HOW THE GURKHAS FIGHT.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13859, 30 August 1915, Page 2

HOW THE GURKHAS FIGHT.

THE CAPE HELLES LANDING

Private R. Kelly, of the Field Ambulance, writing home describes the fighting at Cape Holies, where the British landed: —

"At 10 o'clock a message came down from the Gurkhas, saying they^ were losing very heavily, and that then-stretcher-bearers could not get the wounded back from the trenches, so they asked if 20 of the Colonials would volunteer to go up and assist them. We went round the road by the water about a mile in a," motor ambulance, we lefc it there, and made our way towards the Gurkhas' trenches.

"It was a, terrible night; but we were able tr. give them great assistance; they were charging into the Turkish trenches. They , fight like demons; every one of them has his left hand badly wounded—they grab the Turk's bayonet with one hand, and use their big knives with the other. It is part of their religion that if they draw their knife it must draw blocd, even if they have to cut their own bodies. "I have been trying to get one of their knives for a curio, but they don't like parting with them. I could have got one that night, but we had too much to do to think of just then. Bullets whistled in all directions. "Next day the sea was so rough that it was impossible to take any wounded out to the ships, so the hospital tents were soon full up. That afternoon the Turkish battery opened fire again. I will never forget the two hours thatfollowed, trying to get the patients away under cover. One tent was blown to atoms, and two more were set on- fire; luckily, we had cleared nearly all the patients out, and we managed to get the others. Ido not know how we all escaped, but a large number of patients were-killed, on the stretchers. It was awful to see the poor beggars lying helpless on the stretchers, almost begging for you to take them away under cover; but we could only take one at a time. A lot of them crawled out, despite their wounds, and got under cover.

"The worst of it is we cannot blame the Turks, as they have a good excuse for shelling the hospital, as we^liave a battery of four sixty-pounders mounted on the next point, about 200 yards away; the pier for landing fresh troops is on the beach- just at the foot of the cliff.; and besides all this, we keep the aeroplanes just on the rise above, so you see it is hardly fair to claim protection for the hospital in such a position as this. Twice word was sent to the Turks, telling them that if they continued to bombard our hospital we would bombard their town on the Asiatic shore opposite the Narrows, and the French even threatened, to use turpinite on them."