BATTLEFIELD STORIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11507, 1 October 1915, Page 5

BATTLEFIELD STORIES.

LIFE IN GALL POL! TRENCHES SYDNEY SOLDIER'S EXPLOI S. DIVERSION AT CHURCH SERVICE. Interesting incidents m connection with the Gallipoli campaign, says the Sydney Sun," are chronicled in diary j form by Constable Dudley, of the staff ! of police headquarters, who returned by hospital .ship to Sydney recently. RUSES. Under this heading he says: "A message from headquarters was on one occasion read out to the effect that jt had been learned that the enemy was running short of ammunition, and that his daily supply was loss than 100,000 rounds. A plan was mapped out to make him expend as much of this as possible. It was ordered that the ruse be attempted at 10.30 at night, and it was arranged that the men had to mount their overcoats on cross-sticks so as to represent to the enemy that troops were about to attack. At a given signal the proceedings opened with four rounds of rapid fire from our side, then the men gave vent to the war cry Ishmi Yallah, and followed this by holding their overcoats, with the sleeves stretched out, over the parapet of the trenches, and, lastly, tried to complete the deception by holding tip their rifles with fixed bayonets, so that the light <u the moon would glisten on the steel. It was hoped till at the rus© v. ou.u deceive the enemy into thinking that a rigorous onslaught was to be effected on his position. Everything was carried out to plan. _ The gun-fire bro.;te from our ranks in a great roar, tiie overcoats and bayonets appeared over the parapets, but there was not a movement on the enemy's side. Was it too dark for him to see our coats go up, or did he see througn our ruse P..Orders were agam passed along. The experiment was to be repented within an hour's time, so that, under the better light of the rising moon, the enemy could not miss noticing what was* going on. Finally, the same procedure was gone _ through again, but with the same fruitless resuite. Not one answering shot came from the enemy's ranks. We could not understand things then, but wo were soon to learn why the plan miscarried. Just as dawn was breaking tlhe following morning there was a terrific burst of fire from the enemy s j side, and in an instant every one of our moil was awake and standing to arms. As the lire died down wc saw the .enemy rejeat the self-same ruse a? we had indulged in a few hours previously. So we then came to the coni elusion the enemy was not to be j caught napping." ! THE ARMISTICE. ! " During the time the armistice ) lnsU-d," continues Constable Dudley, ■' men were picked out of each of otU battalions to go out and pick up toe dead and oarrv them over to _ the enemy's lines for tee lurks oi,i 3 ■ for they were all Turkish dead with the! exception of about a score or so or cur men. The men chosen to carry t be dead were provided with cot to/t wool saturated with disinfectant. T.o put in their nostrils, so thai they eouio, bear the smfdl. Others were told otr t'i remove the bolts from «,:ie enemy •"» Piles which were scattered aftout- ikvu' tlip Turkish 'dead or. our s'rb of th ' boundary line, while others were placed midway between too hnc,>._ A ntimhvv of onr iv.on Unci w- (. loss and acted as picket., so as to pri'iouo the enemy from dr&v.iug too close to our Hues and spying out t)ie jpodtion c ; the wire enian&leir.ent.-s. Tho grue,;„n:n task was soon got under way. and in the meantime a- number of us v.-jib the Turks. They have been o">- own comrades, so freely did we talk and chalf about the battle, for seme of the enemy can speak fairly o-ood' English. The German genera is mixed with the throng, 'but they got. the cold shoulder from nioii of the Australians, as we were fully aware that they were alor.e the cause of _ the strife between the Allies and Turkey. The Turks seemed to look upon the Germans with more disgust than even we did.. A group of Australims was chatting to n number of Turks when a big fat Hun came up, and addressing one of our party asked him what ho had done with the pair of short pants that he usrd to wear in Cairo. Tho men guessed; from the German's statement, when he added that he had also been in Cairo, that the Hun was a spy. The German continued, ' My word, the Australians are very good fighters, being very wiry, tough, and hard to beat/' ' Yes,' broke in one of tho boys, '' and you will know it much better before we have i inched ' with you.' Re then drifted into a» pumping humour, saying, • Anyway, you did well to get bore. You have a terrible let of menr ' Yes.' .says another member of our party; •'we have got millions, and we v.ill i-.ion wipe you all out.' During that day twenty-seven Turks, while the bucks of the pickets were 'turned, boltixl over to our lines and garo themselves up. While tho armistice cfntir.uod tho men in the trenches were kepi /tanduig to arms all day for fear of trench?'';.'. An estimate made from our side «avc the number of Turkish dead buried as 4100. The enemy's casualties in big attempt made to pierce our liue> probably amounted to iLMXh'. Tee armistice ended at 4.30 in t'-«» i>fteru"ion, and hardly had the whit ■ flags bt>en pulled down thr:n the artillery agam began its r'mr and rattle. " Prior to the armistice being granted a flag r.uneared from the enemy's trenches, at Guba T>pe, when, in ro pon-e to an crd '. the firing had coased. twenty of the cjerny advanced under cover of the S.tar and Crescent. The lender of the party was mounted on a small donkey, and when the- - readied a spot midway between their lines and ours several of tho Australian offices went forward to meet them. After a little while we saw them blindfold the oflioer on the donkey, who, it wa-s stated, was General von Sander?, leader of the enemy's forces on the. Peninsula—and ho was then conducted paot our lines to headquarters, where be was granted an audience by Sir lan Hamilton. Tho German officer passed back to his owrr lines about an hour Icier, and soon after it was announced that- an araiistioe vroVld be conceded. SNIPING. Sniping from an observation post is exciting work. One uigiit w hilo on duty I fired 279 rounds at the enemy, who was plainly discernible during thu

