Full text of "The New Zealanders at Gallipoli"

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LIBRARY

1980

THE

The ]Xe\^ Zealanders
at Gallipoli

54246

MAJOE FEED WAITE, D.8.0, N.Z.E,

Adjutant Divisional Engineers, N.Z. & A. Division, 1914-15
Chief Engineer Instructor, N.Z.E. F. Training Camps, 1916-18

Second Edition

[copyright!

Printed and Publislied under the Authority of the
New Zealand Government by

WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS LIMITED

AUCKLAND, CH R ISTCH U RCH , DUNEDIN AND WELLINGTON

1921

■*^-s.

To the Memory

Our Glorious Dead.

The^ Went with son^is to the battle, they Were younij.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They Were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as We that are left grow old ;
Age shall not Weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

— Laurence Binyon

Contents.

The New Zealand Popular History Series, by Sir James Allen,

K.C.B. ... ... ... ... ... ... V

The New Zealanders of Anzae, by General Sir Ian Hamilton... vii.

To My Old Comrades, by General Sir Wm. Birdwood... ... xv.

Chapter

I. The Concentration of the Expeditionary Force ... 1

II. The Voyage to Egypt... ... ... ... ... 14

III. Training in Egypt ... ... ... ... ... 32

IV. The Defence of the Suez Canal ... .-.. ... 47
V. The Rendezvous at Mudros ... ... ... ... 64

VI. The Anzae Landing ... ... ... ... ... 74

VII, The First Week ... ... ■ ... ... ... 86

VIII. At the Head of Monash Gully ... ... ... 102

IX. The Battle of Krithia... ... ... ... ... 119

X. The Coming of the Mounteds... ... ... ... 132

XI. Supplying the Needs of the Army ... ... ... 152

Xll. Midsummer at Anzae... ... ... ... ... 166

XIII. The Preparations in July ... ... ... ... 182

XIV. The Battle of Sari Bair ... ... ... ... 192

XV. The Battle of Kaiajik Aghala ... ... ... ... 245

XVI. Preparing for the End ... ... ... ... 259

XVII. The Evacuation ... ... ... ... ... 278

XVIII. The Return to Anzae... ... ... ... ... 294

Appendix

I. The Main Body Transports ... ... ... ... 302

II. N.Z. and A. Division Transports ... ... ... 303

III. Main Body Establishments ... ... ... ... 304

IV. The Men of Anzae. Decorations and Mentioned in

Despatches ... ... ... ... ... 307

V. The Place-Names of Anzae ... ... ... ... 317

VI. A Gallipoli Diary ... ... ... ... ... 325

Trench Map of Anzae at end of Volume.

The New Zealand Popular
History Series.

These popular histories of New Zealand's share in the
Great War are designed to present to the people of New
Zealand the inspiring record of the work of our sons and
daughters overseas.

It was recognized that the Official History would
necessitate considerable research, would take a long time to
write, and then must be largely a study of strategy and
tiictics ; but something— that would be concise and interesting,
not expensive, and available at once — seemed desirable. It
was decided to avoid the style of an Official History and
select as writers soldiers who had themselves fought Avith
the N.Z.E.F. through the several campaigns; soldiers
recognized by their comrades as authorities on the campaigns
with which they deal; soldiers who themselves have
experienced the hopes and fears, the trials and the ultimate
triumph of the men in the ranks.

The volumes — of which this story of Anzac is the first
published — are four in number:

Vol. I. "The New Zealanders at Gallipoli," by Major Fred
Waite, D.S.O., N.Z.E., who served with the Main
Body and the N.Z. & A. Division as a Staff
Officer of Engineers.
Vol. II. "The New Zealanders in France," by Colonel Hugh
Stewart, C.M.G., D.S.O., M.C., who served through
the campaigns in Gallipoli and France with the
N.Z. Infantry.
Vol. III. "The New Zealanders in Palestine," by Lieut.-
Colonel C. Guy Powles, C.M.G., D.S.O., who as a
Staff Officer of the N.Z. Mounted Eifles served
through the campaigns in Gallipoli and Palestine.
The material for this volume was collected by
Major A. Wilkie, W.M.R.

vi. The New Zealaxders at Gallipoll

Vol. IV. ' ' The War Effort of New Zealand, ' ' will deal with :

(a) The minor compaigns in which New Zealanders
took part ;

(b) Services which are not fully dealt with in the
campaign volumes;

(c) The story of the work at the Bases — the
efforts of our Women abroad and in New
Zealand, our Hospitals, the raising and the
training of the men.

Without rhetoric, without needless superlatives — for the
stories do not need them — these volumes are placed before
the people of New Zealand in the hope that a fuller realization
of the difficulties encountered and eventually triumphed over
will act as an inspiration to those of us who were not
privileged to fight for the cause of Freedom on the
battlefields of the World.

Minister of Defence.

Parliamentary Buildings,
Wellington,
1-12-19.

Vll.

The New Zealanders of Anzae.

As I was on the point of starting to pay a long-promised
visit to the Commander-in-Chief of our Army of the Rhine,
a cabled message from the Government of New Zealand was
put into my hands — a message asking me to write a Preface
to the Gallipoli volume of the History of New Zealand's
fShare in the Great War. This preface was to be written
and posted to Wellington without loss of time, as the work
had already gone to press.

When I set out for the Dardanelles on Friday, March 13,
1915, to command an unknown army against an unknown
enemy, in an unknown country, that was an original under-
taking. To write a preface to an unknown book being
printed in another hemisphere — to write it from memory — in
the train and in a hurry, that also is an original undertaking,
and it is necessary to begin by setting forth these facts in
"•rder that my many omissions and shortcomings may have a
better chance of forgiveness.

Crossing the German frontier, Avith the edict of the New
Zealand Government still in my pocket, I got out to stretch
my legs at the first stop. The name of that railway station
was Dliren. Hardly had I alighted when my eyes fell upon
the letters, "N.Z.M.R.," quite unmistakably affixed to the
shoulder-strap of an officer also standing on that platform.
Since the year 1915, this particular combination of capital
letters has exercised upon me a certain fascination — I have
to go right there. So I went, and asked the wearer of
the shoulder-strap if he had been at the Dardanelles.

"I have, indeed," he said. "I am Lieut.-Colonel John
Studholme. I served in the Dardanelles under you, and now
1 am the last New Zealander in Germany."

"You speak figuratively," said I. "You mean you are
one of the last."

"Not so," he replied. "I am not one of the last; I am.
the last one."

Now here, thought I to myself, is a queer thing ! I am
told to write a preface to a history of an Army, and I meet
the last item of that Army which did so much to win the

viii. The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Ehineland, in Rhinelaiid; the last man of that snpcrh band
who were raised from a population of one million and lost
fifteen thousand killed; whereas, to take other standards, the
Belgians, justly famous as having fought so long and so
valiantly for the freedom of Europe, lost thirteen thousand
killed out of a population of seven millions. Once again,
too, there came to me the thought of their losses at the
Dardanelles : —

Total strength landed . . . . 8,556 all ranks

Casualties in killed and Avounded

(excluding sickness) . . . . 7,447

These thoughts and the coincidence of meeting Colonel
Studholme, gave me courage. I had been thinking I could
not do justice to my theme, and that I must regretfully
decline. Now I resolved to take my courage in both hands
and go ahead ; so here, witli the help of my personal
diary, I revive memories of my meeting with the first New
Zealander.

On j\Iarch 29, 1915, I motored across from ]\Iena Camp
(where I had been reviewing the Australians) to Heliopolis.
There was a lug dust storm blowing. Godley commanded.
I wrote doAvn on the spot, "These fellows made a real good
show ; superb physique. Numbers of old friends, especially
amongst the New Zealanders."

Next day, March 30, I wrote to Lord Kitchener, "The
physique of the rank and file could not be improved upon."
Also: "They are all as keen as possible, and will, I am
certain, render a very good account of themselves if the
conditions encountered give them a fair chance."

Now, the force that I had seen and admired on March 20,
1915, had sailed from far-away New Zealand early in October.
1914, so each pi-ivate soldier had already travelled over land
and sea further than Ulysses during his ten years' Odyssey,
and further than Christopher Columbus during his discovery
of America; and they had voyaged thus, not for gold or
glory, but to help the Old Country and to succour the weak
and the oppressed.

When to-day we look round upon oui- wrecked and devas-
tated world, we can see that nefther the War, nor the Peace

Preface

]X.

H'h'ito b>/ Guy
LlEUT.-COLONEL A. BAUCHOP, C.M.G.

Otago Mounted Rifles.
(Bied from wouiidni.

lias added to the moral
structure of Governments.
The one great, enduring
asset is this : that the
rank and tile of mankind,
and especially the rank
and file of New Zealand,
let no private interest
stand between them and
their eagerness to strike
a l)low for the Right.

So the New Zealaiiders
sailed away from their
own safe islands, towards
danger and death, and
first cast anchor at
Albany, Western Aus-
tralia, a pleasant, old-
fashioned spot. The little
force consisted of one
brigade of Mounted Rifles,
a Brigade of Infantry,
and one Brigade of
Artillery ; and there, at
the south-western point
of the neigh]>ouring con-
tinent, they joined the 1st
Australian Division and
headed, under convoy, for
Egypt, arriving at Alex-
andria early in December.
On the formation of
BirdAvood's Corps, a bri-
gade of Australian Light
Horse and a brigade of
Australian Infantry were
incorporated with them to
form what Avas knoAvn as
the New Zealand and

X. The New Zealanders at GALLiPoiii.

Australian Division. This formation was trained under
General Godley at Zeitoun till April, 1915, during which
time a small portion of the New Zealand Brigade took part
in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal in
February. Both Sir John Maxwell and General Godley
assured me, at the time of my inspection in March, that
the behaviour of the New Zealanders during this trying
period of straining at the leash was in every way excellent.

Soon after my inspection, the last stage of the journey
was begun, and leaving the mounted troops behind them, the
infantry and artillery took ship and set sail for Mudros.
There, for the short time remaining to them, they worked
very hard at roAving, embarking, disembarking, &c., until
they Avere almost as handy as bluejackets in the boats. Much
of the success of the landing was due to this period of special
preparation.

On April 25, 1915, a date regarded in the Near East as
the most memorable of the Great "War, the New Zealand
Brigade landed early in the day and fought valiantly on the
northern or Suvla side of the Bay. Everything was strange
and astonishing to these boys from the green, well-watered
islands of the South — the enemy, the precipices, the thirst,
the wounds and death around them ; but no veterans have
ever done better than they did during those first few hours.
Then it was that they carried, occupied and held, under
steadily-increasing shell and machine-gun fire, what was
afterwards known as Plugge's Plateau (from Lieut. -Colonel
Plugge, commanding the Auckland Battalion), and Walker's
Ridge (from Brigadier-General Walker, General Birdwood's
Chief -of-Staff, who connnanded the New Zealand Infantry
Brigade at the Landing in the absence of Brigadier-General
Earl Johnston, sick). These are the prosaic facts of a feat
of arms Avhich will endure as long as heroic poetry and
history are written or read.

An extract from my diary, dated April 25, H.M.S.
''Queen Elizabeth": "They are not charging up into this
Sari Bair Ridge for money, or by compulsion. There they
are — all the way from the Southern Cross — earning Victoria
Crosses, every one of them."

Preface. xi.

An extract from my diary dated April 26, H.M.S. "Queen
Elizabeth " : " Passed on the news to Birdwood : I doubt the
Turks coming- on again — but, in case, the 29th Division's feat
of arms will be a tonic."

"I was wrong'. At 8 p.m., the enemy made another effort,
this time on the left of our line. We shook them badly, and
were rewarded by seeing a New Zealand charge. Two bat-
talions racing due north along the coast and foothills with
levelled bayonets. Then the tumult died away."

On May 5 I brought the New Zealand Infantry down to
Helles. They had been fighting hard at Anzac, making
sorties against the Turks, but I could not do without them
in the attack I was about to make — a three days' and nights'
battle it turned out to be — on Achi Baba. In my diary is
this entry : —

"May 7, 1915 — At 4.30 I ordered a general assault: the
88th Brigade to be thrown in on the top of the 87th; the
New Zealand Brigade in support ; the French to conform.
Our gunners were to pave the Avay for the infantry with
what they thought they could afford."

In the deadly struggle which ensued, in the night-long
conflict, in the supreme effort of the next day, the New
Zealanders gained great glory, as was gratefully acknow-
ledged by me to General Godley at the time.

That same month, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade
was called in to the Dardanelles. We wanted every New
Zealander we could get. The brigade, destined to become so
famous, was commanded by Brigadier-General Russell, now
Major-General Sir Andrew Russell, K.C.B., K.C.M.G. They
came dismounted, torn in two betwixt grief at parting with
their horses and a longing to play their part on the Penin-
sula. They turned up, as is their way, in the nick of time,
and were put into the trenches at once.

On one of the first days of July, the Maoris appeared upon
the Peninsula. General Godley had infornied me that all
ranks were anxious to have them, so I cabled to Lord
Kitchener, and I have always been thankful that he permitted
them to come along. They were received with open arms
by their compatriots, and I may say here at once that they

Xll.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

proved themselves worthy
descendants of the chival-
rous warriors of the olden
days, and remembered, in
the fiercest battles, the
last words of Hongi Hika :
''Be brave that you may
live."

No donbt the history
to which these words are
a preface Avill tell the tale
of the trench warfare of
Ju]u- and July; here I
vrill only remark that the
New Zealanders helped
themselves to a liberal
alloAvance of all that was
going in the way of
bombs, onslaughts, and
generally, hard knocks.
On August 6, took
place the great attack on
Sari Bair. To the New
Zealand Mounted Rifles
(Brigadier-General Kus-
sell) fell the honour of
covering the assault, and
the New Zealand Infantry
Brigade (Brigadier-Gen-
eral Earl Johnston) form-
ed the right assaulting
column. During the

four days ' desperate
fighting, which included
night marches through
the worst country imagin-
able, steep, scrub-covered
spurs, sheer cliffs and
narrow winding i-avines,

LlEL-T.-COLONEL W. G. MALONE

Wellington Infantry Batt;ilion
(Killed ill, action.)

Preface. xni.

these two brigades and the Maoris wrested from a hrave and
numerous enemy the footing on the Ridge which they held
till the bitter end.

Brilliant leadei'ship was shown liy Lieut. -Colonel A.
Bauchop, commanding the Otago Mounted Rifles, and Lieut. -
Colonel W. G. Malone, AVellington Battalion, during this
battle, wherein Corporal Bassett, of the Divisional Signal
Company, won a well-earned Y.C. I lay a very special stress
on the deeds of Bauchop and Malone. These two heroes were
killed whilst leading their men with absolute contempt of
danger — Bauchop after having captured what was afterwards
known as Bauchop 's Hill, and Malone on the very summit of
Chunuk Bair. Both Bauchop and Malone were soldiers of
great mark and, above all, fearless leaders of men. Where so
many, living longer, have achieved distinction, it is quite
necessary that New Zealand should bear the names of these
two gallant soldiers in tender remembrance.

Of the New Zcalanders who survived, Russell was beyond
doubt the outstanding personality on the Peninsula. Steady
as a rock, with a clear head and a firm character, he belongs
to the type of soldier who will shoulder responsibility and
never leave either his men or his commander in the lurch.

Chaytor, who was Assistant-Adjutant-General, did
excellently well also, though, through being wounded, he did
not have full time to develop merits which afterwards
became so conspicuous in Palestine.

The losses incurred by the brigades from this terrible and
prolonged fighting for the key to the Narrows of the Dar-
danelles, were cruel. On September 21 and 22, Russell had
further victorious fighting when he and General Cox took
Kaiajik Aghala; soon afterwards the brigades were sent
down to Mudros to rest and to recruit. Reinforcements arrived
in due course, and, in a shorter time than would have seemed
possible, the formations Avere ready again and keen as ever
to go on. But meanwhile, in October, events had occurred
which put an end to the forward fighting and extinguished
the Dardanelles enterprise. The first Avas the sending of two
of our Peninsula Divisions to Salonika. The second was an
crder from Home that nothing serious in the way of fighting

xiv. The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

should be undertaken. The third was the advent of a new
Commander-in-Chief who was opposed to the whole of the
Dardanelles idea. From that date, therefore, until the
evacuation, there was no further attack. When the tragic
end came, the New^ Zealanders, steadfast as ever, held the
post of honour, and General Russell and his rearguard were
the very last to leave the Northern theatre of our operations.

Owing to the conditions under which my preface is being
written, it will be understood that any attempt to make a
list of distinguished names would be hopeless. I have just
put down the half-dozen best remembered in full confidence
that the historian will make good my failure in the body of
the book. But there is one more officer I must mention, for
although he is not a New Zealander born, he had the advan-
tage of living there and getting to know both islands long
before the War. I refer, I need hardly say, to Sir Alexander
Godley, who commanded the New Zealand and Australian
Division during the Dardanelles campaign. He has devoted
some of the best years of his life to New Zealand, and with
all his courtesy and charm of manner, has never had any
traffic with indiscipline or inefficiency. If he wants his monu-
ment, let him look round at the glories won by the division
in the laying of whose foundations he played a leading part.

One last word: the New Zealanders have been feared by
the enemy; in quarters they have made themselves beloved.
Wherever they have been billeted, all the civilians say: "We
want to have them again."

General.
Lieutenant of the Tower of London

G.H.Q., Army of the Rhine,

17/8/ '19.

To My Old Comrades.

I have been asked to write a foreword to "The New
Zealanders at Gallipoli," and it gives me the greatest
pleasure to do so, providing, as it does, an opportunity of
recording the affection and admiration I have, and shall
always have, for those who were my comrades on the Gal-
lipoli Peninsula.

It Avas as a comparatively small force that we started
our soldiering in Egypt towards the end of 1914. And I
am sure that no soldier was ever prouder of his command
than I was Avhen, on the orders of Lord Kitchener, I took
over the command of the Australian and New Zealand troops
who were then arriving from their homes.

Not a moment of the time spent in Egypt was wasted,
for all ranks instinctively realized Avhat was before us, and
put their best work into the necessary training. I doubt if
any but those who were present can conceive all that this
training meant to us, and in what wonderfully good stead it
stood us when the time of trial came at Gallipoli. When
that time arrived, Ave felt that Ave Avere a really formed
military body, and not merely a collection of units hastily
throAvn together and Avithout any military cohesion. During
that period, a strong feeling of esprit de corps Avas engen-
dered throughout the force, and perhaps most important of
all, a spirit of discipline, the necessity of which Avas realized,
Avas inculcated in all ranks.

I so Avell remember on that early morning of April 25,
1915, the intense keenness and anxiety on the part of all to
get ashore and capture the Turkish positions Avithout a
moment's delay; and it Avas, I knoAv, a source of great regret
to the NcAV Zealanders that it Avas to the 1st Australian
Division that the honour of the first landing fell. Trans-
ports, hoAvever, folloAved each other rapidly, and the day had
not Avorn long Avhen the Ncav Zealand infantry Avere ashore
and attacking Avhat afterAvards became knoAvn as Russell's
Top, on the left of the Australians. There and thereabouts

xvi. The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

it was destined to continue this fighting through thiclv scrub
for many a long day, and to prove to the Turks how impos-
sible it was to throw such men back into the sea, as they
had confidently anticipated doing.

A short foreword like this is no place for a history of the
doings of the force, to which I know full credit will be done
in this and other volumes depicting New Zealand's share in
the Great War. I will only say here what complete confi-
dence I always had — without one moment of hesitation—
throughout the campaign in the bravery, the steadfast-
ness and the elHciency of the New Zealand troops. Their

/ / /.'/ Udiihil & Andrew

Majoe-General Sir A. .1. Godlev, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.

discipline Avas admirable, while never have I seen troops
more willing or determined.

I would that I could here mention by name even half of
those who were such real comrades to me, such as Genera"
Godley, Colonels Eussell, Napier Johnston, F. E. Johnston,
Chaytor; Colonel McBean Stewart, of the Canterbury

To My Old Comrades.

XVll.

Battalion, who, to my great regret, was killed on the day of
the landing; and Colonels Findlay, Mackesy, and Meldruni,
of the Canterbury, Auckland, and Wellington Mounted
Rifles respectively.

There are two others who gave their lives on the Penin-
sula, and whom I would especially record.

One of the most difficult points which we had to hold
was known as Quinn 's Post. The Turkish trenches there
were certainly not more than ten yards from our own, and
it can easily be imagined how the battle raged furiously

Brigadier-Gexicral Sir A. H. Russell., K.C.B.

betw-een the tAvo systems. The gallant Quinn, after whom
tiie post was named, had been killed, and, later on, the Aus-
tralians Avere replaced in their turn by the "Wellington Bat-
talion under Colonel Malone. This officer at once set himself
the task of making his post as perfect and impregnable as
he could, and in this task he fullv succeeded. I shall never

xviii. The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

forget tln' real pleasure it gave me when visiting the post
from time to time to realize the keenness and energy which
Colonel Malone put into his Avork, and on every visit I found
myself leaving it Avith greater confidence that, come what
may, Quinn's Post could never he taken by an enemy, how-
ever strong. Shortly after this. Colonel Malone was, tO my
deep regret, and to that, I know, of his many comrades,
killed Avhile leading his battalion most gallantly in the main
attack on Sari Bair on August 8. A thorough and keen
soldier, his loss was great to the whole force, and I per-
sonally felt I had lost not only an excellent officer, but a
really true friend.

The other officer to whom I cannot refrain from making
especial reference, was Colonel Bauchop, of the Otago
Mounted Rifles : a more gallant and cheerier gentleman never
lived. Always full of high spirits and courage — ready to
undertake any enterprise, and refusing to acknowledge dif&-
culties, he was just the type of man wanted to ensure the
maintenance of high morale in such a campaign as we were
carrying out at Gallipoli. For a very long time Colonel
Bauchop held command of our extreme semi-detached out-
posts, and I know how proud he was of the great game of
war in which he played so prominent a part. Perfectly
fearless, he came through the fighting unscratched until
August 8, when he was killed at the head of his regiment,
leading it in a gallant charge on the extreme left of our old
position. Surely it would be impossible for any commander
not to be devoted to such men as these !

What seemed to me as one of the best features of our
fighting at Gallipoli was the mutual confidence and esteem
which it engendered between the New Zealand and the Aus-
tralian soldiers. Before this, they had had little opportu-
nities of knoAving each other. Going round, as I did, the
trenches of all, it Avas to me a constant source of satisfaction
and delight to find Ncav Zealanders and Australians confiding
in me the highly favourable opinion Avhich, apparently to
their surprise, they had formed of each other! j\lay such a
feeling continue for all time, to the great advantage of the
British race in the Southern Seas.

To My Old Comkades. xix.

I am sure that the New Zealand troops would not wish
me to conclude this foreword without mentioning the British
Navy, to whom we all owe so much, and memories of whom
wall remain for ever with all those who served alongside of
them.

On our return from Gallipoli to Egypt, in 1916, the arrival
of the New^ Zealand Kifles Brigade and the large reinforce-
ments which had been sent from New Zealand enabled us
to expand the original New Zealand Expeditionary Force into
a complete division — than which, I can say with confidence,
no finer or better organized division served in France. I had
the honour to take this division with me to the Western
Front in April, 1916. But, alas ! I was not to have the honour
of i-etaining it long under my command, for on the reconsti-
tution of the Australian and New Zealand divisions, it was
decided that the latter should leave my army corps : I need
scarcely say it was a matter of the deepest personal regret
to me.

I sincerely wish all my old comrades happiness and suc-
cess. None of us are ever likely to forget the times we spent
together on Gallipoli. AVe sincerely mourn for those who so
Avillingly gave their lives for the great cause in which we
Avere fighting; but vre know they have not died in vain, for
they have ensured freedom and right for our children and
our children's children. New Zealand may well be — as I am
sure she is— justly proud of her magnificent sons, who so
bravely upheld her flag and fought for her honour on the
shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

"1 [/ Ifk olM^^rtr^

The Ne\^ Zealanders at
Gallipoli

CHAPTER I.
The Coiiceiitratioii oi" the Expetlitioiiary Force.

HE pioneer settlers of New Zealand left the
Mother Country for many reasons, but pri-
marily because they wished for a freer exist-
ence. They certainly did not choose an easy
path for themselves. They could have settled
in English-speaking- countries comparatively
near, but they deliberately left England, Scotland, Wales and
Ireland for a land thirteen thousand miles aAvay — a land
covered with virgin forest and inhabited by a proud and war-
like native race.

In communities that governed themselves according to
their own advanced ideas, away from the baneful influence
of large cities and the trammelling tendencies of hoary tradi-
tion, they wrestled with the giants of the bush, literally hew-
ing out their homes in the wilderness. Not sparing themselves,
they created a desirable and a healthy environment for their
sons and daughters. Many had given up comfortable homes
in the old lands so that their children and their children's
children might have that freedom of life and thought and
speech for which they themselves had been willing to make
so many sacrifices.

Would it be natural, then, when Autocracy and Greed
again threatened the free peoples of Europe, that a young
nation born of the early settlers of New Zealand should stand
aloof? A few weeks after the dreadful tragedy of Serajevo.
realizing that the freedom of the world was again challenged,
and recognizing to the full the gravity of the step. New
Zealand placed all her resources at the disposal of the Mother
Land.

2 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The martial instincts of Maori and Pakeha were at once
aroused. In the town enthusiasm was infectious ; newspaper
offices were besieged, and eager volunteers thronged the head-
quarters of each territorial unit ; every shop, office and factory
sent its representatives, and before the services of the Expe-
ditionary Force were accepted by the Imperial Government
the lists were full to overflowing.

From the country men crowded in. The masterer and
station owner alike forsook their flocks ; the bushman put
away his crosscut and axe ; the flaxmill hand left swamp and
mill and hurried to the nearest raihvay station. Quiet men
up on the hillside watched the train coming across country
with the eagerly awaited newspapers. The strain of waiting
was unendurable. With the call of Old England throbbing
in their ears, they left their stock unattended in the paddocks
and swelled the procession to the railway station. Here eager
crowds discussed the situation. It was instinctively recognized
that Britain must stand by France and Belgium, and when
the news of that momentous decision did come the great wave
of enthusiasm swept anew over the country side.

The Mobilization.

In those early days of August, the naval position in the
Pacific was shrouded in mystery Rumour was alarmingly
busy. It was possible that the German Pacific fleet of
heavily armed cruisers might appear at any moment off the
New Zealand coast. Their only superior in these waters at
the outbreak of war was the battle cruiser "Australia," the
"New Zealand," of course, being in the North Sea. On
August 6, a message from the Secretary of State for War
was received by His Excellency the Governor: "If your
Ministers desire and feel themselves able to seize the German
wireless station at Samoa, we should feel that this was a great
and urgent Imperial service. ..." A force of 1,413 men
immediately volunteered from territorial units in Auckland
and Wellington, and sailed for their unknown destination on
August 15, convoyed by three obsolescent "P" class cruisers
— "Philomel," "Psyche," and "Pyramus"; joined by
H.M.A.S. "Australia," H.M.A.S. "Melbourne," and the

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4 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

French cruiser "Montcalm" at New Caledonia, the expedi-
tion proceeded on its way, occupying German Samoa on
August 29 without firing a shot. Thus early in the Great
War were New Zealand soldiers, supported by the allied
navies, the first to take possession of German territory in
the name of King George V.

On August 7, 1914, the New^ Zealand Government cabled
to the Imperial authorities offering the services of an Ex-
peditionary Force. On August 12 the offer Avas accepted,
and preparations were made to have the force ready to
embark for Europe on August 28. More and more men offered
their services. Those declared unfit by the doctor in Auck-
land caught the train to Wellington, and if not successful
there, went on and on until they found a loophole. Family
men of fifty-five shaved their faces clean and enlisted with
an "apparent age" of thirty-five. One man, with an arti-
ficial eye and minus two fingers, struggled into the N.Z.M.C. ;
while two gallant souls — veterans of previous wars — enlisted
and were accepted as quartermasters, even though they had
but one arm apiece.

A partial mobilization had already taken place at each
regimental headquarters. The drafts, consisting mostly of
men wdio had served in the Territorial Force and in previous
wars, were sent to district concentration camps. The Auck-
land Mounted Rifles, Auckland Infantry Battalion, and the
No. 1 Field Ambulance of the New Zealand Medical Corps
w^ere quartered in Alexandra Park, Auckland. The Wellington
Mounted Eifles and the Wellington Infantry Battalion camped
at the Awapuni Racecourse, near Palmerston North ; here, also,
were organized the N.Z. Field Artillery, the Field and Signal
Troops of NcAV Zealand Engineers, the company of Divisional
Signallers, and the Mounted Field Ambulance, the men for
these units being drawn in proportion from the territorial
troops of the four Military Districts. Addington Park, Christ-
church, was the rendezvous for the troops of the Canterbury
Military District — the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment
and the Canterbury Infantry Battalion. The Otago IMounted
Rifles Regiment and the Otago Infantry Battalion concen-
trated in Tahuna Park, near the Ocean Beach, Dunedin.

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6 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The territorial system of compnlsory training was still
in its infancy, but it was considered advisable to retain tne
territorial distinctions. Each of the four Military Districts
was asked to supply one regiment of mounted rifles and one
battalion of infantry. Each territorial regiment and ba1-
talion supplied to the Expeditionary Force a squadron and a
company respectively, and these units retained their badges
and the customs of their parent organizations.

