THE DARDANELLES

Otago Witness, Issue 3195, 9 June 1915, Page 25

THE DARDANELLES

ALLIES’ PROGRESS CONTINUED

THE FLEET ASSISTS

LONDON, May 31

The Central News correspondent at Athens reports that the Allies continue to advance against the enemy’s main pod-, tions on the Gallipoli Peninsula, aided by the fleet.

An Athens message states that it is esti mated that the Ottoman army at the Dardanelles is 200,000 strong.

The Press Bureau, reporting on the Dardanelles action, states : “ We detected the enemy working under one of our posts on May 28, and we successfully exploded a countermine. The Turks then effected a lodgment in' the vacant trenches, but we counter-attacked with the bayonet and recaptured their firing-line trenches, whereupon the Turks in the supporting trenches surrendered.

“Meanwhile a heavy column advanced by bright moonlight, but our gunners’ accurate cross-fire caused demoralisation among the Turks, whose second line of bombthrowers flung missiles into their own first line, completing their rout. The enemy’s casualties were at least 2000, while ours were 300. On the same night the Turks unsuccessfully attempted to recapture the position. “The French captured an important redoubt on the Turks’ extreme right on May 28, and repulsed all subsequent attempts to recapture it.’’ DANGER OF SUBMARINES. LONDON, May 31. The Times naval correspondent says it is confidently anticipated that adequate Admiralty dispositions will be made to meet the danger or submarines at the Dardanelles. It is improbable that there is the slightest truth in the American report of the suspension of attacks on merchantmen, because Germany is increasing her output of submarines. MITYLENE, June 1. British warships shelled Arvali, where an enemy submarine shelter was reported. FRENCH ADMIRAL’S EXPERIENCE. PARIS, May 31. Rear-admiral Guepratte had a miraculous escape at the Dardanelles. A shell penetrated his cabin on the Jaureguiberry, and missed his head by inches. It destroyed everything in the vicinity, and the admiral’s uniform was torn to shreds. Rear-admiral Guepratte escaped without a scratch, COMFORTS FOR SOLDIERS. SYDNEY, June 1. Red Cross Flower Day realised £I7OO, which will be devoted to comforts for the Dardanelles invalid soldiers.' SMALL COMBATS. ALL FAVOURABLE TO ALLIES. PARIS, June 1. Official : At the Dardanelles small combats are of almost daily occurrence. All have ended in favour of the Allies on the western slope. At Kereves the volunteers belonging to the French Colonial Regiment captured a little fort at the extremity of the enemy’s line dominating their trenches. Our advance was so rapid that the defenders were surprised and fled without resistance. Large bodies of Turks twice counter-attacked, but were repulsed, losing heavily. The British had a brilliant success, repulsing a violent assault near Gaba Tepe. TURKS ADMIT FEARFUL LOSSES. LONDON, June 1. The Press Bureau states that prisoners -who have aiwived at Egypt declare that their losses in Gallipoli were terribly heavy. The 20th Regiment was almost annihilated, and all the officers, except the colonel, were either killed or captured. The 15th and 56th Regiments lost almost as severely. The loss in officers generally was very heavy. The gaps have been filled with naval officers and military cadets. The attacks on Krithia were most costly for the Turks. Liman Pasha ordered an attack at night with empty magazines, using the bayonet only. The Allies’ flares and searchlights repeatedly caught them in close formation, .and their machine-gun and rifle fire at point blank range punished them terribly. A captured officer said that only 120 men could be collected out of a regiment of 1000 strong. The Allies’ mountain guns more than once caught the Turks assembling for attack, and kept them for many minutes under their shrapnel, inflicting heavy losses. An Arab officer said the Allies’ landing was costly and difficult, but when the Allies had established themselves on the peninsula it was our turn to suffer heavier losses or capture. A fortnight ago the Turkish losses were then at least 40,000 killed and wounded.

STEADY ADVANCE OF ALLIES.

BRILLIANT WORK BY AUSTRALASIANS.

A NARROW ESCAPE. ATHENS, June 2

Other prisoners stated that two Turkish battalions attacked each other at Gaba Tepe, losing heavily, and ultimately stampeding. The British machine-gun fire was particularly well (Erected. )The naval guns were most effective, and the heaviest shells, bursting in the* trenches, paralysed the men near by.

j Some prisoners admit that it is not known in the least why Enver Pasha and Talaat Bey went to war. Others curse Germany heartily.

