolutions at top speed. Even the inqeß» sant vigilance of the destroyers did: not suffice to save the Triumph ami Majestic. These disasters necessitated! the withdrawal of the battleships, which had long chaperoned the army, to protected harbors. Thenceforward! they only came forth when required to bombard the enemy's works. For two months the duty of protecting the transports and covering the flanks of the army fell on the destroyers. The*y frequently tickled up the Turk^ ish at Ansac most effectively, especially on the right flank. The amount* of work the destroyers did in the» summer was amazing. Tf a sliipi were submarined or sunk by a shell half a dozen, craft came up Hke> greased lightning from-nowhere and picked the crew up almost befrvo theyl had time to get wet. They aro now* facing another fiv-e months >f icy blockade of the Dardanelles, M-wre* thoy will be washed by enormous sfas» tossed to and fro like corks, nnd on-crust-xl with icf\ Only men of irort cut stand the ho'-rililo life, butwill never relax tho grip of iron *n*\y" have obtained on tho" tottering TV-k----ish Empire.'' Mr Ashmead Eavilot;: . in tlu^ I" :^f Telegraph, descril.es tV. Navy".': il* cient transformation ut tlir 1' - -

danelles fleet: ""When the "isk of losing ynh:. '•''& warships became too great ?t ■ t.s obvirus that unless we carried ue' straits by a coup-de-ivain our 'cot would bo unable to icniain indonnt y j off the coast, boeaus•» hostile . V jniaiines were certs'in t) come ?r ■ three- woelcs after the first landinr; c j fleet was left in peace. Tho?- .-.^ 'trouble began. I?uniors ripple! " ■ m ! the Mediterranean from Cibr-' -„ | Malta, Matapan, and Smyrna. ; ;^' | the mighty Queen ji-lizabeth le('.' [ the North "Sea. ! ''Thru, after the Trnnnp!l ....-^ : Majratic were sunk, the fleet ro- ■■'■■■'•s to slieifcered harbors uroteetor] >y 1)O!m1i» and nets. The Turks ov;;:.--? and is.sued the famous manifo<- ■ ,> the. A'lliod' troops dec-brintr tI,- 1 . \- n , flettt had doserted |.h?m anrl or.■ '• ~n~ them a. woJcorp.o in CoT\st;»uti^ , • ' bi!t |hoy forgot the old maxi..;' t the An.eln-^r.xovi r-ice is al-ivav. prised but. n'-,-er beaten. V". ' ■-> nores- r-^dy, hr.t l-ave a Tr.srvi- ; •; talent i:or inv])rr.)vi:satii)u. Ti>;« ' . v

«it h*mw swoiiketl <oiit .-taM&lienie; to recover .omraand oi" the Mediterranean { ami designed craft carrying-guns or , -battleships without thesr. vulnerability to submarine-attack. -More: rumors rippled down the. -Mediterranean or •strange craft sighted -making;-_for the Levant. Tho first-arrived in' July almost Hush .with Ito-nvateiy-ciwrying a -9.2 in her -bows aurid ■'& six-racher | •astern. ' ~ "A smaller vessel followed, ■*arr.vinß two brand-new the s.nino as 'Lizzie's.1 /Iho --'Turks wore lP robr«blv amused, aiter comparing them w'itl. the .Q»eon-Ma»|)etn but sang a different titno^wh«>ff they tcund ■that this'baby threw ' 1001b* oi high .p> plosives t* elw miles, I he-next arrival caused a s-cnsation to both the enen.v and the Allies. An amazinglocking object wobbled into Kephalos-harbor. It vas apparently round shaped, with a huge tripod across the centre of the deck. With great difficulty, steering vilely, she •ertere'd the crowded harbor. 'Her. like had not" been seer'before. ""Then the ■ • crew " began 'to lathe. In fact they Moraed to possess the power to walk 'on the water. We set oft" in'1 boats to 'investigate t'nd found that below the surface the sides bilged out ten *eet j'-nd then 'curved rnder, forming, a platform uwa'sh. "In the bulge provision is made for the defeat of a submarine. If a *or'pedo strikes it it will explode amid a \aiiety of substances which we must not mention,-arid the hull escapes ' These'hirge" monitors carry two four-'teen-mch srid anti-aircraft p/.-ns. 'Their "speed as 'slow."The monitors soon :settled*dowiv to work. and,Tiirks and Hims realised that we were regaining • camrrand of the sea. Later the -'IDndymion.-'arid'JTheseus:1 rrrri?e.d, fearing no submarines, protected by waiKtbtlts' hung from the sides by .•stanchioHs^arid wirer'ropes. 'The !ast '4>ig monitors were a great success. 'The new "fleet played an important, part: in > the. Suvla landing, covering the ad\ a nee at Anzac, Suvla, s.nd HeJles. 'The. rapidity of the'fleet's transfr rmption was marvellous, giving an insight into the • of- the ."British iripHtime resources and the .'XavvJs itbitity ' tor meet • a 4new: and : -sudden - sitnaifciori.''