The organization of the Expeditionary Force was that of
■ the headquarters of a division, divisional troops, a mounted
rifles brigade, and an infantry brigade. The Auckland, Wel-
lington, and Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment made, with
the Field and Signal Troops and Mounted Field Ambulance,
a complete mounted brigade. The Otago Mounted Rifles
Regiment became divisional cavalry, and did not form part
of the brigade. The four infantry battalions — Auckland,
Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago — made a complete in-
fantry brigade.

The characteristic slouch hat, with the brim down all
round, was adopted by the whole force ; but the Otago
Mounted Rifles, the New Zealand Field Artillery, and the
Wellington Infantry Battalion wore their hats peaked and
with four dents. After the evacuation of the Gallipoli Penin-
sula the entire New Zealand Division wore peaked hats, but
the New Zealand Mounted Rifles remained faithful to the old
style. A further distinguishing mark was the different
coloured puggaree for each branch of the service. The
troopers of the Mounted Rifles wore khaki and green ; the
gunners, red and blue; the sappers, khaki and blue; the in-
fantry, khaki and red ; the Army Service Corps, khaki and
Avhite ; and the men of the Field Ambulance, khaki and
maroon.

Equipping: tlie Force.

The eciuipmcnt of the force was no easy mattei', though
valualde material was obtained from the Territorial Force,
which Avas being fitted out at the time. Most of the mounted
riflemen brought their own horses to the place of concentra-
tion. If the animals were suitable, they Avere paid for, and
became the property of the Government, but each man was

8 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

allowed to ride the horse that he had brought. The saddles
and equipment were mostly made in the Dominion. Day by
day more material came to hand, and the men became more
accustomed to manoeuvring in troops and squadrons; gradually
but surely the mounted regiments evolved from very keen
individual horsemen and shots to efficient military imits.
With the traditions of the South African campaign and the
enthusiasm of the New Zealander for a good horse, the ex-
cellence of the mounted rifles was not at all surprising.

The field artillery were fortunate in that they had the
Ducleus of batteries in the officers and men of the Royal New
Zealand Artillery — professional soldiers, who, in time of peace,
trained the territorial batteries and garrisoned the artillery
provided for coast defence. Thanks to the energy and fore-
sight of the dominion artillerists, the old 15-pounders had
been replaced by modern 18-pounders, and more fortunate
still. New Zealand had, in 1914, some of the newest 4.5
howitzers, which guns above all others were to prove their
worth in the closing days of April, 1915. The horses for the
gun teams were procured mostly in the Wellington District —
some were well broken, others were broken to chains in the
plough, a number had hardly been handled at all ; but the
drivers set to with a will, and soon the roads of Palmerston
North were enlivened with spirited six-horse teams jingling
along with their businesslike guns and limbers.

The sappers of the field troop were drawn in equal pro-
portions from the territorial field companies. There were no
divisional field engineers, only a mounted brigade troop. In
order to keep up with the cavalry, light 'collapsible boats
were substituted for the heavy pontoons of the ordinary field
company. No boats were available in New Zealand, the in-
tention being to pick them up in England when the Expedi-
tionary Force landed there. The signal troop and divisional
signallers were all territorials, most of the operators being
highly skilled men from the Post and Telegraph Department.

Owing to the large numbers available for selection, the
infantry were a magnificent body of men. Born of freedom-
loving parents in a free country, nurtured in a land of plenty'
with a climate unsurpassed on earth, it is not surprising that

Equipping the Force.

the trained New Zoalander is modelled like a Greek statue.
To see a battalion of infantry bathing in the ManaAvatn River
was a wonderful sight. The clean blue sky, the waving toi
toi on the fringe of native bush, the river rippling and
sprawling over its gravelly bed, the thousand beautiful
athletes splashing in the sun-kissed water, made an inefface-
able impression. The New Zealand infantry soldier trained
at Alexandra Park, Awapuni, Addington, and Tahuna Park
has long since proved his courage and steadfastness to be
eciual to his undeniable physique and fitness.

The matter of transport was a diificult one. As yet the
New Zealand Army Service Corps of the Territorial For«e
was not organized. Men and horses were forthcoming, but
suitable waggons were hard to procure. Eventually a
number of w.aggons — some suitable and some otherwise —
were purchased. Many were only a quarter-lock, and the
angry drivers were sometimes heard to murmur that no place
but the wide deserts of Egypt would have been sut¥icient to
turn — much less manoeuvre — in !

The personnel of the New Zealand jNIedical Corps was
from the outset most efficient. The senior officers had mostlv

10 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

seen service in former campaigns ; the men were enthusiastic
territorials and keen young medical students who had for-
saken their classes when the call came.

In all branches of the service discipline Avas very strict.
Men realized that if they transgressed they would cease to
be members of the Main Body. There was no crime. Ail
ranks understood they Avere chosen to represent New Zealand
in the eyes of the world.

Passed by the doctor, the recruit Avas fitted out with that
wonderful receptacle, the soldier's kit bag. This was soon
filled to overflowing by the combined efforts of a paternal
Government and committees of enthusiastic ladies. All the
uniforms and purely military kit came from the ordnance
stores, but the woollen stuff — socks, underclothing and
woollen caps — were the handiwork and gift of the women of
New Zealand. Surely never before in history had an army
so many socks and shirts! It must be admitted that in the
first flush of enthusiasm some good folks showed more energj^
than skill in the matter of shirt making. The soldier is
nothing if not adaptable, so he cut off the superfluous portion
of sleeve. One Avas not surprised that the sergeant-major,
Avanting the men for physical drill, daily shouted "Fall in
the kimonos."

Waiting- for the Escort.

Through August and the first Aveeks of September the
training and equipping Avent on. Four transports were lying
alongside the Wellington Avharves, and tAvo ships at each of
the other three ports of embarkation — Auckland, Lytteltoa
and Port Chalmers. Day and night carpenters laboured
fitting up the troop and horse decks.

On September 24, the people of Wellington assembled at
NcAvtoAvn Park to Avitness the fareAvell parade of the divi-
sional troops, the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment, and
the WelUngton Infantry Battalion. After an inspection by
His Excellency the Governor, the Prime Minister and the
Minister of Defence, the troops marched through cheering
croAvds to the transports, and at half-past five that evening
all but the "Maunganui" pulled out into the stream, ready

12 The New Zealandees at Gallipoli.

to sail early next morning to join the Auckland ships at sea.
During the evening of the 24th the four ships from Lyttelton
and Port Chalmers joined the Wellington quota in the
harbour. All night anxious relatives made endeavours to get
aboard the vessels in the stream to say a last farewell or
deliver a parting gift, while the people of Wellington went
betimes to bed to awaken early and see the fleet steam out.

But early next morning a wireless message recalled H.M.S.
"Philomel," the "Waimana," and the "Star of India," which
had left Auckland the night before. In Wellington the seven
transports in the harbour rejoined the "Maunganui" alonj^-
side the wharves. The mounted units and horses were dis-
embarked and scattered to camps round Wellington, there
to remain until a more powerful naval escort- Avas available.

For three weeks the troops, chafing at the delay, were
exercised in musketry and route marching. At nights they
croAvded into Wellington for a little amusement. The women
of Wellington rose splendidly to the occasion. Concert parties
entertained the men every night in "U" shed on the wharf.
At this time the well-known Sydney Street Soldiers' Club was
started. The soldier realizes that he may never come back,
and that sacrifice he is prepared to make Avillingly. He sings
and is happy because he feels — though often in an indefinite
way — that he did the right thing in enlisting. But the times
of waiting — whether at the base or in the front-line trench —
are most irritating. Being a healthy animal, he must be
doing something. It is here that soldiers' cliibs, managed by
understanding, sympathetic women, prove of inestimable
value. For their untiring efforts the women of Wellington
are entitled to the thanks of all the mothers of men concen-
trated in Wellington throughout the four long years of war.

On October 14, the troops exercising their horses in tha
surf at Lyall Bay Avere delighted to see a big grey four-
funnelled cruiser, flying the Avhite ensign, closely followed by
a huge black three-funnelled monster Avith the rising sun
displayed. Past Somes Island and Evans Bay they steamed
and dropped anchor, proving to be H.M.S. "Minotaur" and
H.I.J.M.S. "Ibuki," the escort Avhich the army Avas anxiously
expecting.

Waiting for the Escort. 13

Next day the "Star of India"' and "Waimana,"' escorted
b}'^ the "Philomel,"' arrived in Wellington from Auckland,
and proceeded to water and coal. The ten transports were
noAv assembled, and the four cruisers made ready to convoy
the precious freight on the first stage of its long journey.
Many are the valuable cargoes that have left these shores,
but for the first time in the history of New Zealand were
nine thousand gallant souls — the flower of the young nation's
manhood — going down to the sea in ships.

[Lent by F. W. Randall
The "Ibuki" and "Minotaur" in Wellington Haeboue.

By half -past three on the afternoon of Thursday',
October 15, the mounted units were again embarked. The
last good-byes were exchanged with relatives ashore, and
night fell on Wellington Harbour with its fleet of fourteen
historic ships. The morning broke beautifully fine. The fleet
weighed anchor at 6 o'clock. Crowds of early risers saw the
ships go out, preceded by the "Minotaur" and the "Ibuki."
The first division of ships was led by the cruiser "Psyche"
and the second division by the "Philomel." So the watchers
on Mount Victoria saw the long grey line slip silently down
the Straits.

CHAPTER II.

The Voyage to Egyi)t. .

While confined to the narrow waters of Cook Strait, the
fleet preserved its line ahead formation, but after passing
Cape Farewell the two divisions of five ships each steamed
in parallel lines eight cable lengths apart. Miles ahead raced
the "Minotaur," a speck on the horizon; the "Philomel" was
four miles astern ; while on either beam, six miles away, were
the other two cruisers — the "Ibuki" to starboard and the
"Psyche" to port.

The weather was typical of the Tasman Sea, and both men
and horses suffered a good deal from seasickness. Where
there were many horses, particularly on ships like the
"Orari," those who were well enough had plenty to do clean-
ing the horse decks and setting unsteady animals on their
feet. That only four horses died out of the 3815 on board
speaks volumes for the care taken in selection and the solici-
tude of the seasick troopers and drivers.

ro.x

Lvnt by Majnr Brunt, W.I R.
Resting on the Boat Deck.

A Great Welcome at Hobart. 15

A Great Welcome at Hobart.

After six weary days at sea no one was sorry to see Wed-
nesday morning break with the rugged coast of Tasmania
ahead; little wonder that the prospect of a three hours'
route march on the morrow was received with jubilation.
Next morning it seemed that all Hobart was astir. With
packs up the infantry cut a fine figure. All along the route
women and children showered flowers on the troops. Where-
ever a halt was made the people brought out bunches of
beautiful roses, which the soldiers carried back to grace their
none too ornamental quarters. Thousands of the famous
Tasmanian apples were pressed upon the men. Some enthu-
siasts presented the artillery w^th a garland on a pole, which
the proud gunners carried before them as a colour. Back
again at the wharf, the sellers of apples and crayfish did brisk
business, and many were the commissions handed over by the
sportsmen aboard to be dealt with by the celebrated Hobart
house of Tattersall. When the gangways were up the people
thronged the wharves, handing up parcels of cakes, sweets
and apples. The regimental bands struck up ''It's a long
way to Tipperary," and the ships pulled out to the accom-
paniment of tumultuous cheering.

It was three o'clock that afternoon when the ships again
put to sea. The ''Psyche" returned to New Zealand, and
her place was taken by the "Pyramus." The long rolling
swell common to the Great Australian Bight again made
things very uncomfortable for the horses ; to make matters
worse, a thick fog descended, speed was reduced, and every
few minutes the ear was assailed by the blasts of the
"Minotaur" syren and the answering shrieks from the vessels
of the fleet.

Gradually the weather moderated and the men became
steadier on their legs. Musketry practice at floating targets
was initiated ; where there was room on the crowded decks
physical training was carried on, while the mounted men had
their horses with the never-ending stables — it being recog-
nized that the habit of absolute cleanliness in regard to both
the men's and the horses' quarters should become second
nature before the really hot weather was encountered.

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Young Australia greets Young New Zealand. 17

A private of the New Zealand Medical Corps died on
Sunday, October 26, and next day a most impressive burial
service was conducted on the "Ruapehu." At three o'clock
she steamed out of her line and took station in the centre
of the parallel divisions. At half-past three, when colours
were hoisted and lowered to half-mast, the troops in each
transport paraded with their bands. The flagship having
made the signal to ''Stop engines," the troops on all ships
stood to attention, whereupon the "Dead March" was played,
followed by a short funeral service; the body of the first
soldier of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to die over-
seas was reverently committed to the deep. The firing party
having fired its three volleys, the solemn notes of the ''Last
Post" floated over the sunlit waters, the flagship signalled
"11 knots," and the convoy proceeded on its way.

Young Australia greets Young New Zealand.

Thirteen days after leaving Wellington the New Zealand
ships crept into the spacious harbour of Albany, Western
Australia. Here were gathered innumerable vessels of every
line trading in the Southern oceans. Not painted uniformly
grey like our ships, but taken in all their glory of greens,
blues and yellows, they rode on the calm water of King
George's Sound packed with the adventurous spirits of the
First Australian Division. The cheering and counter-cheer-
ing, the Maori war cries and answering coo-ees would have
moved a stoic. Young Australia was welcoming Young
New Zealand in no uncertain manner in the first meeting of
those brothers-in-arms soon to be known by a glorious name
as yet undreamed of.

After a few days spent in replenishing supplies, the won-
derful armada put out to sea. The twenty-six Australian
transports steamed in three parallel divisions, being joined
a day out by two Westralian transports from Fremantle. The
New Zealand ships retained their old formation, the two
divisions covering off the blank spaces of the Australian
convoy. We parted company from the old "P" class cruisers,
but got in return the two new Australian ships, the "Sydney"
and the "Melbourne," long, snakey-looking craft with four

Young Australia greets Young New Zealand. 19

rakish funnels. The ''Minotaur" was still steaming away
ahead, while to starboard was our old friend the "Ibuki,'"
evidently burning bad coal, her three black funnels belching
forth tremendous volumes of the blackest smoke.

Great attention was now paid to the masking of all lights
by night. It was known that German cruisers were at large —
notably the " Scharnhorst, " "Gneisenau" and "Emden." In
order to evade these ocean highwaymen the usual course was
not set through the Indian Ocean. For the same reason, a
strict censorship in regard to movements of ships prevailed
in Australia and New Zealand. At Hobart and Albany the
greatest precautions were taken. Ample proof was ulti-
mately forthcoming that this trouble was not in vain.

But the convoy was a very cumbersome thing. The cruiser
leading and the cruiser acting as a rearguard were both hull
down on the horizon. There was an Australian transport
that most days could do nine knots with an effort ; one or
two erratic performers like this sorely trying the practised
station-keepers of the Imperial Navy. Characteristic sailor
messages were being constantly transmitted. The following
is a sample: — ''From H.M.S. 'Minotaur' to all transports:
The attention of masters of Australian transports is again
drawn to the extreme importance of keeping accurate station,
especially at night. During last night the Second Division
straggled to seven miles, whereas their line should be three
miles in length. The Third Division straggled to six miles,
whereas their line should be three miles and a half. By this
careless station-keeping the masters expose their ships to an
increased risk of being torpedoed by an enemy, and also
involve the New Zealand convoy in the same danger. The
New Zealand convoy are keeping stations at three cables
apart in excellent order, and their great attention to convoy
orders as regards reduction of power of lights merits my
warm approval. The 'Medic' and 'Geelong' were sig-
nalling last night with lights visible at least ten miles. I
again point out the necessity of reducing the power of lights
by blue bunting or other means."

A strange ship on the horizon always aroused great
speculation ; never did a cloud of smoke materialize into a

20 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

ship but the stranger was already attended by one of our
escorting cruisers. Thus was the R.M.S. "Osterley" of the
Orient line examined, and later passed the convoy on Guy
Fawkes Day, homeward bound, carrying the soldiers' Christ-
mas mails.

An air of expectancy hung over the convoy on Sunday,
November 8, for on that day news arrived of the naval battle
off Valparaiso, in which H.M.S. ''Good Hope" and H.M.S.
"Monmouth" were destroyed by a superior German force.

Early that same morning the "Minotaur" signalled to the
"Maunganui": "I am ordered on another service; wish you
the very best of success when you land in France. Give the
Germans a good shake-up. It has been a great pleasure to
escort such a well-disciplined force and convoy. Good-bye."

The Triiiiiiph of Australia.

The flagship's place ahead was now held by the "Mel-
bourne." with the "Ibuki" to starboard and the "Sydney"
to port.

With the news of the Valparaiso battle and the departure
of the "Minotaur" came word that the Cocos Islands would
be passed during the night, and special precautions were
ordered to be taken in regard to lights. The usual sharp
look-out was kept, but the hours of darkness slipped
by without incident. But at 6.30 a.m. the "Melbourne"
turned to port and spoke for a few minutes to her sister ship.
By this time all the transports were aware of the wireless
messages from the Cocos Islands signalling "S.O.S.,"
"Strange warship approaching." The Australian transport
"Karoo" and the New Zealand transport "Arawa" picked up
the following: "PNX DE WSP DE PNX NE DE NGI PFB
DEO," also, "S.O.S. — Strange warship at entrance. Ignores
our remarks — S.O.S., S.O.S.," then a long message, ap-
parently in Dutch. These mixed-up messages, obviously muti-
lated and jammed by the hostile Telefunken, provided knotty
problems for those whose duty it was to fathom the mys-
teries of code and cypher.

The captain of the "Melbourne," being in charge of the
convoy, could not go to the Cocos Islands, sixty miles away,

22 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

so ordered the "Sydney" on this service. By 7 a.m. the
cruiser had Avorked up to her speed and Avas rapidly lost to
sight. The "Melbourne" came down to the "Sydney's"
place on the threatened flank, and then the attention of the
whole convoy was rivetted on the Japanese cruiser coming
across from starboard around the head of the convoy. As
she forged ahead through the heavy swell a great white
wave streamed over her bows, being made more conspicuous
by her pitch black hull and the three black funnels belching
enormous columns of dense black smoke. Tearing through
the indigo Indian Ocean, Avith her great battle flags streaming
blood-red in the breeze, she became the very personification
of energy and poAver.

With the tAvo cruisers lying handy on- the threatened
flank, the troops Avaited anxiously for ucavs. All realized that
just across the horizon a life and death struggle Avas taking
place. No sound of battle could be heard but the spluttering
of the Avireless, from which it Avas learned at 9.30 that the
enemy had been brought to action.

The men could hardly contain themselves for excitement.
This Avas intensified Avhen, about 11 o'clock, the Japanese
cruiser appeared to steam aAvay in the direction of the fight.
But at tAventy minutes past eleven the Avireless announced.
"Enemy beached herself to prevent sinking." Restraint Avas
throAvn aside. The men cheered again and again. Messages
then chased one another in quick succession: "Emden beached
and done for. Am chasing merchant collier." The cheering
burst out afresh, for this was the first mention of the
"Emden." Hoav the Ncav Zealanders envied the Australians
this momentous achievement of their young navy.

About half an hour later came the story of the price paid
for admiralty — tAvo killed and thirteen Avounded. The troops
shouted themselves hoarse Avhen they learned that the
"Emden" Avas ashore on North Cocos Isle, and had sur-
rendered with her foremast and three funnels doAvn. The
following message Avas sent from the "Maunganui": "Many
congratulations from the N.Z.E.F. on result of first action
of the Australian Navy." Back came a typical naval ansAver:
"Reply to your signal of yesterday. Many thanks to New

A Run Ashore at Colombo. 23

Zealand Squadron for their congratulations. It is very satis-
factory that in its baptism of fire the superiority of town class
cruiser over German town class light cruiser was so com-
pletely established."

Four days after this most memorable day a signal an-
nounced that H.M.S. ''Hampshire" was steaming fifty miles
ahead of us, and to facilitate coaling and watering at Colombo,
the New Zealand squadron was ordered to steam ahead of the
Australians, Avho were left in charge of the ''Ibuki."

The line was crossed on the same day (November 13), and
His Deep Sea Majesty King Neptune, attended by his consort
and a numerous suite of barbers, bears, and orderlies, came
aboard each of the transports. All deference and homage
was paid, and the hoary old salt never had a busier day —
eight thousand four hundred New Zealanders paying their
tribute according to their respective popularity with His
Majestj^'s attendants.

A Run Ashore at Colombo.

Two days steaming brought the "Hampshire" and her
convoy within sight of Ceylon. This to most New Zealanders
was the first far-off view of a tropical isle. ' As the ships
steamed over an unruffled sea, the troops drank in the
wonderful sight, so refreshing after the tiresome monotony
of the voyage. The little brown fishing boats were thickly
sprinkled over a fleckless seascape — ashore the beautiful
buildings resplendent in a setting of graceful palms. Up the
coast and round the breakwater the squadron picked its way
through a flotilla of every conceivable variety of small craft.

Inside the crowded harbour lay our old friend the ''Mel-
bourne" and a quaint five-funnelled warship— the Russian
cruiser "Askold," which we were later to know so well. The
work of the "Emden" had been fairly thorough — during her
career she had sunk sixteen merchant ships, the Russian
cruiser "Jemtchug," and the French destroyer "Mousquet"—
and here in Colombo Harbour were dozens of ships which
had been held up, but were again free to sail the ocean
highways.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

About half an hour after our arrival, it was rumoured
that the "Sydney" was coming, and sure enough, there wero
the familiar four funnels with their little white bands, and
closely following her the big "Empress of Russia" with her
cruiser stern. Slowly the gallant ship come round the break-
water to her moorings. As she passed the New Zealand
transports it was evident that she was, as her captain de
scribed lier, "nothing but an hospital of a most painful

I /.,„/ /,,/ / II

The Victor.

The "Sydney" steaming round Colombo breakwater after destroying
the "Emdeu."

description." Wounded Germans were lying on stretchers
all over the deck, and on that account the soldiers, though
greatly thrilled and moved by the obvious marks of battle
on the ship, stood respectfully silent at attention.

The prisoners, 138 in number, were distributed over the
Australian and New Zealand transports, an officer and half a
dozen men being placed on each ship. Many of them could
speak English, having served on British merchant ships. It
then became apparent that the precautions of darkening
lights and a strict oetnsorship had indeed born© fruit, for
on the night of November 8, the "Emden" actually
crossed the bows of our convoy, accompanied by a cap-
tured British collier, the "Buresk," heavily laden with
the best Welsh coal. The raider, knowing nothing of
our presence, arrived off the Cocos group early in the
morning, and sent a party ashore on Direction Island to
destroy the cable and the wireless station, which barely
had time to send out the S.O.S. received by the fleet. The

A Run Ashore at Colombo.

appearance of the Australian cruiser on the horizon (the
Germans took her to be H.M.S. ''Yarmouth") was the first
intimation to the ''Emden" that all was not well. The
German ship put out to sea and fought her last sea fight,
while the armed party ashore busied themselves with pre-
paring the "Ayesha," a local schooner, for flight. The
"Sydney" had to turn her attention to the collier, Avhich was
endeavouring to escape. On overtaking her, it was found
that her sea-cocks were open, and as she could not be saved,
the "Sydney" fired a couple of shots into her at the water
line. Night coming on, the schooner with her adventurous crew
successfully cleared the Cocos, apparently for the African
coast. Such were the facts as gleaned from the German
prisoners.

{Photo hy Capt. I'dil.lon. O.M.R.

Prisoners from the "Emden."
The 138 prisoners were distributed among the Australian and New Zealand transports.

From the transports in Colombo Harbour 200 men at a
time went ashore from each ship ; each party being broken up
into smaller ones of twenty men with an officer. Going
ashore in the boats we pulled through clouds of lemon, chrome,
and golden butterflies fluttering over the water in all direc-
tions, reminding one of yellow poplar leaves drifting to the

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

ground in an autumn wind. Once ashore the brilliant colours
and fragrant flower scents seemed like fairyland after the
heat and smell of the horse decks. Along the brick-red sandy-
roads the rickshaw coolies pattered with their slouch-hatted
loads. Under the shade of the Eastern trees the soldier
snatched one hour of the real joy of living. Interested
parties explored the Buddhist temples, the air heavy with
incense and the scent of many flowers. Down on the Galle
Face, where the cocoanut palms weep over the sea, the reve-
lation of poverty and mendicity came as a shock to the young
New Zealanders — thousands of beggars, the halt, the lame and
the blind — small boys begging pennies, old men with one foot
in the grave complaining in broken English, "No mother,
no father, sixpence please!"

[Photo by Guy

On the Horse Decks.

The New Zealand soldier away from home is prodigal with
his money, and the Cingalese and Indian shopkeepers par-
celled up many thousands of pounds worth of gifts, ranging
from precious stones and expensive silks dow^l to the cocoa-
nut-wood elephants and the little green-backed beetles. The
censors never left their desks, so energetic were the corre-
spondents, but gradually the pile grew less and the mail bags
more swollen; the shouting gangs of dirty coolies passed —
basketful by basketful — the contents of their loaded barges

The Monotony of the Voyage.

iuto the liimgry stokeholds; all water tanks were refilled,
and on the morning of November 17, the New Zealand trans-
ports, escorted by the ''Hampshire," headed once again for
the deep water.

fe"*i-

». .*vN*^Hfc,

[Lent by Major Brunt, W.I.B.

The "Hampshire."
Transferring the "Emden'' prisoners to the "Hampshire" at Port Said.

The Monotony of the Voyage.

In a sense this was the most wearisome stage of the
journey, although there was a little to interest. By day,
shoals of flying fish leaped ahead of the ships, shimmered in
the sunlight, and splashed again into the depths ; and in the
hours of darkness the stable picket gazing out of the port-
hole marvelled at the mass of gleaming phosphorescence. But
the monotony of the warm weather and a placid sea, together
with the reaction after the glorious taste of freedom at
Colombo, did not make for tranquility of spirit. Even the
civilian passenger in the first saloon tires of marvellous sea-
scapes, and ship's food, however daintily served, becomes
repugnant. Pity, then, the poor soldier cramped up in a
transport; necessarily living on monotonous food which he
must help to prepare ; tending horses and cleaning up the
ship; stiff from the inoculations designed to protect him in
the future, and steaming steadily on (at a rate of nine knots
per hour!) to a destination only vaguely guessed at. So it
w^as a relief to reach that rocky outpost, Aden, and to learn

The New ZexVlanders at Gallipoli.

that just on the horizon hostile Arabs and Turks were bent
on malciiig trouble. Discomforts were quickly forgotten in the
thrill of nearing battle grounds. Away on those red sands we
could picture Turk and Teuton scheming and plannmg to get
possession of those priceless water cisterns.

No one was allowed ashore, but the harbour was full of
interest. Nine big vessels packed with South "Wales Borderei'is
and Middlesex Territorials were coaling, on their way to
India. The ''Ibuki" here wished us good-bye and steamed
away to join the Southern Japanese squadron.

[Photo hy Capt. Paddon, O.M.R.
'Monday."

The voyage from Aden to Suez was commei-ced on Thurs-
day, November 26, with the "Hampshire" escorting the entire
Australian and New Zealand fleet in five divisions, the five
leading ships all being in line. AVe passed Perim at 2.30 in
the afternoon, the New Zealand ships having been ordered to
steam five miles ahead of the Australians.

Ordered to Disembark in Egypt.

It was anticipated that the horses would be severely tried

in the Bed Sea. When a following wind got np the troopers

were more apprehensive, but the horses seemed determined

to do honour to their native land, and there was little

sickness. ^t I V^

^^
Ordered to Disembark in E^i>j

In the Red Sea a wireless was receivecGii|8truCtiligS;the
Force to prepare for a disembarkation in Eg^pt^^ Turkey
being at war with the Allies and already threatening the
Suez Canal, this turn of affairs was not surprising, but some
were disappointed that anything should occur to defer oar
landing in France to help the sorely tried British and French
Armies.

At 5 o'clock on November 30, the first New Zealand ship,
the "Maunganui," entered the Canal. Each ship had a little
engine installed forward to provide for the powerful electric
headlight fastened on the bows. The armed guard stationed on
the starboard side strained their ears and eyes for any move-
me]it, but there was nothing evident except the beautiful

[Lent bij F. W. Randall

Steaming into Alexandria.

stars, the Indian sentries pacing noiselessly up and down
their sandy beats, and the incessant chatter of the little engine
forward.

"Who are you?" shouted a voice from the desert, and con-
tinued, "126th Baluchis here." "We're New Zealanders,"
was the quiet answer. "Hooray!" cried the Baluchi,
"Advance Australia!" It must be said that since that De-
cember day of 1914, both Baluchi and New Zealander have

Ordered to Disembark ix Egypt. 31

gained a good deal of geographical knowledge — at the same
time removing an amount of ignorance, the price of previous
insularity.

From Suez to the Bitter Lakes, past all the posts we w^ere
destined to know so well; past Ismailia and the fortifications
of Kantara, the transports slowly steamed. It was the New
Zealander's first real glimpse of Empire. Here lining the
banks were the picturesque bearded Sikhs, the native cavalry
and infantry from every frontier State, and the alert Ghurka
with his familiar slouch hat and short trousers.

