THE POSITION ANALYSED.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13825, 21 July 1915, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE POSITION ANALYSED.

(From "The. Colonist," July 3.)

Let us consider separately the fighting on our right flank, and then that on our left flank. Our right was in a measure protected by the bay. A company of Sikhs with a mountain battery landed with the covering party, and was responsible for the rapid clearance of the right flank as far as the sea from immediate danger. The firing line in the centre swept on over an ever-increasing front till it reached a Turkish encampment half-way across the peninsula. The men in glee fell upon the officers' quarters in search of Germans, but Turk and Teuton alike had fled. Several splendid mounts were commandeered, but were lost in the desperate struggle which was now to ensue. The enemy reappeared in force, bringing with them machine gun battalions.

COLONIALS DRIVEN BACK. All the troops in the neighbourhood seem to have been summoned to beat back this mere skirmishing line of colonials. Batteries of artillery, with every range in the neighbourhood taken to a nicety, opened an appalling fire. Machine guns poured out their 600 rounds of death a minute into the thin line in front, forcing it back. It was no scamper for cover, though, but a steady retirement; every inch of the way contested. - Mates struggled along with wounded friends. They had taken no Turkish prisoners, and wanted to leave as few as possible for the Turk to work his evil designs upon. Every time a party rose to double back a short distance the machine guns massed upon it. Shrapnel blew men to pieces where they lay upon the ground. But away back on the beach fresh battalions were . being rushed ashore and up to the front. Thus strengthened the shattered line set its teeth, and kept plugging away. Meanwhile on the 'eft flank Major 3- B; Robertson, with some 200 men of the 9th, had gone out a considerable distance to stave off attack from that direction. The party had an exhausting climb to reach the foot of the gentle slope which led to the position they were to occupy. No sooner had the men gone out in extended order than from 1400 to 1600 of the enemy, with five machine guns, topped a rise 1000 yards in front. Fire was immediately opened upon them and their advance checked for a time. Two batteries of artillery commenced throwing shrapnel, and then the machine guns came into action. The casualties on our side rapidly mounted up as snipers crawled through the scrub and picked off the officers and the non-coms. Soon all the officers were killed, and few bearing stripes were left unwounded." Our men were forced back twice, but under privates who wore the South African ribbons they fixed bayonets and straggled back almost to the original positions. Finally only between 30 and 40—all that were left—occupied a slight dip at foot of the tslope. How any of them had reached this indifferent cover was a miracle. The machine guns raked every.piece of concealment, and over 1000 rifles waited for a head to show above the bushes. The eight big guns searched the slope with shrapnel; shrapnel from which there was absolutely no cover. A shell covers 200 yards long by 40 wide at each burst. Hundreds of such missiles were thrown amongst our men. At the critical moment strong reinforcements appeared, having hurried along under heavy deluges of shrapnel. It was none too soon, for it seemed that the enemy must soon penetrate our flank arid cut off the front from the beach. BRIGADE'S WORK COMPLETED. It may be said that the special work of the 3rd Brigade had been' completed now, but; at a terrible cost. As the afternoon wore on both sides received additional strength, and the battle waxed hotter and hotter. In one respect the struggle resembled Inkerman, in that the individual soldier was thrown on his own resources. Our losses in officers and non-coms, were exceedingly heavy. 'The troops were inextricably intermingled. Platoons, companies, battalions, and brigades faded awa vor became' one desperately fighting' unit. ;

BRAVE NEW ZEALANDERS

The New Zealanders, the first of the other brigades ashore, were able to keep pretty well together owin.fi; to their distinctive uniform. On the left of the position they fought with a tenacity. of purpose and individual courage which compelled the admiration of the Australians. But for them our loft would have been driven in, and in all probability half the army corps wiped out. In the face of a murderous machine gun fire they advanced up a gully and flanking ridge, and pressed a large encroaching body of Turks back till their effort waned from sheer weight of casualties. The Otago iads .suffered particularly heavily at this spot. Still they clung to what they had won. Many were the deedfs deserving decoration that passed unnoticed in this inferno. An old Imperial man who fought at Dargai, Colenso, arid Magersfontein affirms that compared to what the Australian and New' Zealand Army Crops went through those "famous fights were like so.-many Sunday school picnic scrambles. Men "who had lived through the tempest on.top of Spiorikop regarded AprilSSth, 1915," as the most nerve-shattering "day of their lives. Yet these troops gamely endured their terrible baptism of fire, and emerged from the crucible unbeaten. As the evening wore on the shriek

of the flying shells became continuous.

the cracking of the machine guns hnd no intermission, mid. largely.reinforced,' the Turks pulled their triggers more feverishly. We prayed , for artillery.. The warships did * shell.the; enemy sometimes, but without much: effect;

.All signallers were picked off who ;ro«e tb send ~a .range.-; Messengers, rarely early* "ivas in. position wiih vgreaifc"'ex- . siifclitioit, «nd all the German gunnOTs, I with their vastly superior * weight m

metal, could not make those graveViaaged Sikhs quail. Their help, 'though small, was heroically given. Night fell after one of- tho most glorious sunsets the Mediterranean can give.

