THE DARDANELLES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16416, 22 June 1915, Page 5

THE DARDANELLES

AUSTRALIANS' WAR CRY: "TMSTTT, VALLA!" THE STORMING OF ACHI BABA difficult problem fob the allies NEW ZEALANDERS AT QUINN'S POST HOW OUR WOUNDED ARE PROGRESSING

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright

v "IMSHI, VAX,LA." AUSTRALIANS' WAR CRY. AN AVALANCHE OF SHELLS. CHAMPION MACHINE GUN SHOT. LONDON, June 20. Reuter gives the following details of the fighting in front of Achi Bab* on June For an hour every British and French gun on the peninsula poured shell of various calibres on the Turkish trenches, while British battleships on the right and French on the left battered their flanks. The whole landscape was obliterated in a curtain of smoke. • The tower at- Kriihia, which survived the previous bombardment, toppled over, and the village was set on fire. • The infantry charge began at noon. At first a few Turkish trenches were easily taken. The enemy, being dazed by the avalanche of shells, merely fired a few shots upward at the British troops stabbing down at them. A large number of dead in the trenches were the victims of shell fire. We had the enemy fairly on the run foT a time, until our centre held their fifth trench. The Australians recently sent the* following message to No. 2 New Zealand Bat-t-erv, which was doing excellent woTk upon Colonel Plugge's plateau: "Go it, mates; there is no need for us to use our rifles while you fire like that."

: The men were so keen that they did not • desire to leave the captured trenches. The 16th Battalion of the Third Australian In- , lantrv Brigade spent five -weeks in the j trenches before being relieved. The Aus- | tralian wax cry on the peninsula is I "Imshi, valla!" Arabic words meaning " Be off, move on." ! Before the Triumph was sunk she did I excellent work in cutting off Turkish reinforcements coming up the gullies near Gaba Tepe. Captain Wallingford, a champion shot, with his machine gun, was one of the mainstays of the force at Sari Baiir. STORMING OP ACHI BABA. A DIFFICULT PROBLEM. ~~~ , TURKS FIGHTING FOR GERMANY. LONDON, June 20. The armoured turret motor cars of our naval air service did Useful work, but the roads were mainly unsuitable for this method of warfare. Using two fairlv good roads from Sedd-el-Bahr and Cape Helles (at the extreme south) to Krithia, which cut the enemy's trenches at right angles, some light cars advanced. Crossing our trenches over typical bridges, they ran close to the enemy's lines and opened machine gun fire. The deep entrenchments of the enemy made their further progress impossible." The cars, at the same time, offered a good target to the enemy's guns, and shells began to drop around them, but the motorists backed out of the danger zone, two cais being slightly damaged. Our centre dashed so far forward that it was unable to maintain all the ground won, although the Naval Divison fought with the utmost gallantry. The Turks 1 reserved a vigorous counter-attack until Sunday, when their reserves came up from beyond Achi Baba. Our men were very hard pressed, and abandoned two of the conquered trenches, but held the remainder of the ground, repulsing the Turks with great loss. The storming of Achi Baba is a difficult proiblem. The mountain presents a series of smooth slopes, terraced at intervals, and these are as difficult to mount as the glacis of an old-fashioned fort. Turkish officers taken prisoner said: "Germany is. our ally; we know o'or country's hours are numbered,but we fight for her, as you would fight for your allies." TURKISH ATROCITIES DENIED. TURKS FIGHTING FAIRLY. NEW ZEALANDERS AND AUSTRALIANS. "LIKE ONE BIG FAMILY. H CAIRO, June 20. A majority of the wounded deny the Turkish atrocities, and state that the Turks are-fighting most fairly. I In one case a Turk dressed the wounds of a British soldier under fire. Another ; Turk left a water-bottle with a wounded ; Australian. Another Australian, who was 1 taken prisoner, but escaped, states that he was very well treated. After the furious attack on Sari Bahr on May 19 the Turks sent a message: "We are going to drive yo(u Australian devils into the sea to-morrow." A Turkish aeroplane also droped messages at Gaba Tepe saying: ' Australians and New Zealanders, surrender. We will treat you well," and exhorting them not to fight an unjust war. The wounded state that the Australians and New Zealanders get on splendidly together, and are like one big family. GALLANT LIEUTENANT'S FEAT. AN AUSTRALIAN WOUNDED. "I'M A BLOOMING KANGAROO." CAIRO, June 20. A stirring tale is told of an Australian lieutenant named Sutton, who volunteered to go out with a small party and blow up a Turkish trench. Before it was possible the Turks, by a sudden attack, forced the party hastily to retreat. Lieutenant Sutton took refuge with a Ghurka in a trench, and amused himself by returning hand grenades to the Turkish trenches, until one exploded and blew off his right : hand. He received a field dressing, and was sitting in the trench nursing the stump when the Turks made a rush. Suddenly he found & huge Turk above him with a bayonet. Quirk as thought Sutton smatr.'hed the kukri from the hand of the Ghurka and slashed the Turk's neck. The Turk fell upon him. Sutton grappled him with his left arm, and during the wrestle he embedded his teeth in the

