OTAGO BATTALION IN ACTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3215, 27 October 1915, Page 9

OTAGO BATTALION IN ACTION.

CAUGHT IN A DEATH TRAP. SUCCESSFUL BAYONET CHARGES. HEAVY CASUALTIES SUSTAINED. (From Our Special Correspondent.) “ Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more or close the wall up with our English dead.” As Henry Y addressed his men before Harfleur, so in effect ran Sir lan Hamilton’s message to tho New Zealand and Australian troops in Gallipoli. A big advance was to be made, they were to play a b;g part in making it, and the various positions it involved had to be taken no matter what the cost. The Australians, said tho raessgae, had won everlasting fame and glory at the now historic landing at tho Dardanelles, and Sir lan was sure they were about to do so again. There can he no doubt that many of our men had been too long on the Peninsula. Fourteen weeks without a rest in such a spot was about as much as they could stand, and the effects of those weeks of trench fighting wore manifest. Most of them were growing haggard looking, and lack of nourishing food, coupled with the effects of dysentery and the thousand ills that tho flesh is heir to in such a country were all leaving their mark on the troops. Everybody, however, was tired of tho extremely monotonous life in the trenches, and the news that a move forward was to be made at last was hailed with delight by all. STRAIGHTENING THE LINE. The Otago Battalion was spending its customary week in “Rest Gully” when the word came to move. “Rest,” by the way, merely signifies out of the trenches, and is synonymous with “extra fatigues.” The big movement was scheduled to commence on Friday, August 6, and as far as one could gather, its object was to straighten up the line held by tho Allies, and thus have the effect eventually of practically surrounding the Turks and cutting off their lines of communication. The Australasian troops had been holding advanced ridges in the vicinity of Anzac, but from there round to Suvla Bay, on the extreme left, little progress had been made, and there were about throe miles of country to be taken. It was arranged that the Anzac ridges should be left in the hands of part of the Australians, whilst the New Zealanders should make the advance on the loft centre. On their left were to he a brigade of Ghurkas, then a brigade of Australians, while a whole division of Kitchener’s army was to land at Suvla Bay and advance from there. About 11 p.m. on August 5, tho Otago men left their bivouacs and marched round to a gully on tho left of Anzac ; where they lay all the next day, hidden in the scrub from passing aeroplanes. It was explained to them that their first' task would be to march to a certain point along the beach some two miles from where they lay, and then to advance inland a short distance and capture a Turkish communication trench. Having done this, they were to advance np a hill in tho vicinity of this trench, take another trench, and then dig in on the top of the hill. There their task was to end, and they wore virtually promised that they would then be relieved and leave the Peninsula altogether for a holiday. Things turned out rather differently, however. A NOCTURNAL ADVANCE. The naval bombardment of Turkish posit’ons commenced late on the afternoon of Friday, August 6, and almost simultaneously the advance commenced on tho right centre. Shortly after 8.30 p.m. the Otago men sot out to do their share of tho work. In absolute silence they moved down a long sap for about a mile and a-quartor, and then advanced about another half a mile across open ground, which although far from safe, was not the object of directed fire. A few men were hit,, but not many, and tho battalion was soon at the point where it was to commence operations in earnest. Tho men were formed np, and then cautiously advanced towards the objective, a long trench about 400 yards inland. They were close on the Turks before the latter realised their danger, and then bullets started to rain on the attacking party, though little damage was done. The Now Zealanders, by the way, had received orders that all the work that night was to be done with the bayonet, and there was not a rifle with a. cartridge in it. THE FIRST TRENCH TAKEN. About 50 yards from the trench the order was given to charge. Loud cheers greeted the order, and then tho men leaped from cover and rushed at full speed for tho trench. The Turks, as a last resource, cried out that they were “Maoris,” but the ruse did not work, and although the enemy courageously kept up rapid fire till tho last second, the whole thing was all over in a couple of minutes,, the trench was won, and several prisoners taken. The Otago losses wove exceedingly small, about half a dozen being killed and about a dozen wounded. The Turk is nothing if not a good fighting man. He continues firing until Hie enemy is in tho trench, and then trusts to Allah for his life. Those who had the fortune to bo taken prisoner on this occasion were almost ludicrous in their expression of gratitude that their lives had been spared. They patted our boys on the