At Port Said the German prisoners of war were trans-
ferred to the "Hampshire."' This was the last we saw of the
famous cruiser, fated to become, on the disastrous day,
July 5, 1916, oif the Orkneys coast, the ocean mausoleum of
that great soldier, Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener of Khartoum.

Exactly seven weeks after leaving Wellington Harbour,
the look-outs saw with the daAvn of December 3, the great
white city of Alexandria standing in a sea of mist. Slowly
we forged ahead until clustering spars resolved themselves
into a multitude of transports and captured sailing ships, for
here were interned most of the enemy mercantile marine
captured in the Eastern Mediterranean. By 8 o'clock that
morning six of the New Zealand transports were alongside,
and clamouring round, the long-skirted rabble of the Egyptian
seaport beheld in the stalwart colonials the same material as
that which wrested victory at Tel-el-Kebir and Omdurman.

The poor horses were delighted to get ashore ; groggy on
their feet, they cut the most amusing capers. Soon men and
stores, guns and horses, were en route to the railway station,
where troop trains were waiting, and in a few hours were
speeding across some of the most magnificent agricultural
countrv in the world — the delta of the Nile.

CHAPTER III.

Training in Egypt.

The first troop train, with Divisional Headqiiarters on
board, got away late in the afternoon, and pursued its way
past old Lake Mareotis, with the little brown fishing boat£
dotted over its waters, into the heart of the Nile Delta. Iq
the failing light the network of irrigation canals, the graceful
date palms, and the unpretentious mud houses were dimly
discernible.

All night long more trains were loaded and disappeared
into the gloom. The Cairo-Alexandria express would be a
credit to any English railway company, doing the journey of
133 miles in a little over three hours, but the troop trains,
like their kindred all over the world, took a little more
leisure, being about eight hours on the way, the first train
reaching Zeitoun, four miles further on through Cairo, at
1 o'clock the next morning. The baggage and supplies were
tumbled out into the darkness ; guards were mounted ; and
horses and men trudged their weary way about a mile and a
half along a dusty white road and across a sandy desert,
eventually coming to a halt near a racecourse, to the picket
fence of which the horses were made secure, while those who
could lay down on the sand to snatch an hour or two of
sleep.

It was the Egyptian winter and the nights were exceed-
ingly cold, but the weary men slept on. More and more
trains rolled in to Helmieh and Palais de Koubbeh ; more and
more men and horses stumbled into the bivouac, until about
5 o'clock even the heaviest sleeper was awake and endea-
vouring to restore circulation until the rising sun should
dissipate the morning mist. A great hunger became infec-
tious — most men had a ration of bully beef and biscuits, but
the wherewithal to make the welcome billy of tea was not
forthcoming. Then the New Zealanders found real friends —
friends in need — the men of the East Lancashire Territorial
Division, for the generous North Countrymen arrived with

Training in Egypt.

steaming dixies of tea and "summat t' eat." These were the
first English troops we had ''lain" alongside, and the good-
fellowship so welcomely begun in the desert was strengthened
later on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Presently the sun burst triumphantly through the mist
and disclosed a bivouac of thousands of men and horses lying
on the edge of a limitless desert. As far as the eye could see
was a yellow sandy plain. This was skirted on the Cairo side
by the main Heliopolis-Suez road, which ran east and west
through the camp, and was bounded on the far horizon by a
range of low brown sandhills. Soon all hands were at work
pitching headquarters and the supply depots south of this

[I'li'.fr, hy flte Author
"DONKS."
These b\g mules of the N.Z. Divisional Train were bred in North America.

main road and the other units north of it. A new road at
right angles to the main road was constructed in a northerly
direction — on the right of which the mounted rifles, artillery
and ambulance placed their tents and horse lines, while the
infantry occupied the whole of the left hand side. Water-
pipes had been laid on and watering troughs for horses were
already on the ground, and by evening some order had been
evolved, though many troops had again to bivouac in the
open, realizing that, notwithstanding the poets, the sands of
the desert do become very cold about 2 o'clock in the
morning.

By the end of a week all the ships had been cleared of
men, horses and stores, and the three colonial camps had
shaken down into something like order — the Australian

The New Zealanders at GaIjLipoli.

infantry at Mena, under the shadow of the great Pyramids ;
the Australian Light Horse at Medi ; and the New Zealanders
at Zeitoun. The horses were not fit for either transport work
or driving, but for a week or two were exercised in pro-
gressive work until able to stand the strain of manoeuvres. Out
of nearly four thousand horses only eighty-eight failed to sur-
vive the buffetting journey through the Tasnian Sea and Great
Australian Bight, the sweltering heat of the Indian Ocean
and the Red Sea, and the hazardous acclimatization in a hot
and sandy desert — there they stood in long and polished rows,
chewing the succulent berseem and munching the dry and
uninviting tibbin, which apparently caused the horses much
less concern than it did the anxious troopers.

Training commenced in earnest. Early every morning the
infantry battalions paraded in full marching order and
trudged through miles of sandy desert. Like so much of the

[Photo hy the Avthor

The Watek Cabt on the Desert.

soldier's life, this work was not interesting, but it was neces-
sary; with clothing designed for a cool climate the long
columns swung out along the never-ending sands, hardening
the hardy ones, the cruel desert slowly but mercilessly win-
nowing out the few unfit. If a man had a bad knee or a
weak chest, those weary sweltering marches and misty nights
sought out the weak, who were sent to the Egyptian Army
Hospital at Abassia, where Australian nurses of Queen
Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service nursed them tenderly

Training in Egypt.

back to health, or sent them broken-hearted to convalesce at
Alexandria preparatory to their long sea voyage home.

The mounted rifles, artillery and engineers daily exercised
their horses and teams until it was possible to have squadron
and battery training. Out in the hot sun all day, by dili-
gence and care, men and horses became efficient units in the

,j.,„; .'.-/ Capt. Boxer, N.Z.M.C.
In the Shade of the Date Palms.

great machine. The way was not always a sandy one; some-
times the route lay along the banks of the irrigation canals,
past ancient sakiehs and Archimedean screws lifting the pre-
cious water into the little tributary canals that are the life of
Egypt. Past fields of wheat and tomatoes; acres of beans
reminding one of Thoreau's sojourn in the wilds; down
scented orange groves and acacia avenues; through acres and
acres of the clover known as berseem — the soldiers went their
way, marvelling at the fertility of a land that produces three
crops within the year.

On those fresh dewy mornings, with the crows chattering
noisily in the trees overhead, one realized what made Egypt
triumph over Time. These simple fellaheen and their for-
bears had Avatched Hittite, Assyrian, Persian, Greek and
Roman sweep through the country and ravish its beauty, to

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

be followed in later days by Saracen and Turk with the same
intent ; and here, long years after, following in the great line
of fighting men. but striving for freedom and not conquest,
the soldiers from the Antipodes, glorying in their youth, pass

[Photo by the Author

Cattle on BEi;^i;i:-M.

Berseem is a variety of lucerne, and is the staple green food of camels, horses,
cattle, goats and sheep. It helps to keep the Nile Delta fertile.

the old obelisk at Heliopolis and recognize that, perhaps more
than pride of race, a fertile soil and a diligent husbandry
make for national longevity.

It may have been because of the church parades, where
men sang the hymns they knew — hymns associated with their
early life and Sunday school, or
perhaps during the service men
let their minds wander from the
dust and glare of Egypt to the
green fields and the loved ones
of home — but whatever the cause,
Sunday was essentially the day
of letter writing. On Sunday
afternoons, groups of men wan-
dered farther afield — to the mighty
Pyramids of Ghizeh, there to pose
on the protesting camels for the
conventional photograph of tourist,
sphinx and pyramid ; or perchance
to the Zoo at Ghezireh, with its •lizzie

quaint mosaic paths, its giraffes and the Ijewitching ''Lizzie,'*

Training in Egypt.

with her radiant sniik^ and open conntenance. Crowds
were fascinated by the collection of antiquities in the Egyptian
Museum, and by those polished cases in Avhich, surrounded by
great sphinxes and pylons, sleep the former kings of four and
five thousand years ago. It is difficult to conceive that these
were ever people of tiesh and blood, until the revelation of
mummified queens with their tiny babies forces one to realize
that they, too, once were really human in their hates and loves,
their triumphs and disappointments.

Most of the soldiers' spare time was naturally spent in
Cairo. Here everything seemed to be licensed except the
drinking shops — the newsboy needed a license to sell his
papers; the donkey boys and donkeys, who seemed number-
less, were really carefully numbered; the futile red-tarbuvshed
police spent much of their time chasing the bootblack who
dared to ply without a permit. Owing to the war, the tourist
season had failed — the rich Americans had stayed at home —

[Photo by f)n 1 iiih'

"Milk Diet."
A Camel Study on the road to Helouan.

but in the well-paid Australians and New Zealanders the
astute merchants found suitable substitutes, whom they pro-
ceeded to bleed most unmercifully. Out into the streets they
came with their wares. In the natural course of affairs men
hawked sugar-cane, vegetables, live poultry, sweetmeats and
cakes; the clang of the liquorice-water sellers' gongs clashed
with those of the lemonade man; round the cafes, where the

38 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

patron sits at a little table on a footpath, men tendered their
little trays of shrimps and dusty plates of strawberries — all
these now supplemented by an army of boys and men trading
walking-sticks and swagger canes by the thousand; antiques
made out of Nile mud ; ancient Dervish weapons with the dust
of Birmingham still upon them; foreign postage stamps on
sheets; scenic postcards and questionable pictures; dainty
little fly- whisks and ''pieces of the true Cross."

Watching from the balconies of the fashionable hotels
(every soldier is fashionable while the money lasts) the pro-
cession filling the street below was always interesting. The
Rolls-Royce of the Egyptian Pasha slowing down behind a
string of heavily-laden camels; a man with a performing
monkey protesting against the intrusion of a flock of turkeys
shepherded ahead and astern by old women — solemnly down
the main street of Cairo go the old ladies with the birds; a
wedding procession with a raucous band meanders past; and
jostling one another on the road, shouting arbagis with their
two-horse cabs, scurrying motor cyclists of the Army of Occu-
pation, and the quaint one-horsed lorries perambulating the
closely-veiled collection of ladies that go to make the modest
modern harem.

Like the schoolboy, the soldier dearly loves a tuck shop.
Army fare is very monotonous. The soldier on trek and in
the trenches constantly talks of his likes and dislikes in the
matter of eating and drinking. So it was that the hotels were
always crowded — a hot bath and a meal were always welcome
— and the girls of Cairo were never treated more liberally
and often to the daintiness of Sault's and Groppi's.

The Egyptian, like the Babu, is fond of bursting into print.
The comedian in the colonial forces discovered a rich new
field. Eating houses purveying the fried steak and eggs and
tomatoes, together with imitation Scotch whisky and Greek
beer, came forth in all their glory of calico signs inscribed
"The Balclutha Bar," this with a fine disregard for the pro-
hibition tendencies of the Southern town; "The Waipukurau
Reading Rooms," and the "Wellington Hotel— very cheap and
breezy." Every township in Australia and New Zealand was
similarly honoured ! -

40 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The most ubiquitous person was easily the bootblack. A
soldier could not walk along the street without being besieged
by a pestering multitude crying "Bootsa clean, sir! no good,
no money ; Kiwi polish, sir ! ' ' Upon sitting down in a rail-
way station or elsewhere, one's boots would be attacked by
a swarm which had to be literally kicked away.

The places of amusement were very attractive. The
houses that combined refreshment with entertainment were
liberally patronized ; the food was much appreciated, and the
efforts of the artists cheerfully tolerated. In the first flush
of life in a Continental city, the casinos, dancing houses and
saloons were far too popular, until the nastiness of these
places became apparent through the numbers on the morning
sick parades, whereupon officers and men alike realized that
they could not keep fit by dancing till the small hours of the
morning. The soldier knows his faults, but he strongly
resents armchair criticism. It is not difficult to avoid tempta-
tion if one sits quietly at home. A cabbage is not immoral,
it is unmoral. It is easy to condemn the men who sometimes
are not temperate in all things, but the soldier finds it easy to
live a prodigal life. He reasons, perhaps quite wrongly, that
he may as well eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow he
may be in the casualty list. The soldier will not try to defend
his conduct. He recognizes he is a man, Avith most of the
human frailties, yet is prepared at a word and for an ideal,
to place his body as a shield between his country and his
country's enemies.

It was decided to use the New Zealand Expeditionary
Force as the nucleus of a Division. The New Zealand In-
fantry Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Eifles Brigade
were to be joined by the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade
and the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, at that time on the
high seas, en route to Egypt. As regards divisional troops,
there was a great shortage. A Divisional Ammunition Column
was an urgent necessity. A cable was sent to New Zealand
asking for the despatch of a second Howitzer Battery (one
was already on the water) and a Howitzer Brigade Ammuni-
tion Column as the necessary complement. A Field Company
of Engineers was to be formed out of surplus reinforcements,

Training in Egypt.

and a cable was despatched to New Zealand for a second
company. The Divisional Train was to be organized as soon
as the men and mechanical transport could be obtained. The
Ceylon Planters' Rifle Corps was also attached and posted to
the Wellington Infantry Battalion as a fifth company.

[Lent by Major Brunt, W.I.B.
New Zealand Fiioi.l. Aj;rii.hHRY passing Bab-el-Hadid, Cairo.

The camp rapidly acquired a well-groomed air. Patterns
in stone ornamented the surroundings of each tent. Regi-
mental crests and mottoes, representations of New Zealand
birds and Maori proverbs were picked out in little coloured
pebbles gathered on the desert. It was discovered that oats,
rice and other grains, if soaked in water, germinated
vigorously when planted in the sand. Soon among the tents
of the mounted units there appeared many green patches like
miniature lawns. Round the officers' messes more elaborate
gardens were attempted. From Cairene florists pot plants
were procured; these were plunged, pot and all, into beds
made of soil carted from the Canal banks, and there, watered
by the careful Arab gardener, roses and canna bloomed
profusely.

The newspaper boys were a never failing fount of amuse-
ment. Knowing no English but a few carefully taught swear
words, these boys would stop the first slouch hat they met,
and ask to have read over in English the gist of the head-
lines. Many an honest soldier would read the lines as printed,
but it was too good a field for the wags to miss. Accord-
ingly it was not uncommon to hear the news cried something

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

'Oringies!'

like this: " 'Tinie-ees Egyp.' Very good news! Captain ■

dead again!" One small boy made a hobby of "Very good
news! 'Egyptian Times' to-morrow!"

Next to the newsboys in number and popularity were the
sellers of oranges. Wherever the troops went in the desert,
at smoke-oh, up would come the boys with the "oringies, very
beeg, very sweet," three for a
half-piastre. The oranges were
little ones, but with a very
meaty and juicy pulp, and
were most grateful and re-
freshing in the desert heat.
So sudden was their appear-
ance that it seemed these
people, together with the boys
who sold the cakes and the
ones with the hard-boiled eggs,
must live in the clouds and
drop straight down wherever
the dust cloud settled.

Egypt was nominally a province of Turkey, but the
Khedive, Abbas Hilma Pasha, having gone over to the Central
Powers with Turkey, it was notified on December 18, 1914,
that Egypt was placed under the protection of His Majesty
the King. The suzerainty of Turkey over Egypt thus ter-
minated. The person appointed to the place of the late
Khedive was His Highness Prince Hussein Kamel Pasha, the
eldest living prince of the family of Mohammed Ali. His
Highness was to be proclaimed Sultan of Egypt at the Abdin
Palace, Cairo, on the morning of December 20. The Aus-
tralians and New Zealanders furnished representatives to Ime
the streets — the Otago and Wellington Infantry Battalions
with their bands doing duty for New Zealand. The detach-
ment of Ceylon Planters' Rifles Corps also assisted in guard
duty and were posted in the Abdin Square. The streets
and buildings were gaily decorated — many Italian and Greek
and French flags being displayed, but principally Union Jacks
and ensigns and the new Egyptian flag, red with three white
crescents and stars. -

The March through Cairo.
The Field Troop of New Zealand Engineers passing Shepheard's Hotel.

44 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The authorities entrusted with holding Egypt and the
Suez Canal were sorely troubled in early December in re-
ference to the Turks proclaiming a Holy War. The Na-
tionalists were active, but with the arrival of the colonial
troops the anxiety of those responsible was greatly relieved.
The suspected civilians and Turkish officers holding high
command in the Egyptian Army were deported to Malta. The
Egyptian understands armed strength and despises weakness.
Being aware of this, it was deemed advisable to parade the
troops as strong as possible and march through the most
populous parts of the city.

The New Zealanders were ordered to march through Cairo
three days after the coronation. Leaving the camp early in
the morning, the parade moved down the beautiful asphalt
roads ; past processions of camels laden with sugar-cane ; past
old women with their herds of predatory flocks of sheep and
goats; past Pont Limoun and Bab-el-Hadid barracks to the
Opera Square, where the General Officer Commanding His
Majesty's Forces in Egypt took the salute. This far was
plain sailing, but presently the head of the column dived down
a narrow bazaar where four men could hardly ride abreast.
Into this dark slum went the mounted men; the glistening
guns of the artillery ; the collapsible boats of the Field Troop ;
the cable Avaggons of the signallers ; then the long line of
desert-trained, sun-tanned infantry, with the ambulance and
some more mounted men bringing up the rear. In the bazaars
it was almost dark, and in the narrower streets, where the
projecting balconies seemed to meet overhead, it was not
much better. It Avas a relief to get to wider streets and less
foul air. Lining the streets were thousands of people, all
seemingly in a good humour. In the open workshops, old
men working at primitive loom and lathe never even looked
up. Down past the schools and colleges, where hot-headed
young Nationalists were wont to air their grievances, the
cavalcade clattered on its noisy way; here, perhaps, there
was a little scowling. The common people — the men
clad in their many-coloured robes and each wearing the red,
flat-topped fez worn by every male from the Sultan to the
donkey driver — made quite a splash of colour as they crowded

Training in Egypt.

on the sidewalk in the shade of the trees and cliecred and
clapped with apparent earnestness. Even as the fellaheea
appreciates the fact that under British rule he has to pay his
taxes only once, so the poor and working class of Egypt
recognized that since these bloodless conquerors arrived from
overseas, even the beggar and the seller of Turkish delight
had accumulated a little hoard of piastres. The disturbances
of 1919, however, show that the Egyptian of the cities is a
very gullible person.

Author

An EiiVPTiAx Plough MAN.

The wooil.-n plouah is shod with a metal point. The furrow is not turned

over. The earth is merely broken and pushed aside.

Christmas Eve saw the arrival of the British section of the
New Zealanders, a contingent of six officers and 234 other
ranks who had enlisted in England. These were men who
were away from New^ Zealand when w^ar broke out — some
were gold-dredging in the East; some were working in the
copper mines in Spain ; but wherever they were— Pernambuco,
Sarawak or the Andes— when the call came they hastened to
the Old Country and enlisted. Engineers, sailors, painters,
actors and gentlemen of leisure, they banded together in
England and were organized as a machine-gun corps for
France, but were eventually sent out to Egypt. Smart and
well drilled, they made an excellent impression, and were just
the men wanted for the nucleus of the new engineer and trans-
port services, between which two branches they were equally
divided.

The Christmas dinner was eaten out of doors in the hot
sun, as the new dining huts were not ready. New Year was

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

ushered in l)y festivals in the city, while out on the desert the
regimental bands played all the old familiar tunes, the men
meanwhile holding impromptu dances under the silent desert
stars.

CilKIST-MAN DiNNKR. 1914.

I'hutu by the Author

Every week the division was becoming better organized
and more like the working whole. From day to day inspec-
tions were held by the subordinate commanders. Periodically,
staff officers held minute inspection of units, until on two
occasions the whole division was paraded for General Max-
well, the General Oi!icer Commanding the Force in Egypt.
Each day now saw an improvement. Transport was con-
tinually arriving. The division was now officially styled "The
New Zealand and Australian Division," as there would be
two complete Australian Brigades incorporated — the 1st Light
Horse and the 4th Infantry Brigade.

January 25 was a red-letter day, occupied by the New
Zealand Infantry preparing the camp for the 4tli Australian
Brigade, due to arrive during the week. But at 5 o'clock
that afternoon came the thrilling news from Army Corps
Headquarters that the Infantry Brigade was needed hurriedly
on the Suez Canal to support the Indian troops against an
attack by the Turks, who were reported to be advancing.
During that night seven days' supplies were carted to the
railway stations of Helmieh and Palais de Koubbeh ; ammuni-
tion Avas served out; men's kits were checked and deficiencies
supplied. Far into the . night excited soldiers talked, and
scorning sleep, waited expectantly for the morroAv.

CHAPTER IV.

The DeCeiue of the Suez Canal.

The New Zealand troops detailed to assist in the defence
of the Suez Canal Avere the Auckland, Wellington, Canter-
bury and Otago Infantry Battalions and the New Zealand
Field Ambulance. At 7 a.m., on January 26, the entrainment
commenced; everybody working with a will, the last train
cleared Helmieh Siding at 3 in the afternoon. Brigade Head-
quarters, the Auckland and Canterbury Battalions, and two

--c.K^BiKi

[Photo hy the Author
En route to the Suez Canal.
Tel-el-Kebir is the scene of the famous battle fought by Lord Wolseley in 1882.

sections of the Field Ambulance detrained at Ismailia ; the
Wellington and Otago Battalions and one section (fl the Field
Ambulance going on to Kubri, about twelve miles north of
Suez.

A glance at the map will show that the defence of Egypt
from the Turk was strengthened by two great natural
obstacles — natural from a military point of view — the arid
wastes of the Sinai Desert, and the chahi of salt lakes con-
nected by the Suez Canal. In those days, when trained men
were not plentiful, it was natural that this long ribbon of sea
water — nowhere less than sixty-five yards wide — should be

MEDITERRANEAN
SEA

\ PORTS AID

Egypt and the Suez Canal.

This iiKip shows how tlie troops defending the Suez Canal couht have beea
(Hiic'kly reinforced from the camps near Cairn

The Defence op the Suez Canal.

low sandhill?:
Across this

selected as the line of resistance, although imich elaborate
fortification had been made on the eastern bank, more par-
ticularly at Kantara. In the matter of heavy artillery we
had the advantage, as the Turk had to bring his guns over
miles of soft sand, whereas w^e employed ships of the Royal
Navy, which, with their powerful guns, could move up and
down Ihe defence line, easily outranging the most powerful
Turkish artillery.

About thirty miles south of Port Said a few
cut oft' Lake Menzala from the Balah Lakes,
narrow isthmus ran the old
caravan route, through Kan-
tara, from Syria to Egypt
This was the classical way for
an army attacking Egypt.
So Kantara was made extra
strong and garrisoned by
Indian regulars.

Based on Ismailia itself
were three sets of posts. A
few miles north was El
Ferdan, where a company
and two platoons of the
Auckland and Canterbury
Battalions were stationed ;
the second group was nearer
Ismailia — two posts, one
called Battery Post, with two
platoons of New Zealanders
as part of its garrison, the

other, Ismailia Ferry, with one comi)any ; in reserve at Ismailia
were Brigade Headquarters, with the remainder of the
Canterbury and Auckland Battalions not absorbed by the posts.

Between Lake Timsah and the Great Bitter Lake was an
important stretch of the Canal, only aljout seven miles long,
but comprising the two posts of Toussoum and Serapeum.
At the latter post, two platoons of the Canterbury Battalion
(the 12th Nelson Company) were instrumental in helping to
stave off the most determined attack ever made by the Turks
on Egypt.

"KrKRis"
The (iliurku bailn'e and wenpon.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

South of Serapeum the Canal widens into the Great Bitter
Lakes and the Little Bitter Lake, the defence of this part
of the line naturally being entrusted to the Navy, assisted
by two French cruisers. Between the loAver lake and Suez,
a distance of about fifteen miles, the Wellington and Otago
Battalions were distributed — units at different times being
posted at Shalouf, Baluchistan, Ghurka Posts, El Kubi-i and
Suez.

About midnight on the night of our arrival at Kubri, a
party of Turks made a great show of liveliness, evidently to
•draAv fire and so obtain some information as to our strength
and dispositions. But nothing came of these diversions, which
occilrred periodically.

Waitiiij; for the Turk.

Some of our posts were on the Sinai side of the Canal,
some on the Egyptian side. Up and down we were connected
by telephone to all these posts and the batteries. The Turkish
intelligence system was very active, whatever its efficiency,
for on one night the wires from Kubri were cut no less than
five times, although the line was being specially watched.

In the Si'Kz Canal.

The provision of desert patrols, post guards, Canal ]nitrols,
listening and examination posts, took up most of the time.
The work was hard but full of interest. The Turk was not
far away, and it was exhilarating making preparations for his
downfall. On both sides of the Canal, trenches had to be dug

Waiting for the Tfrk.

and sandbagged, and strong posts of tactical importance con-
structed. Every day it Avas regretted that though the Turks
were quiescent, armies of mosquitoes were extremely active.
Ships of all the Allies and the neutral nations passed slowly
through the Canal, carrying many civilian Australians and
New Zealanders to and from the south. After the heat of
Cairo, the daily dip was a great l)Oon, particularly as the
ladies on the passing vessels threw many luxuries to the
soldiers in the water. Especially at Ismailia were the sur-
roundings agreeable. The men in their spare time bathed
in Lake Timsah, lolled in the shade of the high acacias, and
marvelled at the masses of l:)OUgainvillea climlnng in its purple
glory among the dark grecMi trees.

On January 28, the "Willochra" discharged the infantry
of the Second Reinforcements at Suez, from whence they
travelled by rail to Cairo. The ships carrying the 4th Aus-
tralian Infantry Brigade, together with the New Zealand
transports "Verdala" and "Knight of the Garter," steamed

iP-m.-

\Lfnt hi, Major Bnnn, W.l.R.
IX THE Caxai. P>ank.

up through the Canal to the accompaniments of tumultous
cheering, which burst forth anew when their escort was dis-
covered to be the Australian submarine AE2, steaming awash
between the banks lined Avith enthusiastic East Lancashires,
Indians, Australians and New Zealanders.

The end of January drew near and still the Turks did not
attack. Occasionally the outposts on either side saw shadowy

52 The New Zealaxders at Gallipoli.

forms and fired into the dark. Our Intelligence Department
had gleaned some knowledge of the enemy's dispositions. It
was known that about forty miles east of the Canal, opposite
Serapeum, he was concentrating in a deep valley, from whence
it was believed he intended to advance in two columns — one
on Kantara and the other on Serapeum. These were the
obvious routes, the only other feasible one being by way
of Kubri.

The troops were very fit and well dug in. Every man —
English, Indian, and Colonial — was a volunteer in the strictesi;
sense and eager to try conclusions with the enemy. On the
last day of the month we were greatly cheered by the news
that the "Blucher" had been sunk in the North Sea.

It was discovered that the Turkish column, marching by
Avay of the old caravan road towards Kantara, moved at
nights, using the telegraph line as a guide. The Indians had
prepared elaborate fortifications and wire entanglements out
from Kantara, then skilfully altered the direction of the
telegraph line, so that it might end in carefully concealed
barbed Avire and pointed stakes.

-iHfWV

[Lent iy Major Brunt, W.I.B.
The Taeanaki Section of Kubri Fort.
The wii-e running out is an alarm wire connected with the wire
entanglements in front.

Affairs of outposts gradually became matters of frequency
over the length of the line. The Turk was making a show of
reconnaissance from Kantara to Kubri, but everywhere a
warm welcome was awaiting him.

Our First Battle.

At last, on the night of February 2/3, it was obvious that
the great attack had commenced. At Kantara the enemy

Our First Battt-e.

made an early morning attack on the ontposts, which was
easily repulsed. Then their main l)ody came down the do-
eeiving telegraph line. To the intense delight of the Indians the
enemy walked straight into the trap, and were scattered to the
four winds of the desert by carefully posted machine guns.
It was quite evident that Kantara would not fall. But the
enemy maintained a certain measure of activity, advancing
and digging in just out of range. He showed no anxiety for
a closer acquaintance, ])ut appeared content to throAv a few
shells at the posts and occasionally at the shipping on Lake
Timsah. This continued all day, until he was evidently
ordered to the attack. It was a miserably feeble effort,
which rapidly converted itself into a hasty retirement.

Some of the Canterburys were at El Ferdan, upon which
post four small enemy field guns opened a desultory fire, but
w^ere quickly put out of action by a few well directed rounds
from H.M.S. "Clio."

Down at Kubri the troops were on the alert. H.M.S.
"Himalaya" used her searchlights all night, flingiaig her
ghostly beams of light far over the desert and preventing
any surprise attack. A few shots were fired by the outposts,
but well-directed fire from the "Himalaya" deterred the
Turk from making any organized advance.

The only place at which a comparatively serious attack
was pressed home was in the neighbourhood of Toussoum and
Serapeum. On the evening of February 2, the 12th Nelson
Company of the Canterbury Battalion was holding a section
of 800 yards. On their left the line was taken up by the
62nd Punjabis. At about 3.25 next morning the enemy
opened fire with machine guns, and at 3.30 it was evident that

ILt'iit hi) ('apt. Saunders, 12th Nel. Reg.
Where the Attack came.
This is the part of the Canal where the pontoons were launched. The 12th
Nelson Company was holding a line near the fir trees.

