THE WOUNDED AT ALEXANDRIA

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 84

THE WOUNDED AT ALEXANDRIA

STORIES FROM THE FIRING LINE. HOW THE LANDING WAS EFFECTED. GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE FIGHTING. (From the Medical Correspondent of the Melbourne Ago. CAIRO, April 29. I have just spent an hour with some of the returned wounded from the Dardanelles, and the talc they tell is an inspiring one. They are full of confidence in General lan Hamilton, who made the hew Zealanders his bodyguard, and has said ho would trust the Australians anywhere. Before the fight General Bird wood sent round a circular to the effect that the landing would bo one of the most difficult possible, but success was imperative. The men knew that once they landed there was no getting back. The time and place were well selected. The delay at Lemnos had made the Turks a little uncertain as to time. The full moon made it necessary to delay the attempt until just before dawn. Landing began soon after 4 a.m., and was continued all day, under fire of the fleet, one Indian mountain battery getting ashore in the afternoon, and our artillery in the evening. The 30,000 troops were put ashore, partly in pinnaces, holding some 24 troops, towed in sixes by motor cutters from the warships, and partly by pontoons, holding 100 or more, taken near shore by torpedo destroyers. The landing- place was a beach about a quarter of a mile wide, commanded at ono end by a battery, and' at the other by a fort, both of which kept up fire until silenced from the fleet. At one side was a gully, apparently easier of access, but protected by barbed wire, and the range accurately measured from the fort. The landing place rose into cliffs at an angle of some 45deg. which was covered with bushes a few feet high, in which were concealed Maxims and guns, as well as troops. Some of the boats were h't before they reached the beach, and many of those iti them killed or drowned. A perfect storm of bullets invaded it from all sides except the sea. The splashing shells and shrapnel, and hissing of bullets made a striking spectacle. This landing was the point of danger and of honour. CHAPLAINS AND DOCTORS HEAD CHARGES. The first attack was given to the 3rd Brigade, who had been at Lemnos some weeks before the rest. And, it was,, indeed the post of danger. When they got near enough the men jumped out into the water waist high, fixed bayonets amidst the hail of shrapnel, Maxim and rifle bullets, rushed to the beach, threw off their packs, with which they could scarcely have got up the cliffs, and then rushed up any way they could. Some took the apparently easier way up a small gully, only to find that they were decimated by fire from all sides. Nothing could withstand the onslaught. The cheers and cries of the men were heard on the troopships, and filled those awaiting their turn with almost uncontrollable emotion. Even the noise of the bullets and* shells became secondary. Many fell before, the top wa,s reached—some in the boats, some in the water, some onthe beach. Snipers and Maxim fire picked off officers and ambulance stretcher-bearers. Still they went on. Chaplains ministered ip the dying, then led the survivors on. officers rushed from the _ side of the wounded after sufficient attention, and headed a charge. The cliffs were cleared and taken, with six Maxim guns. Beyond lay a hill commanding what had been gained. By bayonet attack more than by bullet fire the enemy were dislodged. Still another hill remained on the left flank, separated by a deep valley. Into this valley of death rushed our six hundred—or all that was left of them. It had been the intention of the enemy to mow all dow-n who succeeded in getting therein, especially those who survived and tried to rush up to the summit. In vain. Nothing could withstand the courage and " attack determination and skill of our men. The Turks fled before the cold steel, the hill was ours, and,at the top not lees than four tons of ammunition was captured, together with many large guns and Maxims. Meantime the Second Brigade, then the First Brigade, then the New -Zealanders, had followed the gallant Third, and by 4 p.m. all were upon the cliffs. That same night the artillery landed, and the position was safe. ENTHUSIASTIC WOUNDED.

It would do the stay-at-home Australian good to hear the enthusiasm with which the wounded tell this unvarnished tale, and see the spirit with which they express their intense desire to be back again in the firing lino as soon as possible. They saw men die by their side, have bullets through their hats’ limbs broken, shrapnel strike tearing blows on every part of the body, hairbreadth escapes, V.C. episodes, cheerfulness in the face of death, grit, determination that could not be conquered. Proud of their cause, proud of their comrades, proud of the part that they have been able to play, they want to go back and help finish the job. And all this without minimising the or magnifying the performance. Here, side by side are two brothers, one wounded in the throat, the other in the arm Lively as crickets, both long to get back'. They tell of an Indian doctor on the Gascon whose skill in extracting bullets was almost uncanny, and a sister on the same ship for whom at least 150 men would willingly die. Hard by is a man with a bullet still in his arm ; another has three in different parts of his anatomy. Others have been struck in the neck, or _ abdomen, or, in fact, any part. Horrible results are fortunately less common, and the details may well bo 1 loft unwritten. Miraculous escapes seem the order of the day, but it must be remembered that so far we have seen only the less dangerous class of case. Meantime they continue to arrive: in all, they are said to amount to

