FIGHTING THE TURK

Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 33

FIGHTING THE TURK

AUSTRALIANS IN THE FRONT. CLOSE Vs’OHK LX THE TRENCHES. By Captain C. E. W. Beax, Australian Press Representative. Copyright.—(Now Zealand rights secured by die Otago Daily Times and Otago Witness. GALLIPOLI, Way 29. The enemy, although reinforced since the attack on May 19, lias not made any further general attack, but has boon tunnelling for days against a portion of our lino, where the trenches approach to within 10 yards of each other, and where, indeed, at one point, they were actually connected by, a communication trench. Our engineers twice during the week countermined and blew in the enemy’s tunnel. Last night the enemy’s third tunnel was known to be only a few feet away. Early in the morning the enemy blew up a mine Seneath our trench. .Some, of our men wore thrown to the ground, half-stunned by the explosion. None, apparently, was killed, but the first tiling noticed was strange, gruff voices just outside the trenches. 'The Turks then blew a perfectshower of hand grenades into this short length of trench, and got into a small portion of the trench, from which our men had drawn aside. Probably 50 Turks dropped into the trench without much difficulty in the. confusion and dust of the explosion. Once there the Turks found tliemsclves in a short length of trench divided from our men in the same trench on one side, by a mound of earth thrown up by the explosion, and on the other by a transverse trench. From that time the position of the Turkish invaders was worse than if they had never arrived in the trench. . They wore unable to do anything except throw a few bombs amongst our men who were hemming them in. Their fate became every minute more certain. This portion of the line happened at the time to be held by Australians of the Second Contingent, who, except for the first few days of landing, had been subject probably to" the severest strain of any portion of the force. A CHARGE REPULSED.

Shortly after sunrise the enemy attempted „ a charge to reinforce the men isolated in our trenches. Our infantry which was waiting. charged over the trench to meet them, but tiie Turks did not wait for them. Our men next attacked the Turks in the trench with hand grenades, and at about 8.30 charged with bayonets over the parapet. It happened at this moment that the Turks were making a second attempt to rcintorce their men, ‘sonic even coolly standing at full heitrht in the open. Few' Turks, if any, reached their lines. Our men retook the’trench. Presently, however, they discovered that a portion of the connecting trench in this dark rabbit-warren was occupied by some person wao was barricading himself, and would not allow anyone to pass. Some thought he was a Turk; others thought he might be an Australian who imagined the Turks to bo still in the trench around him. A partition was quickly built, against him, and when ho was found to be a- Turk he was immediately attacked, and, being bombed bv us from the sides and by his fellow-Turks from the rear, he surrendered. The Turk wuiked down through our men, who slapped him on the back and gave him cigarettes. Some of the Third Contingent also partook of this fighting. Tiie -attack was purely against one smalt section of the trenches, and there was never the. least fear of the enemy succeeding. Our troops were determined, at whatever cost, to retain their trenches intact. Only on one previous occasion have any Turks ever entered an Australian trench: that, was during the attack on May 19. when seven Turks dropped into the tame portion of the trenches during tiio confusion following the explosion of bombs. Our troops in the same trench hold them from one side while they shot down (ho other. Only one managed to jump out of tiie trench. He ran down our side of the elope and fell exhausted from wounds inside our lines ENEMY'S LOSSES.

The enemy is now estimated to have lost 3000 killed, and at least 6000 wounded that day; the loss, at any rate, was very heavy. Every day a sprinkling of Turkish soldiers give themselves up, racing- along the beach or dropping hurriedly into the trenches. They often attempt to kiss our officers’ hands.

The conditions of the burial armistice the other day, on the whole, wore very honourably observed. Our wounded in the

1 enemy’s hands arc said to he well cared for. A. few stories of atrocities are current, and may reach Australia. I can only say that' the principal one which I have tested proved wholly untrue. Some dum-dum bullets have been picked up, but the stories of explosive bullets are quite without foundation, and due to men misunderstanding the curious double crack of the Mauser rifle. Some of the wounds are terrible, and I would put them down to exphmding bullets had I not seen wounds quite as terrible in the heads of the Turks lying outside our trenches. The New Zealanders captured the trench on the left last night. A party of the Australian 9th Battalion also sort-led, and bayoneted the snipers in a trench far beyond our right. Thoy_ returned without a casualty, largely owing to the bombardment by a destroyer.