THE PERSIAN GULF.

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 4, 6 January 1916, Page 2

THE PERSIAN GULF.

OUR FAR-FLUNG LINE

FIGHTING THE ARABS

NEWS FROM- OUR NAVAL

HEROES

The follo^T;ng. particulars from a letter just received by Mi- Fred DownSj of Wellington, will give some indication of the assistance in the presen b / conflict whieb. is being given by the New Zealand members of the British ,'nhyiil force. ■ The letter is dated October. 20, and mentions that since last writing a farewedl look h«d heen given to "German "East," and incidentally it is jneritiohed .'•■ that the "laying* aside" of, the Eohigsberg wan only achieved after a gi-eat deal of anxious work.; •. - ; !

ATTACK ON BUSHIRE

After leiaivitig what is termed "German East," the .writer's, vessel proceeded to Muscat, where bunkers were replenished, and. from there tho ship proceeded on to Bu^hire, yip the Persian Gulf, where work was to be done, and help was urgently neededAt Bushire a junction was made with three' other ships, and the information was given but that the New Zealanders iiv company with the men of the otllier ships; and Indian 'troops. h?.<l to effect a landing ami punish a tribe which had been conducting marauding expeditions. and liad also surprised and 'cut tip a British patrol. The writer says: ''The place where we had to land was a very shallow beach and the boats could not get closer to the shore ithsu 100 yards, and a iieavy surf was running. A few yax'ds' beyond the beach the laud took a slight visa, and here the enemy bad entrenched themselves.' On August 13th preparations lor, landing were complete. The boats got within 500 yards of the beach; when they were swept by rifle fire, five men being killed and 14 wounded; a >hea<vy loss for a forco 6f 500. The lads made the ground and firmly rooted themselves, making a base and entrenching themselves in. Oh account of the heat, and for other reasons, all attacks in this country are made in the early morning. Major -Wintle was in charge of the operations, and on the morning of August 14th an attack was made on the village of Dilwar. The fire to which, the attacking force was subjected whilst crossing an open'- plain was so severe that a retreat had to be called, the casualties including Commander Bloomfield, of H.M.S. —. On the morning of the 15th the attack was renewed, and wo eventually stormed and took the village, only to find ihat the. enemy troops had gbt away; The following morning the troops reembarked on, their various ships and proceeded onwards. Those engaged in the landing were 226 naval ratings and 210 Indian . mfaiitiy, also two Maxims. Thei total casualties were 7 -killed and 19 wounded naval rating, and "6 killed and 16 wounded Indian infantry. The enemy loss was given at 400, and their strength as between 3000 and 4000. The ship's guns were used to cover the advance and retreat; otherwise the enemy would soon have made us into small meat. Before we left we bombarded the plr.ee, and another village, until it was burning. From here we began to search various places and livers for Tangistaiii dhows, but with little success " THE CAPTI7R X OF DOHA. "'Our next escapade," continues the writer, "was at a place called Poha. There- was here a Turkish fort with some guns, which are sadly in the way, for, though they were old; the guns were still dangerous. We steamed into the harbor on August 19, and ■on. ' the following day 45 men were !a.n.ded to storm the fort. The birds had flown, leaving everything behind them, iind we had

iii splendid capture of arms,: anuniuuV v tion, and equipment—in fact,- the whole show was deserted, just as it .■stood. We brought the guns off to tho ship, and did in some oi' the shells and blew up the powder," and the arms and ammunition were given to the neighboring friendly. Sheik. Afterwards we found, it was a .stroke of diplomacy by Major Keyes 'and. our captain to get the guns, if possible, without fighting. It succeeded, otherwise we wo aid probably have Mown the whole show to pieces. BUSHIRE AGAIN VISITED. "Our third encounter," continues, tho writer, "was at Bushire, aiid it was a very hard scrap, too. The previous night the storming party war. landed in order to gain a- knowledge of local conditions and for exercise. They had been out for, about an houi\ when the signal that the enemy was advancing in force was received. This necessitated a forced inarch of three miles. in? a j broiling heat of 116 degrees'in the! sha.de, and without breakfast. The ! country being all open, everything was to.-th© enemy's,advantage. They, took cover like rabbits, a.nd being of the same color as the earth it was hard to pick them out. , Maxims were ineffectually brought into';.use,' and it was only when the ■Europeans and Indian infantry charged that the enemy was forced to give way, and eventually"yield* The victory was complete, but was dearly bought, tho death-roll being 8 white cavalry officers and about 20 or .30 men, in ".tldition to other casualties." THE SOLDIER'S PHILOSOPHY.

The writer proceeds: "It was a Korry little ..crowd who buried the fallen the next THorning; for we hnd iQst iwo'moro of our shipmates, who were hip;hly esteemed and; the most jovial fellows I've met. One had only a few months to go till he had pan led his pension, Hnd was one of the best of r'owpany. You nt.>ver knew a dull lpojpeilt v.hosi l:e w:>s present; but we mustn't look down

'in the mouth, for it may be anyone's ■turn next. But it is hard to lose a stu&neh. and good pal." "IT'S YOU OR THE OTHER MAN*' The letter goes on;to say that since September things have been quiet, but for a month the men- had' been: waiting for another "go." In a radius of about 100 miles there were; 40,000 people all under German influence, but. they , werei getting all. they wanted' from the little handful of British. As the writer said:. "We have warmed, them up." Words, however eloquent, could not.better describe the situation. "I could' tell you a lot more," concludes the correspondent, "but I shall keep it'foir later. Kilting is good sport once you' have tasted'blood. It is strange, but all- else is forgotten, and- when you! meet in conflict it ts, you or the otherman who. has to go' under..'■•* '