SOLDIERS' LETTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15998, 17 August 1915, Page 8

SOLDIERS' LETTERS.

TURKISH ATTACK. CHORUS OF "ALLAHS."' AUSTRALIAN CHEEKING. "COME ANI) BE PLUCKED." A night attack on trenches held br force of Australians i« described in 9 letter received by .evening's m-t from Sergeant C. C. N. 3rd land. Mounted Pwfh-s. Sergeant vwho is a member of the auditorial' 5 of the Herald 1,.J « transferred to he A .-?. -.>^ '. .J and ur,;e or. July 1. ' A " fortnight ' it was re,jorted that -eant NjL been wounded on J,lv 12 H. ' ml • «bM from )Uu .» «. wCS reside at Ngapara. near Oamaru ih,* ? has 1 -st his right hand, but has ' rapid recovery. - • , "A few weeks of comparative oi»*d the left flank the er.eniv, who [meeting with senous reverses ZJ 3 I made an attack a night or two azo-t ' geant Nir.,l wrote. - When , I the steep track to the ton of tie • ! night was unusually dark and " threatened. Earlier in the Jiv St °? i enemy had induced in a fairlv l ? e which is usually a prelude 'toi' ? 1 and we had an idea that a hut altldwould be done that night Befn^ Fm3 however, the sky cleared, and a fnU '° ng ' bathed the countryside in lio-ht. and .T* 01 ' 8 fore possibilities of an attarlf thf> recame distant, for the Turk'does mU v' the ligct lor his fighting any more rt>- r s ' likes cold steel. Given darkness and cohe is no mean foe. Mco, . i " We were toid oft to our ''* ! and tannels—for you must know th?3® 1 defences m trench tijhtin-r do not ? s - ? only of surface excavation" He« I mu'l mention parenthetically that twf&U colonial volunteer may not be a%r - - military automaton, he is certaifh- " } versatile fighting man. for he finds sap>4 J no moie difficult than packing stores^ 4, ' munitions on ranks or travelling round. ; r instance, a squad of Aostnhans were told on for underground '-°me had worked in the mine* of X* : poorlie, and could thus be called" pro- : s fessionals : some had spent their lives h '! cities earning their bread in banks. *£-| had never been under ground In fU. lives before. Prelude to the Attack. .%ipf . ''? ur sapping gang had been oa 131 Job lor an hour or thereabouts when iwi- '.p denly th'» Turk*, whose trench at \ point is barely f 0 yards a war. becan & ;ye,l 'Allah' at the to of their voices. -It «j! ! Was ,J i hideous noise and a new arocflti i would have thought that the foe;fciSi jnght upon him. In an instant the trench {8 | wa- one line of bayonets glistening in *]»/; ■ moonlight If the Turk.. premediatedH■ i surprise their hopes were certainly doomed : j to ia:lure. The numbers who were not .1■on the look-out and consequently dome could have bayoneted a Turk in a 'kcob£&i ine yells or the enemy continued andean* j closer. We sappers stood to arms alt®? i with our Australian brothers who nude room for us in their firing positions. ■ iense with excitement we waited—at * leasts I thought we waited. Renemberin" . how our regiment waited and fought a? 1 most in silence when we were m the ■' trenches on the night of tie general , j attack of , I did not expect to fear t a sound from our lines uni'l the first 1 ! rifle was fired. But the Austrian* ' 4 j characteristics which differ from'Shcae-isi-V j the New Zealanders. The whole front rang with cheers J which drowned the 'Allahs' of onr f i ents Come on Turkey.' someone would I call in defiant tones. 'Yes! Came ra Mohammed,' another would all .a a voks S of entreaty. Then a chorus of 'AMs'-1 would rise discordantly, so that one_cotli hardly tell which was Turk and which Australian. Tired of this call these joyous soldiers would again break out ngSf individual remarks more or less' cm?M plimentarv to the Turks, who were;®® approaching as fast as one would imagi» 3 judging by the noise they were'm£&stsl| Come on and be plucked Turkey,' shdnittS a youthful voice down a sap. aid the ma in the vicinity laughed! ' Come on, AM; put your money in,' was another sampfe jj of Anstralianese, to which was. after a pause, * Put more in!' ".*■ j

Double Firing Line. jlijl " By this time our fii» -sras fairfy;k£Jf Grenades, thrown by both sides, weii'Xbursting viciously, and the macMiis-giffiJi spat out death intermittently. Everv ww ' nnd again _ a flare was thrown from 08?.> ,■ trenches, lighting up the ground .in • fei H I for yards. ' There they go!' the ijW lions would chorus as the Turks srot&i"-: away from the revealing light ' and, JBSsSj parently quite forgetful of danger, waald jgj expose themselves recklessly to get asfe s in. Some' of the supports for - there was no • room in the trenches found their patience r |qriite\^2a: an end and, contrary to all pretfoss'.s custom, climbed up in the rear of fee, trenches and formed what was rea% second firing line along the iiwmifwS ; earth thrown up behind the firo!facncMti£ and from this good, though exposed, J*® - : j tion did splendid work. j " The attack, which was a half-faarfsk,: I I one, lasted probably two hoars tat ! Turks never goi. near the main fire teesA : !gp| i Some got near the saps where they w® B i|gj j accounted for by bayonet or boiahvy^ |§| ; dawn broke the ground in front !to be strewn thick with dead Triß.j®|||| | had paid heavily for their deoowk*®® spjj| i for the attack was little more. Our jossH" were insignificant. • Prisoner Taken by Ht&& " Later we heard of nniaer^' 3 dents of the night, many of ?***•. {of an amusing character. Saat «v®« js ] eight Turks had succeeded j cess to the rear of our posifioa^-" | « j or four were shot by a Cossack pgjMHB : the others, for some unaccountable : i tried to dig themselves in. One ! of the Cossack post discovered one,ivs' j parrying the Turk's bayonet? > nftgß ! terrific lunge at, him with his ow °""jppf I missed hid n*n, however, and » cjjbg jin wife his hands. He grappled ' Turk, V?ho*waS soon on his bwfcjfflSggj | the Australian and his mate marched | the communication trench J s }'tn_ ! prisoner.' The hero of the aOW* wav, remarking as he passed n» . • tilac" " What do yon "think of my fine Perhaps the Turk's rough ban - made him sore, for he yas_nw fast- enough for the man a called to his mate in the Teal, him along.' _ «r»<n JjfeV "Later" in the day an officer , jgj : - gone up to see what bad ! of »Jf-? his sK«pic:i-ns arm: by a •_ -0$ Turk lying prone near one oi ' _ rope was procurer! and in some *i , (Jj .. to the 'boo which was oragged trench, where it sudden.y caff fi|ga I and jumped in and snrre ? er him." iSfe® 1 Turk did' not have a scratch M hg|g| 1 object, apparently, was to I and then attempt to crawl J -||i SIGNALLERS SUFF^3 Signaller J. McDonaW. mother, from Malta th* splendid treatment acrt^»^^| wounded sddiers by the Referring to his luck m * a slight wound, the writer m***, £3 14 signallers eight were half-hour. The wounded . fig 5 with the remark. * t»»W# splendidly now, and hop soon again in the thick Ox it. % . ■ - _