"TEN THOUSAND LOST."

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 248, 19 October 1915, Page 2

"TEN THOUSAND LOST."

THE AUGUST 6 .OFFENSIVE

RETURNED MEN'S STORY

Three men who took part in the great attack on Lonesome' Pine and j the big offensive on August 6 to cover ; the new landing at Suvla Bay were on board the transport which return!ed to Sydney a few days ago (states j the Sun). They were Privates Carey, iof the Ist Battalion, lsfc Brigade; R. ! Wiiton, of the 3rd Battalion; and C. 'Kirton, of the 2nd Battalion. According to them it was generally accepted at the front that the oasualties among the Australians alone must have reached 10,000. j They say also that it is ridiculous jto assert that-the Turks are short of j ammunition. "It is true," said Prii vat? Kirton, "that that afternoon on August 6 out of 36 Jack Johnson shells they fired at us only three exploded. But we saw more bursting shells, than we are anxious to see again. They were exploding everywhere. The Turks seemed to have a lot more ammunition than they or we wanted. However, it isn't the shells but tho. bombs that we dislike so much. It is all bombing in the trendies. And one bomb is enough to clear out a trench.' Many of our men were killed by their own bombs. . Th© fuse is timed for seven seconds, and the fellows after lighting them , used to blow tho fuse like the kiddies do with lighted crackers to make it burn better! But there wasn't much left of them' afterwards. A bomb thrown by a Turk fell into a trench ; where one of our fellows was standing • with an overcoat, on his arm: He ■ dropped the oveicoat.over the bomb and fled. When the overcoat was r>icked up it had 52 holes in it. Somebomb, wasn't it? | "Then, the Taubes used to fly over- , head "and drop bombs. If you are ! watching you can see the bomb from the time it leaves tho carrier. And as it falls it makes a nasty sort of whistling noise. You can't tell where it. will fall. Sometimes you think you are right underneath it. and it will fall half a mile away. Then you reel a bit happier."