cheeks, and oven tried to kiss them, and in a dozen different ways attempted to convince us that wo were true children of Allah. AN EASY VICTORY. The first trench bciii~ taken, the men were formed up, and given a. short rest, and then a start was made on the second item of the programme, the taking of thohill, which proved an exceedingly simple affair. The Wellington Battalion went up on one side and Otago on the other. The hill was very stoop, and covered with rough and prickly scrub, so the ascent took some considerable time, and proved laborious work. It was eventually accomplished, however, without a shot from the Turks, who wore taken quite by surprise, and when the two battalions mat on the top of the hill it was discovered that the Wellington men had taken about 250 prisoners, who had imagined themselves to be in a trap, and had surrendered without resistance. The New Zealanders and Australians on the loft wore evidently meeting with equal success and every few minutes the sound of cheering came over the hills, signifying some fresh success. Suddenly, in the midst of a spell of comparative quiet, loud and blood-curdling yells came up a gully from the left, and for a moment held everyone spellbound. For a moment only, however, and then wo laughingly realised what it was. The Maoris had taken their first trench, and were celebrating ■ the . event in true Native fashion with a haka, delivered as oulv a body of battle-inspired Maoris could deliver it. It was the first that had ever burst upon the Turks in Gallipoli, and it must, for a time at least, have struck terror into their hearts. The Maoris eventually proved themselves splendid fighting men, and their methods and love of hand-to-hand fighting wore closely akin to those of the Ghurka, who is looked upon as a veritable “little wonder” bv the white troops. "A HARDER TASK. Daylight was now breaking rapidly, and, in company with Canterbury, who had come up from the right, the Otago boys advanced up another ridge and commenced to dig in on its summit. It was then that the fighting commenced in real earnest. A large body of Turks held the opposite ridge, and while the New Zealanders wore digging in they were treated to a hail of bullets, many of which proved only too effective. Broad daylight found both sides established in strong positions, and fire was opened from both ridges, with the result that the casualties on each side rapidly mounted. About 6 a.m. the naval guns opened upon the Turks, and the casualties must have been very heavy. On one occasion a largo body of the enemy could be seen advancing up a sap to reinforce those on the ridge. The cruisers saw it also, with the result that shells swept the sap from end to end, and when the smoko cleared away not a Turk was to be seen. The entire body must have been completely exterminated. As the morning advanced the Turks’ howitzers got our range, and the shrapnel began to pour in upon the New Zealanders, whoso casualties were considerable. It was considered, however, that the position was strong enough to withdraw the Otago men, who were about mid-day taken into a rest gully below the now famous Hill S7l, which was even then beginning to prove a thorn in the sides of the advancing forces-. ENEMY’S STRONG POSITION. The Otago Battalion rested in this reserve gully until the following evening—that of Sunday, August 8- It was quickly learned that 971- was giving much trouble. The division of Kitchener’s army had made a successful landing on the left, but its advance had not been rapid enough, with the result that the Turks had been able to concentrate on 971, and make thciip position extremely strong. Twice the New Zealanders took the position, but were not strong enough to hold it, and eventually the first firing line was made about halfway up the hill. The casualties here were very heavy, and the New Zealand stretcherbearers had a very busy time indeed. At 8 o’clock on Sunday evening the Otago Battalion moved up into the front firing line. They were told that they were xo hold the position until daylight, when a charge along the whole front was to be made, and they were then to bo relieved. Again things turned out differently. From the rest gully to the firing line was a space of open ground, and as the men advanced across it they fell over bodies of New Zealanders and Ghurkas every few yards. Fortunately, the Turkish fire had died down, and the trench was reached in safety. I use the word “ trench,” but it was really little more than a small rampart of earth, hastily thrown up with the hand entranching tools. The enemy were extremely quiet during the night. They ceased firing altogether, and although they occasionally made a halfhearted attack, they were on each occasion easily repulsed. There were only about 30 yards between their firing line and ours, and we could hear them talking quite plainly. It was very easy to tell whop they were about to attack, as tho movement was always preceded by much loud talking, blowing of a whistle, and the Turkish battle cry: “Allah! Allah! Allah!” Then a lino of men standing perfectly erect would he seen, as the Turk seems to have an unaccountable aversion to