The New Zealaxders at Gallipoli.

he was making an attack a few hnndred yards on our left.
Thirty men of the Nelsons were at once doubled over tJ
assist the Indians, but were surprised to find no troops there !
The enemy, in five pontoons, was already crossing the Canal!
The handful of New Zealanders opened fire and drove back
the boats. The other platoons of the Nelsons kept up. a steady
long-range fire. Soon both banks of the Canal were ablaze
with the spluttering of rifies fired by soldiers undergoing their
baptism of fire. The rival artilleries now came into action,
and by dawn the l^attle raged over the two and a half miles

IjIFting the Poxtooxs.
The flr trees on our side of the Canal are discprnible. The
])ontoons were sunk by rifle fire. The large holes were made
with axes to render the boats unserviceable.

of Canal in the neighbourhood of TousSoum and Serapeum.
The Turk made attempt after attempt, bat our infantry easily
accounted for the men in the pontoons; the field artillery
scattered the bridge-making squads; and when it was fully
light, the ships' guns caused such consternation in the
enemv's reserves that gradually the attack melted away.

Captured Ttrkisii Orders.

Everywhere in front of the Ime between Toussouni and Sera-
penni lay dozens of enemy dead.

At noon the Pnnjabis
counter-attaeked with con-
siderable effect, took many
prisoners, and cleared a
large area of the enemy.
In the afternoon the New
Zealanders were ordered to
close on the 22nd Indian
Brigade Headquarters, and
during this movement we
suffered our first New Zea-
land casualties — one sergeant
being- wounded and a private
of the 12th Nelson Company
died as the result of wounds
received in action — the first
soldier of the New Zealand
Expeditionary Force to be
killed on the field of battle.
The troops spent an expec-
tant nio-ht but UOthino- fur- the first Max Killed ix Actiox

tant nigni, dux noinnis, iui ^^^^ ^^^^ ^.^^^.^^^. ^j^^,^ ^^ ,. ._,^,. p,.i,-ate

thpv i-nntprinliypfl William Arthur Ham, 12th (Nelson) Com-

inei maieridil/ea. ^^^^^. ^^ ^,^g Canterbm-y infantry Battalion.

Captured Turkish Orders.

From daylight on the morning of the 4th, parties cleared
up the battlefield, burying hundreds of Turks. Captured
orders showed that the attempt was to have been made on
a grand scale, but something must have sadly miscarried.
The following extracts dealing with the main attack reveal
Turkish Orders at their best: "By the grace of Allah we shall
attack the enemy on the night of Feln-uary 2/3, and seize the
Canal. Simultaneously with us the right column will attack
Kantara; the 68th Regiment Avill attack El Ferdan and Is-
mailia; the left column will attack Suez; and one company
from the 10th Division will attack Shallufa. The champions
of Islam, from Tripoli in Africa, from the left wing will

The New Zealanders at Galijpoij.

[Ph<ii<, hji ihr Avllmr

( A I'll KK II 1^

,1 i>MAILIA.

advance to Sera])eiim and the south of 8era])euni. ... As soon
as it is darlv the heavy artillery battery will take up its
position. Its task is to destroy the enemy's warships in Lake
Timsah. If it gets the opportunity, it is to sink a ship at

the entrance to

the Canal

Three regiments
will proceed to
the Camp of the
Bridgemakers ; the
detachments Avill
take pontoon and
engineer soldiers
from the com-
paiiies selected as
attack column . . .
The advances from
the 'place of pre-
paration' is to be
m a d e simulta-
neously in eight

[Lent hi, Cnpf. Bo.rrr. N.Z.M.C. columUS at & plaCB

A T.RKISH PRISONER. ^^ ^^^ ^^^,^|^ ^^^^J^

in a straight line; a pontoon is to be given to each squad:
each S(iuad is to send forward a party to reconnoitre

Capti'red TiRKisii Ordkrs.

The march to the Canal is about four or five kilo-
metres, and is to be accomplished without halt. The
pontoons are to be launched in the Canal and the passage
across is to begin immediately. . . . The first duty of the
detacliments wiiich cross is to occupy the sh)pe of the western
bank. The two companies collected on the western bank are
to advance 500 or 1000 uu^tres from the Canal and take up ?
favourable position facing west. After all the battalions in
the first line have been mustered they are to continue the
march. The 2/75th Eegiment is to seize Toussoum and
occupy the hill with small foi'ce. The 74th Regiment is to

7S^' CONSTANTINOPEL ^\:L

[Photo bij the Author
Bows OF Turkish Pontoons.
Tlie poiifoons are of German make, as the spelling of "the home port" iiulieates.

take the direction towards Timsah and the west, and is to
advance as far as the railway line. . . .If the regiments meet
with opposition from the enemy while occupying these posi-
tions, they are at once to execute a fierce bayonet charge. . . .
At first I will be at the little hill on which are two sandhills;
later on I shall go towards Toussoum." All of which showing
that even early in the War the best laid plans of Turk and
Hun went very much astray. Instead of executing fierce
bayonet charges and taking up favourable positions facing
west, the broken remnants of the champions of Islam had in
large measure fled a considerable distance east — going so far

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

and so quickly that an aeroplane reconnaisance of sixty miles
showed great clouds of dust still hastening towards the
desert sanctuary.

The enemy's total casualties were about 3000 in killed,
wounded and prisoners. The British loss was 18 killed and
83 wounded. The naval casualties were also infinitesimal — ■

TURKISH Prisoners captured on the Canal.

This picture, -which shows the physique of the Turk, was taken by

Lieut. A. E. Forsythe, (12th Nelsons) who was killed on Gallipoli.

one man killed on the ''Swiftsure" and ten wounded on the
"Hardinge." Thus Avas the enemy's much-heralded attack
brought to confusion. From that day the Suez Canal, thanks
to the efforts of the British and Indian troops and the Allied
navies, has been open day and night to the ships of friendly
nations.

Three weeks of waiting ensued. There was certainly work
to be done, but the Canal is just the Canal, and men get A^ery
sick of it. Any change is' welcome to the soldier. It was a
relief to climb into the troop trains on February 26 and
eventually arrive in the old encampment near Zeitoun.

Ketiirii to Zcitonii.

The New Zealand and Australian Division Avas now feeling
its feet, and towards the end of March the Third Reinforce-
ments arrived and Avere promptly drafted to the units re-

Return to Zeitoun.

(luiring theiu, i)arlieularly the Field Engineers and Divisional
Train. Among them Avas a Maori contingent of 14 officers
and 425 other ranks, eager to prove that they were too good
for garrison duty. Egypt had never seen their betters as
regards drill, physique and discipline.

About this time the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force
came into being. The air was full of rumours; soon it
became manifest that the two Colonial Divisions — the 1st Aus-
tralian Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division
— were, as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, to
be called on to engage in a most important enterprise.
Bustling administrative officers from the two Divisions com-
menced addressing their letters to Army Headquarters as
A.N.Z.A.C, little realizing they were unconsciously creating
a word destined to ring with glory down the ages.

How the prospect of humbling the Turk appealed to these
young crusaders from the far South! What an atmosphere
of anticipation pervaded the camp when it was learned that
the Division was to be paraded for the last searching inspec-

[Photo by the Author
A Cosmopolitan Aemy.
In this picture ai'e Australian Sisrnallers, Ceylon Rifle Planters, British,
French, and Australian Officers.

tion by the illustrious soldier to whom Britain had entrusted
the confounding of the Turk. There was a certain element
of romance in these young, untried divisions from the New
"World daring to confront one of the oldest and most warlike
of the Old World races.

60 '^ The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

An Inspection on tlie Desert.

Just a year before, Sir Ian Hamilton, reviewing the New
Zealanders and Australians in their own lands, expressed the
Avish that some day these w^onderful horsemen might be shown
to the world. By a strange chance, here they w^ere in Africa,
soon to be led by him in their first great visit to Europe
Surrounded by his staff, here again he sees them in the desert.
Squadron after squadron go the 1st Light Horse Brigade, the
pride of all Australia ; then the New Zealand Mounted Rifles —
men from the AVaikato, the Wairarapa, the Waitaki, and
every country district in betw^een — prance gaily past in a
cloud of dust and locusts; following the mounted rifles come
the divisional artillery, all New Zealanders — Avith their cap
badges blacke-ned for war and their guns bedaubed with
multi-coloured paints in a manner to make an old battery
sergeant-major go crazy. Here are the handy men of the
army — the divisional engineers with their great pontoons,
and their confreres the signallers — wise men with buzzers
and telephones and other signalling paraphernalia bedecking
their horses and waggons. Following the "fancy troops," in
solid ranks of khaki and with bayonets flashing in the desei't
sun, come the infantry brigades of the Division. These are
the men who trudge all day in the desert and at night dig
themselves in, bivouacking and trudging on again next morn-
ing. The New Zealand Brigade marches brilliantly: every
man is a prouder man than when he left New Zealand, for the
infantry alone out of our Division participated in the defence
of the Canal.

Now come the newly joined 4th Australian Infantry
Brigade, and, closely following, the waggons of the divisional
train ; finally the field ambulance, flying their great Red
Cross flags. By this time everybody is covered with grey
desert dust and the plain is obscured as if with the smoke of
a great bush fire. The march past over, units make for home
by the shortest route. Soon the horses are rubbed down and
are munching their tibbin and crushed barley, while the men
are crowding the showers preparatory to the call of the cook-
house.

A ElOT IN THE EZBEKIEH QUARTERS.

That night we realized that at last the long-desired stan-
dard was attained — the New Zealand and Anstraliaii Division
was pronounced fit for active service.

A Kiot in the Ezbekieli Quarter.

Good Friday was a bad day for Australia and New Zea-
land. This was the occasion of the great riot. There were
reasons for this outburst. On that holiday morning all troops
"were given leave for the dav. There was nothing to do in

[/•/("'(. bn flu- Author
Divisional HeadQiarters.
ShowiiiK Head-ciiiarters oars and signallers on the old Suez Road. The officer
in the foreground is Lt. Col. G. R. Pridham, D.S.O., R.E., the talented
C.R.E. of the Division in Gallipoli and France.

the town, so some men got more than was good for them of
the wretched liquors sold in those tenth-rate cafes and dancing-
houses. Soldiers under the influence of drink do not behave
any better than their civilian brothers. They are necessarily
high-spirited people and very fit. In retaliation for some real
or fancied grievance, a few irresponsibles commenced throw-
ing things out of a top-storey window. The red caps were
not popular, and both sides receiving reinforcements, a melee
ensued. Some fool fired the broken furniture lying in the
street, and from this it was only a stage to firing the houses.
An Egyptian fire brigade arrived, but the soldiers, by this
time numbering thousands, cut the hoses and pelted the un-
fortunate firemen with their own gear. Kealizing that only
disgrace could come of the affair, the sane people gradually

The New Zealandees at Gallipoli

got the rioters away, and after about four hours of Baccha-
nalian revelry the city was again quiet. A legend has grown
up that the work was a good one, and that the soldiers had
determined to rid the city of those sinks of iniquity. It is
almost suggested that the good work was the result of a
religious revival among the troops. It must be admitted that
it was a bad business; but, it may be honestly set down that
throughout the four years of War there were few instances of
excess participated in by New Zealand troops.

Leaving Cairo.

The men of the Maori contingent were disappointed to find
that they were not to join up at once with the Division, and
after an entertainment and haka before Sir John Maxwell,
the High Commissioner of Egypt, one of their officers made
an eloquent plea to be sent on active service. The promise

[Lent by Capl. Dnxer, N.Z.M.V.
Kit Inspection in thk Field Ambulance Lines.

was made that the request would be acceded to after a short
term of garrison duty at Malta, for which station they left
Zeitoun Camp on the evening of Easter Monday, endjarking
on the s.s. "Runic" at Port Said.

Easter Monday was a most trying day. The khamseen
blew, the breakfast dishes were full of grit, horses were

Leaving Cairo. 63

fidgety in the driving sandstorm, everyone's temper was on
edge. Egypt is a delightful place for the toiu-ist, who can
amuse himself indoors if the conditions be undesirable with-
out. . The soldier, on the contrary, must soldier on, khamseen
or no khamseen, so over the drifting wastes of sand, artillery,
engineers, infantry, divisional train and ambulance, wended
their several ways to their different rendezvous in the desert.
This was a new idea in the matter of parades — parading by
ships — all to go on the "Lutzow" mustering in one place,
those for the "Katuna" in another, and so on. Men, horses
and vehicles were carefully checked by the known capacity of
the transports already waiting in Alexandria Harbour.

Because the country was known to be mountainous and
almost devoid of water it was recognized that in the initial
stages of the campaign the mounted men must be left behind.
This reduced the fighting strength of our division from four
brigades to two. The mounted rifles for once were sorry
they had horses, but hardly envied the infantrymen the daily
long-distance route marches with the seventy pounds of pack
and a rifle, dusty tracks, and an angry sun.

Everything comes to an end, even training in Egypt. In
the week following Easter, all ranks were thankful to get
aboard the troop trains in the dark and disappear into the
black Egyptian night. The only regret was that their com-
rades of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and Australian
Light Horse were left fretting in the desert camps.

CHAPTER V.

The Keiidezvoiis at Mudros.

Alexandria Harl)our was alive Avith shippino- — British,
French, Greek, Italian and many captured vessels. Some of
iiie latter — the "Lutzow," the " Annaberg," the "Haidar
Pasha," and the "Goslar" — were requisitioned to make up
the tleet of thirteen ships necessary to carry our Division.
They ranged from liners like the "Lutzow," down to dirty,
lice-infested tramps like the "Goslar," and had mostly lain
in Alexandria Harhour for about eight months, tended only
by a few Greeks, who, scrupulously observing the regulations,
jiad thrown nothing overboard, but dumped the galley ashes

Ox THE Ql'AY AT ALEXANDRIA
Vehicles. Stores, and a mountain ot Hay for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

and refuse on the once innnaculate decks. The carpenters
were still in possession of some of them, improvising horse
boxes and fitting the tramps to carry more passengers than
they had previously been accustomed to. As the journey took
onh' about three days, a little congestion was not of great
moment.

Going out to take over one of the transports, two New
Zealand officers had an amusing illustration of patriotism not

A Rendezvois at Mudros.

peculiar to Egypt. The usual picket boat of the Ports and
Lighthouses Administration not being available, recourse was
made to one of the bumboats selling Turkish Delight and
other delicacies. The two l)oatmen — a stolid Nubian at the
bow oar, and a flashy Ai-ab at the other— were both quite sure
of one thing: "German, no good— English, very good." The
Arab Avas a fascinating- person, who gripped the thwart with
his big toe at every stroke. listening to the eloquent and
reiterated denunciation of the Hun, one officer noticed that
part of the stock-in-trade was brown boot polish with a
German label, and drew the attention of his companion to the

Embarkinu Horses.
The Otago Mounted Rifles puttins; horses on board at Alexandria.

fact. The Arab overheard the conversation. "What!" he
said, pointing to the offending polish, "that German?"
"Yes," said the New Zealander. Without more ado, the
Arab scooped the lot into the harbour. "That's true patrio-
tism," the officers agreed, but were puzzled by the grinning
of the suppositious patriot. "What are you laughing at, you
fool? That must have cost you a lot of money!" "Aha!"
came the answer, and pointing to the black man in the bows,
who seemed a trifle angry, the Arab said, " It is not mine, it's
hees!"

Lying at anchor was the United States cruiser "Ten-
nessee," with her huge "paper-basket" masts. For some time

66 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

she had been employed around the coast of Asia Minor safe-
guarding American interests. Greek and Italian ships were
busy bringing refugees — English, French, Jews and Arme-
nians — fleeing from their homes in Palestine and Syria. Just
outside Alexandria these unfortunates Avere housed in concen-
tration camps, at one of which many Jews, mostly Russian
subjects, enlisted in a transport corps styled "the Zion Mule
Transport Corps," the members of which certainly looked
most unhappy with their big, rough. North American pack
mules.

Through the .^geaii Sea.

On April 10, our first ships got away — the "Achaia,"
"Katuna," and ''Itonus." The headquarters transport
"Lutzow" sailed on the evening of the 12th, while the
"Goslar," the lame duck of the fleet, after many vexatious
troubles with her internal fittings, her messing, and her crew,
finally cleared Alexandria at sunset on April 17, Avith the
New Zealand Infantry Brigade Headquarters on board.

During the three days of the voyage the troops had many
experiences. Every day fire and boat drill was practised. This
required a good deal of ingenuity, because on none of the
transports was there much deck room. On some of the ships
there were lifeboats to hold only about 20 per cent, of the
troops, to say nothing of the crews. One ship had not enougii
lifebelts to go round. So an order was given that any man
drawing a seat in a boat could not have a lifebelt as well!
Yet some Germans insist that we, not they, prepared un-
ceasingly for war !

The journey was through a sea full of islands of classic
interest. Some of the islands set in the clear ^Egean blue
were startlingly beautiful. Passing Patmos, the old monastery
on the top of the rocky height stood out, clear cut, white and
gleaming in the morning light. The padres were quite in-
terested, for it was here, tradition says, that the Apostle John
wrote the Book of Revelation. Past island after island rich
in mythological lore, the smoking transports laboured ; now
and then British and French destroyers mysteriously appeared
from behind a liarren islet ; and interesting beyond measure,

MuDRos Harbour. 67

we saw a good example of maritime camouflage — a town-
class cruiser painted grey and black and white to resemble
a storm-tossed sea. Ceaseless vigilance was imperative, as
Turkish torpedo boats were wont to issue from harbours in
the Asiatic coast and threaten the safety of transports. The
"Manitou," carrying British troops, lost a good many killed
and drowned in the confusion ensuing on the sudden ap-
pearance of a Turkish destroyer.

Parading by echelon, boat and fire drill, slinging of horses
and waggons — all things tending to ensure a rapid disem-
barkation in the face of the enemy — were assiduously prac-
tised on the voyage. Past the fertile island of Nikaria the
transports picked their way and anchored one by one in the
spacious outer harbour of Mudros.

Miiclros Harbour.

Mudros is a land-locked harbour, the entrance easily con-
trolled by a boom and a minefield. Here were gathered mer-
chantmen from the ends of the earth — conveving the five

\ri,«lu 1,1/ III,- Antliur
l;ATTLi:,MlirS IN MlDROS Hari'.oik.

divisions of French and British soldiers that comprised th-a
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Here, too, were ancient
and modern battleships, every pattern of torpedo boat,
cruisers protected and unprotected, submarines and traAvlers
from the far North Sea.

It was the flush of the ^^gean spring, and the shore parties
cutting grass for the horses revelled in meadows that re-
minded them of home. But the gauni grey battleships and
black destroyers in tlie bay struck a vastly different note.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

From one side of the ship could be seen coavs and sheep and
stacks of hay; from the other, the grim realities of war.
Overhead the engines droned incessantly as the seaplanes
circled the harl^our preparatory to a reconnaissance of the
Peninsula. The tents of the French gleamed white on the
hillside beloAv the group of ancient windmills, and floating

■■■- •^' -%*►.

ll'holo I-,, sist.r ]f Jrir.r,,. \ Z.A.N.S.

Mills for Grixdino Corn at IMudros.

across the rippling water came the stirring notes of the
trumpets calling the French Territorials and Senegalese to
their frequent battle practice.

Daily the mosquito fleet steamed out to gather information
of the Turk, and returned to find more and more transports
anchored in the stream. The representative of the young
Australian Navy, AE2, passed down one afternoon, amid
tumultuous cheering, she being recognized as the convoy to
one of the early reinforcement drafts. She went out through
the minefields, and in running the gauntlet of the Dardanelles,
died fighting. Whenever a French ship passed, the New Zea-
landers lined the rails, the bands played the "Marseillaise,"
cheers and counter-cheers were given.

The Attack on tlie Dardanelles.

The newcomers were at once informed of the present
situation and the intention of the High Command. It is ]iot
advisable here to discuss the political and strategical con-
siderations that determined an attack on the Dardanelles — -
whether the campaign failed because of faulty strategy, staff

TURKEY

EUROPE

Map of Gallipoli and Surrounding Islands.

From Bulair to Cape Helles is about 50 miles; from Anzac to Kephalos 15 miles;

from Anzac to Helles 14 miles.

70 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

work, or tactics, or because the whole conception of the opera-
tion was unsound. This is simply a soldier's narrative of
events, and not a detailed and critical examination of a poli-
tical and military effort. This much, however, is known: that
in order to help Russia, to relieve the attacks on the S'uez
Canal, and to inf^uenee the wavering- Balkan States, some
action was imperative.

It had been laid down in England that the British com-
mander should not land his army until a naval attack had
been attempted and failed. Further, he was not to commit
himself to any adventurous undertakings on the Asiatic shore.
On February 19 the outer defences of Sedd-el-Bahr and
Kum Kale were demolished by the fleet. For a time success
seemed within our grasp, but the fiat trajectory of the naval
guns availed them little against the forts -and land defences
situated inside the Straits, and on March 18, the carefully laid
minefields and mobile field guns gave the coup-de-grace to
the naval plan by destroying in one day the "Irresistible,"
the "Inflexible," and the "Ocean," together with the French
battleships "Bouvet" and "Gaulois. "

Begotten of vacillation and hesitancy at Home, a period of
local inactivity ensued. It was finally decided that a com-
bined land and sea attack should be attempted. It was known
that early in the year the Turk had six divisions distributed
between Bulair, Gaba Tepe, Helles, and Kum Kale. Since
then reinforcements had been constantly arriving and the for-
tifications greatly strengthened. The situation in France was
serious — men and more men, guns and more guns, were being
clamoured for. After some delay the last division of British
Regulars — the 29th — were detailed for the service, and now
in Mudros Harbour they were waiting in their transports.

The Allied troops composing the M.E.F. were five divi-
sions, as follows : —

A French Division (Territorials and coloured troops).

The 29th Division (British Regulars).

The Royal Naval Division.

The 1st Australian Division.

The N.Z. and A. Division (two brigades only).
Of these it may be said that as seasoned soldiers the 29th

Preparing for the Attack.

Division had no superiors on earth, being of the same calibre
as the famous ''First Seven Divisions" of the early days in
France. The remainder of the British troops were practically
untried, but keen, and volunteers to a man. For heavy
artillery, reliance had to be placed on the Allied Navies. For
the first time in history a British army was to be supported
by 12-inch and 15-inch naval guns, the latter carried by the.
''Queen Elizabeth."

Prepariiij** for the Attack.

The troops were organized into three groups, labelled
Echelon A, B, and C. Echelon A was composed of the
portion first to land — men Avho carried three days' rations and
water, 200 rounds of ammunition, their packs and entrenching

A Frexch Sexegalese at Mudros.
Tlie children, of coiu-se, are Greek.

\l'l,,,t<, Inl llli J I

tools — whose orders were to secure enough territory to enable
the other troops to disembark with their horses, guns and
heavy vehicles. The 18-pounders and 4.5 howitzers Avere also
in Echelon A. Echelon B consisted of first-line transport,
hold parties, and officers' horses. They would be brought
ashore as the situation developed. In Echelon C were the
pontoons of the Engineers, the Avaggons of the Field Amba-
lance, motor cars, cycles, and supply trains.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Day by day the soldiers in Echelon A assembled on the
troop deck for disembarkation practice. The men with their
loads seemed, bulky enough, but the officers looked even
worse. When trussed up with bulging haversacks, two full
water bottles, a heavy Webley and ammunition, a big map
case, field glasses, prismatic compass, a note book and mes-
sage forms — not to mention the dozen and one small articles
that they, in their innocence, considered necessary — is it any
wonder that they stepped gingerly? For, once having fallen,
they would have found it difficult, as did the knights of old,
to rise again.

About four times a day the soldier crept into his AVebb
e(iuipment, struggled over the side, swayed violently on the
frail rope ladder, tumbled into the waiting boat, and pulled
slowlv to the shore.

\I'hiiti, hn fhr Avfhor

The "Quekx Elizabeth "

The -warships and transjiorts leavins Mudros Harbour for the attack
on the Peninsula.

The days passed all too quickly. Couference upon con-
ference was held on the flagship ; much interest was awakened
by the issue of maps; and the thrill of intense anticipation
was quickened by Sir Ian Hamilton's famous Force Order: —
"Soldiers of France and the King-
Before us lies an adventure unprecedented in
modern war. Together with our comrades of the
fleet we are about to force a landing upon an open
beach in face of positions vaunted by our enemy
as impregnable.

Preparing for the Attack. 73

The landing will be made good l)y the help of God and
the Navy, the positions will be stormed, and the
war brought one step nearer to a glorious close.

'Remember,' .said Lord Kitchener, when bidding adieu
to your commander, 'remembei', once you set foot
upon the C4allipoli Peninsula, you must fight the
thing through to a finish.' The whole world will
be watching your progress. Let us prove ourselves
worthy of the great feat of arms entrusted to us."

L\x Hamilton, General.

Let it never be said that the Mediterranean Expeditionary
Force held its opponent cheaply. The seriousness of the
situation Avas obvious, but the troops were imbued with the
fact that with proper backing they could not fail, and what-
ever sacrifice should be demanded, that sacrifice Avould be
gladly made.

At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of April 24, there steamed
from Mudros Harbour that great armada, led by the ''Queen
Elizabeth," with Sir Ian Hamilton on board. As the New
Zealand transports rode at anchor near the entrance, ship
after ship passed out at a few cable lengths' distance. The
destroyers fussed and fumed about, while the battleships
steamed steadily on to take up their position for the early
morning bombardment. As each battleship, cruiser, transport
and trawler slipped past, great cheers were exchanged ; then
night came quietly on; lights blinked and twinkled over the
expanse of the great har])our; and a great hash fell on the
place until about midnight, when the New Zealand ships
lifted their anchors and picked their way through the mine-
fields towards the open sea.

CHAPTER VI.

Tlie Aiizac Laiicling.

Early on Sunday morning the intention of Army Head-
quarters was made clear by the issue of orders for the attack.
A study of the map revealed three dominating land features.
In the south, overlooking Cape Helles, was the great hump
of Achi Baba. Inland from Suvla Bay was the tangled mass
of cliffs, valleys and hills culminating in the peak of the Sari
Bair system, which, from its height marked in feet, was after-
wards known as "Hill 971." Lying further over near the
Straits and protecting the fortress on the European side, was
the mountain system known as the "Pasha Dagh" or Kilid
Bahr Plateau. Both Achi Baba and Hill 971 had to be cap-
tured before attempting the plateau, which latter having
fallen, Ave could take possession of the great fortresses of Kilid
Bahr, and Chanak on the opposite shore. These two places
in our hands, the passage of the fleet would be largely a
matter of careful mine sweeping.

In order to mystify the enemy and to encourage him to
disperse his forces, two subsidiary attacks were undertaken.
Away up at Bulair a fleet of empty transports, accompanied
by a few men-of-war, were to make a demonstration. Down
on the Asiatic coast the French were to land, reduce Kum
Kale and the forts in the neighbourhood, and then withdraw.
The 29th and Royal Naval Divisions were to land on several
beaches at the extremity of the Penin.sula and push on towards
Krithia and Achi Baba, being reinforced by the French Divi
sion after its withdrawal from Kum Kale. The Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps Avas ordered to force a landing
on the beach between Gaba Tei)e and Fishermen's Hut.
Hill 971 itself was to be avoided, the troops endeavouring to
pass over its southern under-features to the road running
from Boghali and Maidos. Mai Tepe was a hill speciflcally
mentioned. "The capture of this position would threaten
and perhaps cut the line of retreat of the enemy's troops ox>
Kilid Bahr plateau, and have far-reaching results," said the
operation order.

Mai' of Gallipoli Pe.vixsii.a
Illustrating the projected landings at CajDe Helles, Gaba Tepe, and Kiim Kale.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Passing" Cape Helles.

When morning fully broke the New Zealand transports
were nearing Cape Helles. The big guns of the fleet were
I)ounding the forts until the horizon seemed a mass of smoke
and flame. Over against Kum Kale the French ships were
hotly engaged ; off Cape Helles the British stood close into
the forts. Again we saw our old friend the "Askold" — now
christened the "Packet of 'Woodl)ines," because of her five
long funnels. The noise of the naval bombardment was truly
extraordinary — the sharp crack of the lighter guns; the ear-
splitting roar of the 12-inchers; and booming clearly above

D.s.O.

A iJATTLIi.SHII' <_'U\KK1NI

The old "London" steaniins

THE TEANSPOKT.S.

towards Anzac Cove.

them all, the tremendous reports from the 15-iuch guns of the
''Queen Elizabeth." Watching fi'om the rail, the soldiers
Avere very sorry for the Turk. It seemed impossible that any-
thing could live through such a bombardment. At the morn-
ing service, with the reverberation of the incessant gunfire
assailing our ears, we found it difficult to hear the padre
reading "In the midst of life we are in death." From across
the water the bark of the 6-inch guns struck harshly on the
singing of the soldiers' favourite hymns.

Just opposite Gaba Tepe the transports slowed down. Like
children kept inside on a wet day, we were very impatient.

Going Ashore.

A desire to be doing something possessed all ranks. The
men broke up cases and split the wood for kindling fires
ashore. Every man pushed seven or eight pieces through the
straps on the back of his pack. Many seized the opportunity
to write the letter that most thoughtful soldiers write at the
beginning of a campaign — a letter to be carried in the breast
pocket and only to be forwarded by the comrade that buries
him — tender farewells, simply and beautifully written, as men
always do write when they are face to face with the things
that reallv matter.

