THE ANZAC LANDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19929, 24 April 1928, Page 14

THE ANZAC LANDING.

Sir,—As one who took part in the landing at Gaba Tepe (Anzac) I would like to make a few remarks concerning the articlo written by M. Hutton Whitelaw in Saturday's suppiemeofc The article says the noise of the naval bombardment covering the landing was deafening. Personally, 1 did not hear a big gun tire until. E.M.S. Bacchante steamed ujj at approximately 8.30 a.m. to Gaba Tepe and silenced the guns the Turks had brought down to that point, which were causing considerable losses to boats and those who had landed. As for the Queen Elizabeth, she came up later that forenoon and fired a few salvoes of 6in. Of the barges referred to, these came much later and were chiefly used for transporting horses. The landing actually took place at approximately- 3.40 a.m. in the boats belonging to H.M.S. Queen, Prince of Waies, London and Bacchante. These ships had also two lifeboats from the transports. The men, having manned the boats, at 1 a.m., were towed by the above ships until some five miles from the landing place, when the picket boats and steam pinnaces took them in tow and slipped them when about 300 yards from tiie beach, the seamen and soldiers then pulling into the shore with muffled oars. Very lew men were lost actually in the boats at the initial landing, as most of the boats had touched the beach before a, shot was fired. During the time of landing the destroyers Came to about 500 yards from the beach, the boats then returning to take oft' the soldiers; this meant three or four trips for each boat. Nauticus.