ON GALLIPOLI

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 249, 20 October 1915, Page 6

ON GALLIPOLI

THE AUSTRALASIANS

OFXERAL BIRDWOOP'S APPIIE- ' CIATION.

(From the Special Correspondent oi the Melbourne Age.) * ANZAC, Aug. 13. On the morning of the 10th General Hamilton came ashore at Anzac and saw at close quarters the fight m the

ranges. „■';-■ , „ General Birdwood (Commander ot the Australian, and New Zealand Army Corps) wrote in the following strain to his troops, the letter being couched- in the friendly spirit which has endeared him to officers and men alike:-"Boys," he said, "I want to thank you all so sincerely for the jnaenificent work which you haw all done in'tho continuous hard fighting you have had since the afternoon of the 6Lh. I well know what a ■tremendous strain this has been on all, and with what unflinching bravery you have on every occasion faced! and dealt with the enemy. The First Australian Brigade began by attacking and capturing a mass of trenches held by the.enemy"at Lonesome Pine !by the most gallant of charges, hi which they completely routed the enemy and drove him with the bayonet from the whole series of trenches he- held there. Ever since then the Turks have endeavored to turn us out, but they have entirely failed, though I regret to say they have caused heavy losses-amongst our boys. There, liowever, have been insignificant compared with the enormous losses we have inflicted on the Turks, whose dead are choking the .trenches there and lying in piles. On the left the Now Zealand and Australian div- | ision, with 1 lie Indian brigade and the S 13th ..division", mase -a night inarch, which will be memorable in history, through the :-nost difficult of country. They succeeded in completely surprising -the enemy in the many trenches he held in the lower hills,'capturing ono position after another with the greatest skill and dash. Owing to the enormous difficulties. of country we are unable to achieve our object of capturing the whole of Chunuk Bait1, as we wished, but the New Zealand M•-••intcd Kifles, having cleared all the low ?r hills, gave an opening for tr:o New Zealand Infantry Brigade to seize portion of it which we now hold (10th inst.). The Turks have made constant attempts to drive us out, and are sure to continue to do this, but we all.know how determined are the New Zealand and Australian- and Indian brigades, together with the men of the thirteenth division, who now have to hang' on for all they are worth until, as we hope, we completely achieve our object. ■ "There is one thing everyone of us must iiever forgot—that is, the enor-*mous'self-sacrificing assistance the infantry have received throughout from every gun. They have always commenced the'fight, for us by a heavy bombardment of the enemy, and when themselves most heavily shelled by. the enemy guns they have continued to keep "up their fire without cessation lor hesitation, despite all casualties. [We can none of' us be sufficiently grateful to the gunners, for whom no praise I can give is too great. I know everyone will wish to express gratitude to tho stretcher-bearers, who, regardless of 'risks, have daily exposed themselves to bring in the wounded under the heaviest of fire. Our losses, I regret to say, have been heavy, bur. that must always he when strong and well-defended positions have to be taken, and wo must remember the Turkish losses have probably been five or six times as great as ours, and that they are equally exhausted. The com-mander-in-chief lelies upon us hanging on at all costs to all we have gained and making good the new ground wherever we can do so. We have already captured nearly <700 prisoners, including some Germans, two largs German trench mortars, nine Maxims and one Nordenfoldt, as well as a very large number of rifles and much ammunition. I know well every member of< the force means to stick to it for all ho is worth, see this through to success, and show tho Turks how much better men we are than they."