Aathur

TEANSPORTtS OFF AXZAC COVE ON APKIL 25.

The ship in the foreground has uisembarked Echelon A and is steaming out
to make room for the next transport.

In groups of four the transports, covered by the battle-
ships, moved up to about a mile oft' shore, disembarked the
troops of the first echelon, and then moved to the rear, letting
the next four continue the manoeuvre. On our port side the
old twin-funnelled "Majestic" belched a stream of 12-inch
shells on the ridges ; away to starboard, the four long funnels
of the "Bacchante" were dimly discernible through a tre-
mendous column of smoke. Southwards, as far as the eye
could see, were transports innumerable, and closer in-shore,
the angry, barking battleships.

Going' Ashore.

The destroyers were taking their human freights as far
in as they dared — and the average t.b.d. commander will dare
a good deal. Over the side and down the swaying rope
ladders we went for the last time. This was not a Mudros

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Harbour practice. We felt uncommonly clumsy and three
times our ordinary size. With our hob-nailed boots we clat-
tered about the iron deck, until it was so crowded we had
perforce to stand still.

Now the picket boat zone was reached. Off the destroyer
and into a barge. Six barges made a tow. The little steam-
boat puffed and tugged, and off we swerved like a sinuous
snake.

The 3rd Australian Brigade made the first landing about
5 in the morning, and had cleared the first ridges. New Zea-
land Headquarters landed
at 10 a.m. ; then there ,>.

was a strange hitch,
and the precious hours
between 11 a.m. and 3
p.m. were wasted. By
this time the Turk had
in some measure made up
his mind about the real
attack and had con-
centrated his guns on the
beach. He only had to
fire at the water's edge,
consequently he had no
difficulty in ranging by
the map. He knew that
the Landing must be in a
very circumscribed area,
and his ranging was good.
Shells plopped in the
water all round as the
tows set a course for the
beach.

Boat after boat of wounded passed us going back to the
transports they had left only a few hours before. They waved
their blood-stained arms and cheered with feeble cheers. The
encouragement was certainly welcome.

We were now well within range. Rifle and shrapnel fire
was whipping the water round the boats. About 300 yards

[Photo by Lieut. Moritzson, M.C., M.M.
Going Ashore.
A destroyer making read}' to tow barges from
the "Lutzow."

Straight into the Battle.

from the shore the barges were cast loose, and each with a
naval rating as coxswain, pnlled vigorously for the beach.
Casualties were frequent. As the boats grounded, the men
tumbled out; many were hit in the water and were drowned
A major, jumping from the bows-^the water was about 2 feet
deep— was hit in the knee. He fell into the surf, but was
hauled on board again, and the picket boat towed him back
to the transport he had just left. The survivors fell in and
adjusted their heavy equipment under the protection of the
sandy cliff.

Straight into the Battle.

Up in the maze of gullies the Australians were struggling
with the Turks. As each company or platoon came ashore it
was rushed up to the firing line. Casualties and the broken

irhoto by Col. Huyhcs
A Good Target foe the Turks.
A tow going ashore about noon of April 25.

C.AI (I.. 1> s o.

country made control very difficult, and up Avhere the tide
ebbed and flowed, the natural leaders of men, whether they
happened to be oiftcers or privates, led their little groups to
the attack or stood stubbornly at bay among the scrub-clad
hills.

The orders given to our Division on disembarkation Avere
foi' the New^ Zealand Infantry Brigade to prolong the line

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

to the left of the 1st Australian Division, and particularly to
support the left of the Third Brigade, which had landed as
the covering- force to the Army Corps; the 4th Australian
Infantry Brigade was to be held in reserve. The landing of
the Auckland Battalion was completed at 12 noon. Walker's
Ridge was given as its objective. By 12.30 p.m., two com-
panies of the Canterbury Battalion were ashore, and were
directed to support the Auckland Battalion.

"In the Air."
A transport mule descending into a barge.

At 1 p.m., the Auckland Battalion was recalled from
Walker's Ridge and brought more to the right, to occupy
Plugge's Plateau, in order more directly to connect with the
left of the covering brigade. The two Canterbury companies
prolonged the left flank of the Auckland Battalion, in
the direction of Walker's Ridge. Between 12.30 p.m. and
5 p.m. the Otago Battalion arrived and was sent up to
Plugge's Plateau in support of the Auckland Battalion. When
the remaining two companies of the Canterbury Battalion
arrived they were sent to Walker's Ridge to prolong and re-
inforce the left flank.

A Desperate Night. 81

Owing to the accuracy of the enemy big-gun fire, the trans-
ports with our field guns aboard w^ere temporarily forced to
retire. The Turkish gunners were punishing us severely, and
we realized to the full the bitterness of not being able to effec-
tively retaliate. But the Indian Mountain Batteries endeared
themselves to all by their sacrificing efforts. Gallantly led,
these matchless gunners, with their patient mules, w^heedled
their guns up to seemingly inaccessible vantage points ; unlim-
bering, they Avould get in a dozen effective shots and be down
in the gully and up to an alternate position before their op-
ponents could sense the situation.

All along the beach, under the scanty shelter of the cliff*,
the wounded lay — some on stretchers, some on blankets, others
on the shingle. The surgeons worked as they never had
before. Wounded poured down from the hills incessantly.
The picket boats towed their barges, crammed with troops,
to the beach, and seemed to take away almost as many
wounded.

The sun went doAvn and the ships stood over against
Samothrace silhouetted in the sunset. But with the night
came no peace. The Turks attacked Avith renew^ed vigour-
reinforcements had arrived for them. Blowing trumpets and
shouting "Allah!" they surged forward. Our fellows ran to
meet them, cursing in good round English and very bad
Arabic. Up there in the tangled gullies many a strange duel
was fought that night. When not actually fighting, men dug
for their lives. Then on would come the Turks again, shovels
would be dropped, and the attack repelled. One desperate
rush was stemmed by a gallant band headed by a corporal
wdth nothing more effective than a pick-handle.

A Desperate Night.

As the evening wore on, the beach became one long lane
of suffering soldiers. The doctors could only attend to the
most severe cases. Many a man, Avhen asked if he was badly
hurt, said, bravely enough, ' ' Oh, no ! " and died quietly in
the night.

The stretcher bearers were magnificent. From the order,
"Stretcher squads fall in" at the moment of landing, these

A Desperate Night.

men slaved on the ridges and in those valleys of torment. A.
man virithout a load can dash from cover to cover, but the
stretcher bearers, with their limp and white-faced burdens,
must walk steadily on, ig-noring sniper and hostile gunner.
From the front line it took about two and a half hours to
get a patient to the hospital on the beach. Hour after hour
the work went on, until after twenty hours' stretcher bearing
these unheeded heroes fell in their tracks from sheer exhaus-
tion. Volunteers took up the work, but after a few hours'
rest, the gallant souls were out again — medical officers,
stretcher bearers and hospital orderlies literally working
themselves to death in an endeavour to mitigate the awful
anguish of the wounded men of Anzac. "I shall never forget
that night," said a sergeant of the N.Z.M.C., "A twelve-stone

The Crowded Beach.

weight on the stretcher, a dark night, a little drizzling rain,
groping our way down a steep incline through prickly scrub,
our wounded man crying with pain and begging for a drink
every few yards, incessant rifle fire, and bullets whizzing all
round us." Except those who lay so very quietly up in the
scrub or on the shell-swept beach, no one rested that night.
The firing line was gradually becoming a little defined as the
tired soldiers on both sides became exhausted.

The units were inextricably mixed — Australian and New
Zealand infantry clung doggedly to the hardly-won crest
line. Approximately, the Australian 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
Brigades held the right flank; the centre was in a state of
flux, but the 4th Australian Brigade held the ridges at the

{Phnto by the Author
The Scored Cliffsides of Walker's Ridge.

A Desperate Night.

head of Monasli Gully; the Otago trenches grew up overlook-
ing Monash Gully; the Aucklanders dug in along Plugge's
Plateau; the Canterbury Battalion were desperately engaged
on Walker's Kidge, where their gallant commander (Lieut.-
Colonel Stewart) fell at the head of his men. The Welling-
tons landed in the dark and went straight up to Plugge's
Plateau. The gunners laboured all through the night pre-

, t . I, the Suthor

Plugge's Plateau.
Taken from Howitzei- Gully, showing the road cut round the cliffside.

paring for the eagerly expected howitzers; while the sappers
hastily iinprovized a second line of defence along Plugge's
Plateau down ]\Iaclagan's Ridge to the sea. Here the last
stand would be made if the worst came, but the morning
broke and the outer line was still intact; picks were laid
aside and the indomitable men of Anzac again took up their
rifles to face the trials of the day.

CHAPTER VII.

The First Week.

No one had slept during the night. Re-embarkation was
suggested, but a conference was held and the Generals decided
to hold on. The men made strenuous efforts. Those not
actually fighting were employed making roads up Maclagan's
Ridge in the centre, and up Walker's Ridge on the left, in
order that the guns might be man-handled up to the positions
selected by the artillery commanders.

the Author

UxLOADixG Grxs.

The stern of tlie horse boats dropped in the water makes an inclined plane
down which the gun is manhandled. The country was too rough
for horses, but fifty men on a rope can overcome most obstacles.

About midnight, three companies of the 15th Battalion,
4th Australian Infantry Brigade, arrived and were sent up to
reinforce the 1st Australian Division away on the right. They
had been hardly pressed just before sunset, and orders were
given that all available troops were to support the covering
force (the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade) as they arrived,
and to connect up with the New Zealand Infantry Brigade

Shrapnel Gully. 87

on the left. During the remainder of the night, platoons and
companies of the Wellington Battalion of the New Zealand
Infantry Brigade, and of the 13th, 15th, and 16th Battalions
of the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, were brought ashore.

The troops arrived in very irregular order — some from one
ship and some from another. As each platoon or company
came ashore, it was immediately despatched, under the senior
officer present, to support the right flank, where the 1st Aus-
tralian Division was most hotly engaged. The result was that
units of both divisions became hopelessly mixed up, and it
was several days before they could be disentangled.

By 3 a.m., the whole of the Australian 13th Battalion had
arrived. The bulk of it was held temporarily in reserve.
One and a half more companies of the Wellington Battalion
now occupied Plugge's Plateau," above the beach, and half
a company had been sent off to join the 1st Australian
Division on the right. By 5 a.m., the remaining company of
the Wellington Battalion had arrived, and by 6 a.m., a
section of the New Zealand Howitzer Battery was brought
ashore, and gladdened the heart of every infantryman as it
came into action at the foot of Howitzer Gully. ''Boom!"
went the howitzer. "The guns, thank God! the guns!"
murmured the tired soldiers.

Shrapnel Gully.

Tlie Turk quickly realized that the valley running from
behind Hell Spit deep into the centre of Anzae must be the
channel of commimi cation. His gunners were so assiduous
•that it was quickly christened Shrapnel Gully. The top
of tliis valley was afterwards known as Monash Gully.

The glory of the spring was still on the Peninsula. Birds
sang in the biLshes, and the fragrance of crushed wild thyme
perfumed the morning air. Patches of red poppies glowed in
the sheltered open places. Draped around the prickly scrub
were festoons of wild honeysuckle. But down in the bottom
of Shrapnel Valley was a dreadful sight. The moist earth in
the old creek bed had ' been ploughed into mud by thousands
of hurrying feet. Soldiers, in their eagerness to get forward,
had throwTi off their kits and equipment, and there the debris

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The End of the Second Day. 89

lay, punched and trampled into the mess. Dead mules were
scattered about in helpless attitudes. Every few yards ono
met soldiers — their clothes torn by rock and scrub, their
bodies mangled by bullet and bomb — stumbling down that
Valley of Death to have their wounds dressed at the casualty
clearing stations. A steady stream of stretcher bearers carried
back limp f onus ; shrapnel burst high in the air ; machine guns
spluttered; mountain guns barked; the crash and rattle of
musketry never ceased as the echoes rolled round the myriad
hillsides. High over all, black specks up in the sky, but
watchful as of old, the vultures gathered together, knowing
full well that blood was being spilt.

The drumfire down at Helles boomed all day. The old
battleships, with their big guns, raked the Turkish positions,
while the big 15-inchers of the "Queen Elizabeth" roared
loudly above the great roll of gunfire. The moral support
afforded by this ship was incalculable. "Good old Lizzie,"
the soldiers shouted, as her great guns spoke. Optimistic
always, the men looked continually for signs of the British
and French advancing from Cape Helles. AVheu the second
day's battle was at its height, the cry was raised, "Cease fire!
the English troops are here," but it was only a ruse of the
Turks — and the musketry battle resumed its violence. Cries
of "Cease fire" and "Retreat" shouted in English, caused at
first a momentary wavering, but soon the Colonial soldiers
realized the deceptions, and the would-be deceivers shouted
commands in vain.

The End of the Second Day.

The second day crept to a close, and our lines were hourly
being made secure. Units were inextricably mixed, but,
roughlj^ the Australian Division held the line south of
Courtney's Post, while the N.Z. and A. Division held Court-
ney's and all northwards of it.

No man thought of rest : to work was salvation.

On top of a big yellow mound at the head of Monash
Gully there was a rough cross, inscribed, "Here lie buried
twenty-nine soldiers of the King." Two of these men — one
an Australian of the 14th Infantry Battalion, the other a

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

sapper of the New Zealand Engineers — had been found just
below the fatal crest of Courtney's Post, with their arms still
clasped around each other's waists. As they lay among the
scrub, those poor lifeless bodies seemed symbolical of the new
spirit that had grown up on the Peninsula. AVhile in Egypt,
the Commonwealth and Dominion soldiers had their little
differences ; but the first two days on the Peninsula swept
away all the little jealousies and the petty meannesses. Every
man helped his neighbour. There was no question of corps,
or rank, or colour. By common trials, a common suffering.

[Photo by Col. J. G Hughes, C.M.G.. D.S.O.
Headquarters of the N.Z. and A. Division.

and a common interest, Australian. Indian, and New Zea-
lander realized they were brothers in fact, as in arms. These
first two days made great things possible within the Empire.
The experience of those sweet sensations of brotherhood will
be cherished and handed down as one of the priceless gifts of
Anzac.

The New Zealand machine gun sections experienced a par-
ticularly trying time. They were attached to individual bat-
talions and were not fought as a unit. The Auckland guns
were pushed forward with their battalion, and somewhere at
the head of Monash Gully were so hard pressed that they had

The First Landing at Suvla. 91

to abandon one gun, which was retrieved from its hiding place
two days after. The Otagos also came under a very hot fire.
They, too, abandoned a gun, but never regained it, as an Aus-
tralian party found it and consistently refused to give it" up!
Right through the campaign the Ota go Regiment were one
gun short, fighting only three guns.

The Wellington gunners were heavily punished on April 27.
They evidently pushed too far forward in their eagerness to
get at the Turks, but snipers picked them off one by one.
until the officer was killed and the whole of the personnel
disabled, except one lad who was acting as ammunition
carrier.

Gradually the field artillery got their guns from the
barges, and with long ropes manhandled them to their almost
inaccessible positions. Tracks were cut on the hillsides, rough
jetties were improvised, and dugouts were constructed.
Mostly these were holes in the ground big enough for a man
and his mate to get nearly into. A waterproof sheet served
as roof, and when it rained, as it did nearly every night, the
waterproof sheet collected and deposited on the occupants
whatever water had fallen in the catchment area.

Washing became a lost art. Mirrors were converted into
periscopes. The previously spic-and-span New Zealand Army
grew dirty-faced, unshaven, and ragged looking.

The rum ration was a boon at this time, as it engendered
a little warmth, and enabled one, if off duty, to get a little
sleep. "Stand-to" was at 4 o'clock, half an hour before
dawn, when the entire force in the trenches and on the beach
stood to arms in readiness for an attack.

Tlie First Landing at Suvla.

The front line having been made fairly secure, attention
had to be turned to the flanks. A glance at the map will
show Nibrunesi Point, near Suvla Bay, about four miles to
the north of Ari Burnu, and Gaba Tepe about two miles south.
On both these promontories the Turks had look-outs, from
which their observers spotted the effect of artillery fire. As
with glasses they could see all that occurred, in Anzac Cove,
it was considered necessarv to destrov both look-outs.

The First Landing at Suvla. 93

For the Gaba Tepe cutting-out expedition Australians were
detailed. Nibrunesi Point was assigned to the New Zea-
landers. Three officers and fifty men of the Canterbury Bat-
talion (13th Westland Company) and an officer and two
N.C.O.'s of the N.Z.E. were employed.

The party left Anzac Cove in the dark early one morning
and steamed up the coast in a torpedo-boat destroyer. The
plan was to land on the northern side of the Peninsula and
work upwards to the highest point — Lala Baba. Two de-
stroyers came close in and commanded each side of the
Peninsula, whilst the old "Canopus" stood further out to sea
and supported the whole. If the Turks at Anafarta behaved
badly they would receive chastisement by the guns of His
Majesty's Navy.

The observation post itself had some attention from the
big ship the day before ; but it was not known whether oppo-
sition would now be met with. The instructions were to
destroy the station, get any prisoners for the Intelligence
Officers, and to seek for and destroy a gun that the naval air-
men had reason to suspect was being placed there.

The party got ashore without mishap. Day had now
broken, and in three groups the attackers crept up the
gullies towards the crest. It was a dewy morning, and the
fresh, clean smell of the Turkish meadow flowers mingled
with the scent of the wild thyme crushed with the soldiers'
hobnailed boots.

The place seemed deserted. There was a traversed trench
just below the crest. Most of the troops had jumped it, when
^-crack ! crack ! crack ! broke on the morning silence. Down
dropped the Westlanders; then rushed back to the trench,
and there, in the sunlight, was the picture — the trench full of
squirming Turks, and standing over them with threatening
bayonets the gallant boys from Greymouth. Johnny Turk
had been caught napping, and the initiative of the New Zea-
land private soldier had sealed his fate. It Avas then realized
that the few Turkish phrases laboriously learned did not
convey much to the terrified prisoners. They quickly decided
that the proper thing to do was to throw all their arms out
of the trench — and out thev came, rifles, knives and even

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

safety razors. The poor Turkish wounded lay groaning in the
bottom of the trench, while the unwounded, on their knees,
murmured "Allah! Allah!" and passed their hands mechani-
cally from their foreheads to their breasts and back again.
A few men were left to get the wounded and prisoners down
to the boat; the remainder scoured the Suvla flats in full
view of the Turks on the Anafarta hills.

Three small houses proved to be empty, but in them wera
found the kits of the guard; in one, the cells of a telephone
instrument, with which the garrison communicated with their
headquarters at Anafarta. The wire was cut, and a slab of
guncotton placed in each of the houses to demolish them.

[Photo hii TAdit. Moritzson, M.C.. M.
The Evening Hate.
Shells falling among bathers ofif Hell Spit.

N.Z.E.

The gun position was located, but there was no gun mounted.
The dead Turks were covered over in their own trench, the
charges in the houses were fired, and the party, with captured
papers and prisoners, re-embarked v/ithout mishap and re-
turned at noon to Anzac.

Thus was the first landing at Suvla carried out success-
fully by New Zealanders without a single casualty.

The Australian attempt on Gaba Tepe was most unfortu-
nate. The Turks at this place were not caught napping. As
at Helles, barbed wire ran down into the water and machine

The Nerve-Centre of Anzac. 95

guns enfiladed the landing place. After sustaining many
casualties, the party withdrew, and the Turkish post on Gaba
Tepe remained a thorn in the side of Anzac until the
evacuation.

The Nerve-Centre of Anzac.

A walk along Anzac Cove was full of interest and incident.
The little landing beach— a shelving strip of shingle, only
tAventy-five yards wide — was never safe, but in a measure it
was protected from shrapnel by the height of Plugge's
Plateau and the two ridges running down towards Hell Spit
and Ari Burnu. The Cove became the nerve-centre of Anzac :
nestling under the low cliffs on the beach were the Head-
quarters of the Army Corps, the hospital of the Field Ambu-
lance, the Ordnance and Supply Depots.

General Birdwood had located his Army Corps Head-
quarters in the little gully debouching on to the centre of the
beach. Close by were the naval shore parties with their wire-
less plant for maintaining communication with the fleet; the
Headquarters of the Australian Division were tucked away
a little further up the gully.

The southern extremity of Anzac Cove was christened
Hell Spit. Jutting out into the water, this point got the
benefit of fire from both of the flanks. Here were situated
the engineers' stores of explosives and materials; working
parties sent for wire, sandbags or timber, did not dwell too
long in the vicinity. Close by, under the sandy cliff, the
mule drivers of the Indian Supply and Transport had made
their little dugouts— the waves of the .Egean lapping their
very thresholds. At the foot of the track leading over the
spur to Shrapnel Valley were the dressing stations of the
Australian Ambulance, with their little Red Cross wharf from
which the wounded were evacuated. Just opposite Army
Headquarters some of the many stranded barges were made
to serve as landing stages for great quantities of bully beef,
jam and biscuits, which, placed in high stacks, gave some
protection from the shells constantly arriving from the Olive
Grove and Anafarta. Hereabout the water barge was also
moored; the water being pumped ashore into tanks.

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The Xevv Zealand Sector.

The beach north of these stores was allotted to our Divi-
sion. A little gully running up to the foot of Plugge's
Plateau gave excellent cover for the New Zealand battery
of 4.5 howitzers — the first New Zealand guns to get ashore,
and the only howitzers at that time on the Peninsula. In
those early days, infantry carrying parties were constrained
to rest awhile in order to observe the shell pursue its lobbing
course over Maclagan's Ridge towards the distant target.

[Lent by Lirut. iloritzson, M.C.. MM.. N.ZE.
Mules at the foot of Howitzer Gully.

At the foot of Howitzer Gully were the New Zealand
Ordnance Stores — for a time the most frequented place in
Anzac. Fresh water was unobtainable for washing purposes.
Continual washing of clothes in salt water made all under-
garments very hard, so down to the Ordnance would the
soldier go to procure new shirts and socks. Here, also, were
piles of captured rifles and ammunition, and a pathetic heap
of kits which had been thrown away during the first advance
and since collected. A one-time famous old wrestler stood
guard over these kits, and one had to establish an undeniable
claim before the property was handed over. Very many of
the kits were never claimed, being stained with the life-blood
of those impetuous spirits who had established the Anzac line.

The New Zealand Sectok.

The mule lines of tlie Indian Transport Corps ran along
the beach in front of Divisional Headquarters. Close by, the
dressing station of the New Zealand No. 1 Field Ambulance
caught the streams of Avounded that flowed down Howitzer
Gully and from Walker's Ridge. Out in front of the hospital
squatted an Indian mule driver, who spent most of his time
clipping mules. Between his bursts of singing in a minor
key he would cry, "Hair cut, sixpence!" The soldier, who
by this time realized that more than snipers took advantage
of cover, would sit on the sandy bank and have his hair cut
short by the mule clippers.

The northern extremity of Anzac Cove never received aa
English name, but was always known as Ari Burnu. The
beach north of this point

was unsafe for traffic in "

the daytime, as it was
within easy range of
Turkish snipers. A few
hundred yards along this
stretch of white sand
were two or three
stranded boats — ■ boats
that had run in there on
the day of the landing,
but Avere stove in and
their crcAvs killed by
hostile fire. There they
lay, a pitiful sight, out
in the glare of the noon-
day sun. To avoid this
piece of dangerous beach
by day, a communi-
cation trench commenced
in Anzac Cove along by
the wireless station near
Ari Burnu. This trench

doubled back across the point, running out towards Mule
r4ully and AValker's Ridge, eventually becoming part of the
"Big Sap" that led towards the extreme left flank.

[Lent b)j Col. Falla, C.M.G., D.S.O.
The Cemetery at Ari Buenu.

98 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Land was valuable at Anzac, particularly land that was
safe. The parts that were exposed could not be used for dug-
outs or stores, so were set apart as cemeteries. Here, on the
point of Ari Burnu, between the Big Sap and the sea, New
Zealanders who were killed near Anzac Cove were carefully
carried after dark and buried by loving comrades.

The Tragic Lack of Hospital Ships.

If there was one thing that showed our unpreparedness
for war on a large scale, it was the neglect to anticipate
accommodation for wounded. This did not apply only to tho
New Zealanders — British, French, Colonial and Indian suffered
alike. The regimental medical officers and stretcher bearers
did more than mortal men could be expected to do. But a
man hit up on Walker's Ridge or at the head of Monash
Gully, after receiving his field dressing at a sheltered corner
of a trench or in the regimental aid post, had to be carried
in the heat, down bullet-swept valleys and along the dan-
gerous beach. Here the surgeons and orderlies of the Field
Ambulances redressed the wounds, gave the men something
to eat and drink, and placed them out of the sun, away from
the torturing flies. Even in these Field Ambulance dressing
stations men were not immune from the shrapnel which swept
the beach. The Turk could not be blamed for this, as we
had, of necessity, to place our hospitals wherever there was
room. Streams of men constantly arrived, some walking,
many on stretchers— Zionists with tears streaming down their
faces, determined Colonials and pathetic-looking Indians —
wounded in our cause, now separated from their fellows, and
miserable because they could not understand the sahibs'
language.

When night came, the picket boats would move into the
little Red Cross wharves, and the wounded men were carried
to the barges. When a tow was ready, the picket boat started
on its journey for the hospital ship or transport. The high
ground surrounding Anzac Cove ensured that bullets clearing
the crest went many hundred yards out to sea. Some days,
when Turkish firing was brisk, the sea was whipped into a
white foaming line where the bullets splashed angrily into

100 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

the water. Through this barrage of singing bullets the Red
Cross barge must go. Picket boats or trawlers could not
dodge from place to place like soldiers in Monash Gully, so
they had to risk it, and take it in their course.

Outside the range of these "overs" were the waiting
ships. The hospital ships proper had good appliances for
handling wounded. A long box would be lowered over the
side, the man and the stretcher placed bodily into it, and
hauled up on to the deck, where he was seized by waiting

■"jj^sa^'Wttfa,*'

[Lent by Capf. Boxer, X.Z.MC.
Hospital Ship and Hospital Careiee in Mudros.

orderlies and whisked away to wards for a diagnosis, a hot
bath, some very necessary insecticide, and a meal to suit his
particular needs. But the hospital ships soon became over-
crowded. Hundreds of men were accommodated on the decks
without cots. They did not complain. They came to the war
voluntarily, and took what was coming to them as a matter
of course. Ask a sorely wounded man if he wanted any-
thing, and if it was not a drink of water, it would be a
laconic "Have you got a green?" He seemed more annoyed
with the ration cigarettes than he was with the Turk.

Presently the cry would be, "Ship full!" and the next
load would be taken to an ordinary transport, dirty, full of
vermin, and entirely unsuited for handling wounded. But
it had to be. Nothing better was offering. So the wounded
men — tossing about on the barge, seasick, with their clothes
stiff with blood and their heads burning with the fever re-
sulting from wounds — were hauled up with the improvized
tackle to the dirty decks of the transport. There were few

The Tragic Lack of Hospitat. Ships. 101

medical officers. Some came from the overworked and iiuder-
staffed field ambulances ashore, and laboured like galley
slaves against the tremendous inrush of broken men. Naval
surgeons and dressers left their battleships and toiled heroic-
ally among the wounded Colonials. But there were not enough
doctors to do a tenth of the work. In the old British way, we
were paying for unpreparedness with the flesh and blood of
our willing young men. On one ship, the only man with any
knowledge of medicine was the veterinary officer, who, assisted
by clerks and grooms of the waiting Echelon B, saved dozens
of lives by prompt and careful attention. So, with a score of
men dying on each ship every night, the transports crept with
their cargoes of human wreckage to the port of Alexandria —
the hospital ships going on to Malta, Gibraltar, or even Eng-
land. In Egypt, great emergency hospitals were opened, and
everything possible was done to alleviate the dreadful suffer-
ing of the heroic and uncomplaining soldiers of the Mediter-
ranean Expeditionary Force.

102

CHAPTER VIII.

At the Head of Moiuish Gully.

From the first the Turk held the high ground. Soldiers
will realize what that meant. The Anzac army was as yet
an untried one, and all new troops are apt to keep their heads
down. This is but natural. It must not be forgotten that
this was strange country to the newcomers, and that snipers
lay concealed in every little dere.

The Turk as a soldier was never to be despised. Centuries
of history studded with names such as Kossovo in olden times
and Plevna in modern, show that the Turk is a good soldier
even if he is a bad governor. The operations against Turkey
in this war prove that in trenches the Turk is as good a

Looking towards Baby 700 from Plugge's Plateau.

This very interesting picture shows the long white line, the limit of our furthest
advance. The terraces of Quinn's can be seen perched on the side of the cliff.

soldier as he was of old. But the natural aptitude of the
Colonial as a hunter soon asserted itself, and cunning marks-
men proceeded to stalk the wily snipers. As the trench
systems grew up, points of vantage, screened by branches,
were occupied by the best shots, accompanied by an observer
with a periscope. This gave an Australian corporal of en
gineers an idea that was instantly availed of — the application
of a periscopic attachment to the ordinary service ritle.

The necessary glass for the mirrors was not available, but
over on the horizon were a hundred transports waiting with

104 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

stores and horses. A fleet-SAveeper with a working party Vv^ent
out one fine morning and called on each ship. From the
ornate saloons and the cabins the mirrors were removed,
lowered gently to the deck of the trawler, and hurried off
to Anzac Cove. There the sappers cut the mirrors into little
parallelograms and slipped the pieces into the wooden frames
at the requisite angles. In a few weeks the new periscopic
rifle was in use all along the line, and from that time the
superiority of fire was ours, and it was the Turk's turn to
keep his head down.

