THE DARDANELLES

Otago Witness, Issue 3205, 18 August 1915, Page 9

THE DARDANELLES

THE FIGHTING ON JUNE 4. ! FULL STORY OF THE GREAT ASSAULT. TURKISH TRENCHES CARRIED. (From Ocr Own Correspondent.) LONDON, June 23. A stirring account of the heavy fighting at the Dardanelles on July 4 is just to hand front Reuter’s Special Correspondent, who writes: “ The long-expected general assault on the Turkish trenches in front of Aohi Baba began on July 4, at 11 a.m. For the three weeks previous pur troops had, been patientlysapping their way forward, or making night advances, whereby a few yards of ground were gained, until the distances separating the two fronts had been reduced in some places from 1000 yards to 100 or 200 yards. The order to attack was eagerly awaited by the army. The gaps m the ranks had boon filled by drafts of keen young soldiers from Home, and the men, after weeks of waging war mainly with entrenching tools, . under a scorching sun, were more than willing to relinquish the spado for the bayonet and the bomb and capture trenches which others had had the fatigue of digging. Our line across the peninsula extended from a point on the northern coast across ground broken by two big and several email nullahs to a ridge overlooking the valley, or rather gully, of the Kerevas Doro River, which flows into the Dardanelles. “The evening before, when all was in readiness for the morrow’s attack, things were made lively for an hour or two by a very sharp rifle and artillery duel, provoked by a detected ruse of the enemy. The Turks suddenly started a straw fire in front of their trenches on our left, doubtless intending to profit by the smoko which the prevailing northerly wind would blow over our trenches to attack. Rifles immediately chimed in all along the lino, the artillery following suit, but no attack materialised. A GREAT BOMBARDMENT. “ The next day was overcast, with a northerly gaJ-c sweeping columns of suffocating dust down the peninsula. The assault was preceded by a smashing bombardment, which began exactly at 11. For an hour the fire of every British and French gun on the peninsula poured shell of various calibres on to-the Turkish trenches. Battleships and a large destroyer off the northern coast batterecl the enemy’s right, while a French warship iu the entrance to the Dardanelles dropped heavy projectiles on the loft of the Turkish position, and British 18-pounders and French 75’s kept up a perfect rain of shells on the parapets of the enemy’s trenches. At times the whole line was obliterated behind a billowy curtain of creamy smoko. In Krithia, a tower, which had withstood a score of minor bombardments, came toppling down, and fire broke out in the village. For an hour the air was rent with terrific crashes, one blending into another, and aliye with shrieks and whistles of projectiles as they sailed overhead towards the enemy’s linos.. Towards noon the terrifying din began to abate. The troops were ready with fixed bayonets in the trenches, awaiting the order to go forward. THE ADVANCE. “ Punctually at 12 the order was given, and the men in the first line of trenches leapt out, parties of bomb throwers accompanying them, and dashed across the intervening 100 yards to the Turkish trenches. The first line was to occupy and clear the enemy’s first trench. Our second line was to pass through the first, over the first Turkish trench, and capture the second trench line. Our second lue had thus considerably farther to go than the first, the lines of trenches being about 500 yards apart. Our third line was to advance after the others, fill up gaps, and press homo the attack. . I “ The second lino did not advance until a quarter of an hour after the first line started. The enemy, who had made no effective reply to our bombardment, immediately began to pour shrapnel upon the troops rushing to the assault. The troops went forward with magnificent elan. The capture of the first trench was the work of a few minutes. The Turks, dazed and deafened by the avalanche of shellfire which had been bursting around them for an hour, fired a shot or two upwards from the trenches at the Britishers stabbing down at them, and then fled up the communication trenches to the rear trenches. A large number were found dead or wounded in the trenches, but they seem mostly to have fallen victims-to the shellfire. . / “ Ouir second line, clashing forward under | a hot fire from the Turkish rear trenches, captured the enemy’s second line; and, the enemy being fairly on the run for the moment, our men followed up their advantage wherever they could, whrfli was chiefly in the centre, where the resistance was weakest. They captured line after line of trenches till, early in the afternoon, the centre hold the fifth Turkish trench line. ‘•The quick success of our centre had carried our line hero 600 to 1000 yards forward. On the flanks the enemy was much more strongly posted, and a desperate struggle began to straighten out our line. On Iho right the French, stopped by the formidable barrier of the Kcreves Derc Gully, were unable to make similar progress. When the work closed ior the day our line showed a strong salient in the centre, which it must be the work of other days to straighten out. MEN AND MATERIAL CAPTURED. “ One prize of the day had been the largest lot of Turkish prisoners we had yet secured. ' During the afternoon I saw some hundreds marching down under guard from the front to the base. In one case one of their shells loomed so near a column of these dejected-looking men as to make them mend their pace considerably. ” Several German officers and) half a dozen petty officers and bluejackets from the Goeben and Breslau were captured. One of the Both Brigade’s trophies is a German naval machine gun. with ammunition box complete, all lettered so as to show their provenance from ‘Seiner Majcstact Schilf Breslau.’ As flic fighting continues batches of prisoners are brought in daily. The total captured since Friday’s assault must be very considerable. .The night of Friday passed in comparative calm. A Turkish counter-attack was expected, but the enemy did little beyond keeping up a vigorous fusilade all night. Next-, day our troops set about consolidating our position. Reserve troops moved up in accordance with our advance in front. There was again

