ADVANCE FROM SUVLA.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144783, 13 September 1915, Page 5

ADVANCE FROM SUVLA.

130 KB ATTACK BY TURKS-. Under date August 24, Captain Bean, the Australian official correspondent, writes:— On the afternoon of Saturday, August 21, the British, after a heavy bombardment, of the Turkish positions in the plain, moved out from Suvla, advancing line upon line across the plain. 'Troops from Anzac moved out to meet them—that is to say, the extreme left of the Anzac lino swung round* carrying the Turkish, until the Anzac left met the right of the Suvla force, in cultivated fields, east of Suvla Bay. A force from the 13th and 14th Battalions moved down, under a heavy fire, and hung on to a trench about a hundred yards from the Turkish trenches on the opposite slope. The Canterbury and' Otago Mounted Bifi&s charged and took the adjoining portion of this trench, which they still hold. Early on Sunday morning the men of the 18th Battdiiou were ordered to charge the trenches to the left of the Now Zealanders. By a fine charge the 18th took one trench, but not being used to bomb warfare were forced to retire before the bomb attack which the Turks kept up from a trench twenty yards distant. The British troops and the 10th Battalion extended in line to the plain, joining the Suvla force. An extraordinary incident occurred before daylight on Sunday morning. About 300 Turks, carrying rifles slung and bayonets fixed, walked out of the dense scrub in front of the captured trenches,.and stood there talking whilst odd groups came forward to the edge of our trench, holding up their hands. Our men pulled some into the. trench, and signed to them to lay down their arms, then sent them. back to the others to instruct them to'do so in like manner, jmd surrender. The men could he.seen carrying on an animated convcr.jation in the , moonlight. Then a Turk advanced with Ijaypnot fixed towards a machine-gfm the New .Zealanders bad captured from the Turks, and which the Maoris were using against the Turks. The Turk signed to our men to throw down their arms, as if ho believed'.he was accepting their surrender, not they his. The Turks were talking in a frjendly manner to our men, , and though' neither side understood, they both sometimes actually shook hands. Then one attempted to pull a New Zealander out of the trench. The New Zpalander shook himself clear ; but the incident-clearly showed the impossibility of. carrying on the conversation, which —as the Turks had not laid down their arms—was broken off.