Straighteiiiiig the liiiie.

At the end of the fi.rst v/eek it was obvious that our
defensive line could be much improved. Between Pope's and
Walker's Ridge there was a deep canyon — one of the forks
at the head of Monash Gully. The Turk held the high ground
looking down the canyon, so that. troops who were at Pope's,
if they wanted to get around to Walker's, had to go away

a Shell Burst on Steel's Post.

down Monash Gully, along the beach, and up Walker's Ridge
— a distance of nearly three miles, whereas the gap in the
front line between Pope's and Walker's Ridge was only about
200 yards.

Again, between Pope's and Quinn's there was a ridge, so
far unnamed. This ridge was practically "No Man's Land,"
and, if occupied by the Turks, would be a dangerous salient

Straighting the Line.

105

to us, as it looked into the back of Quinii's Post and down
the head of Monash Valley.

So it "was decided that if the left flank of our line — that
is, from Quinn's to Walker's — was flung forward, a con-
tinuous front line could be obtained and coninmnication
within the Anzac area would be much simplified.

It was originally decided that this pushing forward of our
line Avould be made on May 1, but a Turkish attack was
launched that evening, and was heavily repulsed by machine
guns and rifle fire from Pope's and Courtney's Posts, which
enfiladed the attacking infantry. Our attack was postponed
until the evening of May 2.

The Canterbury Infantry were to push forward from
Walker's, the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade from the head
of Monash Gully, while the Otago Infantry Regiment were
to attack from Pope's and link up the Australians with the
Canterburys who were to advance from Walker's Ridge. Two
battalions of the Royal Naval Division w^ere to be held in
reserve below Quinn's and Courtney's. To get to their ap-
pointed place by 7 p.m., the Otago Infantry had to leave
Walker's Ridge on their three-mile march early in the after-
noon, 'a

The Attack ox Dead Man's Ridge.

It is obvious that the further an attaclv is pressed on Dead Man's Ridge, the

better target is presented for the enemy gunner on the flank.

At 7 p.m. the attack was launched, but the Otago Regi-
ment had suffered considerable checks on their march round
the beach and up Monash Gully. This part of Anzac was so
cut up and broken as to be almost unbelievable. The Otagos

106 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

had to pull themselves up part of the way on a rope fastened
on the steep slope of Pope's Hill.

The entire attack was carried out with great dash; but,
owing to the darkness, our unfaniiliarity with the countrj^ in
front, and our misleading maps, we were brought to a
standstill. The Canterburys found they could not get on
from Walker's Ridge; some of our troops were beaten back,
others, particularly the Otagos, hung on grimly through the
long night. The Turk was plentifully supplied with cricket-
ball hand-grenades, while we depended almost entirely on
our rifles.

Tlie Christening- of Dead Man's Kidge.

As dawn approached, a message came back that the
wounded were lying up in a gully between Pope's and
Quinn's, and a party of New Zealand Engineers started to
cut a track up an old watercourse to get the wounded out.
They pushed on past the two battalions of the Naval Division,
and asked them to use their entrenching tools on improving
the track. The men, glad to do something to relieve the
strain of waiting, set to work with a good will, knocking off
the corners and hooking in the sides, until there was quite a
passable track to get the wounded men away.

The scene at the top of that gully will never be obliterated
from the minds of the survivors. Men were lying all over the
place, in every depression and behind every bush. These men
had landed on April 25, had fought unceasingly for over a
week on scanty rations and with very little sleep. Little
wonder that they were exhausted, but it must be said that,
apart from the men who were delirious, there was little mur-
muring. Hollow-eyed and with pinched faces, these Austra-
lians and New Zealanders waited doggedly. There were no
wild cries of ''Stretcher bearer," or ''Water," or "Reinforce-
ments." These men realized that every available man was
fighting ; that the doctors and orderlies were overwhelmed
with casualties ; that water was scarce, and no one was avail-
able to carry it ; and that reinforcements would come when
they could be spared.

108 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

As grey dawn crept in, isolated parties — wild-eyed, clothes
torn, and with blood-smeared bayonets — dashed back from
No Man's Land to the security of the crest, where the Turk
must be held should he counter-attack. One man, demented
by suffering and loss of sleep, went mad and danced on the
crest, cursing the Turk, defying him to come on, and then,
in his madness, cursing his comrades taking cover in the im-
provized position of defence. One man was crying bitterly
because he had lost his bayonet !

The Turk eventually did attack, but thanks to the defen-
sive line hastily prepared and the imperturbable Anzac
soldiery, only one Turk got through — an officer, who tumbled
into our line with a revolver bullet in his forehead.

All this took place in No Man's Land, in that little gully
to the left of Quinn's Post, and from that morning it was
known as ''Bloody Angle."

The units of the Naval Division were then directed to go
up the ridge between Quinn's and Pope's, and their casualties
were so heavy that the name, "Dead Man's Ridge," was
instinctively applied to it by association.

The sorely tried Colonials could not but admit the bravery
of the Royal Marine officers as they led their men up those
scrub-covered slopes. They pressed straight up the goat
track, and lined the ridge. As the ridge was a salient, the
Turkish machine gunners from the trenches opposite our right
flank opened fire, and caught the entire line of men in the
back of the head. As fast as the men fell, others pressed
forward to take their places. The officers suffered exces-
sively as they encouraged their men. On occasions such as
these, one realizes the devilish ingenuity of modern war —
bullets streaming as from a hose, and cutting down every-
thing in the line of fire — men and shrubs indiscriminately,
until the clay slopes of Dead Man's Ridge were stained with
British blood.

The troops holding the safe crestline just a little to the
right were fascinated by the scene — the red and yellow of
the hillside, the brave men steadily climbing up to the fatal
crest, the burst of machine-gun fire as it caught the soldiers
on the ridge; then the awful tumble down the slope until the

110 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

maimed body came to rest at the foot of the gully among the
sweet wild thyme.

The machine-gun fire was too deadly. The survivors re-
luctantly came back to the old line, leaving Dead Man's
Ridge covered with dead — our own and the Turks'. Every
night for weeks comrades risked their lives to get the bodies
away, but the Turk gradually established himself on the
ridge, and not until Armistice Day were the burials com-
pleted. , ^

A party of the Otago Infantry had a most trying time.
They did not fall back with their comrades during the dark-
ness, and suffered severely all next day. They were hard
pressed and given up for lost, but next evening managed to
cut their way out through the exultant Turks.

The Evoliitioii of the Aiizae I^iiie

The evolution of the Anzac front line Avas most interest-
ing. Military text liooks lay down principles and often
suggest their application to different situations. It is con-
sidered most necessary to get a good field of fire, so that the
maximum loss may be inflicted on the enemy, and good
communications assured for the passage of troops and the
carriage of ammunition and food.

Consider for a moment what really does take place. The
tide of battle sways backwards and forwards until at the end
of a desperate day, those of the troops left alive on both sides
sink exhausted behind any natural cover — it may be a clay
bank, a bush, a big stone, a natural or artificial depression in
the ground. Because these men have some protection while
they are firing they often escape becoming casualties. These
are the men who have really established the line. Other men
have got into depressions and behind crests from which they
cannot fire at the enemy at all. The energetic soldiers who
have gone forward to exposed places have undoubtedly per-
formed great service, but generally at the price of death.
So it happens that when night comes, the men left alive
increase the cover they have by digging in ; thus the front
line grows up — little "possies, " as the soldier calls them,
deepened and connected up with those on the right and left.

t Rhooodendron
I SPUfi

Ari
BuRNm

Turkish Trenches Anzac Trenches .

Sketch Map of the Anzac Area in May, 1915 sho'wing the inner
and outer lines.

The distance from Chatham's Post to the mouth of the Sazli Beit Dere is
about 3400 yards; from the centre of Anzac Cove to Quinn's Post, in a,
d-irect line, is 1300 yards.

112 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

By daybreak a line has been constructed — not sited according
to the book — it is probably in the main based on tactical
strong points, but many portions of it are incorporated
because of their safety- — field of fire hardly being considered.
Here it is that the tactical knowledge of ground is valuable,
and trained officers and men are not slow to take advantage
of it, thus avoiding much dangerous and laborious work later
in sapping and tunnelling.

At the head of Monash Gully the valley forked into three
steep gullies. The one to the left ran up behind Pope's Hill;
the second between Pope's and Dead Man's Ridge; the third
branched slightly to the right and culminated in the little
ravine separating Dead Man's Ridge from Quinn's Post.
Courtney's Post was just to the right of Quinn's, and was
perched upon the side of a steep hill, in many places really a
cliif. On this general line the fighting ebbed and flowed,
and on the second day the troops began really to dig in.
Harassed by snipers and bombers, the troops clung to the
ground they had so pluckily won.

The Anzac area now consisted roughly of two lines.
Taking the sea as a base, the inner line resembled a V, start-
ing from Hell Spit, running up INIaclagan's Ridge, around to
Plugge's Plateau, and then down the face of the cliff to
Ari Burnu, the northern limit of Anzac Cove. This was the
inner line of defence, and was never really manned, except
by field guns and a howitzer or two.

The outer line was shaped like a boomerang, with Quinn's
Post as the apex. The fire trench started from a point about
1000 yards south of Hell Spit and ran up the crest of low
ridges, thence to the hills overlooking Monash Gully to Steel's
Post, Courtney's and Quinn's; next came Dead Man's Ridge
and the post called Pope's Hill. Here the impassable ravine
intervened, on the other side of which was the section later
known as Russell's Top, whence the line took a right-angled
bend down Walker's Ridge to the sea. There probably never
existed a more tangled and confused line, consisting as it did
of posts perched perilously on the l)]"ink of steep cliffs, often
not even connected one to the other.

Quinn's Post.

113

Qiiiiiii's Post.

Of all these posts, Quinii's became the most famous. It
was the salient of the Anzac line and the nearest point to thv^
Turk. Looking back, it is a marvel that the place ever held
at all. If the enemy could have shelled it, Quinn's would not
have lasted five minutes. It Avas first held, a ragged trench
line just below the crest, by men of the 4th Australian In-
fantry Brigade, which formed part of the N.Z. and A. Divi-
sion. Those famous battalioUvS — the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16tb
Australian Infantry — established themselves on the night of
April 25 at the head of the gully named after their well-

Headquarters of Quinn's.

The three officers are Colonel Johnston, N.Z.I.B. ; Lieut.-Col. Malone. Post Commander;

and Major Ferguson, R.E., Engineer Staff Officer for No. 3 Defence Section.

known Brigadier. The Turk seemed determined to regain
possession of Quinn's — this would have imperilled the whole
Anzac line, for the holding of Quinn's alone ensured the com-
munications by Avay of Shrapnel Valley and Monash Gully.
Because holding Quinn's meant holding Anzac, no labour was
too great to be expended on it. ^len in the boml) factory,
having completed a long day's Avork, turned to again when
it was made known that "Quinn's was short of bombs," and
pathetic it was to see these hard-swearing Australian and
NeAV Zealand sappers nodding their heads and dropping off
to sleep with a detonator in one hand and a piece of fuse
in the other, only to wake with a start and, in the small hours

114 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

of the morning, cany the product of their toil up to their
beloved Quinn's — a journey of over a mile in the dark with
a box of high explosives !

A party of New Zealand Engineers was established in
Quinn's and Pope's from the second day, and their duty was
to sap forward with a deep trench through the crest, and then
put T ends on the ends of the saps, thus making farther
towards the Turk a new firing line which gave a better field
of fire. This most dangerous work was much hindered by
the enemy dropping grenades in the head of the sap. Men
often had bullet holes drilled through their long-handled
shovels, but despite the casualties, the work went on.

To the right of Quinn's it was necessary to dig a sap
through to join up with Courtney's, and after much labour
and loss this work was accomplished. To the left of Quinn's
was the hotly-contested Dead Man's Ridge, which, after the
morning of May 3, rested in the hands of the Turk. This
vantage point almost looked into the back of Quinn's, and a
work of great magnitude was the construction of a sandbag
wall to protect the tracks to Quinn's from the Turkish
machine guns on Dead Man's Ridge.

It was foreseen that if the enemy commenced mining in
earnest, a fair-sized charge might blow the post off the hill-
side into Monash Gully. So counter-mining was decided on.
There were no tunnelling companies then in the Mediter-
ranean Expeditionary Force, and the sapper field companies
were too reduced by casualties to do the work. But all
through the Colonial armies were miners and tunnellers —
these men from Broken Hill, Coolgardie, Waihi, Westport,
and other places where coal and gold are won, were formed
into companies under experienced oi^cers, and in a large
measure the strenuous labours of these improvized units at
Courtney's, Quinn's and Pope's saved Anzac to the British.

Right through the twenty-four hours the miners sweated
at the tunnel face, interested in only one thing: how far the
man just relieved had driven in his last shift. There was no
talk of limiting the output or of striking in Anzac, for here
there Avas a great community of interest — each one was pre-
pared to labour and, if needs ])e, to sacrifice himself in the
interests of the common weal.

116 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Aeroplanes.

Our flying men had their headquarters in Mudros Harbour.
Daily they flew up and down the Peninsula, but they were
sadly overworked. Mostly they were seaplanes belonging to
the Navy. This was a sad handicap to our artillery ashore,
for guns without aeroplanes spotting for them are almost as
ineffective as a blind pugilist.

Every day out to sea the "sausage ship" could be seen
Avith her big captive balloon observing for the naval gunners.
For the first week no enemy planes were seen, but one day
this new sensation appeared. Eyes were turned skyward,

Ox THE laUIIT J''LA.\K.

Notice the deep coinniunieation trenches thi-oiieh the crest to the firing line, and the
25 graves in the little cemetery.

watching the machine, when someone cried out, "It's a
German." There, sure enough, were the big black crosses
instead of the familiar red, white and blue circles. A rather
amusing feeling of "What do we do now?" pervaded the
onlookers. It seemed to be little use going into the dugout
with a waterproof sheet for a roof! But this time he was
only spying out the land, and sailed away without molesting
anyone. Next day he was back with a sting. As necks were
craned upwards, something was seen to leave the machine,
and Avith a succession of "Whoo! whoo ! whoo!" came rapidly
to earth, or rather, to water, for splash it went into the sea
200 yards from Walker's Pier. "Splash!" came another, and
still another, whereupon the plane wheeled back over the

118 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Peninsula and off home. Daily the machines flew over and
dropped their three bombs each, but never was any material
damage done.

At the head of Monash Gully showers of steel darts, about
the size of a lead pencil, were sometimes dropped, and at
intervals the airman wasted his energies in the distribution
of leaflets intimating that "As the English are in desperate
straits, you will be well treated if you surrender soon." This
was sometimes varied by a sheet on which was a picture of
soldiers alleged to be Mohammedan deserters from our Indian
troops, telling of the good time they were having with their
co-religionists. These papers were greatly treasured by the
troops as souvenirs.

One of the most beautiful sights in the campaign was wit-
nessed when one of our seaplanes was attacked by a Turkish
anti-aircraft. Standing on the hillside and looking out over
the blue ^Egean Sea, the eye would pick up, sailing through
the azure of the Mediterranean sky, the naval plane with the
sun shining on its oiled-silk Avings like those of a great dragon
fly. Suddenly, beloAv it, a puff of pure white smoke would
open out as a silk handkerchief does when released from a
closed hand. On would sail the plane, and above it would
open another puff of smoke. So, with unders and overs, the
picture would be limned in, until the eye got tired of Avatch-
ing, and the plane climbed out of range.

119

CHAPTER IX.

»fe--.

The Battle ol Krithia.

Bitter as had been the struggle at Anzac, the fight at the
southern end of the peninsula was even more bloody. To the
most honourable traditions of the British Army and Navy
was added a further lustre. The story of the "River Clyde''
and the "Lancashire Landing" are amongst the most tragic
and glorious in the history of the British race.

But the advance towards Achi Baba was held up some
distance from the village of Krithia, and General Sir Ian
Hamilton made up his mind to undertake one big final assault
before the Turks could receive their reinforcements.

On the night of Wednesday, . _ ,

]\lav 5, the New Zealand Infantrv

':, ■ »'■ "J'
Brigade and the 2nd Australian

J*
Infantry Brigade, were assembled

on the bullet-swept Anzac beach,
placed in destroyers and barges
and landed just east of Cape Helles
early next morning. Here was the
battered "River Clyde," and on
the cliff to the right Sedd-el-Bahr
fort, completely wrecked by the
naval guns.

As the troops moved from the landing place, they saw
deep Turkish trenches and formidable barbed-wire entangle-
ments. The landscape was vastly different from the hungr}'
hills of Anzac. This was fairly easy i-olling country, inter-
sected with sod walls, through which gaps had been worn
by passing troops ; most of the land was cultivated, and dotted
here and there with clumps of fir trees, from behind whicii
the French 75 's and British 18-prs. threw their hail of
shrapnel. Among the 18-prs. Avas the 3rd Battery of New
Zealand Field Artillery that had lain off Anzac, but was not
disembarked until landed here at Ilelles on May 4. This
batterv staved at Helles until the middle of August.

/^^

Xi;arixc. "V" Beach,
Cai'k Helles.

TekkeBurnw
LA/vc/ts/f/fifLAMz/yGiBEf^^

O/JPEHELLI-S

SCALE iNVflRDS.

Map of Cape Helles Sector.

Tliis map shows the route taken by the New Zealand Infantry Brigade on IMay 6-T.

On April 25, a landing at "Y2'' or Gully Beach was not attempted. The troops
that landed at "Y" Beach were consequently isolated and eventually withdrawn.
The landing at "X" Beach was vej-y successful and is some times spoken of as the
"Imiilacable Landing.'' "W" Beach, afterwards called "Lancashire Landing," and
"V" Beach, made famous by the "River Clyde," were the two most costly landings.
The landing at "S" Beach in Morto Bay was successfully carried out by the 2nd
South Walfs Borderers, covered by the "Cornwallis'' and the "Lord Xelson."

The Battle of Krithia. 121

Having climbed the heights from the beach, the eye took
in at once the great hump of Aclii Baba, the crest just five
miles away. Two ridges, like sprawling arms, ran down to
the sea — one towards the Narrows, the other to the Gulf of
Saros. From Sedd-el-Bahr a road traverses the centre of the
Peninsula, running through the village of Krithia, which is
four miles from Sedd-el-Bahr; it skirts the lower slopes to
the left of Achi Baba, rounds the northern shoulder of the
Kilid Bahr Plateau, and so to Maidos, on the shores of the
Narrows, thirteen miles in a direct line from Sedd-el-Bahr. At
Krithia, for which village most of the subsequent desperate
fighting took place, the Peninsula is about three and a half
nules across.

Let the reader take any railway guide and select two
stations four miles apart. It is hard to realize that troops like
the French, the 29th Di\dsion, the Australians, the New Zea-
landers and the Indians should be held in such narrow limits
for so many months. But with the sea on the flanks and the
enemy holding the high ground, the defence of a natural
fortress like Achi Baba was comparatively easy.

Following on the landings of April 25, the British
held the left of the line, with the French (withdrawn from
Kum Kale) on the right. Coming from the cramped confines
of Anzac, the New Zealanders marvelled to sec French
officers in blue and red riding up and down the road, and
motor cyclists dashing about with signal messages. Poor
Anzac could not boast of a road on which to run even a
bicycle. As a relief from our inevitable khaki, the French
Senegalese with their dark blue uniforms, the Zouaves with
their red baggy trousers, and the French Territorials with
their light blue, imparted quite a dash of colour to the scene,
On ]\Iay 6, the French away on the right attacked all day,
while the Royal Naval Division moved a little down both
sides of the Krithia Road.

In the reconstitution of the British forces for the renewed
assault on Krithia, a new composite division, to be used as a
general reserve, was formed of the 2nd Australian Brigade,
the New Zealand Brigade, and a Naval Brigade consisting oi
the Plvmouth and Drake Battalions.

The New Zealand 15kigade in Reserve. 123

The New Zealand 15rij»a<le in Reserve.

After leaving the congested beach the New Zealand
Brigade pushed across country. The men Avere much in-
terested in the first sight of the French 75 's. Coming to rest
in some fairly level fields, rough shelter trenches were dug in
the moist earth. Shells flew backwards and forwards all that
night, and very few men could sleep owing to the wet
trenches. Everybody was a little hurt because the Austra-
lians were served with Machonochies, whereas the New Zea-
landers got the usual bully beef; but a few gay spirits re-
fused to be depressed, and lustily sang "There's something in
the seaside air," which Avas unfortunately true.

On the morning of the 7th, extra ammunition and en-
trenching tools were issued, and the brigade started on a
long trek in a north-westerly direction, eventually coming
down to Gully Beach on the Gulf of Saros. After a short
rest, the march was resumed. The leading files struck back
again up the hill and met many Lancashires coming back
wounded. Everywhere equipment was scattered. Many of
our men secured sun helmets, which later were the envy of
Anzac. When word came to rest for the night and dig in,
the brigade pulled off the track to the sides of the valley,
posted outpost groups, and endeavoured to rest for the night.
But there was a good deal of confusion and noise, Ghurkas
and other troops were moving up and down, and presently
word came to move further up the gully. On the weary men
stumbled, past a trench held by the King's Own Scottish Bor-
derers, and eventually arrived near a small stone farmhouse
on the right hand side of the gully. On both sides of the
road Avere some old Turkish trenches, in a filthy condition.
Sticking up in the parapet Avas a dead man's hand, like a stop
sign, seeming to indicate "this far and no farther." Back-
Avards and forAvards, this -ts'ay and that, men Avandered in
Ihe search for a comfortable resting place. Here the brigade
passed the night, acting as a reserve to the 87th and 88th
Brigades of the 29th Division, but the morning came Avithout
our men being called on.

The shelter of a ruined building Avas seized upon for a
dressing station. Near by Avas a large fig tree, Avhich later

The Daisy Patch. 125

served as a laiidiuark for the last resting-place of many New
Zealand soldiers. From this dressing station the wounded
were cai'ried by the stretcher-bearers some distance to the
rear to the Pink Farm, whence the ninle ambulances carried
the suffering men over the Avell-Avorn roads to the beaches.

On the morning of May 8, the New Zealand Brigade w%is
ordered to the support of the 29th Division. We were to go
through the 88th Brigade, and with the 87th Brigade on our
left, renew the attack on Krithia at 10.30 a.m. The advance
Avas made in a succession of waves ; the Wellingtons were on
the left, the Aucklands in the centre, and the Canterburys on
the right ; the Otago Battalion was in reserve. After an
intense bombardment by our ship's guns and field artillery,
the brigade advanced from the reserve trenches at 10.30 a.m.
The ground was broken, and this hindered the pace. Many
Avere lost Avho might have been saved if this advance had been
made before daylight. The troops pressed on despite the
casualties. When the officers ordered a breather, the tired
men fell down flat right out in the open. Past the Hants'
trenches and the Essex trench they went steadily forward
until they came to the big front-line trench held by the 29th
Division. From here it was about 800 yards to the enemy
main line trench, but scattered in front of his line, in every
depression and behind every clump of bush, were machine
guns and hosts of enemy snipers.

The Daisy Patch.

From this front-line trench the Kegulars had advanced
tlie day before, but had been driven back. Presently the word
was passed along that the New Zealanders would prepare to
charge. When some Munsters and Essex saw the prepara-
tions, they shouted, "You're not going to charge across the
daisy patch, are you?" "Of course we are," the Aucklanders
answered. "God help you," they said, and watched w^ith
admiration as the New^ Zealanders flung themselves over the
top.

The converging machine-gun fire from the clumps of fir
trees swept the ground like a hose. This famous "daisy
patch" Avas situated just to the left of a dry creek-bed

126

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

running fi'om near the village oi: Kvithia down the centre
of the Peninsula towards the Cape — a piece of ground about
100 yards across, absolutely devoid of cover; apparently it
had once been sown with some crop, but was now overgrown
with the counnon red poppy of the field and countless long-
stemmed daisies comparable to the dog daisy of England and
New Zealand. The bank of the creek afforded good cover,
and the Turkish snipers took full toll of our men.

lilt

Thk New Zk.'^land Infantry Brigade Staff.
Taken just before the "Daisy Patch" attack. The officer standing is Colonel
E. F. .Tohnston. Major Temperly (to whom much credit is diie for the good
work of the Brigade) is sitting on a box, facing this way.

The troops had hardly got a (juarter of the way across the
patch when there burst a further terrific storm of machine-
gun and rifle fire. Heavily laden with entrenching tools and
equipment, the troops were exhausted and could go no
farther. By 3 p.m. the thin line was digging itself in.

Canterbury had advanced about 250 yards, Auckland had
two companies about the same distance, but the right com-

The Daisy Patch. 127

pany had fallen back owing to hoavy cross machine-gun fire
from a clnmp of fir trees. Wellington had made good abont
300 yards, bnt were under very heavy fire from a Turkish
trench on our left front. Two companies of the Otago Kegi-
ment were sent in to help Auckland, who had lost heavily
and were somewhat shaken.

A squadron of armoured cars advanced in fine style up
the Krithia Eoad, but a few Turkish trenches dug across the
load damped their ardour, and they disconsolately returned
to the rear.

All that afternoon our men hung on under a withering fire.
The wounded lying out in the open were hit again and again.
Away on the right, the French could be seen pressing
vigorously forward tow^ards the crest, but were ever beaten
back. Times without number they surged forward, but could
not hold the ground so hardly Avon. Again and again that
awful afternoon did the British, French, Indian, and Colonial
soldiers hurl themselves forward towards the Turk. But
the enemy machine guns were not to be denied ; from end to
end of the line the attack was undoubtedly held up.

Tt was resolved to make one final effort before nightfall.
The remaining two companies of the Otago Battalion were
pushed up to support Wellington's right and Auckland's left,
and a neAvly arrived draft of New Zealand Reinforcements
was moved up into reserve. At 5 p.m., every available gun
ashore and afloat opened on the Turkish lines. Never before
had the troops heard such an awesome uproar — the spiteful
French 75 's vied with the 15-in. monsters of the Queen Eliza-
beth in heaping metal on the Turk. Half an hour later the
whole line advanced against the Turkish lines, but it Avas
more than flesh and blood could do to make a permanent
advance. EveryAvhere ground Avas gained, but at a tremen-
dous price. The thinned-out ranks Avere not strong enough to
hold Avhat had been gained.

This effort had spent itself before 7 p.m. The Canter-
burys had gone forAvard some 400 yards. The Aucklands
Avent well ahead, but lost very heavily in officers. They fell
back almost to their original line. AVellington made a sub-
stantial advance, but Avere held up by the enemy machine

The Daisy Patch.

129

guns, which lit>fore had proved ti'oiiblesoine. These guns
were difficult to get at, as a deep nullah lay between these
guns and the New Zea landers, and could onl}' be assaulted
by the 87th Brigade.

Away on the left a fire broke out among the gorse and
scrub. The Sikh wounded fared very badly in the flames.

After dark it was found that the Canterburys Avere in
direct touch with the 2nd Australian Brigade on the right.
Canterbury's left was not in touch with anyone, but a second
line some distance to the rear filled the gap. Our line from
Wellington's right was also not in touch, but was protected
by trenches of the 87th Brigade echeloned in rear.

[Lent by Scrot. P. Tite, N.Z.E.

f REXLii Tep;ritorials befokk the Advance.

During the night the position gained was consolidated.
The Auckland Battalion was much disorganized and split up,
so was withdrawn to the reserve trenches. The casualties
had been very heavy. Large numbers of w^ounded had to spend
the night on the battlefield, as their evacuation was difficult.

At 3.53 p.m. on May 9, an order w^as received to take
over the section from our left to the Krithia Nullah. The 87th
Brigade Avas to go into support, the line being held by the
Wellingtons, Otagos, and Canterburys. Part of the 88th
Brigade was also retired. The marksmen of the Canterburys
took the enemy snipers by surprise, and established a moral
superiority over them.

130

The New Zeai.anders at Gaelipoli.

The Relief of our Brij>a<le.

During the next few days the weather was good, but the
nights were very cold. The TurlvS attacked intermittently,
but were definitely held. On the night of May 11, the
New Zealanders were relieved by units of the East Lanca-
shire Division, recently arrived from Egypt. This was
achieved by 3 a.m. on May 12, without much confusion, where-
upon the brigade moved back to its bivouac near the stone
bridge on the Krithia road. Just after arriving there was a
heavy fall of rain, which converted the surroundings into an
absolute quagmire. The following days, however, were beau-
tifully fine, and the men had a much-needed rest. In the
reorganization it was found that the brigade had suffered a

Troops gathering Firewood at Sedd-el-Bahr.

total of 771 casualties at Helles, but all ranks were greatl}^
cheered by the appreciative comments passed by the Eegular
Army officers, and especially by Sir Ian Hamilton's official mes-
sage : ''May I, speaking out of a full heart, be permitted to
say how gloriously the Australians and New Zealanders have
upheld the finest traditions of our race during this struggle

The Relief op Our Brigade. 131

still in progress; at first with audacity and dash, since then
with sleepless valour and untiring resource. They have
already created for their countries an imperishable record of
military virtue. ' '

Several days of welcome relief from the front line ensued.
Men wandered through the battered forts of Sedd-el-Bahr,
and marvelled at the dismantled guns and twisted ironwork.
Others strolled around the fertile countryside, which was
smothered with a profusion of red poppies, white daisies and
Ijlue larkspurs, as if to honour the French and British
occupation.

