COVERED WITH GLORY.

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

COVERED WITH GLORY.

AUSTRALASIANS' BRAVERY.

PRAISE IN LONDON PRESS.

: Tie work of the New Zealanders and Australians at the Dardanelles is highly praised in the London press The Pall Moll Gazette says:—"lt is natural, and perfectly proper, that the epic narrative givon us should refer to the landings of the Australians and New Zealanders north of Gaba Tepe. It is no disparagement to any other part of tho splendid force engaged to say that our wonder and admiration is roused in a special degree by the fine fighting qualities displayed by the Australians and New Zealanders. That they would show magnificent dash and courage nobody doubted; that they would display individual initiative beyond that of the trained regular, many might expect; but that iheir almost perfect steadiness should have' sufficed to carry them through that wild day of shot and shell without loss of cohesion is a wonderful justification of the confidence which their leader, »Sir lan Hamilton, who knew them of old, reposed in them. Like the Canadians at Ypres, the volunteer soldiers of Australia and Now Zealand have most nobly 'mado good.'" The Daily Chronicle:—" The landing of' 29,000 men in one day upon open beaches in the teeth of desperate resistance from a completely prepared enemy must be something like a record of its kind. When fuller particulars can be given we shall hear a tale of heroism scarcely less stirring than any in the war. The Australians and New Zealanders, the British 29th Division, and. the French contingent, all covered themselves with glory." The Daily Telegraph:—"The British public and tho kith and kin of these Dominion soldiers will read with admiration and a quickening of the pulse fff tho. manner in which this invasion of Turkey was begun, and tho success with which the operation is being continued." The Naval and Military Record says: — "Our Oversea Dominions are daily setting a splendid example to the Mother Country. Within a very short period Now Zealand will have 25,000 men on active service. As the white population of New Zealand is but a little over 1.000,000, this is 24 per cent, of her entire population, and she is ready to send more if wanted! The po/pulation of Now Zealand is mainfy agricultural, but the farmers have not protested that if their sons go they cannot cultivate their land or feed their cattle. No; they not only Jet the young men go, but encourage them to do so, for they know that the welfare of everything they possess and hold dear depends entirely upon the defeat of the German War Lord, who aspires- to he the conqueror and tyrant of the world." The London Times says: — The essence of the Dardanelles enterprise is resource and vigour overcoming in ways unth ought of by the enemy difficulties which he has believed insuperable. The men who have been sent to do this work, whether sailors or soldiers, have done, and are doing, splendidly. It would be graceless and inviduous to single out any part of this great force for special praise, but we need not on that account be slow to realise how Australia and New Zealand have followed the doings of their men -with an eager anxiety that lias been changed more tuan once already to a great prido in their achievements."

GENERAL BRIDGES.

THE ARMY'S GREAT LOSS. SUCCESSFUL COMMANDER. [published by ARRANGEMENT.—COPT/RIGHT.

Writing from Alexandria on Juno 9 the official Commonwealth correspondent at tbfl Dardanelles, Captain Bean, says that the loss of General Bridges came as a great shock to the wholo of the Australian force. I believe few people in Australia, even those in the military forces who knew him well, realise what a really great soldier he proved himself when it came to the test of a very critical and difficult operation. H-s was known to be an able administrator and a good organiser, but many of those who admired his ability and capacity for hard work in time of peace scarcely expected him to rise to the level of a great" general in the operations of war. From the first critical hour of landing General Bridges shored qualities, not merely of a capable general, but of a great soldier. During the first operations, especially in the morning and afternoon of the first day, the administration■ was naturally carried on under conditions which might easily have resulted in the utmost turmoil. Every unit which went into the hills sent down at_ some time that day urgent- appeals for reinforcements. Sometimes even ■ companies sent down direct to headquarters messages that they could not hold on much longer if not reinforced. Some units, hard pressed and cut off from the brigade or battalion, did not know where else to apply except direct to headquarters. Similar requests were all day coming from some larger units again and again. There was. no doubt that all were urgently needed, but only a few could be granted, because the landing of troops is a most difficult military process. Able officers, whose opinion no one hera would question, tell mo that, looking back on that first day, even with all the knowledge which they now have, they cannot think of one case all throtieh those critical hours in which ( General Bridges allotted those reinforce-1 ments wrongly. All through the tumultu-! ous days, with the beach a seething mass of landing troops, animals, and the supplies, the general was absolutely unperturbed. This day hs was in solo command ashore. The New Zealand Iroons landing were temporarily allotted him. He never showed the least signs of fuss or hurrv, which was of the utmost help to the staff. Ha allotted one company here and a batI talion there. He considered each case las it came in in the liehVof the facts [before him. Again and renin ureent | appeals were mat with grim silence, Then a "umph—they will have to stick to it." In SDito of all entreaties, he held the fourth battalion in reserve from 1.15 n.m. until five o'clock, when they were there to meet a critical position on the rieht of the line. From that day to the dav three weeks later, on when lie was hit bv a Turkish sniper whilp on his round of inspection, General Bridges was cool, and it was considered his opinion was of tho utmost value to the army corps as commander. I '/now that General Birdwood had quickly come to place the greatest reliance on his opinion. NEW ZEALAND AVIATOR. SOME NARROW ESCAPES. ' [FROM OUR OWN CORRKSrOXDENT.] London*, May 11. Lieutenant Rainsford Balcombn Brown, of Wellington, is still attached to the Royal Flying Corns. One day lately lie started out on a tactical reconnaissance, and when over the lines at 5000 ft the engine stopped owing to tho carburetter becoming choked. Fortunately, the pilot was just able to turn round and get back to the British lines, where a safe landing was/made. The aeroplane was undamaged, notwithstanding the forced descent. In a letter received a day or two ago, Lieutenant Rainsford Brown mentions that he was on an early reconnaissance the morning after the Germans had used tho asphyxiating gases, and he saw their old and new trenches. "The old trenches," ho says, "have turned red as a result of tho poisonous gases. We were shelled very heavily the other morning. One shell went clean through our left wing, and broke the rear mainstay near the tip. The machine was rather shaky after it, but we got back all right. There was also a holo through the ulane, and a few inches to the. left ,of my "seat,"