Turk s ear, held him for 10 minutes Until assistance arrived, by which time the Turk was lifeless Another Australian haa his foot riddled with shrapnel. When being assisted down a gully to Gaba Tepe h6 met General Godley, who inquired who he was. The man replied: " I'm & blooming kangaroo now, ain't I, general?" AT QUINN'S POST: BRAVE NEW ZEALANDERS. SYDNEY, June 2L (t Captain Bean, -writing on June 8, says* "Everything is quiet at Enzac (?) except at Qumn's Post, where constant fighting by small parties resulted in a slight advance. The Maorilanders, after gallantly holding a trench for eight hours, were dnven out by a fusillade of bombs. They again took the same trenches, but were again driven out, leaving matters as they were." AUSTRALIAN CASUALTIES. HAVE NOT REACHED TEN THOUSAND. MELBOURNE, June ZL In the Federal Senate Mr Peaice announced that arrangements had been for the United States Ambassador at Constantinople to supply information regarding prisoners of war in Turkey. \ Senator Pearce emphatically contradicted the statement that our casualties amounted to 10,000 monthly. Our he said, had been fighting for over a month, and the casualties had not reached 10,000. Many who had been reported wounded were already back in the firing line. The hosrpital ship Kyarra, he added, left Suez with 11 officers and 29 en route for Australia. . General Legge's appointment to command a brigade has been gazetted, with the rank of brigadier-general. THE TRENCHES. . 1 DEEP EXCAVATIONS. EXPERIENCE UNDER RTTF.T.T. FIRE, ■{Times and Sydney Sun Services.) LONDON, June 20. An officer at the Dardanelles, under a regent date, writes: " There has been a great deal of firing in the trenches. They are most interesting, and. are mostly deep enough to walk upright in without exposure. I went round with General Birdwood and Admiral Thuraby one day. They fired on us a lot, but never got nearer to us than six inches.

"We saw"some mountain guns at work. The enemy caught one of the Australian guns a fair smack, killed an officer, wounded seven men, and killed 26 horses and nxulee. Subsequently we sat on top of a hill where four days before it been highly unsafe even to lie. "On returning, we delayed to collect firewood, and this undoubtedly saved our lives. Four shells suddenly burst 30 yards away. We bolted into a dug-out in a ■precious funk, .where we felt like a tortoise on whose shell someone was tapping with a coal-hammer." BRITISH BATTLESHIP DAMAGED. A CONSTANTINOPLE RUMOUR (Times and Sydney Stqj Services.) LONDON, June 20. (Received June 21, at 5.45 p.m.) A Constantinople report declares that a battleship of the Agamemnon type is semisubroerged at Kehalo Bay.