EVACUATION OF GALLIPOLI

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16123, 11 January 1916, Page 6

EVACUATION OF GALLIPOLI

The evacuation of Gallipoli, under conditions of extraordinary difficulty, has been so successfully carried out by the new commander that it is almost excusable to regret that he was not in charge of operations from the beginning of the campaign. Sir lan Hamilton's own report states that he regarded the suggested evacuation as " unthinkable" and it has been cabled from London that he informed Lord Kitchener that it " seemed impossible." Yet under Sir _ Charles Monro's command, and after an inspection by Lord Kitchener himself. Suvla, Anzac, and Cape Helles have all been evacuated without the loss of a single life, and apparently without leaving behind any guns in working order. It is useless to ignore the fact that New Zealand and Australia are grievously disappointed at the failure of the attack upon the Dardanelles, made with a heroic indifference to danger and a stoical endurance of hardship which have won the admiration of the world. That the Turks have suffered even more heavily and have been compelled for over eight months to concentrate their military strength on the peninsula is a compensation which will be better appreciated as time goes on. The immediate and constant consolation is that our colonial brigades have done their duty beyond question or cavil and have earned a reputation which their survivors and successors will glory in guarding as a sacred trust. With Gallipoli evacuated and sweeping changes in Imperial Army organisation already showing admirable results, we may safely anticipate happier though not more praiseworthy results in other fields. The events of the war have shown that the Empire can rely upon the devoted loyalty of soldiers who only need capable leadership to win an absolutely satisfactory peace. The price of that peace we are willing to pay and we may fairly expect that this price shall not henceforward be made greater than it need be by any hesitation on the part of the Imperial authorities. The evacuation proves that there are great organisers in the British service, who ro?.y be trusted to organise advance as well as retirement.