FROM THE FRONT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144711, 21 June 1915, Page 6

FROM THE FRONT.

| NEW ZEALANDERS’ LETTERS. I STORY OF THE LANDING. I ‘‘ln harbour at Lemnos —Lemnos," | which Achilles made his headquarters I for his attack upon Troy. And our I job is the same as his—the forcing of S the Dardanelles.” j| this picturesque touch, Corporal I lv. Raker opeues a thrillingly interest--1: uig letter, descriptive of the landing at [j the Dardanelles, which was received in ij Christchurch on "Wednesday. In landt] mg on Gallipoli, Corporal Baker trod 1 upon a sea-egg, and some spines stuck ! in his foot. After a bout four days in | too trenches, this wound became trou- | blesomo, and he was obliged to go to j the hospital, and his letter was finally j written from Cairo, where he was imI proving rapidly. j “We did not dream about golden j knights of old,” continues the letter, ! “but eagerly expecting to leave for ■ active service, settled down to sleep, j At u a.m. we woke —and there was the I roar of guns from the Fleet 1” i “Tho Australian 3rd Brigade landed j at daybreak under shrapnel, machinej gun, and rifle-fire. They suffered very j heavily, but did some wonderful work, j They pushed bn up over the first' steep j ridge of about 150 or 200 feet in height, i over a deep gully, and on up a higher j ridge, under fire all the way. Some went further on, hut had to retire to i solidify tho line. I 1 NEW ZEALANDERS LAND. “Of tho New Zealanders, the Aucklanders lauded first, and went on to the loft. After some delay the Canterbury men landed about midday—dryshod and in perfect safety. The wounded Australians were then coming down to tho beach in a constant stream. We i dropped our packs—very foolishly as it turned out —and scrambled up steep paths. -On the top we came under shrapnel fire, but tho shells were burst-, jug too high, and nothing happened. Down the next gully we were ordered to keep to tho paths, as tho ground was mined under the bushes. In the light of subsequent things tills order was probably given by the Turks, so that we would make better targets. This may seem strange, but more of this later. There were dressing stations at the bottom of the gully, dressing both Australians and Turks—they don’t now. t “Up the next slope a few of us were separated, but under Lieutenant Bobbie, wo were eventually taken up to the firing-line as reinforcements. I was very much surprised at not being afraid ; or frightened. THE FIRST TRENCHES. ‘I squeezed down beside two Australians, who had managed to scratch a little hole. I was covered slightly from fire by a dead man. In a few minutes one Australian crawled away back, hit in the neck and leg. His little dug-out was welcome —machine-gun bullets could not reach me. Wo were being enfiladed by shrapnel and machine-guns all tho while. The Australians had been under it since midday. Shallow trendies like these are worse than being in the open. They improve the targets without bettering the cover. The Australians are bettor fighters than they are soldiers. They could not be made to cease fire as uight drew on, and the only effect of their sniping was to give away our position and draw the enemy’s fire. , Consequently the digging of our j trenches was much interrupted, as wo { were not keen on being shot in the 1 dark. It was terribly cold that night, ' and it rained before dawn. “NOTHING. MUCH DOING.” “On Monday, the 26th, there was nothing much doing. We dug a bit deeper when the firing slackened off, and we got a 1 little more used to the , bursting of the shrapnel—but we were still about three feet from comfortable safety! Bain’s rifle was resting on the narrow part of tho trench with the muzzle over the parapet in front, when about one-third of a shrapnel shell smashed the butt off and buried itself in the parapet. Another five inches uiy way and it would have taken my leg off. Bullets from the same shell smashed my helving handle on the other edge of tho trench. SOME NARROW ESCAPES. “One chap had half his oar taken off. He bound up the wound. Then a shrapnel shell, apparently a richochet, landed on his back without bursting, and stopped a- few yards away. It stunned him, until another bullet cut. : two fingers and his cheek, and then he woke up. Ho thought it was time he . 1 ‘hooked it, and he went to the rear to have his wounds attended to. I have seen a cap cut right across the top from the front to the rear, and no damage done; also a tunic chopped from the shoulder to the hem. But the bullet stopped shortly after that. ‘Shot in the back’ will acquire a new significance when this campaign is over. It is about the only place you can bo shot by shrapnel, because it is much more comforting (not comfortable!) to have, one's nose in the bottom of a trench than seeing the shells burst. SNIPING. “Then with rifle-fire, the snipers take up good positions—higher than ours—and there is no chance of re-, turning their fire. Their work is marvellous, but the Australians are getting their measure. They have been found in our uniforms, and with several identity discs on, them, and they get scant mercy from tho. Australian dare-devils. If they are merely shot they are lucky. There is not much , false soft-heartedness in our crowd. If a wounded Turk crawls array he gets another to help him. It is their.way. The stretcher-hearers won't touch a wounded Turk —they might ‘crack’ him with the stretcher— far their snipers Imve been a great nuisance right behind our lines, firing on the stretcherbearers and ambulance stations. Pickets are out every night, but tho bush is thick, and with our uniforms, it is very difficult to pek ihem out. A TURKISH TRICK. “On the Tuesday night the_ Turks advanced oil oar left front. We were ordered not to fire, but at one spot in the bright moonlight, on tho horizon, they presented a great sight, and we dropped a lot, checking tho line. They then crawled up to within forty yards and began entrenching, some walking about quite boldly the while. There