After dark on the evening of May 19, the brigade again
embarked from V Beach to return to Anzac Cove, where they
arrived at dawn next morning. During the disembarkation
a very sad incident occurred in the Auckland Battalion,
which lost another officer, he being the twenty-seventh officer
iu capacitated out of the original twenty-nine comljatants.

-132

CHAPTER X.

The Arrival of tlie Mouiiteds.

During the first few days the troops were exhorted to
hold on. There was no option. The line could not go for-
ward, and it dare not go back. First it was rumoured that
the East Lancashire Division, associated with us in Egypt,
was coming to Anzac ; then the 29th India.n Infantry Brigade

l.rlit ]nl S,r;lt. P. TUC. K Z E .

The Tangled Slopes of Mule Gully.

from the Suez Canal; but Helles absorbed these. Worst still!
On May 5 the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and the 2nd
Australian Brigade were taken out of Anzac to assist in the
thrust towards Krithia. On the left flank of Anzac, two
weak battalions of the Royal Naval Division took over the
line the New Zealand Brigade had vacated.

The Arrival op the Mounteds. 133

The Aiizac position was now reorganized in four defence
sections numbered from right to left. General Bridges, with
the 1st Australian Division, held Sections 1 and 2 — that is,
from Chatham's Post on the sea up to, but not including,
Courtney's Post. General Godley, with the N.Z. and A. Divi-
sion, was responsible for the rest of the line. No. 3 Defence
Section contained the three famous posts at the head of
Monash Gully— Courtney's, Quinn's, and Pope's. Russell's
Top, Walker's Ridge, No. 1 and No. 2 Posts made up No. 4
Section. General Birdwood, the Army Corps General, was
at his headquarters in Anzac Cove, and each Divisional
General was in charge of half the defensive line.
The sections were held as follow : —

No. 1 Section (Colonel Sinclair-JMaclagan) — 3rd Aus-
tralian Infantry Brigade.
No. 2 Section (Brigadier-General Walker)— 1st Aus-
tralian Infantry Brigade.
No. 3 Section (Brigadier-General Trotman, R.]M.L.I.) —
4th Australian Infantry Brigade; Royal Marine
Brigade (Chatham and Portsmouth Battalions) ;
3 sections No. 1 Field Company, N.Z.E.
No. 4 Section (Brigadier-General Mercer, R.M.L.I.) —
Royal Naval Brigade (Nelson and Deal Battalions) ;
1 section No. 1 Field Company, N.Z.E.
We, as a nation, are prone to underrate our efforts and
laud those of our adversaries. Before and during the war it
was loudly asserted that the German Secret Service and
German diplomacy always outwitted the British. To-day the
world knows the truth of the matter. Likewise, it was con-
tended that the Turkish Intelligence Department was superior
to ours. "Look how they always know what we are about
to do," said the critics. Truly, anything planned in Egypt
was bound to leak out if it had to be printed or circulated,
as Egypt was always a cosmopolitan place, where it was
unsafe to trust a stranger. But if the Turks knew so much,
why did they not attack Walker 's Ridge that anxious week in
May? Any attack must have succeeded, and the thin line of
single trenches once broken, Anzac must have crumpled.

134

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The enemy did nothing serious, and on May 12 the joy
at Anzac was unbounded. The Mounteds had arrived ! Every
face on the beach was wreathed in smiles. Here they all
were — without their horses, but keen, and spoiling for a
fight — the Australian Light Horse ; the New Zealand Mounted
Rifles Brigade, consisting of the Auckland, Wellington, and
Canterbury Regiments; the field troop to I'einforce the over-
worked 1st Field Company in its sapping and mining; the
signal troop, to help with the telephone and buzzers ; and the
mounted field ambulance, to assist their overworked confreres
with the wounded.

Whatever the trudging infantry men had thought in Egypt
as the mounted men swept by, to-day there was nothing but

The Beack sweeping towards Xip.runesi Poixt.

the good humoured banter of "Where's your horses?" As
the eager troopers climbed the goat tracks of Walker's Ridge
a great sigh of relief was heaved by the sorely tried garrison
of Anzac. Never were troops more welcome.

The same day. Colonel Chauvel, with the 1st Australian
Light Horse Brigade, took over No. 3 Defence Section from
Brigadier-General Trotman, Avho embarked with the Chatham
and Portsmouth Battalions that night for Cape Helles.

The Arrival of tue ]\Ioi nteds.

135

Brigadier-General Kiissell relieved Brigadier-General
Mercer on Walker's Ridge. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles
Brigade took over the line from the Nelson and Deal Bat-
talions, who also left Anzac to rejoin the Royal Naval Divi-
sion at Cape Helles.

The highest part of AValker's Ridge became known as
Russell's Top, because, close at hand, practically in the firing
line, the commander of the N.Z. Mounted Rifles Brigade estab-
lished his headquarters. Hereabouts No Man's Land was
very narrow. Aw^ay to the right ran the deep gully, which,
passing behind the back of Pope's Hill, became Monash Gully.
So far, Pope's and Russell's Top were unconnected, the Turks
holding the head of this gully, which made their sniping of
Monash Gully so effective. It was from here, on May 15, that
a Turkish sniper mortally w^ounded General Bridges, as he
was proceeding up Shrapnel Gully. At that time no place
in the Anzac area could be considered safe.

The Sphinx.
Owing- to the steep cliffsides;, the bullets could not reach the dugouts on the slope.

To tlie left was another gully running down and losing
itself in the ramifications of the outlying spurs of Walker's
Ridge. The little flat watershed separating these two gullies
ran like an isthmus across No Man's Land, and conn3.3ted
Russell's Top with that part of the main Turkish position
known as "Babv 700" and ''The Chessboard." This con-

136

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

necting link was known as "The Nek." Only a few yards
behind our main fire trench were precipitous cliffs, which,
running round to the right, culminated in a remarkable knife-
edged cliff eventually known as the ' ' Sphinx ' ' ; while to the
extreme left flank these cliffs, scored with the torrential
winter rains, eventually resolved themselves into broken
under-features of Walker's Ridge, sprawling out and forming
one side of the Sazli Beit Dere. Near the bottom of this dry
Avatercourse was the little Fishermen's Hut, so often used
as a landmark. Just south of these huts was No. 1 Post, and
a few hundred yards past the valley and on the coast was the
little knoll eventually to become famous as No. 2 Post.

No. 2 Post.

This No. 2 Post was the northern extremity of our line.
Measured on the map, it Avas a distance of 3600 yards — just
two miles — from Chatham's Post on the extreme right. As
Quinn's Post was about 1000 yards from the sea, a rough cal-
culation Avill show that the area of Anzac was approximately
750 acres. Seven hundred and fifty acres of prickly scrub
and yellow clay, stony water-courses, sandy cliff's and rocky
hill tops, land that M'ould not support one family in comfort,
yet for eight long months, men of divers races lived a Spartan
life there, studding the hillsides so thickly with their rude
dugouts that a Turkish shell seldom failed to find a victim.

No time was lost after taking over this No. 4 Sector. The
engineers had made a track for guns and mules up to
Russell's Top. This road Avas regraded and improved in
parts; trenches Avere deepened and made more habitable;

The Arrival of the Mounted;

137

saps wei'c pushed out AvluTcvcr the lidd of fire reciuired
iiiiproveiuont. The line from "the Top" to No. 2 Outpost was
vei'N' broken, with many rough gullies intervening; secret saps
wer(» dug, and machine guns placed to cover this "dead"
ground, up and doAvn Avhich the scouts of both sides roamed
as soon as it was dark.

The panorama from Walker's Ridge was magnificent.
Looking across the yellow clay hills, decorated in patches
with green scrub oak and prickly undei'growth, red poppies
and purple rock roses, one saw the beautiful beach sweeping
up towards the Suvla Flats ; the Mgean Sea was generally
as calm as a mill pond, dotted all over with leisurely trawlers,
barges, and restless destroyers; the white hospital ships, with
their green bands and red crosses, lay a few miles out to
sea; over in the distance the storied isles of Imbros and Samo-
thrace stood out in all the glory of their everchanging tints.
The men of the Wellington regiments recognized a strong

The Suvla Flats fr(i^[ ^\■AI.KKR's Ripge.

i'esend)lance to tlie view from the Paekakariki Hill, looking
out towards Kapiti and the long white stretch of the Otaki
beach.

Later in the month the Otago INIounted Rifles were sta-
tioned down at No. 2 Post. Between the post and the sea
was a delightful little strip of level ground, ablaze witli
poppies and other wild flowei's, but under the eye, and within
the range of the enemy. Near this outpost was discovered an
old Turkish well. ElscAvhere men searched for water, and
sometimes found it, but when pumps were applied the flow

138 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

ceased after a day or so. This, on the contrary-, Avas a most
reliable avcII, a godsend to the thirsty men and mules, and
a most welcome addition to the scanty supply procured from
the barges. Soldiers came from far and near to draw the
precious water.

Owing to its visibility to the snipers on the Turkish
right flank, the beach between Ari Burnu and Fishermen's
Hut could not be used during the day. Almost under the
shadoAv of the Sphinx a group of boats and barges lay
stranded on the beach. Late one night a party of mounteds
went doAvn and Iniried the remains of forty Australian in-
fantrymen who had been killed at the April landing.

The Mounted Rifles repulse a deteriiiiiied
Attack.

About the middle of ]\Iay, the Turks decided that one de-
termined effort Avould drive the men of Anzac into the sea.
These people perched on the hillside annoyed him enormously.
Never did he make an attack in the southern zone but these
Colonials threatened to advance towards Maidos. Ncavs was
gleaned of the withdrawal of troops from Helles and the
arrival of reinforcements from Constantinople.

On May 17, the "Lord Nelson" delighted all beholders by
turning her big guns on to the village of Kuchuk Anafarta.
All along the coast line the ships joined in, until every
village behind the line, and every road running towards
Helles and Anzac, was swathed in dust and flame. The
Turk retaliated with guns ranging from llin. down to .77.
Their shooting- was good — one Australian 18-pr. was put
out of action by a direct hit. The enemy reinforcements were
delayed, but with the darkness, on they came again.

Next day was fairly quiet, but the sentries Avere Avarned
to prepare for an attack, and during the night the reliefs
slumbered behind the line Avith their clothes on, their rifles
loaded, and their bayonets fixed. Sure enough, just after
midnight, firing commenced from Chatham's Post along to
No. 2 Post. Thousands of cricket-l^all hand-grenades AA'ere
hurled into Quinn's and other critical places. The big guns
on liotli sides renewed their efforts. The bursts of shells in

PENINSULA PRESS.

SATURDA'?, JULY 3rd 1915.

The Attack that Failed.

Farther details ii;>\e now hoon rccrned of
the attack miulo by the Turks on the iiiKlit of
the 29th-30tb nil. .\l about 2 o'clock oii WV.l-
nesday morning the se.irchhchts of II. M.S.
" Scorpion " (iisoovercd half a Turkish h;atalion
advancinf; near llie sea. North-west of Krithia.
The ''Scorpion" openoti live and few of tiie enemy
■Ant awa.v. Simultaneously, the enemy attacked
Ihi- knoll we had captured due West of Krithia,
;»«ivaneinK from the nullah in close formation in
several lines. The attack came under .artillery
and enlihido rilie lire and the enemy lost heav-
ily. The foremost Turks sot within 40 yards
of the parallel, hnt only a few returned.

Tlu- Tuiks made several heavy boinli attacks
during; the ni};l)t, our trot)ps lieiji;^ twic<s <Iriven
hack a short liisiance. In the earl.v m<MniiiK
\vere;;ained these trt-nches hyhavonetiUiack and
they have .4nce lieen si ren^tiieiM'tl. .\l .J.SO a.m.
2,(K)0 Turks luovius; fi.nn Kr.il.i:, into 1 1,,.
ravine weie scatterwi '-
The operations icHect ;;; -

ance and the accurate sh.. II i ^ -- ,,[

pion." The Turkish los.s.>s,i. : .u- null.,,, :i,,,i ,.,,-
ine are estinuilect at from l.r.OO to 2,01iu dead. .\i
ahcul 10 p.m. on W, ;ln.- In I'... ■]'»■]:< ,,.un ,,■
larked witli honii,-

.\n ollieer of f

dailtlerously us It i u, ,:.■,
infuriated: fluni; ail tli.

id til

chai

their kukris with ►.'real
Tiw-ks once more attei
open hut nearly the >
forces, ahont lialf a h:
and a linal honil. .Ut
failed iitl.Tl>.

A fuitlit

attack on Tues,i..v an.l \'
rishl llank stales thai i

with vcrv heavy lire f.,., , : . ; ,.

to which our men repiie,i..n.-. us a „■, i,-.,i n,. ,■,».
The Tn.ks tl.en lauuehe.Hheii attack and came
rik'ht on with hayoiiel ami lioluh.s. Those who
succee^led in fi<*ttinri into our s;tps wert; instant-
1> killed, the remainder beini; dealt with by
bomb and rifle lire fioin the 7th and Sth IjiKht
Horse. By 2 a.m. the enemy broke and many
were killed while withdrawing;. The euemv's
attack was stronjiest on his rijiht. They were
completely takeu abacli by a <'oncealetI sap con-
st! iieted well aheiul of our main line, and their
dead are i.\inf; thickly in fi out of this. Some
got into the sap and several got across it, and
all these were wiivd otil by lire from the main
IKtrapet farther hack Followim; the defeat of
this attack, the enemy attacked at S a.m. ou
our left and SO men came over the parai)els in
front of the ri«lil of Quinns Post. These were
duly polished off.

I'risoners brouciil in state that three fresh
battalions were employed in the main attack
which was ma<ie by the personal order of Euver
Pasha who, a*» they definitely a^^sert, was present'
in the trenches on Tuesday the 29th nil.
* Wednesday was very quiet at .\u/-ac, except
for lieavy musketry lire along onr left and cen-
tre during the storm in the evening. Liitest
rc|>ort of enemy casualties on 29tli, estimates
them at between 400 ami .lOO actually seen to
fall on those areas alone that are exposetl to
view and exclusive of any loss indicted by
our bombardments of reverse slopes auti gullies
in which reserves are known to be collecting.

It is manifest with what ajiprehension the
Turks regard our latest gains and luiw bravely
they have tried to neutralize them and at what
cos; .

On the 'West Front.

, Julv 2nd.

After a continuous bombardment which histed
three days, the Gerinans attacked the Freucli
positions in the Argonne, between the road
from Hinarville and the Four-de.Pavi«j. Twice
driven back, they eventuall>- succeeded, after a
thiid attei pt. in setting foot in some i>arts of
the Frencl. lines near ijagalelle, and were re-
pulsed everywhere else after a veiw fierce strug-
gle. Two fresh attacks .igain~t thr. 1 1, nches to
the East of the road f,,,' IV ... w.ue

defeated. A violent at tail. .Iilxmi

hood of .Met/eral was i-..n., ,1, tli'

(iermans suffering lu.,'.- : ..-, .

i;)i]

i;.

Letters to a Turkish Soldier
the Front.

--.nn .U.I, FiiM
i 1 i,!-, i.nn ,-,.■-
,:, ,->.■- M,:.;,,f.

received.

Your rmither kisses your eyes and \h.
kissesboth vour hands. Your brollnr. Ban
wife, has died — may yourowu life la- ion;.
before d\ ing she brought into tlie woi i.l a
The cbil.l also has died.

What can! say about the decrees of God '?
Y'our brother Bairham has also Iweu taken as a
soldier. We laay God that his health niaj' be
preserved. The money- you sent has arrived.
Thank God f<nit, for money isscMirce these days.
Kvcrvbody sends salaam-; : ovnvhnd-v ki.-j-i^s
your hands and yon. feel. (,,,.• :.,], wuti.nn
danger."

iltti. Vour
and kisses
,'en no one.

are. Y,)ur

Y>mr

To my doiir huslMiid, II..- ..
beg to iu.|uire after .\oiir bics-i-il
daughter sends her speci.al salaa
your hands. Since you h.ft I have si'en
Since your departure I have no iu;k e
mother has not cea.scd to weep sin., >
Your daughter declares that she i- • ... ■ i
weejis all day. We ai-e all in a bad waj
wifes.ays to hoi*seIf "While my'husba
here vve had some means." Since youi
tore we have received nothing at all.
write quickly and send what money >ou can
All your friends kiss your hands and >our feet
May God keep you and save us from the disas
tci-s of this war.

Your wife.

id was
depar-
Plcase

U.B. Printing Section, G.H.O., M.E.F.

"The Pexix.<ula Pkes.s."
Printed by the R.E. Printing Section at Imbros.

140 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

mid-air nioinentai'ily lit up the scene, intensifying the black-
ness of the night. But this Avas only the enemy's preliminary
bombardment, for about 3 a.m., the watchful sentries detected
forms moving cautiously in No ]\Ian's Land. Soon the attack
was made in earnest at the junction of No. 2 and No. 3
Defence Sections. Then it burst in its fury on Quinn's and
Kussell's Top.

The machine guns sprayed the front with a shower of
lead, and for an interval the attack seemed held up, but in
the grey dawn the mass advanced again. Crying on their
God — "Allah! Allah! Allah!" — they surged forward in tre-
mendous strength. From their trenches opposite Kussell's
Top and Turk's Point on Walker's Ridge they sallied forth
in thousands. This was the first real test of the New Zealand
Mounted Rifles. The Turks flung themselves against the
trenches held by the Auckland Mounted Regiment ; but with
rifle and machine-gun fire the troopers beat them off, hardly
a Turk reaching the trench.

This was a field day for the machine guns posted in No. 4
Section. Carefully trained by some of the greatest experts
in the world, who were not slow to recognize their golden
opportunities, these excellently placed weapons carried
disaster into the enemy's attacks, enfilading them time and
again. To the intense delight of the gunners, the Turks
advanced in lines that presented ideal machine-gun targets.
As the enemy had treated the Royal Naval Battalions on
Dead ]Man's Ridge, so the Turk Avas uoav treated in return.

Again and again the foe came on — by their French-grey
overcoats they were identified as ncAv picked troops from
Asia. Again and again they advanced, but, caught by the
loosely-strewn barb Avire, they dropped like flies and Avere
beaten to the earth by the machine guns. The din Avas in-
describable. Aliove the rattle of the musketry combat and
betAveen the boom of the guns could be heard the Turk, cry-
ing on his Maker as he adA^anced, yelling and squealing as he
retired to the Colonial shouts of "Imshi Yallah!" and the
glorious battle chorus of "Ake, Ako, Kia Kaha!"

DoAvn the gullies on the left flank the enemy came in the
dark. A determined attack aliout the Fishermen's Hut

Mounted Rifles repulse a determined Attack.

141

would cut off No. 2 Post and let the Turkish hordes surge
along the flat beach and low ground into the heart of Anzac.
The anxious garrisons detected sounds of men scrambling
down the gully. Around the posts alert ears heard the under-
tone of voices. It was some time before the listeners could
determine the mutterings as undoubtedly Turkish. Into the
mysteries of the scrub volley after volley was poured. The
attackers, feeling that they were ''in the air," squealed and
disappeared in the direction of the Suvla Flats. When the
sun was well up, from No. 2 Post Turkish reinforcements
were discernible in the trenches opposite Walker's Ridge. A
machine gun of the Canterbury Regiment was posted to

I Linf hi) Capt. Boxer. N.Z.M.G.
On Walker's Ridge.
The Field Troop, N.Z.E., regrading the road to Russell's Top.

enfilade them. The rifles of the 10th Nelson Squadron, as-
sisted by the machine gun, brought a devastating fire to bear
on a grey-coated battalion of the enemy lying in the trenches
and in the depressions, evidently preparing for an advance.
For a few minutes a stream of lead played up and down
their ranks, causing awful havoc. The mass heaved and
swayed convulsively, then broke and stampeded to the rear,

142 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

assisted in their flight by the ever-watchful guns of the
torpedo-boat destroyers, wliile the machine guns from
Steel's, Courtney's, Quinn's, Pope's and Walker's, emptied
belt after belt into the enemy reserves. Now was the oppor-
tunity of the field gunners. From Howitzer Gully, from
Plugge's Plateau, from Walker's Ridge, the New Zealand
Field Artillery shells were pumped in streams. The No. 2
Battery, N.Z.F.A., though only able to get two guns to bear,
fired 598 rounds almost without intermission. The ships were
having a day out, perfect targets presenting themselves all
along the line.

Right along the two and a third miles of front the attacks
melted away — nowhere was the Anzac line penetrated. The
great attempt to drive the infidel into the sea had miserably
failed. Everywhere along the line Turks lay dead in heaps.
The mounted men — Australians and New Zealanders alike —
had demonstrated that southern-bred soldiers were as dogged
in defence as they were brilliant in attack.

The night was fairly quiet, but on the 20th the attack was
resumed, when the machine gunners had it all their own way.
Perhaps the enemy remembered the tragedy of the preceding
day, for when the machine guns spluttered, the attackers
broke and fled.

In the afternoon a dramatic episode occurred. At different
points in the Turkish trenches small white flags appeared.
Linguists in the enemy's ranks made known their desire for
a truce to bury their dead. At many parts in the line, par-
ticularly opposite the Auckland Mounted trenches on Walker's
Ridge, some conversation was carried on in German. But
observers noticed men crowding in the front line and the
communication trenches. It seemed that the white flag inci-
dent was a ruse to launch a surprise attack. The white flag
parties were given two minutes to get down out of sight.
Down they scurried, and once more the musketry battle re-
sumed its violence. As night came the searchlight from the
warships played around the Turkish trenches and brilliantly
illuminated the gullies on the flanks. Some desultory firing
took place, but the Turk had no stomach for more infidel
driving.

Burying the Dead on Armistice Day.

143

Burying the Dead on Ai-mistice Day.

Next morning, the look-out on the destroyer guarding our
right flank was mystified by a Turk waving a big white flag
on Gaba Tepe, previous to coming out right into the open,
and well within range. After the tremendous losses a few
days previously, some of us thought that here at last was the
long-looked-for peace. After a certain amount of justifiable
hesitation on our part, a patrol went out to meet the white
flag party. The groups met along the seashore, and finally,
a Turkish officer, blindfolded, was escorted through the lines,
past Hell Spit, and along the beach to Army Corps Head-
quarters. He carried no proposals for a surrender, but only
for a truce to bury the dead. In the interests of both armies
this was desirable, but extremely difficult to carry out. No

An Indian Doctob Searching fob Wounded on Armistice Day.

Man's Land was very narrow, especially opposite Quinn's and
the Nek, and we, for our part, did not care to have inquisitive
soldiers poking about, ostensibly burying dead, but with an
eagle eye upon our front line trenches.

It took some days to work out the rules to be observed.
They ran into many typewritten pages, but briefly they were
as follow : —

1. The suspension of arms was to be from 7.30 a.m. to

4.30 p.m., on May 24.

2. A line was to be pegged out down the centre of No

Man's Land— the Turkish burying parties to work
their side of the line, while we worked on our side.

144 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

3. Any dead belonging to the Turks on our side of the

line were to be carried on stretchers to the centre
line. The enemy was to do the same for us, so that
each side would bury its own dead, and so identify
them.

4. Rifles found on No Man's Land were to be collected,

and immediately placed on stretchers. No man
was to cany a rifle in his hand. Each side was to
carry off: its own rifles found in its burying area.
Enemy rifles were to have the bolts removed, and
were to be then carried on stretchers, and handed
over to the original owners.
The morning of "Armistice Day" broke with a steady
drizzle. At the appointed hour fifty Turks, with Red Cres-
cents on their arms, and fifty Australians and New Zealanders
with Red Cross armlets, met on the extreme right. Each party
had a staff officer and a medical officer. The men carried
short stakes with little white strips of calico on the top, and,
headed by the staff officers, who each walked near his own
front-line trench, the party went right down the centre of
No Man's Land, sticking in their little white flags.

By about 10 o'clock the demarcation was complete. As
the party had moved down No Man's Land, heads appeared
over both parapets, and, cautiously first, and then quite
boldly, the soldiers on both sides scrambled up on the
parapets and experienced the uncanny sensation of safety.

The burying parties struggled up the greasy clay tracks,
marched out with their shovels and their stretchers, and the
day's work began in earnest. And what a work! In some
sectors the dead lay in heaps. In one area of about an acre,
three hundred bodies were tallied— mostly Turks. ''They are
lying just as thick as sheep in a yard," said a Hawke's Bay
boy in the demarcation party. It was soon realized that
proper burials were out of the question, and that it was im-
possible to carry the enemy's dead to the centre line. A
mutual agreement was made to cover up friend and foe, the
Turk on his side and we on ours. So the Anzac dead in the
Turkish area were not identified by us; these are the men
who eventually were described as "Missing, believed killed"
by the Court of Enquiry.

Armistice Day, May 24, 1915.

These two pictures were taken by Brig. -General R.Vcan, of the Australian Medical
Corps. The top one shows the Turkish Staff Officer who brought in the flag of
truce. While going through our lines he was b'.indfolded, according to
custom, and escorted by a British Staff Officer.

The bottom pictui-e shows the burying parties at work in No Man's Land.

146 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Away in the tangled gullies on our left flank, several
wounded Turks were discovered in desperate straits. These
men were evidently snipers who had been hit while crawling
round in the prickly scrub past Walker's Ridge. One man
was picked up, and as he made gestures asking for water, an
N.Z.M.C. orderly lifted his head up and discovered that his
bottom jaw was almost shot away. Another wounded Turk
was carried in a distance of two miles, and most incon-
siderately died as the hospital was reached.

Very few New Zealanders were found unburied, but there
was evidence that they died game. One Aucklander was
found still grasping his rifle, which was — barrel and bayonet —
firmly embedded in the body of his dead opponent.

By midday, the heat was tropical, and the Anzac beaches
were crowded with the battalions from the trenches. The
Turk was wont to boast that he would drive us into the sea.
What Enver Pasha failed to do, the lice achieved, and the
unique opportunity to get a safe wash was fully appreciated.

Up on the hillsides the burial parties were hard at work.
The chaplains never had a busier day, searching for identity
discs, and reading the burial service. In some parts of the
line the men mingled freely with Johnny Turk. A Mel-
bourne medico was an object of great interest to the Turkish
soldiery, as he wore the ribbons of the Medjidie and the
Osmanieh, gained in a previous war when the Turk and we
were allies. A German doctor in Turkish uniform asked for
news of his whilom friends in Sydney. The Turks had a
.supply of brown bread, and many exchanges were made with
the Colonials, who were very pleased to barter their flint-like
biscuits for something that would not torture their tender
gums.

The afternoon wore on, and as 3 o'clock came, we realized
that our work was nearly done — over 3000 Turks buried.
By 4 p.m., everybody had returned to the trenches, and for
the next half-hour deathly silence reigned. To all appear-
ances the truce had been honourably kept. At 4.30, both
sides delivered tremendous volleys at nothing in particular,
and settled down quietly for the night. Thus ended one of
the strangest days in the history of the campaign.

The Sinking of the ''Triumph."

147

During the day we had been requested not to use bmo-
culars, but all along the line it was noticed that Turkish and
German officers were taking the bearings of our trenches and
emplacements. From the Turkish trenches on the Chessboard,
officers were quite obviously marking down our machine gun
emplacements commanding the Nek and Russell's Top. But
the New Zealand machine gun officers were equal to the
Turks in cunning. During the night all the machine guns
were taken down and the crews took cover. With the dawn

REXOVATIXG GEAVKS UN Tl-RK'S rOIXT,

came the searching shells of the Turkish Field Artillery. The
empty emplacements were badly damaged, but as soon as the
guns switched on to another target, the New Zealand gunners
rebuilt their emplacements and were again ready to fire
within twenty minutes of the bombardment.

The Siiikiiio of the *' Trinmpli."

In war man is often made to feel his impotence. An
illustration of this occurred the day following the armistice.
About midday the workers on the beach heard "Picket boat"
cried in those anxious, agonized accents that characterize the
cries of ''Stretcher bearer" or "Wire," cries that send a
shiver down the spine of the most hardened. Looking out to
sea, a great column of smoke welled up from the side of the
"Triumph," lying about a mile off shore from Gaba Tepe.
It was obvious she was hit, for at once she commenced to
heel over. Glasses revealed her decks crowded with men, her

148 The New Zeai.anders at Gallipoli.

creAv falling in at their stations. Swiftly from every point of
the compass came the torpedo-boat destroyers — from Nibru-
nesi Point, Imbros and Helles. Our old friend the "Chelmer"
nosed into the flank of the stricken ship, and orderly, as if
on parade, the bluejackets commenced marching off. More
and more boats crowded alongside to take off the crew.
Steadily the vessel heeled until her masts were almost
parallel with the water, her port guns sticking aimlessly
into the air. Suddenly she quivered from stem to stern.
Her attendants drew back quickly, as she turned completely
over amidst a cloud of spray and steam, which, clearing
away, revealed her red keel shining brightly against the

The Sinking of the "Triumph."
The old ship, surrounded by small craft, is near the horizon on the left of the picture.

blue ^gean Sea. Once again the destroyers and trawlers
closed in to pick up the men in the water. Other destroyers,
working in ever-increasing circles, engaged in a hunt for the
submarine. Presently the old craft commenced to settle at
the bows. Slowly and gracefully she slid into the depths,
and the watchers on the Anzac hills heaved a heartfelt sigh.
But out there in the blue, the gallant sailormen gave three
hearty cheers as the old ship disappeared. An irrepressible
cried, "Are we downhearted?" "No," roared the crew of
the sunken ship, and a great volume of cheering rose from
the vessels gathered round.