LANDING OF ARTILLERY.

A few hours had wrought a great change on the actual spot of landing. On a shrapnel drenched* beach the engineers quickly constructed a wharf of pontoons, by which the inrush of troops was toped .with, mules taken off barges, and ammunition brought ashore. A ivireless station was at once installed, only to be discarded next day owing to the Germans sending messages to the ships ostensibly from our headquarters. Late in the afternoon artillery—our 18 pounder field pieces—began to come ashore. The hauling of the first gun to the top of the^ ridge facing the sea was reminiscent of Wolfe on tho Heights of Abraham. A company of men dragged the weapon Up the precipitous incline, and had the satisfaction of seeing its first shot put one of the enemy's guns of action. All day engineers toiled"with pick and spade road-making, and the facilities they gave for armoured transport was astonishing. Although early in the day the warships had blown/ the fort on the right to pieces, there still remained concealed gun, which could not be reached, and these made the work of the engineers and the Army Medical Corp~s of a very dangerous character. A continual stream of wounded poured over - the hills from the dressing stations to the hospital on the beach. From there the injured were placed in boats, and with these in tow pinnaces plunged at full speed on zig-zag courses to the hospital ship in the offing. Most of the wounded were carried down by stretcher bearers. Some struggled dpwn alone. Away back in the firing line many of the slightly wounded held on. Often the badly wounded could not be got at.

TERRIBLE PLIGHT OF WOUNDED

Gradually our line bent under the strain that was grinding against it, and, still with their necks in the collar, our. men fell back from a portion of the innermost ridge. Those wounded that could be helped away were taken, but many had to be left. There were entreaties from mortally wounded men; entreaties which one soorcely cares to speak of. They lay, Borne with their bowels shot out, others with both legs severad, or again with a whole shoulder and arm blown away. Some with little of their faces left could only motion their appeal. Some wanted to be carried, others only desired their gun to be kicked near enough for them to grasp it. There were those who begged their mates to put them out of their misery, and others* prayed to be allowed to do it themselves. Once back on the next ridge the invaders dug in. They got a grip with their bridle teeth, and all the pounding the enemy was capable of could not move them another inch. All night long they fought desperately, keeping the opposing force at bay, and morning broke upon an unconquered, still further reinforced, and buoyant fighting front. POSITIONS RE-TAKEN. The fighiing on Monday opened with the retaking of the evacuated portion of the inner ridge. The way of the advance was admirably paved by the Navy, whose fire thoroughly demoralised the Turks. When they saw our troops swarming up towards them they broke and ran, leaving us in the position we have since held. The trendies there were immediately improved upon, some men using the pick and shovel, while others kept up a steady response to the enemy's extravagant expenditure of ammunition. Down in the shrapnel searched gullies sweating ammunition carriers tciled along. Small parties staggered under the weight of kerosine tins of water for the parched occupants of the trenches. The struggle proceeded grimly all day, and as evening approached the Turk made another frantic effort to drive the invader from his impregnable (?) Gallipoli. It seemed as if a mouth of hell vomited jagged fragments of iron. The pointed bullets shrieked as if with glee\ Parties on the move would dash from cover to cover, and some, now thoroughly tire<? out, would consign the Turk and his ordnance to the heavenly antipodes, and 'saunter on their way regardless of _ shot and shell. Yet through all this the buoyant, almost irresponsible spirit, lurked near the surface. Gradually the counter-attacks diminished in weight, and the strain began to lighten. On Wednesday a maxim brigade arrived, and enabled the troops to be withdrawn from the trenches as opportunity offered to reorganise. The trenches were improved on the most scientific lines, with support positions in the rear. The whole area behind the firing line became honeycombed with "dug-outs," where refuge from shrapnel could be had by resting troops. (Precious little rest there is, though.). Roads for mttle transport have been constructed right up to the rear of the trenches, and huge reserves of ammunition have been built up. Food there is in abundance. Various ;cf our guns have been placed in position, and the trench lines bristle with machine gunsJ, The Turks have given up worrying us by infantry attacks in daylight", but all night long the rifle fire is heavy. The shrapnel is like the smell of the dead Turks—always with vis. There is more lead and iron than oxygen from daybreak till dark. For hours at a time; it strikes one as marvellous that he is still alive. It seems almost like i going out in a thunderstorm a,nd expecting not to get wet. Finally: The end of the first week's operations sees us in an apparently strong position. The men feel the strain ,bf inaction somewhat, and-would welcome the signal for a big advance. Everybody is keen for more fight, and we will have it in abundance soon.