WIRELESS MEN TRAPPED

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 39

WIRELESS MEN TRAPPED

A SENSATIONAL GALLOP 'MID BURSTING SHELLS.

How an Australian battery and a wireless section of 13 men, with some Indian troops, were caught in a defile in Mesopotamia, and their surprising escape, is well told by Sapper E. R. Farqunarson, Australian Wireless Squadron, in a. letter to a Melbourne friend. The letter is dated -from Mesopotamia on August 27. "We set out,' ho writes, "to surprise Johnny Turk, I cannot give you_ the details- how, and, instead of surprising him, he surprised us. We were caught at daybreak in a ' bottle,' a thousand yards from" him, and our only escape was out through the neck. One side consisted of hills in which the Turks were entrenched, the other of a river which we could not cross. "We had marched all night, and about 4.45 a-m.. just before daybreak, a halt was called for a rest. Wo all lay down, holding our horses, and slept. We were jolly, tired. Just before sunrise we arose, when, to our utter surprise—Bang! Bang! Bang! There was a general scatter. ' The Turks were waiting for us, and intended making us feel. For fully half an hour they peppered us, and we were helpless. I don't mind telling you I was in a blue funk. I had been in some tight corners, but never under such shell fire. Snipers opened up on both sides of us, and kept the opening through which we had entered alive with shells and bullets. "There was no cover, and we had to sit on our horses and wait for orders, which did not oome. The wirelcs9 (13) and battery were the only white troops (except, of course, officers). Presently an officer rode up asking for the wireless, and we were told to gallop out through the opening we had entered by. as hard as possible. "How I am writing this I do not know. I shali never" forget that gallop—shells were bursting all around us. and bullets were fWing under our horses' feet the whole of the way. It was simply marvellous how we escaped. Our casualties were light. "We managed to get back to a place of safety, followed by the cavalry, and erected our station. Our two armoured cars then came up, and we engaged the enemy, accomplishing our object, and retiring to our camp. The snipers waved us a farewell about 3.30 p.m., the heat being terrible. " Since coming to tho war I have become a man of moods, caused, I think, chiefly by the climate of this country. One day one is feeiing perfect; the next—well, anyhow. Plenty of work, little sleep, and hungry, thirsty horses, make one very irritable and impatient."