NAVAL BOMBARDMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15930, 29 May 1915, Page 4

NAVAL BOMBARDMENT.

: GERMAN'S IMPRESSIONS.

CONFIDENCE SHAKEN.

EFFECT OF SHELL EIRE;

Tho special correspondent of'the Vpb?|j siachc Zeitung at Dardanelles, writing from' Chanak Kale undor date March 18, describes tho terrible' effect of the.bombardment of the allied warships. Ho relates how lie was sitting in a cafe, when' there was an ear-splitting: report caused by tho explosion near by of a shell from a warship. " Then, without d«lay,". he writes with unconscious-.humourJWn tht manner of Pepys; "to the fort toa safer point of observation." Tho journey jw£ not have-been agreeable, for tho narrative proceeds:— . " ■%■.'.. ' v., .'-.■'?'.'&'*%\ "The thunder of'' tho guns becomes louder every minute/the very air quivers , and houses totter. The smashing ! of. win- 1 dow-glass and the rattle of the iron roller | blinds of the shops show that tho'* shells j are flying over the town, Do the English i wish to bombard the unfortunate town, and destroy the fof the most part modest

dwellings, of the inhabitants who have Jong been in a place of 'safety ? Shall the town which still bears traces of this great earthquake of 1912 he, reduced .td[ ft rubbish heap?" The correspondent uoea not mention whether the v allies* '-'fulfilled; his speculations; regarding tha town, but he is much more specific regarding the conditions in the fort. '.;'.'.',y.: '•• - •'."_.. V K He-remarks complacently ; that the two sentries at' the' entrance standing in their boxes saluted as usual even on such a day, but ho seems to have suffered some ? disappointment regarding the observation post which he had in: his mind, for he soys : .!' It is hardly advisable .to* ascend the tower to-day; it is all too good a mark, and shells are flying to the right and left of it/'tliero'secmsto be no place in or near the fort from which one can watch the fight with any degree of security, The increasing/hail of -shells find .the apparent concentration of the fire ', on the ground around the tower-oblige us to think ot cover." ."' : '->i : ' r" : - : y~~. "

' Search, lor Dover. W" \ ■, Declining the invitation of Turkish soldiers to share their shelter, the correspondent and his companions took refuge he- \ "Bind » wall, and their doubts as; to. its, protective capacity were soon confirmed by a , shower of stones and rubbished i acrid fumes of explores. Our wall," the writer proceeds, "was indeed unharmed, but we saw well enough that lit would be no protection for us, .let where for 20 kilometres round, was tnaro . any spot from, which wo should be able to laugh at these! death-vomiting shells? An artillery officer assured us that the. best place was in one of the mighty holes that the shells made in the ground, as the experience of many generations of artillerymen had shown that such holes possessed no attraction for other shells. "But then, if the contrary had happened, our friendly counsellor might have argued that we were simply ' the exception that moved the" rule.'" Hie correspondent's party had no wish to run the risk of " proving the rule" in this way, so they took refuge in a passage leading -to the inner courtyard of the fort, where they ruminated on the horrors of war and grieved over the fact that on such a beautiful spring day, given to men" for life's enjoyment, men .should bo shooting at men with' such murderous projectiles. y A Rude Awakening. _~ Eroiji these considerations they were rudely brought back once more to horrid reality, by a terrific detonation close by. "The. gigantic walls," say the correspondent, '.." which for 450 years had stood all. the storms' and stress of time, and : seemed to have been built eternity, ; heaved, and grea?, lumps of earth and ; stope hurtled over usfftrid" we --.saw that -here, too, we. possessed-no Safe shelter." Moreover, the party suddenly realised that from where thev were they could see nothing of the fight, so\ihey decided to make for the hospital hill. The writer admits that the mile and threo-quarters thither was not one' of the . pleasantest :; walks,in , his; life, for '.the-'fire"■of. the ships seemed suddenly to turn: in the direction in winch they were going. ; Scarcely, too, had they:left the fort behind them, when ■ a she}l struck an adjacent bakery, the Mined walls of ■ which fell within 20 paces of them..':-.-, • .. t **\ ' , !! A Hellish Din."

On reaching the open they, found -that the nine,ships they had counted at the begiiiniiigibf the attack had friow[grown to 14,' including' the :Queen Elizabeth and. other*" stately and heavily-armed vessels." "I do not deny," proceeds' the correspondent, "that theemployment, of these great' and powerful vesselsshiokmy.,confidence in an f outcome of the,, undertaking in ; our favour, for it showed arf intention to carry the thing through with the strongest (and most effective means.'' The enemy squadron mariffiuvred: as usual. The ships steamed into the tfay, fired their guns, and in their further -• cour*e , described an' ellipse x until, followed in turn by the other vessels,, they isameinto the'firing' line. -:■;■' • •>. ->,••;• "Itwasaheil&idin.and the shelbJ flew n all directions— Dardanos,, the

' howitzer batteries on the : European side, as well as. towards Forts Medjidieh arid Hamidieh." .'' *.\V \ *!■}.. - >' *•'''