The Allies were nearly surrounded by Turkish forces v/ho broke through „ the British lines between Eski Moza= kere and Kaltopu, when a warship, hurrying up, dispersed the enemy, the majority of whom were annihilated. CAPTAIN WALLACE KILLED. SYDNEY, June 2. Captain Wallack, killed at the Dardanelles, was the son of Colonel Wallack, the New South Wales commandant. The second son of Mr Justice Street is also ■ included in the list of casualties. SUBMARINES ACTIVE. LONDON, June 1. Reuter advises that a British submarine torpedoed two Turkish transports in the Sea of Marmora, one of which was laden with troops. June 2. Reuter’s Athens correspondent states that both the transports sunk in the Sea of Marmora by a British submarine were carrying troops for the Dardanelles fighting. ATHENS, June 1. The transportation of Turkish troops to the Dardanelles has been interrupted owing to a British submarine being before Constantinople. June 2. It is reported that German submarines are in the vicinity of the Dardanelles. ■ British warships attacked a German submarine at the island of Lemnos. The submarine dived and disappeared. The Greek Government has prohibited the export of all goods consigned as contraband. CONSTERNATION AT CONSTANTINOPLE. ATHENS, June 1. Constantinople advices state that the Turkish defeats at the Dardanelles, and the British submarine’s exploits last week at Constantinople arsenal and wharf, have intensified the gloom and accentuated a feeling in favour of opening the strait and negotiating for peace. The submarine (Ell) caused widespread panic, the people shouting; “The Russians are coming !” The troops aboard the Turkish transports insisted on landing, but the officers drew their swords and prevented this. Eventually, however, they disembarked. TURKISH ATROCITIES ALLEGED. FREMANTLE, June 2. In the mails by the Medina is a message from Reuter’s Cairo correspondent, who says that the wounded bring back stories of Turkish atrocities on Gallipoli Peninsula. The worst is told by some Dublin Fusiliers, who state that six of their wounded comrades were burned alive. A New Zealander, badly wounded, was recovering consciousness, when he found a Turk with a long knife bending over him. He closed his eyes and remained motionless. The Turk, evidently thinking him dead, cut his boot laces, took off liis boots, and departed. A New Zealand officer picked up an unexploded Turkish shell on the beach filled with sawdust and several clips of empty cartridges. At a critical moment in the fighting, when all their officers were out of action, an Australian doctor headed the remaining men, numbering 30, and they charged and routed several hundred Turks. <v MAJESTIC’S OFFICERS SAVED. LONDON, June 1. Official : All the officers of the battleship Majestic, torpedoed about May 27, were saved. ENEMY’S INTRIGUE IN SYRIA. PARIS, June 1. Official ; The German consul at Haifa (Syria) incited Turkish soldiers to fire upon boats carrying parlementaires. Ho also had the graves of Napoleon’s soldiers desecrated. A French cruiser bombarded and destroyed the German Consulate. No other building was hit. FIERCE FIGHTING. ATHENS, June 2.

Turkish forces numbering 250,000 men are perfectly entrenched in strong posi-

tions, with at least one German officer per unit.

Turkish prisoners state that the fire of the allied warships makes the Gallipoli Peninsula a sheet of flame. Their attacks are therefore confined to night, when the warships are unable to fire for fear of hitting their own men. The Turkish adoption of the German system of massed attacks is responsible for their losses, which are estimated at 100,000 up to Saturday last. Reports from Mitylene state that the troops which landed on the peninsula played an important part in repulsing Turkish attacks. Several Turkish companies attempted a turning movement against two New Zealand regiments, but failed, owing to violent lire from the British ships. The Turks lost heavily. A small party of survivors surrendered. The Hestia, a journal published here, states that the Germans, revolver in hand, drive the Turks forward, this practice resulting in enormous losses. The German officers also lost heavily. A wounded prisoner describes the fire from the Allies’ warships as “ The fire of hell.” LONDON, June 3.

