WAR NEWS BY MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15950, 22 June 1915, Page 4

WAR NEWS BY MAIL.

THE DARDANELLES FIGHTING.

SEA AND LAND BATTLES.

WORK OF THE ALLIED FLEET

NEW ZEALANDERS AT THE FRONT

GUNS NEVER SILENT.

ing everywhere, made the hillsides alive with fire. For 20 minutes this duel in the mist and darkness continued with the utmost ferocity, and by the end of that time the enemy's fire had slackened down and the southern ridge had been searched by our guns with blazing shrapnel. , The Turkish object was evident. Our transports had been moved north to that part, of the coast, and the enemy evidently had tho double intention of driving us back on to the shore and of preventing, tho landing of supplies under cover of the night. Again throughout tho next night the ships and land guns were busy, and the daylight when it came seemed to indicate that our forces had kept the masters of all the ridges. "The Wasps of War." Dusk brought an inspiring little picture. Up from the direction of Tenedos six destroyers came rushing, a cruiser not far .from Gaba Tepe being their rendezvous. I* made one's bloed stir to see those wasps of war, each in command of someone not much moro than a boy, Tacing forward as if with : the joy of battle. Round the cruiser they clustered, and they all went off again in a perfect line. It looked as though their mission was a raid up the straits, but darkness came and closed round the greater part of the southern portion of the peninsula. I sailed down to the island from which I write, parallel to and quite near the coast. A Fine Spectacle.

SUPPORT FOR THE TROOPS.

TREMENDOUS BOMBARDMENT.

SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS.

Further details of the operations at the Dardanelles were received by yesterday's mail. Cablegrams and letters from New Zealanders and Australians have already given details of the landing of the Australasians. In the following despatch Mr. George Benwick, a special correspondent c! the Daily Chronicle,- who is witnessing the work of the fleet and the armies with the aid of a motor-launch, gives a graphic description of modern warfare. . Mr. Kenwick's account of how the allied fleet covered the landing of the troops has already appeared in tho Herald. Continuing his story, he says:— then from another point somewhat further north I have been able to gain an impression of the imposing spectacle—perhaps unique in all history— the combined naval and military operations. My descriptions, of course, must bo taken as impressions of the operations siren at some distance, and not as completely detailed, accounts of the very important events that have. been occurring. During the hours of,darkness between Monday and Tuesday the motor-launch on which I was eitered the bay under Gabe Tepe, on the west side of the Gallipoli Peninsula, ha f-way down the coastline south, of Siivla Bay. A wonderful spectacle was presented to my eyes for tone hours. |"

It was a night battle on the land, with , a portion of the fleet assisting. Across the valley running inland from the bay the opposing guns were at work. The ships, ■ too, were busy, and searchlights. The wandering glare of their sheeners could be seen easily picking out targets for'the ' great guns to batter to pieces. ■•C:"' A Rim of Fire. •So continuous and heavy was the firing that-at times one could discern the outline of the valley across which the two land forces were contending. Shrapnel, too, was bursting in the night sky, and often the wnole wave-shaped valley seemed to be. transformed into a river of fire. During Monday, as I learned later, the Turkish position ran, roughly, from the crest above Maidos to that above Boghali car forces being along t T ie seashore at the mouth of the valley, and occupying the part which is mapped as the Zazmak Valley. The heights on the north side run inland from GabVTepe, and at the far end on the Dardanelles is Fort Boghali.", From a little south of that point' the Southern Heights run south-west to the end of the peninsula. Not far up the valley one can see the blue waters of the strait above the Narrows. During Monday our left had been thrown along the northern and commanding ridge towards Boghrdi, and during the night the enemy's left advanced westward along the southern ridge in an endeavour to drive us back and cut our forces off. , ' Bain of Shells.