making himself as small as possible" when advancing. The result was, of course, an easy mark for our men, who took full advantage of it, and each attempt to advance on tho part of the enemy resulted in his retiring with considerable loss. “BLACK MONDAY MORNING.” Throughout the whole night hardly a shot came from the Turkish line, but there was a very different tale to tell when morning broke. None who were in that firing line will readily forgot “ Black Monday morning.” Although quiet during the night, the enemy had been far from idle, and daylight revealed the fact that they had taken up a position on a ridge from which they could enfilade tho Otago line from the right, while on tho left a similar move had been executed. With the main body of the enemy in front, and more of them on both flanks, the Otago men quickly realised that there was a very bad time ahead, and it was not long in coining. Evidently at a given signal, the attack commenced from all three Turkish positions simultaneously. Tho hostile troops in front used little- rifle fire, but devoted themselves to throwing bombs, and for about an hour it simply rained bombs into our position. Our men had to devote themselves* almost; entirely to throwing those frightful missiles out of the trench, and had little time to devote to the Turks mi the flanks, who supplemented their main line’s attack by sweeping the New Zealand position with rifle fire. Words can hardly describe the plight in which the Otago men found themselves, but they stuck gallantly to their guns. Luckily, most of the enemy’s bombs were a little too long-fused, and so were thrown

out of the trench before they could explode, though, of course, there were many which did their work only too well. To add to the horror of the position, the Allies’ cruisers began to take a part in the engagement, and sent over shell after shell, but, unfortunately, there was, as usual, a mistake somewhere, and most of these shells dropped into our own trench, killing and wounding many of our men. It was soon seen that to remain m the same position would mean the extermination of the firing line, and the Turks would thus have been enabled to retake the position and gain much more ground as well, so as many as wore left of the Otago Battalion jumped out of the trench and swung round at right angles to it, thus taking up a new position, from which the movements of all ;1 • enemy could be soon, while not an inch ground was lost. The casualties by this time had grown heavy, and heartr uding cries for Stretcher-bearers could bo heard from all parts of the field. It was, however, quite impossible for stretcher-bearers to get within two or three hundred yards of the position, and those men who wore too badly wounded to walk had to Ho there, and take their chance of being hit again, until night. Luckily, much-needed reinforcements wore brought up into the firing line, together with ammunition, which had been rapidly running short. By these moans the Turkish attack, one of the warmest yet experienced during the whole movement, was beaten back, and the position held. Throughout the day heavy five was kept up by both sides, but when darkness fell the Turks had gained not an inch of ground. About 8 o’clock the Otago men wore relieved, having spent over 12 hours more than was* intended in the worst position of the whole line. That same position proved a veritable death trap to all who were sent to hold it, and had the Turks but known it they might have taken it a dozen times or more. They succeeded, in doing so three times in as many days, but were forced to relinquish it again on each occasion. Few men who wore in the firing lino that Monday morning ever expected to got out alive. ' It was a small percentage indeed that returned unscathed, and out of the whole battalion, only one officer returned unhurt. It was indeed a bad for the officers, for the .two who had remained at the ambulance station in the gully, Sur-geon-captain Baigent and the chaplain (Major Luxford), both wore hit. The writer was hit during the morning and the subsequent proceedings interested him no more, so that he cannot vouch for what happened afterwards, but as far as ho can gather, the Australasian troops arc still wating for that promised holiday, and have been cut up on more- than one occasion since. A BRAVE ENEMY. The Turk has proved himself a splendid fighting man. One hears ridiculous statements to the effect that he will not face the bayonet.. That is absolutely contrary to fact. On most occasions he continues to fire until the enemy is in his trench. lie is also a very fair shot, which rumour would not have ns believe, while his snipers are simply excellent shots, and very bravo men. By the way, at least one woman has been found amongst snipers. Above all, the Turk is a fair fighter. One hoars stories of explosive and dum-dum bullets, mutilation of' the wounded, and so on, but the writer has yet’ to moot the man who has seen anything- of such things. On. the other hand, there have been cases, perhaps not many, where our own wounded have been found who had been bound up by the Turks and made as comfortable as possible.