very heavy fighting on the loft, but our advance here was slow and precarious. TURKISH CO OXTER-ATTACK. “On Sunday morning, just at dawn, the Turks launched their counter-attack with great vigour. The enemy, it is understood, brought up fresh troops for the attack from the reserves beyond Achi Baba. Our men were very hard pressed, and had to abandon two of their conquered trenches, which wore afterwards reconquered by the hardest fighting. “In the end the enemy were repulsed with great loss, as is usually the case when they attack with spirit. All through Sunday the Turkish artillery, was extremely active. They obviously suspected us of bringing up reinforcements along the roadis, and dropped scores of shells on the roads and camps, but did no damage. Rifle fire went on all day, and the ground for a mile and a-half behind pur line was swept by bullets. “The Turk builds his trenches five or six feet deep. He has an engaging habit of loaning bis rifle against flip parapet and shooting bullets, like Longfellow’s arrow, into the air. They come down a mile away, and occasionally find a billet in a British soldier going about his lawful occa- . sions on the road or in camp.” • TRENCH WARFARE. “The situation here tends more and more to resemble that* with which we have become familiar in France. Y\ e have an enemy hero less fertile in resource than the Gormans, less well-equipped, less' vigorous in attack, but. on the other hand, ho has advantages which the Germans can no longer claim. Ho lias an ideal defensive position —a narrow peninsula, traversed by ranges of high hills or small mountains, every inch of which can bo entrenched to advantage, and, with one flank —his left—safe from attack by sea, and both incapable of being turned by land, as they stretch down to the water’s edge. “The barrier hi front of ns, although far loss rugged and_ steep than, for example, the ridge on which the Australians, to their eternal honour, succeeded in establishing themselves, will, doubtless, prove no less difficult to assault. It may bo even worse ; ■the Australian ridge is like Majuba or Elandslaagte, so steep that men climbing it would often be out of reach of others firing down it from the crest. Achi Baba, on the other hand, so far as one can judge from the nearest accessible point through a field-glass, is a series of. smooth slopes terraced at intervals, which will bo much the same to mount as the glacis of an oldfashioned fort. “Most of the men who surrendered on Friday plead in excuse that they had nothing but bread and water for two days. The trenches were full of dead and wounded from our bombardment. Then cur fellows came jumping on to them with a bayonet, and they had no chance to do anything but surrender. They also denounce their German officers. They say they would have surrendered before, only they know that the Germans behind them in the second trench with machine guns, would shoot them down without mercy, if they came forward with their hands up. “This is possibly true. At any rate, in the attacks in which the Turks never succeed it would certainly seem that the -Germans arc the driving force. A Turkish officer, who was captured on Friday, was far more truculent. Ho said that he would have fought to the death, except that the British were in the trench behind, . and that lie and his men wore hopelessly caught. Ho said; ‘Germany is our ally. We know our country’s hours are numbered, but wo fight for her as you would for your conn- j try.’ Many captives profess to be untrained men. put into the ranks to fill up gaps —a statement at which our officers smile.” TURKISH HUMOURS. Reuter’s correspondent at the Dardanelles tells one or two amusing stories of the Australasian troops. A day or two after the great attack on our positions at Sari Bahr, the Turks sent the following message : “Wo are going to drive you Australian devils into the sea. to-morrow.” At Gaba Tepc, the Turkish aeroplanes dropped messages, saying: “Australians and New Zealanders, surrender. Wo will treat you well.” A major in the Now Zealand R.A.M.C. tells a pathetic story of a wounded Australian who was constantly repeating: “Not a damned thing !” On being .asked what he meant, lie explained laboriously that first of all ho was shot in the arm and the doctor took away his tunic; then he was wounded in the log and his trousers wore taken away, and finally he got a graze in the side and his shirt was* taken off.