The Daily Telegraph’s correspondent says the enemy has been expelled from an eminence before Krithia. There is equally good news frem the Australian side at Gaba Tepe. We are settling down to slow and tedious but Sure progress.^ Official : Close hand-to-hand fighting occurred on Tuesday out on the northern front, at a point known as Quinn’s Post. Our men rushed two of the enemy’s saps, with the intention of filling them in, but heavy bombing checked them in the work. One party fell back, while the other held on between the outer firing line and the enemy’s. This action necessitated heavy artillery support, to which the enemy replied vigorously, regardless of expense. The enemy lost heavily. On the southern section, the Turks repeatedly attacked the French right on Tuesday night, and twice reoccupied the fort captured on the 29th, but were driven out. The new French front remains intact. On the British front all is quiet. THE AUSTRALASIANS’ PART. RED CHOSS MEN’S GALLANTRY. FREMANTLE, June 3. Reuter’s Cairo correspondent’s reports of the fighting at Gallipoli contained in the newly-arrived papers by mail state that the Australasian wounded are very cheerful, and speak with glowing pride of the part they played in the great fight. They are proud of having been chosen for a task the success of which depended entirely on extraordinary dash and daring. When the wounded heard of the rejoicings in Australia and New Zealand they cheered, and cried : “We are going to do better when we get bade.” One of the participants in the fighting said he saw two New Zealanders chasing 11 Turks, who, with terror-stricken faces, howled and wailed. All speak highly of the members of the Red Cross Brigade, who moved about absolutely fearlessly. Many brave men fell attending to the wounded, and their comrades declare that all of them deserve the Victoria Cross. The fire was appalling, yet the Red Cross men moved about in the open, not thinking of their own lives. The Turks behaved disgracefully, firing on the Red Cross men on every opportunity. One Australian saw a Turk slash out with his long knife at a Red Cross man carrying a wounded New Zealander. The narrator put his bayonet through the Turk. Another, himself badly wounded, saw a wounded German officer, after receiving attention from a Red Cross man, shoot the latter in the back as he turned away. The narrator managed to crawl to the German, and finished him with the bayonet. Reuter’s correspondent mentions that the Australasians had 4000 injured, but a great number of casualties, however, are slight, and the men will be in the firing line again within a month or so. The losses are not, therefore, so great as they seem. NEW ZEALAND NURSES. LONDON, June 2. The Hon. Thomas Mackenzie bade farewell to the New Zealand nurses going to the Dardanelles. GERMAN TRANSPORT TORPEDOED. LONDON, June 3. Official : A British submarine in the Sea of Marmora torpedoed a large German transport on Wednesday morning, in Panderma Bay, on the Asia Minor side. TURKISH REINFORCEMENTS. CAIRO, June 4. The major part of the enemy’s forces in Sinai and Syria have been withdrawn to assist at the Dardanelles. Many are deserting, not desiring to go to Gallipoli. * LONDON, June 3. A number of Turkish troops revolted, killing their German officers. Other troops quelled the revolt, and captured 43 revolutionary Turkish officers, who were sent to Constantinople and executed. EMEUTE ON SMYRNA QUAY. PARIS, June 3. The Echo de Paris says that a German officer insulted and struck a Turkish officer on the quay at Smyrna. The Turk drew his revolver and killed him. Thereupon, the German officers endeavoured to arrest the Turk, and a veritable

battle ensued with other Turkish officers several being killed or wounded. The Yali of Smyrna hurried to the scene and had a narrow escape from the bullets which were {lying in all directions.

LOSS OF THE TRIUMPH. LONDON, June 3,

The Daily Telegraph’s correspondent at the Dardanelles says that the survivors of the Triumph state that the battleship was stationary when hit, but was not at anchor. The first torpedo was seen coming, and was fired on by the ship’s light guns, one shot missing by only a couple of inches. This torpedo traversed the vessel’s protective netting, and probably did but little damage. But a second and a third miss be were hied almost simultaneously, and traversed the same hole in the netting. The explosions lifted the ship, and she heeled rapidly, and disappeared in 15 minutes, going down bow first. A majority of the crew slipped down the starboard side and swam clear. It was a German submarine of a large type which assailed her. The submarine was sighted early in the day, and was then fired upon, but escaped. NEW ZEALAND WOUNDED. LONDON, June 4. The New Zeaalnd Government has secured Mount Felix, a large residence at Walton, as a hospital for the New Zealand wounded. A FORMER NEW ZEALANDER. SYDNEY, June 4. Sergeant R. D. Jones, killed at the Dardanelles, was an engineer employed at the Colonial Sugar Company, and formerly resided in New Zealand. A DESPERATE ENGAGEMENT. (From Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, June 4.' “I’m going back; I’m determined to go back if they will have me, and I hope they will. I want to do my share and make up for the losses our men suffered at that landing.” Thus Sergeant Gabriel, of Petone, who fought with the Canterbury Battalion on that morning of April 25, when the colonial troops covered themselves with glory in that brilliant landing, and in the splendid charge which followed it.. He returned to New Zealand by the Wimmera tonight in a party of non-commissioned officers and men invalided home —all medically unfit. They are not wounded men; in fact, Sergeant Gabriel was the only man of the party to set foot on Gallipoli, and he was only five hours in the firing line before he collapsed, exhausted and sick. He has seen service before with the East Lancashire Regiment, and he has the medal for the Somaliland campaign. “ I’ve seen soldiering. I’ve been on active service before,” lie said to a Dominion reporter to-night, “ and I say that the New Zealand soldiers are good enough to fight alongside of or against any troops in the world.” Then he went on to describe the great expedition and the landing. “On April 17,” he said, “we all had orders to parade in full marching order, with iron rations, kits packed and stacked, all ready to go to the front. The same night we left Zeitun Station for Alexandria. There about 80 transports, mostly German prize ships and British vessels, were waiting to take us across to Lemnos Island, and to accompany us there was a strong escort of British and f French ships-of-war. The run across occupied two days. All of our fel lows had a look at the famous Queen Elizabeth, and we afterwards saw a good deal of her. “ At Lemnos the roar of the heavy guns of the allied fleet firing at the Turkish batteries was deafening. As far as I know the strength of the expedition was 10,000 New Zealanders, 20,000 Australians, 12,000 British, and about 50,000 French. All our horses were left behind, also our motor cars and transport. They are useless on Gallipoli. Two troops of the Otago Mounted Infantry came with us as a bodyguard for General Godley. ‘‘We landed at different points on the Gallipoli Peninsula on Sunday, April 25. The British landed practically unopposed. The French also were practically unopposed, but the Australians and New Zealanders met trouble.

