HOW THEY FOUGHT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144712, 22 June 1915, Page 8

HOW THEY FOUGHT.

BULLET,3 AND SHRAPNEL,

The first letters from wounded soldiers at the Dardanelles to parents are pouring in, states a Perth telegram. A corporal of the tilth■ Battalion, writing to his father in Perth, says that ho was on the destroyer Usk which arrived off tho landing place towards tho centre of the Gallipoli Peninsula at 8.45 on April 2-1. Shots wore rattling on the destroyer like hailstones on a tin roof. “Wo hopped into tho rowing boats as quickly as possible,” ho writes. “The pinnace took us in towards tho shore under a perfect hail of bullets and shrapnel. Before wo readied the shore there were six casualties in our boat, and before wo could got landed, two more. 1 jumped out and got together all my section under cover of a little gully, made them take off their packs, and moved off towards the loft flank. With some of the 11th Battalion under Lieutenant Jackson we stormed the cliffs in front, but theTurks did not wait for ns. Half-way up I came across our colonel. Ho had his pack on. I told him to throw it away, but he did not want to lose it, so 1 carried it for him. Wo advanced about a milo and a half duo cast of the landing place, and found tho Turks holding the ndgo in groat strength, so wo lay ,down and opened fire. “I was alongside tho colonel, and had just given him his pack, when ‘zipp,’ and a bullet got him in the body. Ho was dead in a minute. Major Elliott was sent for. He had been there onlytwo seconds when ho was hit. Another officer came up and was hit. The adjutant was hit, and also the man on tho other side of the colonel. However, wo hung on. About 6.45 the enemy retreated, and wo formed up under cover. Coming ashore I got several small splinters in the left arm _ from shrapnel, and took this opportunity of getting it dressed. I had forgotten all about it till 1 saw my sleeve soaked with blood.

“I was ordered to strengthen the extreme left flunk with my section, and from 7.30 till after 3 p.m.—when I got put out of action—l was on tho left flank. Tho ground in front for 400 yards was hotly contested Five times wo advanced, and five times wo had to retire. Their shrapnel was particularly deadly. In tho last two advances we made, there was only one officer and a lieutenant on tho left flank, so I had charge' of about sixty men. In the last advance, I wanted to get at tho beggars with the bayonet, and throe times went along to the officer on the right and asked whether I could not advance. I had just dropped down near him, when a . bullet bowled me over. It came through my tunic pocket, which was full of ammunition, hut

luckily it did not explode it. Th o bullet passed into my thigh, making a hole right through.

“Just then the order was given to retire. I did not want to bo mad© moat of by the Turks, and so started to crawl back. After going 30 yards, I found 1 could hobble along. I mot tho officer again, and ho told' mo to send all tho men in tho roar up to tho firing line. I kept coming across clumps of them, and sent them along. I then made my way back towards tho landing place over very rough country. This was painful. I reached some ambulance men at 4.15 and they bandaged my log. After resting half an hour I took myself and one or two others down to the beach, all under shell (ire. After going to four ships, all full up with wounded, they took us aboard a ship which had troops aboard at 7 p.m. AVo were thankful to got some tea and bread and butter. AA’o had had tho last meal at nine o’clock on tho previous night. “Our first gun was mounted at 3 p.m. .on Sunday—one of tho Indian Mountain Batteries. Tho country was covered with scrub, and snipers wore bad. Tho cliffs were unclimbablo in places. The trip to Alexandria was a nightmare. I lay on a mess table and did not move. Luckily it was calm. AA’o reached Alexandria on April 29, and wore sent on to Cairo.

“I hopo to ho hack in time to he in at tho fall of Constantinople. It was had luck getting hit so soon after being only twelve hours in- tho fighting line. It doesn’t give a chap a chance.”