HELLES EVACUATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13899, 24 January 1916, Page 4

HELLES EVACUATION.

HOW THE TURKS WERE OUTWITTED. MECHANICAL RIFLE FIRE. (By Telegraph.) (Special from N.Z. Correspondent.) CAIRO, Jan. 22. ' After the Aaizac and Suvla evacuation the Turks were more keenly on the alert aiid, the operation' was regarded as more difficult. Once again, however, brilliant British generalship completely outwitted the enemy. The operation lasted from December 29th to January Bth, ahd though hamper od by bad weather was a * remarkable, success. Unlike Anzac there was no moon, the Operation was carried out m complete darkness. After Suvla and Anzac the Tijrkish gun fire oh Helles greatly increased, and one intensive bombardment of our trenches was the heaviest of the wliole campaign. ' Turkish aeroplanes, also, ' were enterprising, and took unusual risks. They Came over m two and threes. Several duels occurred m the air. , The enemy guns from Asia maintained a desultory bombardment. Had the gunners, known what was taking place under cover of darkness they could have done great damage, but they missed their opportunity. The French were taken away first. During the last week no French remained ashore except, the gunners and the : French beach pai*iy. , - On the last night the British had still seven thousand men ashore and about fifty guns. General Birdwood came over in -the morning and bad a look around. The same strategies were adopted as at Anzac, men leaving; the trenches m batches, so that m the early morning the front line was very thinly held by men who moved up and down; firing from vacated loopholes. The final shots were, fired by machanical guns- Rifles were fired m einprazures, Avater dropping from., one jam tin into another fixed.to the trigger so that when a certain weight speculated m the latter the gun went off. Detonators Avere fired by burning candels, and Verrey pistols also fired bw the .-water dodge added to the illusion that' our trenches were still strongly held, --though not a man remained fit them. The Verrey pistols fired colored rockets, Arliich made the Turks think we Avere going to attack., The final scenes Arere thrillnig and picturesque. , Great fires of petrol-soaked stores slidderily burst forth on the thr***o beaches, s\nd at Lancashire. Landing magg-dtie*-" containing ten tons of explosive broke the stillness with a tremendous roar, making the scene one of ap-. pallirtg 'grandeur*, as it hurled flames and great masses-' of --burning material into 'the darkness. This showed the Turks that evaciiation was proceeding, .and immediately the ships m 'the., Aegean Sea saw a row of red lights spring up all along the Turkish trenches, this being their -signal that the British were leaving. Tlie enemy, however, made the same mistake as at Suvla. and Anzac m thinking the position ' Avas only half evacuated, and they ; violently shelled our second line and beaches, but by this time everyone had departed and tho guns and horses not evacuated had been destroyed and killed. The fires burned for 2h hours. On .the following day picquet boats, with shells dropping near, went m and torpedoed! the wreck of tho steamer River,. Clyde, of . immortal memory, and the old French: battleship Massena, sunk by our Allies as a breakwater. ,Tlins ended jonp of; the most- memorable pages, of B'rjtish.njistpry;,, i.-*is'"" .iv- — nr. tt—1 — er~nr~