WHAT THE AUSTRALIANS ARE DOING.

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

WHAT THE AUSTRALIANS ARE DOING.

NOTES FROM GABA TEPE

(Specially written for "The Colonist," by C. LVC.\Smith.)

(From "The Colonist," July 15.)

"Duck the old nut, cobber; there's a —— sniper's posy just head." This, or a similar expression, greets one on all hands around the New Zealand and Australian Army Corps front at Gaba Tepe. Men and officers alike receive the same lurid warning,' which translated from the colonial "means: keep your head down, because a German or a Turkish sharpshooter is .concealed in front. To a German? source we can trace the detailing of great numbers of snipers to harass our men on Gallipoli. During the first few days'ashore the sniiier problem was. one of the most difficult we had to contend with, and the number of casualties" which may be laid\ to.: from a, fact that;'ca^:;:nnd6r/iM'yVpwii' pTjseryatipii.V'Act nti ejbbw< .6£ • one- ridjfe alone a singly sniper i'wsfc responsible; tf or 13! casualties, between? #£yligHt>,ancf wem Army MerTicalCorps -men. ) *£:":;''

A; quarter o£ an: liprir after landing we began *to TeeT tlie l>Tte of. tfiose' de-

tailed for sharp-shooting. The casualties amongst the officers and holders of stripes were quite out of proportion to those amongst tho privates. Quick to perceive this the wearers of marks of office tore them off, and supplanted them in most cases by diminutive pencil marks on their headgear. This minimised, but in no way removed, the danger to those in command, because anybody, t giving orders, or indicating that he bore authority, became a special mark. It has become apparent that a large proportion of the snipers are Germans. Without doubt the German or Turk who devotes his energies to this work is a man or courage. His intrepidity always brings him to the place where he can do the greatest damage, reckless of what danger to himself it envolves. ~

Excepting isolated cases, the _sniper has now only to be guarded against on cur flank. Such, however, was not the case during the first four days of occupation. Snipers were plentiful within our lines. The nature of the country suited their work to perfection. Ensconced on the precipitous side of a ridge they received the benefit of excellent cover, and cculd work their will on those passing along the valley beneath. They would dig into the hillside, and amidst the roar of shell fire, and continued rattle of musketry, the reports of their rifles would generally pass unnoticed. Parties of our men were frequently sent to hunt the so pests out. At first the searches were frequently without result.. Subsequently, when the units had been reorganised, the menace was soon abated. Why ? Because when the sniped troops went on their quests, the searchers would not know their neighbours. In many cases the snipers spoke good English, were dressed in the uniforms of our dead, and carried our own rifles. With the ; utmost zeal they would mingle with the parties, and hunt for themselves, seizing^ if necessary, a favourable opportunity to decoy the searchers from the lair. One sniper's dug-out contained two boxes of ammunition, and food sufficient to last with economy for several weeks. The complexion of affairs changed, however, when platoons, every man knowing the others, took up the chase. A few questions would as often as not pave the way for a ready settlement of accounts.* The snipers inside our lines, at no time thought by our troops to bt highly qualified to receive quarter, allowed their enthusiasm to overcome their* good judgment when they fired upon our stretcher bearers. It should be said here, however, that the Turk has not, as a whole, lived up to his reputation for totally disregarding the Geneva cross. There have been instances when they have given facilities for collecting our wounded and • dead. Again, only in a limited mimber of instances have I heard from . reliable sources of Turkish ammunition being tinkered with before being fired. I saw, however, several specimens myself. ' They had been found on a clead sniper, and the bullets were pinched near the bottom. Several surgeons I spoke to were of opinion that the mimber of wounds which could be definitely identified as being caused by dum-dums was small.