Continuing his narrative on the tenth day, Mr. Benwick says :—During the past day or two the operations have been much less spectacular. The warships have been mainly engaged inside the straits, and all that was to be seen -was the bursting of their shells on the Asiatic side and round Tree Hill. About five o'clock this afternoon Tree Hill and its northern and southern slopes were being heavily shelled by the fleet. Tho shells were throwing up great clouds of earth and smoke. Our land guns joined in, the bluish smoke coming from them being clearly observable. Passing the mouth of the straits I could plainly note our camp occupying a large area with large numbers of men and horses. The great) fleet of warships and transports lying at the mouth of the straits make a fine sight. So numerous are the signals flown that the fleet almost looks as though it were decked for review. A line of destroyers guards the entrance, and beyond the warships are spitting out fire and smoke. Deluge of Shells. Far up the valleys, on the Asiatic side their thunder was roiling. Landing here on an island in the Rabbit group I witnessed a heavy bombardment of Tree Hill, which, from this view point, stands out most prominently. As far as could be seen the Turks entrenched there made no reply. * •' The ships' fire thoroughly searched the whole position of the enemy. At sunset the whole area of the operations was bathed in a purple light, and just when the ships' forms and the headlands flanking the straits were dying into deep shades, an exciting encounter was seen. The Turks under cover of dusk, evidently lay a battery of guns down the road through the Mendere Valley, on the j Asiatic side, with a front towards Yeni Shehr. Suddenly two enormous spouts of water flew skywards, close to three battleships firing from a point near Sedd-el Bahr. One shot went too far, the second being «hort. But before the third shot, which the gunner calculates to hit with, could be fired the ships potted the battery and were pouring a deluge of huge shells on the daring Turks. It was sharp and exciting work. Splendid Gunnery. I could see the enemy being chased by I tremendous shell-bursts right up the valley towards, I should think, Yenkissi. It was a splendid piece of gunnery by our ships, for the Turks evidently fired in such haste that they did not fire another shot save the two mentioned. To-night, as I write near midnight, in full view of the scene of operations, war in dusk makes a weird picture. A searchlight spreads its jilare all round and every minute of the right is lit up by the sudden vivid flaming of great guns. One has only to see the nature of the country on both sides of the Dardanelles from a point clone by to understand tho great advantage tho defending forces must have, and to realise how the completed forcing of the straits and the defeat of the Turks may be a costly and somewhat* prolonged operation. Ten days' work has, however, accomplished for us substantial gains, which are being followed up steadily day and night. Peasants here tell me that among the prisoners tafon are a number of Christians, who declare they were forced to fight, and were pleased to fall into the! allies' hands. They say the Turks are being slowly and surely beaten. NO FINER EXPLOIT. MANY DEEDS OF BRAVERY. It has cost us dearly to get astride the Gallipoli Peninsula, but there is no finer tale in our history than that of the deeds which were performed on Sunday, April 25, by Australian, New, Zealand, and British troops, supported with equal gallantry by the officers and men of the warships, writes Mr. Ashmead Bartlett. Neither must we forget the role played by the French, who, landing on the Asiatic shore, occupied Kum Kale and captured 500 Turkish prisoners; but were then withdrawn according to the pre arranged plan. .' •,;..*■ «*. ■ Many are the stories of the individual gallantry of officers and man which will probably remain , for , ev«>r untold; and : many a hero , who, deserves • the Victoria i Cross rim lies beneath the soil &/>■« )■

,; : .'The« warships met the foe's advance .with shrapnel, while the land forces on j.: tho opposite ridge rained down a hail of deadly shells upon them. ' ; It was 'evidently these operations outlined in flash and flame which I witnessed V from the bay during the hours of darkness between Monday and Tuesday. For almost the whole night the fire was kept up, and from an excellent point of van- ... ' tage on Tuesday morning I saw an artilS. lery duel in the modern style going on. Puffs of smoke, evidently from our ; guns, indicated that we had held and extended our position along the .'• northern ridge. Here and there, at in- ?■ tervals the Turks would reply feebly from „ farther inland and from the southern ridge, but the latter position now became extremely dangeroiu because it was com- ' manded both by- the ships out at sea at the valley end,, and by tho land forces on the heights opposite. This artillery duel continued intermittently for the greater part of the day, the Queen Elizabeth— it may have been a sister ship—joining in, and at the same time engaging in indirect fire the enemy ■ positions on the southern ridge that I have mentioned. Bombarding the Narrows. Late in the afternoon the Turks made another attack, but no advance could be noted on their part. During this time the ships away at the entrance to the Dardanelles were very active, bombarding the Narrows, and,' judging by the smoke I could see rising beyond the peninsula, a good deal of work was going on inside the straits. Shortly after five o'clock I witnessed another extraordinary artillery duel. Heavy rain-clouds swept down suddenly from the north, enveloping the whole region in a dense mist. Under cover of this the Turks ran their guns along the southern ridge, and suddenly opened a heavy fire across the valley.

They were promptly answered by our I force, which had certainly also profited by the darkness to change the position | of its guns. The Turkish fire, therefore, would not be very effective. A Ferocious Duel.. Owing to.. that fact, and to the obscurity i having prevented any observations" being taken > the ships off shore had perforce to remain inactive, and the duel ■ had to be fought out by the land batteries alone.y Vivid flashed, of flame lit; up both sides of the valley. The shrapnel, burst-;