3000, as the result of a fr'.v days’ fighting. Australia is now beginning to learn y.actioally the enormity of inis war. REMARKABLE 1 NCI LENT. It is of absorbing interest to hear the different accounts told by various patients to those who are attending to their wounds. Incidents of humour, of pathos, of patriotism, and of sacrifice could be given, sufficient to fill a volume. Our boys left the transports enthusiastically and advanced, singing, cheering, and some of them with strong, but to them almost natural expressions, “There is music in the air,” they called out as shrapnel went’ 1 by. When later on some had to advance against the foe, they did it to the count-out —“1, 2, 3 . . . . out ’’—and charged at the “ out.” At a very bad place a V .C. was asked to go on. “ No,” he said to. a comrade, I’ve got my V.C.; go in and get yours.” Ho did, but was shot” dead. Asked about the fire, another said that the air was so thick with bullets that they jammed, and formed a trench for you to get behind. A lull occurred, and they found a German officer on his . knees getting a machine-gun ready. Ho did not live more than a few seconds. One man in the first boat to get ashore, being asked how long he had been fighting, said, “ About as many minutes as it toolc me months to get ready.” As they charged up hill they called out “ Imshi,” “Saida,” “Give it backsheesh,” as if near the Pyramids. When they jumped out waist high to fix bayonets, they called out, “Get out and get under.” Left without officers at one charge, one said, “ Boys, this is our picnic now, come on.” And on they went. Another lot, passing a colonel who had told a guard at Mena not to do the “kid glove ” business, when sent to stop a small row, called out, “Don’t make a kidglove business of this.” One regimental medical officer—Captain Butler — tore up coat and shirt for bandages, and then led a bayonet charge. Another —Captain Kane—was all day on the beach under fire attending the wounded. A third —Captain Gutteridgo—had his patient shot dead under him. The sniper was shot soon after. The chaplains did more than their accredited share. It is said that Colonel Green and Father Leahy led_ charges, and used strong language in doing so. An Indian officer said, “ Mons -was not as, bad as this.” And when the wounded were being landed at Alexandria, a Lancashire Tommy asked, A’ been fa-aitin’?” And the irrepressible Australian replied, “ No, we’ve been to a b football match.” His language was almost justifiable. ADDITIONAL DETAILS. There was a machine gun on the beach, with Turkish trenches, when the first men landed; 10,000 Turks on the hills. The fort had seven guns. There was a disappearing gun, which was not silenced till 2 p.m. Some say it was not a disappearing gun, but one skilfully fired from a distance by an electric fuse, and for a long time its exact whereabouts remained unknown. The shrapnel from the fort and the batteries began to play as soon as it was light. One platoon was struck, and the men killed or drowned. The land batteries started about 10 a.m. When driven back, the Turks telephoned to four Turkish battery stations, and they brought up the big guns. There were seven guns to the battery. Their reinforcements must have amounted to 10,000 or more. The machine and other guns were all served by Germans. The snipers wore everywhere. They had bushes tied round them so as to hop about without notice. The landing place was about a quarter of a mile long, and 20ft to 40ft from the precipitous cliffs which rose at ah angle of 45deg. at least. The men had often to lift each other up. The trenches on top were wonderfully constructed and hidden with bushes, and had barbed wire entanglements. The batteries had - their range, but our men kept out of them after they were taken. Our men deployed into lino on the beach, two paces apart. They did the same all the way on to the other hills, crawling on the ground for cover. Most of the officers were shot when standing up to look through their fieldglasses. The ambulance were shot, because similarly exposed. My informant was in the firing line from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m., had nothing to eat, and never thought about it. They had left with three days’ provisions and a bottle of water, with orders that they might have nothing more for a week; 5000 casualties were expected, and the men knew that only one in three might come back. They were determined never to come back if it meant leaving their mates wounded behind. They knew the Turks mutilated all that fell into their hands. The snipers were up trees as well as in the bushes. The “ Lizzie ” (the Queen. Elizabeth) destroyed whole masses of dismounted cavalry with single shots. It was fine to see the aeroplanes at work. The shrapnel could not reach them—they often flew over our lines. Throughout we had no support from the fleet, because we were too close to the enemy. The only artillery support was from an Indian battery (N. 1.8.), and it was worked splendidly, but was silenced by the superior guns of the enemy. Had our men landed on the level country where it was at first intended we would have been wiped out. There were entanglements under water as well as on the ground, and all was mined, as well as the ranges perfectly known to the batteries. All over the place there were mines. The ground was strewn with packets of tea, and the like to divert suspicion. A Turkish priest who had been made to fight against his wish showed them to our men, and they exploded hundreds. The Turks generally were poor shots, but did not await the bayonet. Had they been sufficiently plucky they should have annihilated the attacking party.