On our left and right fronts there is ample protection for snipers. They lie within fifty yards^ and closer, of our entanglements at night, pumping bullets into all observation stations, and picking off any moving object. By day they operate a little farther back, but still at deadly range. One afternoon while I was observing, fifteen bullets lodged in a sandbag above my head. Naturally the sandbags were arranged so that the occupants of this post ran little danger of being shot. The sniper must have known, that it was an observation station, so he dropped shots at it all day as a matter of course. It is a task of the utmost difficulty to get a sight on to these snipers. They tie bushes all round them, tearing an aperture for aiming' through. One might pass within a pace of thenij and miss making a capture or a kill. Our troops quickly imitated such dodges as these. They always enter the trenches, or move in the scrub, with foliage in their hats and shoulder straps. By this means the outline of the upper part of the body is concealed, and against a suitable background the head and shoulders are hard to perceive. As a final word, I feel confident in saying that, though they are daring in the extreme, the German and Turkish snipers are indifferent marksmen. GREAT TEST OF NERVES. As a trial of nerves, the campaign in Gallipoli is as severe as, if not more so than, any during the \var. The world rings with praise of the fortitude with which those who fought through the European'winter campaigns endured the terrible physical hardships. Privaticns of such an order the troops at Gaba Tene have not been called upon to face. It was fight, entrench, fight again, and improve the trenches; then dig support trenches and build roads till the limbs ached and the eyes smarted with fatigue and lack of sleep. But it is not this that might reasonably be expected 'to tell upon the troops so much as the" fafct that from the time they landed they have be*en without intermission under' heavy fire all the time. Army corps headquarters, which according to the canons of military science should be oiit of earshot of artillery, are in this case under continual heavy shell fire. The staft works , amidst distracting "' influences, which is not -frequently the case in other theatres of the war. Much in the same way the men are at a di'sad-i vantage. Asleep or awake the bullets whiz and the shells burst overhead all the time. There are no billets outside the danger zone for them to retire to and i>est. There is nought but the sea to retire upon should misfortune befall them. Owing to the necessity for continal readiness, the removal cf clothing for any length of time is impossible., How is the situation faced? By the staff with an equanimity which inspires the army, and a capacity to handle the situation which gives confidence in the trenches.' By the men with a disregard for danger, buoyancy of spirits, and contempt for "Abdul" and his designs upon them which has won the praise of those in command. The corps and brigade staffs inspect the trenches with an unconcern in peril winch is matched by the men when fighting or in reserve. I have seen ; the beach lined with splashing bathers in full view of an active battery only a mile away, while bullets sent up jets [of water on all sides. Casualties [ amongst bathers are no uncommon occurrence. I have seen cooks sitting i carelessly around a camp kitchen pre- ! paring a hot meal for those manning the trenches, shrapnel bullets miss 'them by inches, and perforate the ! dishes. With no thought of taking cover I find lapsing into hair-curling profanity at the Germaji gunner, they sp>inted Ito obtain fresh utensils before "all the 1 provender had leaked away. This indicates the spirit of the men. I'■■■'•■ ".' '■-..■-..■'■"■ | ARTILLERY IN THE TRENCHES.' I -The sight of artillery in the firing , liner—right in the trenches—scandalised 'the-old soldiers in tfur midst. They [■'Viewed.v it,;.with;,' grave; mi sgi vings,; find [[[pr'edicted'.v'tTiat'vnp. good (cpuld possibly s of -.it;..vNeyertHeless/'vai:ibus} of ijbtu;; 18 piepesjflid^^ceifent Vwork;from; ? tnis;••;position;; 'lit was foul": flays before the. enemy located thorn. They'wasted countless, shells pouncing

the ridges behind the guns. Many cbuhter-attaeks wei-e nippedl in the bud through- the agency of this advanced artillery, and 'several Turkish . guns, were put out of action by them. Wheri v eventually they were located, however, the losses in the' batteries were heavy, but no matter how severe the fii-e an answering salvo was always ready, -and our front kept well protected. HOW CHARACTERS ARE REVEALED. A few weeks on Gallipoli plays great tricks in revealing character. It blows a lot of' froth off the beer. A readjustment of views on many of those around you becomes necessary. Mates in whom one took but a casual interest one acquires a profound regard for, and there are cases too where those once held in awe lose the power to command it. Two special cases of men generally misunderstood occur to me. The first is "Gertie," medical officer for a certain battalion. From the early days of enlistment the rank and file made no secret of their dislike for him.! His untiring energy, and the unbend- j ing manner in which he carried out his duties, were at first cabled the sweeping of the new broom, and later the fussi-r ness of a frosty old fossil. Men wagged their heads at the mention of going into action with him. "Gertie" was considered the high-water mark of medical inefficiency. It was even whispered that through him certain allowances of rum were withheld from the men. But fine characters are tucked away in odd figures. "Gertie" was ashore with the first boat, and went racing up and down the beach shouting for wounded. He was just behind the firing line all through the terrible struggle of the1 first few days ashore. I met him" once struggling down a | gully, a wounded man on each arm. He had dug cut a shelter from shrapnel for the wounded, and for three days and three nights worked practically without a halt. The doings of "Gertie" filtered back to the trenches, where i scepticism gradually turned to surprise, i and surprise ito admiration. Two stretcher-bearers one evening struggled dowii with a badly wounded private, who, on seeing the hands into which he was about to fall, exclaimed: "Hullo. Here's old 'Gertie.' He'll fix me up." The doctor piped in his quaint accents : "I don't know, why you call me 'Gertie,' but if you are hurt I'll fix you up all right!" "Gertie" never waited for the stretcher-bearers' to carry in a man, but if he saw one' hit, however dangerous the spot, he was there to administer relief at once. When his brigade was called in the doctor arrived back a day late. Few recognised the torn and tattered, unshaven figure, minus hat, puttees, and coat, which dragged a weary leg up I to the battalion headquarters to report "present and correct." When ] the remnants of the battalion realised who it was, a spontaneous cheer arose, i "Gertie" seemed quite pleased. He! has been mentioned in despatches. The second instance concerns a battalion's head cook—Sergeant "Pullthrough." This is his name in the ranks. All hands when in camp plagued him to death, and his tall figure became more and more attenuated, till it resembled the article he is nick-named after. Quite the wildest i figures in the • battalion are found I amongst the cooks. They are men who have cooked in tramp ships, shearers' camps, or for station hands. They I led the old sergeant a terrible dance, ! knowing that he woukl never do. more than threaten them with punishment. They ijptook his good-heartedness for lack of backbone. Like birds of a j feather the cooks after landing seemed ta drift together by some uncanny instinct, and were foremost in the fray, led by old "Pull-through," now the wildest of the wild. His queer sticks iof legs were not capable of a sprint, but with, a prodigious stride he led his' I culinary' crew at a pace which they could scarcely maintain. One and all vouch that their sergeant never missed a shot all day; that his accuracy in picking out snipers was astonishing; and that his thirst for Turkish blood was unquenchable. Old "Pull-through" now sits smiling at meal times, watching a rough and ready, but thoroughly devoted and tractable, cooks' company.