WHY IT FAILED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11593, 11 January 1916, Page 1

WHY IT FAILED.

GALL'POLI CAMPAIGN. ASHSEAD BARTLETT ASKS CUESIIOKS. "AUSTRALIANS SENT TO THEIR DOOM." By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. (Received January 11, 10.20 a.m.) NEW YORK, January 10. Mr Ashmcad "Bartlutt, interviewed on iho rubjocl of Sir lan Hamilton's I'opoi'i. said that lie it. a great mistake to t>iii;• li^ll the c'i pnteh at this

stas;c. While he wotild have preferred | to read Sir lan Hamilton's unabridged j story, he would deal with the comment of experts published' in America. He declared the operation had failed because it was an operation which should never have been undertaken under such conditions in such country. It was sheer nonsenso to represent that the strategic plan had almost succeeded. "The men at Anzac .suffered 12,000 casualties without attaining their objective. A few Ghurkas reached the summit of Chanak Bair and Kojachemin Tepe, which is only the lower I slope leading to Sari Bair. The losses were so terrible that, even supposing ! the troops had reached the top, it would I have been utterly impossible for them jto maintain themselves. Why were unj skilled troops employed in the first

Suvla landing, when'tie heroic 29th Division, which was unhesitatingly sacrificed later on, could have been utilised ? Why were 3500 men of the First Australian Division sent to their doom in an effort to acquire an apparently useless position at Lone Pine ? Why were thousands thrown away at other pos> which were disassociated from the main operations. If the objective was to get astride of Kojachemiu Tepe, why was the weight ,of the attack not thrown against that point? Why was there no control from headquarters at Suvla? How could Lieutenant-General Stopford get his men forward, if they were split up, lost in broken country, without water or telephone communication and harassed by enemy snipers? Apart from all other cdnsiderations, it has been insufficiently established that even t«he possession of the Anafarta hills and Kojachernm Tepe would have forced the Narrows, or cleared the road to Constantinople. Sir. Lan Hamilton states that in the middle of August the Turks had 110,000 bayonets against his 55.00 Q. He claims that had Lord Kitchener sent 50.000 more ho wouKI have brought the campaign to a sucI cessful conclusion. As a matter of I fact, all that could have been done I would have been to bring the 50,000 i to a conclusion."