moonlight hours. Ho was busy building fortifications and renewing parapets. I don't exactly know what damage 1 did from my observation post, but I. had a Rood clear aire, and I saw several Turks roll over. The enemy tried very hard to land out where the snipnip,-' was coining from. »ery nofv and again a Turk would creep forward on his hands and knees. but very 'few got hack safely. 1 had one close shave. A bullet of the exploifp'i type hit the earth above my loopholej while almost at the same moment W: other cams through the loophole and struck my rifle just above the magazine, stripping the woodwork off it, and then rebounding into bags." . CATtESSED BY TURKISH PRISONERS. One big Turkish attack at close quarters, which came to nought, re* suited in about twenty-seven of JtKa enemy tumbling over the parapet into the Australian trenches. They were then captured. Constable Dudley relates how he and fourteen others conducted the Turks to the beach. "Mosfe of our captives," he savs, "were quivering with fright, and one big fellow marching beside me continually kept catching hold of my hand, or: th® flap of my coat, in an endeavour to ji. They seemed to ha\ r e the fear tbaj they were being led away to deatli; an'o they pleaded and caressed all the" waj down to headquarters. Subsequently they were placed on a sweeper and taken across the bay to one of th* battleships." V .rl CHURCH SERVICE ON BATTLEFIELD. ! Constable Dudley describes his impressions of a church service on the battlefield. The first service he wit-' nessed took place after he had'- been" in the trenches five weeks. The ceremony," he states, "was held ,flt. the foot* of a deep ravine, and wjis officiated over by Captain -. t The jcenß was unique. The headed, was surrounded by a group of stalwart, mud and' blood bespattered men, who for over n month previously had thought of nothing else but tho lust for blood and the desire to kill. The service was listened to with the greatest reverence. A battlefield ceremony would stir even the heart of the greatest atheist. Just as the last strains of the hymn 'Lead. Kindly Light,' died away, we were all startled by the presence of a Turk carrying water bottles. His surprised countenance was sufficient to prove that he had lost his way. He made a rush to escape, but ran blindly into some wire entanglements. He was pounced upon bv the men and led across to our ranks.' f