wore-sfcill not tofiro. this time from the brigadier on our left* Y7o gathered that ho was waiting ‘for a charge, and we would then wipe thorn out. What they did was to emplace several machine-guns, meanwhile giving us orders in perfect English, A cry of ‘Cease Fire I’ wont down, the line just like our cry is when the men won’t stop, and it was taken up on our side. One officer called out quite distinctly ‘What are you doing fixing on usP in perfect English. They then blew our ‘charge’ on several bugles, expecting .us in tbo excitement to take it for our own. and advance on their machine-guns. But wo sat tight. They were gone at daylight, but we had to stand by all night, and got no sleep. WRITTEN ORDERS NOW. “Lieutenant Dobbie found out in tho morning that tho brigadier had given no orders tbo night before. After this the O.C.’s would nob accept any orders not in writing. dodge they started was to call out: ‘Number off from the right, and so on.’ Tho value of this information to the enemy would bo obvious. “Wednesday was an ordinary clay. Wo got a heavy burst of shrapnel m the morning, with no reply from the Navy. Just aftor dark it began to ram and blow, and wo bad a bad night. The next day my foot began to worry me, and I had to go back \o the hospital. Tho letter adds, that the treatment in the Cairo Hospital was good, and many citizens were very kind to the troops. MAJOR LOACH’S STORY. FROM FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL. An interesting story from the front is conveyed in a letter written to his wife by Major A. E. Loach, who loft New Zealand as second in command of the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, and was wounded in the knee during tho eaxiy fighting on the Gallipoli Renin--1 snla. The letter is written in three main instalments, the first during the actual t fighting in the firing line, the second when Major Loach was aboard the hospital ship after being wounded, and the third when he was an inmate of one of the hospitals in Egypt. It is interesting to recall that Major loach was wounded throe times during the South African campaign, so he is no stranger to military hospitals. His wound is m-oro serious than was announced in tho cable messages, the back of his knee having been blown away by what is presumed to have been an explosive bullet, but Major Loach is quite cheerful about it, and says the doctors state that the wound, though serious, should not give him any after trouble, not oven a limp—such has been the progress of modem surgery. HOW LIEUT,-COLONEL STEWART DIED, The first part of the letter is headed “Gallipoli Peninsula,” with a, blank for i a date. It begins:— “Since pencilling my. loiters, many , events hare been crowded into a short space of time. Since our landing, wo have been continually engaged with a determined enemy, and our Josses will make sad reading in our New Zealand homes. So far, I have had not a scratch, and look very little the worse for tho wear and tear of the last anxious six days. Wo were unfortunate in losing poor Douglas Stewart, he having been separated from the rest of his battalion. However, be died fighting, and was as bravo as they make them.” MAJOR LOACH’S WOUND. Now foDows tho second instalment of the story with still no date:— “To i*cad tho above you would little dream that here I am aboard the hospital ship wounded—yes, shot in the kneo at 10.30 this morning, and I have been carried on a stretcher for miles with tho bullets and shrapnel bursting all around; then put in a ship's boot and taken aboard. I must not write mere, as I am weak.” Next day the narrative is continued ; “I feel a little easier, but very weak from tho loss of blood. Am on the way to Alexandria, and will probably bo sent to Cairo. The doctor dressed my leg. What a gash the bullet made! I am afraid it will be some time before I get up.” “AN AWFUL GASH.” The letter is continued on May 3:— “I could not writ© yesterday, but feel much better to-df|y. I have to lie very still, tb© least movement giving mo gyp. I was so disappointed when I saw the doctor dress my wound; I thought it had been stitched up. There Is an awful gash. The bullet struck inside the knoo, and it lodes for all the world as if someone bad tried to chop my leg off with a blunt axe across the back of tho knee. The tendons have been severed, but the artery has been brought together again. Ido not know what is to happen, but I am careful, and hope for the bast.” EVERY ATTENTION. . The remaining part of tho letter is addressed from tho Anglo-American Hospital, Cairo, on May 8; “After an experience of stretcher porters, hospital ships, train ambulance, wagons, and other items incidental to the transportation of the wounded, I am at last comfortably settled in this institution. When I say ‘comfortable,’ you will know what 1 mean, though suffering from the pain of a bad wound. 1 am receiving every attention possible —in fact, w© are all receiving more than w© deserve. I tried to write a few lines aboard the ship, but felt too weak even to write to you. Now I fed much stronger and better in myself, and though my leg is very painful, I am able to pencil something for you. Writing lying down is very awkward. I must be content with a little at a time, but ere this reaches you, I hope to be getting about, although it is hard to eay what will happen. Tho doctor said to-day that he did not think there would bo any physical defect, but that it would be a long time before I could make full use of my leg. SHOT CLEAN AWAY. “Tho bade part of ray knee is < shot clean away, and to look at it is an awful sight, but tho doctor says tho bones aro intact, though the ligament between the thigh and the calf is badly shattered. However, lie says all will be well, but it will take time, and I am afraid a long time. lam indeed grieved to hear this, because I wanted to go back to my regiment.” AFTER THAT TURK. The concluding part of tho loiter is dated May 11. In it Major refers in terms of the highest appreciation of the care taken of him by the nurses, two of whom are Australians. “So cheer up,” he says. “X will soon be well and strong again, and after that Turk who shot my leg half off. Arc w© downhearted? No I”