“The first of the Australians were put ashore at 4.30 a.m. amid a rain of shell and machine-gun fire, and the difficulty of the landing was increased by barbed-wire entanglements on shore, reaching down actually into the water. Many men fell killed or wounded on that first onset.

“The Australians were pressed back after effecting a most difficult landing, and the New Zealanders were sent to reinforce them. From 8.30 to 10.30 a.m. our men were ferried ashore in the ships’ boats. “Then with a brilliant charge the Australians carried a hill of some 500 ft in height. I should say the losses of the whole force ifi that landing and the charge' were not less than 3000 men killed, wounded, and missing. The 3rd Auckland and the 16th "Waikato landed first, with them the

13th North Canterbury and the 2nd South Canterbury companies. “ All these units lost heavily. The Waikatos were the worst sufferers. Only 16 men answered the rclh call out of about 270 of this company. “ The Canterbury Regiment lost their colonel, who died in the firing line almost before he had given an order. We did not know how many were wounded or how many were killed. We were all mad with the excitement of the fight.

“ The Turks fired at our Red Cross men at every opportunity, but they paid dearly for it. Turks were afterwards seen stripping Australian and New Zealand dead, and they were picked off in considerable numbers by our snipers. Their losses during the operation in prisoners, killed, and wounded must have been 20,000 men. Sixteen machine guns and two Krupps were captured on our side. The Wellington machine gun section was smashed up, every man being put out of action. The Otago machine gun section was also smashed up, their gun being put out of action. The Canterbury and Auckland machine gun sections did marvellous work.

The prisoners that were captured by the New Zealanders were set to work dragging heavy guns and artillery up the cliff in position to cover the advance of the New Zealand infantry. One section of the N.Z.F.A. unfortunately met with disaster, their gun being put cut of action by a direct liit.

Covering onr advance the Queen JClizabeth played havoc with the enemy’s batteries, firing her 15iu guns. These demolished Turkish forts, and the explosions of her sheJls were so terrific as to cause some distress amongst onr men by the awful concussion. The fire was particularly effective against a hidden fort which the fire control had some difficulty in picking up. As soon as it was discovered, about half a dozen shells fired in quick succession demolished the fort, and exploded the magazine. The Australasian troops drove the Turks back a distance of about three miles and a-half in about 38 hours’ fighting. The fighting continued with less intensity for some three days, but that was all I saw of it. The operations had progressed favourably up till that time. New Zealand reinforcements were being sent rapidly across from Egypt, a number of the mounted men being transferred from their units into infantry, and all the, available artillery has been sent to Dardanelles.

The ambulance strength proved quite inadequate, and we bad a number of man in this service put out of action.

Our wounded are all being taken to hospitals in Egypt and England, and I believe they are being well cared for. There was, I understand, a shortage of nurses, and our wounded were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the New Zealand nurses.

The Turks opposed to us are all big tall men, but they are absolutely rotten shots, and it is the shrapnel and the machine guns that are killing our men. The artillery and the machine guns are being served by Germans. All the prisoners taken are sent to Lemnos, where there are 80,000 of them, including many German officers. The trip home in the Ceramic was net without incident. The firemen in •the stokehold refused duty on the high, seas because one of their men who was indebted to the shipping company for fines rvas 'not given his allowance of tobacco. New Zealand soldiers were asked to volunteer to serve the fires. Some of the boys were not by any means fit for the work, but they did their best, and they brought the ship to Melbourne, where the mutinous firemen were put ashore as prisoners. For the extra work those men who were fit to do it got 5s 8d a day. Our boys improved in health splendidly on the voyage. At Suez most of them could not walk, and at Melbourne only four of us could not walk.

All the men speak in glowing terms of the care taken of them on the ship and at the Australian ports visited. At Hobart they were welcomed just as cordially by the people as the main body were on their way to the front. On arrival at Wellington all the men were convalescent with the exception of Sapper Tees, of the New Zealand Engineers, who had developed appendicitis. He was taken to the hospital in Wellington. The only fear the other men have is that they, too, will be sent to hospital. They want leave if they can get it, and they want their pay. In their own phrase they are all “stony.”