THE AEROPLANE’S PART.

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14742, 22 October 1915, Page 6

THE AEROPLANE’S PART.

j ACTIVITY GALLIPOLI. (Commonwealth'o'fficial Correepndent.) j GABA'TEPE, September 29. I Since the takingjof Hill 60 lay the A’ty* tralians, exactly a month ago to-day, no movement of any sort -has occurred along any part of the frdat in Gallipoli. The only real change since the great battle of August has been the total transformation of the whole, appearance ’of the country side. The ranges and spurs facing our positiop north of Anzac, which, up till August 7, presented an unbroken scretch of virgin dark-green scrub, are now seamed and furrowed with line upon line of sandy trenches. | It was against similar trenches on the 1 plain and foot-hills further north that the British attempt at an advance from Suyla spent itself on August 21. The Turks on their side have not attempted any attack- 1 Teh days ago. they bombarded cur line at Suyla, and made some show df jumping’ from their trenches with fixed bayonets; The affair was probably a demonstration to see how strongly our lines were'held, and nothing followed. The Turks have learned by bitter experience the extreme'costliness of attacks in this country. We replied this week by giving them nightly salvoes of artillery to celebrate the Allied success in France. The chief real activity has been on the part of the aeroplanes* the Turks havingrectijyed a new instalment of machines from Germany. They have been dropping bombs ; on. all fronts, and on several neighbouring islands, doing infinitesimal damage. The German aeroplanes, when they come over Anzac or Suvla by day, fly extraordinarily high in order to escape the . warships’ guns. The first sign is often th.e crash of a bomb on the shore* or in the hills. .Every ,eye is turned Up,, and. there above-, almost invisibly small, often.,Kalb-hidden by a Jim of cloud, is • floating a tiny bee, .Often of late the attacks have been made on moonlight nights, when the machines can fly - low, searching for white shapes 0f.., tents, The night before last such' a one ap-peared-suddenly over Anzac. At first the noise of. a motor, then the ..great object between us and the sky . swooping low. over-the- hills, peering . into the- valleys like same great bird of night . The Ships’ searchlights, anstantiy .streaked the sky. The rattle of, a- machine gnu, broke, out, a. 'plane, dropped a. few, : useless bombs, and sodned at once. ■ Tfieso attacks are semetimas watfe by two or three aero' planes tovether,-each carrying three or more bomba., sometimes using a- machinegun. An Allied airman ; visited a Turkish aerodrome/after dark. 1 The Turks there •were waiting for the return of a Herman airman, and, . hearing a mo*-or. lit fires to help Ipm. land. The visitor swooped very low,, -quite -unsuspected, and dropped bo,mbs ■ Among ■ the . German sheds and machine shop*. - ;»ht- has . been passible during the past week to givp a -real- rest to part of the Australian and New- Zealand troops. The Weether is still fine, • with some cold; witidjr. -aimps.; 1 r