This disaster cast a gloom over Anzac. To see one's
friends in peril and be powerless to help caused the Colonial
soldiers more pain than any previous experience. This old

The Taking and Losing op ''Old No. 3 Post." 149

ship had been such a trusty friend, and now, in a short twenty
minutes, she was gone ! Men sat up on the hill that night,
cursing the Hun and all his allies !

The Takiiij; and Losing ol "Old No. 3 Post."

Between the ridge of Chunuk Bair, held by the Turk, and
our No. 2 Post, there were three other conspicuous pieces of
high ground bounded on the north by Chailak Dere, and on
the south by the Sazli Beit Dere. The highest of these was
Khododendron Ridge ; the next was a little plateau ap-
propriately named Table Top, and nearest to No. 2, really
a higher peak of the same spur, was a Turkish post from
which most of the deadliest sniping was carried on. It was
thought advisable to occupy this ridge and deny it to the
enemy. It was a hopeless position for us — away out in a
salient — and should never have been attempted. On the
night of May 28, a squadron of the Canterbury Mounted
Rifles crept up the dere and took this sniping post by
surprise at the point of the bayonet. They, in their
turn, handed over to a squadron of the Wellington Mounted
Regiment, who proceeded to put the post into a state of
defence by entrenching it. The garrison was again relieved
by a squadron of the Wellingtons (9th Wellington East Coast)
on the night of May 30. Getting in about 8 o'clock at night,
the men were hardly distributed along the meagre trenches
when sounds of movement were heard. Presently, showers of
hand-grenades descended on the post. Calling on "Allah,"
the enemy, numbering many hundreds, surrounded the post.
The Wellingtons had no hand-grenades (the shortage of these
weapons at Anzac was deplorable), so had to depend upon
their rifles. Rushing up to the parapet and yelling their
eerie cries, but never daring to press the attack home, throw-
ing hand-grenades and then retreating, the Turks let the
precious hours of darkness slip by.

The garrison decided to make the Turks pay a big
price for the post. The strain of hanging on through that
awful night was tremendous. But with the welcome dawn
came fresh hope. All that day the garrison lay in their
trenches waiting for the final assault.

150 The New Zeala^nders at Gallipoli.

The gims from the "W" Hills broke in parts of the
parapet; the telephone wire to No. 2 Post was cut, and the
Turk actually penetrated a section of the trench, but was
driven out. Things becoming desperate — water and ammuni-
tion both running short — a message was semaphored back to
Walker's Eidge, and it was decided to attempt the relief of
the post at dusk.

Two Wellington squadrons went out, but were held up.
Later — this was the night of May 31 — two troops of the 8th
(South Canterbury) Squadron and the 10th (Nelson)
Squadron proceeded to fight their way from No. 2 Outpost
up to this new ill-starred outpost, now known as No. 8.
They joined forces with two Wellington squadrons, and with
Turkish hand-grenades lighting the gully, the relief party
pushed aside all opposition, got into the post, and relieved

u^! ^

A View from the Left Flank.

On the left is the Sphinx; the next high ground is Plugge's Plateau, which running
down to the sea resolves itself into the point of Ari Burnu.

the Wellingtons. There was to be no rest for the unlucky
garrison of No. 3. On came the Turks again, and the per-
formance of the night before was repeated almost withoiit
variation, the throwing of hand-grenades, calling on ''Allah!"
and rushing up to the parapet, but never daring the final
assault. For some hours the inferno continued. About mid-
night word came through from Headquarters that the post
might be abandoned. The task of removing the wounded pre-
sented no small difficulties, but they having been removed
down the dere, the perilous retirement commenced. In the

The Taking and Losing of "Old No. 3 Post.'

151

faint moonlight, the Turks could be seen flitting hither aud
thither. Now that our retirement was commencing, their
exultant yelling and squealing burst out afresh. Down the
dere slowly came the rearguard, calmly and methodically
picking off any too adventurous enemy. When the troopers
reached the "Big Sap" running out past No. 1 and 2, they lined
the two sides of the gully and the trench and waited for the
Turk. A squadron of the Auckland Mounteds now arrived, and
based on No. 2 Post and the Fishermen's Hut, the wholo
party made a determined stand, and enabled the 9th Squad-
ron, who had been fighting for forty-eight hours, to be with-
drawn.

To the highly-strung men, many of whom had not slept
for three days, the yelling of the Turks, the ghostlike sea

[I'liijlij bu thr Aiilhor
The Big Sap running past No. 2 Post.

lapping on the beach in the background, and the enemy
jumping from bush to bush in the moonlight, the whole busi-
ness resembled a frightful nightmare. Gradually the Turks
grew tired of yelling, and retired to occupy "Old No. 3,"
while the weary troopers trudged along the dusty sap to
their much-needed bivouac, leaving the squadron of the Auck-
land Mounted Rifles out watching the position until daylight.

A new No. 3 Post was established by the Otago Mounted
Eifles on rising ground about 200 yards north of No. 2 Post.
This became the extreme right flank of the Anzac position
until the great advance in August.

152

CHAPTER XI.

Supplying" the Needs ol" the Army.

The Germans selecting their time for opening the World
"War, it was not surprising that Britain was sadly handi-
capped as regards munitions and material generally. As yet
the organization by the Ministry of Munitions was a thing
undreamt of, and seeing that the Gallipoli campaign was
considered a subsidiary one, and that all supplies available
were not sufficient for the needs of the army in France, was
it surprising that comparatively little attention was given to
our operations in what was assumed to be a minor theatre
of war?

It is easy at this stage to find fault, but the fault lies not
only with the lack of preparation of the Government and

[Lent hi/ Scri/t. P. Tite, K.Z.E.
The A.S.C. Depot in Monash Gully.

people of Britain, but also in a less degree with the Govern-
ments and people of the Dominions beyond the seas. We can-
not be blind to the fact that democracies are short sighted,
and must educate themselves to acquire long and wide vision,
if they are to hold their own and exist peacefully among
ambitious and designing peoples. But we must not moralize,

Supplying the Needs of the Army. 153

for this narrative deals with facts, though it is just as well
to remember that even now, in the days of Peace, we are
making history, and at times we maj" be allowed to peer
into the future and see visions of the Pacific in which the
people of Australia and New Zealand will surely be called
upon to play an important part.

Academic inquiry into our unpreparedness and the causes
of the shortage of supplies was of little value to the soldiers
trying to defeat the enemy. The men of Anzac had often to
procure their stores in a manner not strictly orthodox.

The principal requirements of the army at Anzac were
food and water to sustain life ; ammunition — big-gun, field-
gun, small-arm, and hand-grenades ; while to provide some
measure of shelter from the adversary and from the weather,
timber and sandbags became primal necessaries. There was
no hinterland from which these supplies could be drawn.
Mudros, the nearest safe anchorage, was fifty miles away ;
Alexandria, the chief port from which most supplies must
come, was distant over 500 miles. The area occupied by the
troops produced no food, no timber, and only a very little
hardly-won water. Few have any conception of the difficul-
ties that had to be overcome.

The difficulties were chiefly the scarcity of essential
articles, but a further obstacle was the matter of transport.
It was comparatively easy to get goods as far as Alexandria,
to which, situated as it is on the ocean highway to the East,
the largest ships brought produce from the ends of the earth.
The next stage, to Lemnos, was off the beaten track, and
smaller vessels were employed. At Mudros, the goods were
transhipped to vessels that again had shrunk in size and were
fewer in number. Here the greatest difficulty of all arose,
for ships could not come ^\ithin a mile of the shore. The
enemy big guns ranged well out to sea, and at the Anzac
piers, nothing as large as even a trawler could lie owing to
the shallowness of water. The stores that had started from
England or New Zealand in ocean liners, continued their long
journey in trawlers manned by hardy North Sea fisherfolk;
and made the final stage of all in barges towed by five small
picket boats from the ships of His Majesty's Navy.

~^^

O Qi

©Id

^ a
— _a
> d

fl <

The Utter Dependence on the Imperial Navy.

155

Think of it, those five small steam boats, officered by
fifteen-year-old boys and manned by half a dozen gallant
sailormen, were the slender link connecting the army ashore
with the world overseas. All through those strenuous months,
during fair weather and foul, splashed with the spindrift of
the J^gean gales, drenched with the spray from the hissing
shells, the daring crews of those stout trawlers and trim
picket boats, from the first tow of the landing to the last of
the evacuation, made Anzac possible.

The Utter Dependence on the Imperial IN^avy.

The Gallipoli campaign, perhaps more noticeably than any
other phase of the war, demonstrated the utter dependence
of the Dominions Overseas on the supreme Imperial Navy. Of
what use are mightv armies if they cannot be concentrated

[British Official Photograph.
The "Albion" ashoee off Gaba Tepe.
The "Cornwallis" is towing her off.

at the decisive point at the right moment? Every New Zea-
lander who was on Gallipoli fully recog'nized that without
the Navy we could not have got ashore, we could not have
had our daily beef and biscuits, and worse still, we could

156 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

never have got safely away. How the admiration of the
soldiers for the sailors was reciprocated! What a galaxy of
glorious memories — the old "Majestic" and gallant "Bac-
chante" enveloping Walker's Ridge and Gaba Tepe in clouds
of smoke and dust on the day of the landing ; the dear old
"Albion" ashore that momentous morning off Gaba Tepe,
when the destroyers and the ' ' Cornwallis ' ' tugged and tugged
while the old ship spat broadside after broadside at the
Turkish guns on the ridge; the sleepless destroyers, with
their searchlights on the flanks — the "Chelmer," the
"Pincher," the "Colne," the "Usk," and a dozen others-
men up and down New Zealand to-day recall those magic
names and remember the hot cocoa, the new bread, the warm
welcomes and the cheery freemasonry of the sea. The service
of the Navy was a very personal thing, and meant more to
the men of Anzac than feeble words can tell.

[Pholo bij the Author
Ammunition fi;om kvkby Arsenal, in India.

The ammunition problem was an acute one. Fortunately
for the supply arrangements, the big guns of the Gallipoli
armies were on the warships, but the howitzers and the field
guns ashore were often sadly supplied. At one time the
howitzers were restricted to two shells daily. Everything had
to be saved for the days on which the Turk decided to "drive
the infidels into the sea."

Small arm ammunition was always plentiful, and the
machine gunners, thanks to the Navy, never had to go short.
As far as rifles and machine guns were concerned, many of

The Bomb Factory. 157

the outlying partvS of the Empire wore called on, and at one
time Anzae Cove was inundated with thousands of small arm
ammunition cases, on which were inscribed the signs of all
the famous arsenals of India.

When "jams" — those bugbears of machine gunners — were
at first much too fre(iuent, we overcame these difficulties by
using only New Zealand-made ammunition, Avhich proved to
be less variable and more reliable than the oi'dinary issue.

The Bomb Factory.

The hand-grenade position was often desperate. For the
first few months no grenades were available, and the supply
had to be improvized on shore. A "bomb" factory was in-
stituted, and here, day and night, men toiled to make the
weapon so effective in the short-range fights that burst with
such fury around the devoted posts of Quinn's and Courtney's.
The Turk had a plentiful supply of a round, cricket-ball hand-
grenade, with a patent match-head ignition, and these he
literally showered on Quinn's.

The Anzac factory retorted with several brands, but the
most favoured one was made out of the green fuse tin from
the 18-pr. guns. These tins were stout, and of the size of a
condensed milk tin. Two holes were punched in the bottom
for a wire to go through, and three holes in the lid — two for
the wire and a larger one for the fuse. The wire came from
hawsers salved from the wreckage of the trawlers off the
beach. Into the centre of the tin was placed a dry gun-cotton
primer or half a stick of gelignite, the detonator and a five-
seconds fuse was fitted, and the remaining space packed
with unexploded Turkish cartridges with the bullets cut off
to let the lid close, after wiiich the whole was secured across
the top by joining the two ends of the wires. So, from the
cast-off tins and Avires, captured ammunition, and the en-
gineers' stores of explosives, these grenades were manufac-
tured to repel the apparently rejuvenated "Sick Man of
Europe."

A time came when the guncotton and gelignite got scarce,
and a powder explosive called ammonal had to be used. This
presented a difficulty, as the stuff had to be packeted. But

158

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

an active brain came to the rescue with a suggestion that
cloth might be used for the paclvct. It so happened that about
this time a large consignment of shirts had been opened up,
all cut out and in the multitude of parts that go to make a
shirt, but no two parts stitched together! This material was
requisitioned, cut into squares, and the explosive packed like
little bags of washing blue, with the detonator and fuse
inside. Another time, tins ran out. The little mountain
battery fuse tin was used as a stopgap, and then, luckily for

[L.nt till f,ii>t. Boxer, N.Z.M.O.
Carrying Stores up Walker's Ridge.

Quinn's, another rascally manufacturer sent a shipment of
mildewed tobacco to Anzac. The stuff was condemned, and
before the day was done the empty tins lay in the bin of the
bomb factory. Thus, though they did not intend it, did the
careless London shirt inspector and the bad tobacco specialist
help to keep the front line of the Anzac area.

The Scarcity of Building- Materials.

It is questionable if any army in the field ever had too
many sandbags. To keep earth walls standing at as steep a
slope as possible is the object of all builders of trenches, for
the steeper a wall the safer it is. "It is difficult to make war
safe," says the soldier, who, being wise, does not attempt the

The Scarcity of Building ]\L\terials.

159

impossible. But the same soldier takes few chances, and
wherever he can build a wall or put on a roof that gives him
real or fancied protection, nothing will stop him from col-
lecting from somewhere the necessary material.

The scrub did not run to the size of trees, and apart from
a little firewood nothing was obtainable on shore. The much-
talked-of "Olive Groves" always seemed to be in the hands
of the enemy. All the timber for building purposes, for the
timbering of well shafts, and the casing of mining galleries,
had to be brought ashore on barges. It was carried to the
engineers' store yard on Hell Spit and guarded like the
Bank of England, for everybody wanted two or three pieces
and a few sheets of corrugated iron for the roof of a dugout.
If a staved-in boat or a shattered barge stranded on the
beach, it was quickly pounced upon and carried off.

A MauKI U.N ,Sh.NTK\ AT THE WaTKR TaNKS IX iiULK lirLL'i.

One benefactor conceived the idea of tearing timber out
of the fittings of the transports, and for some time working
parties gathered in much spoil. If these ships had stayed
much longer they would have been torn to pieces by the ener-
getic builders of dugouts and "hospitals." The decree had
gone forth that timber and sandbags could only be issued for
the front line and hospitals, with the natural result — every
requisition was marked "for hospital" and initialled by some

160 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

strange hand, the owner of which was most likely of the
humble rank of private.

The man who invented barbed wire is as heartily cursed
by soldiers as by dairy farmers. The sudden cry of "wire"
sends a shiver down the spine of the most seasoned. For
wherever wire is, machine guns are placed to enfilade it.
The Turk was a great believer in wire. It was of German
manufacture, and very skilfully and strongly placed. In
order to make it effective, it must be made very secure.
Only in positions previously prepared can the requisite work
be put in. In preparing for the Gallipoli landings the Turk
put it well out in the water, whereby, it being concealed,
many casualties occurred.

As our No Man's Land was so narrow, it was difficult
to put out the ordinary high wire entanglement, the noise
of driving the stakes alone putting it outside the pale of
practicability. At the time the new screw-picket wiring
system had not been evolved. But as something had to bo
done, in the workshop on the beach many "knife-rest"
obstacles were made by constructing two stout wooden X's
about 3 feet high, joining them by 3x2 distance pieces of
12 feet long, and wrapping the whole round and round and
diagonally with wire. These fearsome arrangements, with
much profanity from the unfortunate working party, were
carried up the communication trenches — no easy task on a
hot day, with a traverse to negotiate every few yards. The
front line at last reached, the awkward obstacles were
pushed unceremoniously over the parapet and levered out
as far as possible by long props under cover of darkness.

The Water Supply.

Though the scored cliffsides of Gallipoli give indications
of a torrential rainfall during winter, water was difficult to
obtain even in April and May. Wells were sunk in all
likely places and water diviners plied their uncanny calling
with some success. The wells, however, did not last long,
except the one near No. 2 Outpost. Greek tank steamers
brought the bulk of the water from Egypt, and over by
Imbros pumped it into water barges, which were towed in

Bully Beep and Biscuits. 161

by the picket boats or a tug. By a manual, tlie water was
forced into tanks on the beach, to which day and night cani«?
a stream of thirsty men with water bottk^s. Sometimes the
barge would be holed by shellfire and the valual)le load lost,
or again a leak might turn the precious water brackish.
Two quarts a day was often the ration — this had to be used
for all purposes. JNIostly it was drunk in the form of tea.
Any tea left over was not wasted, but used for shaving !

A Pi'MPiNG Fatigue on the Watee Baege.

The men in the front line had great diificulty in getting
water as the carrying fatigue was often shot as it dodged
up Monash Gully or the track to Walker's Ridge. Whatever
the men on the beach got, those in the trenches w^ere always
desperately short.

From a hygienic point of view, the sea was the salvation
of the men. Everyone near the beach bathed twice a day
even at the risk of ''stopping one," while the men from the
hills came down whenever the reliefs took over.

Bully Beef and Biscuits.

Food was always plentiful (except just after the Great
Blizzard in November when stocks ran very low). Tinned
meat, jam and hard biscuits and a mug of tea provided 99
per cent, of the meals. Thoreau once suggested that we
could make ourselves rich by making our wants few. On
Gallipoli this did not mean a very great effort on the part
of the will, but sore gums and rebellious stomachs Avere the
price of getting Avealthy. The army biscuits can never be
forgotten — their hardness was beyond belief. When made
for long journeys on sailing ships, it probably was necessary

162

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

to make them so that they would keep, but surely in wai'
time the soldier could get a softer one? The white ones
brought from New Zealand were quite easy and pleasant to eat,
while the oatmeal ones, grated on a piece of kerosene tin,
made a tolerable porridge for the mornings ! But the
ordinary white biscuit as supplied by the A.S.C., while it
may have been full of nourishment, was so hard that it was
nibbled round the edges and then tossed into No Man's Land.
After a month or two, a little bread arrived periodically,
and many a penitent soldier vowed he would never waste a
crust again.

But the perversity of the man who packed the jam I
Why the cases did not come assorted no one knew. As it
was, each area seemed to get its one particular variety right

[I'hvtv hil the A III ill

"Bread and Jam."
Two Signallers outside the Divisional SiCTial Office.

through a campaign. The familiar plum and apple, and
the fruit of the golden apricot should never be placed before
the Anzac soldier.

Fresh beef was also tried, but, considering the heat and
flies, there is little wonder that the soldier suspected it of
causing not a little of his internal disturbances. An article
in great request was "Maconochies, " a line of meat goods

Bully Beef and Biscuits.

163

packed Avith a few slices of potatoes, carrots and beans.
The tins were boiled in a petrol tin of sea water, and when
turned out made a steaming mess considered far superior to
the traditional "dainty dish" that was set before the king.
Tinned meat is very good picnic fare, but when the meat is
not a New Zealand brand but comes from somewhere in the
Argentine: when it is served up for breakfast, dinner, and
tea; curried or
"hashed vnth broken
biscuits" — it is apt to
lose its savour, and the
nominal pound (really
12 ounces) becomes
more than the constitu-
tion of a New Zea-
lander can stand.

Vegetables were
ahvays scarce — • here
the tinned concoction
known as "Julienne'
filled a gap. The mix-
ture seemed to be all
manner of vegetables
flaked and dried so
that they resembled
multi-coloured s h a v-
ings. On the principle
that what does not
fatten will fill, large
quantities of this dried
vegetable were con-
sumed in the early days when men were strong enough to
stand it.

Newcomers from Egypt sometimes brought a little fruit,
while scouts were always out among the sailors to induce
them to bring back delicacies from the canteens of the
warships off the coast. Any excuse was better than none to
get alongside a hospital ship, not only for the meal that the
insinuating soldier was bound to get, but for the chance of

A Sikh Water Caeeiee.

164

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

buying a loaf or a tin of milk from the canteen or the
commercial-minded baker ! People going to Mudros or

Imbros Avere loaded with commissions and made the Greek
traders rich by buying tinned figs, pineapples, and milk at
fabulous prices, and paradoxically, fowls eggs' that were
fresh and only one shilling a dozen. It was about this time
that the soldier, living as frugally as any ascetic, was solemnly
warned that "over-ripe fruit, such as bananas, tomatoes,
oranges, and grapes should be avoided" as likely to en-
courage cholera ! The army, weakened by dysentery,
shrieked Avith delight!

Cheese and bacon Avere tAvo popular variants in the
ration. It ahvays amused the Colonial to see the Eussian
JeAA^s of the Ziou Mule Corps struggling up to their cook-

[Lent hi/ Sergt. P. Tite. N.Z.E.
Mules dug in under the Cliffs in Mule Gully.

houses Avith their little bags of bacon. ''It is the ration!"
Avas the stereotyped retort to the gibes of the ribald ones.
The hot sun affected the cheese sonicAvhat. Perhaps two of
the most characteristic smells of Anzac Avere chloride of lime
and the pungent aroma of over-heated Cheddar.

This is a long story about food ; but it Avas necessary for
a soldier to eat, and most of the sickness can be attributed
to the monotony of the food, the Hies and the heat. Little
Avonder that men sickened. Trenches themseh^es Avere kept
scrupulously clean, but all refuse Avas throAvn into No Man's

Bully Beep and Biscuits. 165

Land in Avhicli were also innumei-ablc dead bodies that it had
been impossible to bury. So in the heat, the front line
troops, after making the mess tin of tea, endeavoured to get
a meal of meat or bread and jam. Countless hordes of
flies settled on everything edible. The soldiers waved them
off. The black cloud rose and descended among the filth on
the other side of the parapet. Presently they were back
again on the food,- -and so on, from the jam to the corpse,
and back again to the jam, flitted the insect swarm, ensuring
that the germs of most things undesirable were conveyed to
the soldier's system through his mouth.

Whatever may be the immunity of the transport and
supply services in some campaigns, it is right that acknow-
ledgment should be made of the risks run by the carriers of
stores to and on the Peninsula. Whether by the trawlers
or the picket boats at sea ; in the ordnance and supply stores
on the beaches ; or on the mule tracks of the precipitous
ridges and winding valleys — the men of the Navy, the Indian
Supply and Transport, the Zion Mule Transport, and of
our OAvn Australian and New Zealand Army Service Corps
carried their lives in their hands, for the enemy had the
range to a yard of every landing stage, dump and roadway.

166

CHAPTER XII.

Midsunimer at Aiizac.

The most debated area in Anzac was that narrow strip of
No Man's Land opposite Quinn's and Courtney's Posts, at
the head of Monash Gully. The post on the other side of
Courtney's was Steel's Post, just opposite which was the
Turkish work known as German Officers' Trench. Here-
abouts tJie front lines were a little farther apart. The Turk
took advantage of this by bringing artillery fire to bear
on Steel's and sometimes on Courtney's. Many were the
anxious moments when the firing persisted a little longer
than usual, as the garrisons could not help being a little
apprehensive for the safety of their posts perched so peri-
lously on the crest line.

The Fly Nitisance.
Flies, unlike men, love light rather than darkness. The wise soidier aired his blankets
' during the day and so kept the flies out while he snatched a little rest before
going on work or watch.

The lines were so close together opposite Quinn's Post
that neither side could afford to try the effect of artillery
on the front-line trenches. This was fortunate, for a few
well-aimed high explosive shells might have tumbled the whole

Mining at Quinn's Post, 167

structure into Monash Gully. But what Quinn's lacked in
artillery duels, it more than made up for with its hand-
grenade fights. Here, in common with the rest of No. 3 and
No. 4 Sections, the enemy held the higher ground. Every day
and every night a hail of cricket-ball bombs descended on the
fire trenches, those falling in the communication trenches
bounding merrily down hill until brought to rest by a tra-
verse. Aeroplanes came over now and again, ineffectually
dropping bombs and little steel darts. Whatever their lying
propaganda boasted, their airmen never registered a hit on
post or pier.

Miiiiiij*- at Quinn's Post.

Quinn's had a fatal fascination for the Turk. During May
the enemy connnenced mining in earnest, and this was a
serious menace to the safety of the Anzac area. Successful
underground operations by the enemy would mean that
Quinn's might slide down into Monash Gully, so vigorous
counter-mining was resorted to. Galleries w^ere driven out
under the front-line trenches; T-heads were put on to each
gallery — these heads connected up made a continuous under-
ground gallery right round the front of the post. Using this
as a base, protective galleries were driven out in the direction
of the advancing tunnels of the Turk. The object of this
counter-mining was to get under or near the opponent's
drives, and destroy them by means of small charges, calcu-
lated to break in their tunnels, but not to make a crater in
No Man's Land above.

In those early days, sensitive listening appliances were
not available. Underground it is very difficult to estimate
the distance away of sounds recognized, for even old coal
miners have little experience of parties working towards
them. In constructing railway tunnels, the engineers work-
ing from both ends have the data referring to both drives.
But in military mining the work of the enemy is shrouded
in the *'fog of war," so mining under these conditions
is a most exciting process. Having driven the estimated
distance to meet the enemy, the question constantly arises,
''Will it pay us now to fire a camouflet?" The know-
ledge that the enemy is very likely considering the same

The Death of Major Quinn. 169

question adds a little to the tension. Then the listener repoi'ts
that the enemy has ceased working. "Has he gone for his
explosive, or is he only changing shift"?" These and count-
less other speculations are constantly being made by the miner
of either side. Each hesitates to fire his charge too early,
as it may not achieve the maximum result. But if one waits
too long the enemy will achieve that maximum! So both
sides speculate until one makes a decision, which is an-
nounced to the opponents by a stunning explosion and a
blinding crash if the effort is successful.

Twice Turkish tunnels had been detected nearing our
lines. These were destroyed by small charges sufficient to
break them down, for we could not afford to use a heavy
charge, as it might threaten the stability of the hillside.

The Death ol Major Quiiiii.

But at 3.20 on the morning of May 29, an ear-splitting
explosion brought everyone in Monash Gully to his feet. A
mine had wrecked No. 3 Subsection in Quinn's Post. In-
stantly, the musketry and bomb duel burst into life. Flashes
of flame ran round the enemy's trenches and ours. The
bursting of enemy shells fitfully illuminated jMonash Gully.
The detonations of hand-grenades, the bursts of machine-gun
fire, the spluttering of musketry, the crashes of shrapnel and
high explosive thundered round and round the head of
Monash Gully, echoing and re-echoing in the myriad cliffs and
valleys. In the confusion, a party of about twenty Turks
rushed our front trenches. At last an eifort was being made
to break the Anzac line. As No. 3 Subsection was blown in,
the men in No. 4 Subsection were cut off from Subsections 1
and 2, but all held stubbornly on. Reinforcements hurrying
up to the stricken post could see, by the light of the bursting
shells, the garrison clinging doggedly to the hillside. Some
of the men off duty quickly clambered up the break-neck
tracks. Led by the gallant Major Quinn, the defenders
pushed forward in short rushes until they were once again
sheltering in the broken front-line trench of Subsection 3.
The party of Turks were now isolated within the post; bar-
ricading both ends of their little section of trench, they clung

170 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

to the shelter of the traverse and recess. It was now break-
ing dawn. The machine guns on Russell's Top and Pope's
Hill swept the region in the front of Quinn's with a devas-
tating enfilade fire ; but showers of bombs indicated that the
Turk was still close up to the post. Major Quinn, realizing
what his post meant to Anzac, warned his men for a counter-
attack. Presently, the observers on Pope's and Plugge's
Plateau saw the little band clamber on to the parapet, and
with bayonet and bomb hurl themselves into the enemy's
ranks, which momentarily wavered, then broke and fled.
Back filtered the garrison, to realize that their beloved leader
was mortally wounded, killed in the defence of the post that
bore his immortal name.

The Turks did not attack again. Anzac was still intact.
But imprisoned in our lines were sixteen' brave Turks, who,
in the confusion after the explosion, had stormed our front-
line trench. They could not be reached by bombs, but an
enterprising soldier persuaded them to surrender. Hesitat-
ingly, out they came. They had been taught to distrust
"these cannibals from the South Seas," even as we had been
warned against falling into Turkish hands. With many
salaams and ingratiating bows they filed down the pathway,
somewhat disconcerting an R.E. officer by solemnly kissing
his hand.

The Turks opposite Quinn's never neglected their oppor-
tunities. Their mine explosion made a fair-sized crater be-
tween the two front-line trenches. Next morning the peri-
scope revealed a blockhouse built of solid timbers planted in
the crater. This, being a direct threat to Quinn's, was too
maeh for the section of New Zealand Engineers, who, with
the men of the 4th Australian Brigade, had held the post
from the first week. Two adventurous sappers volunteered
to creep out across the debris of No Man's Land and demolish
the menace by means of gun-cotton. This they accomplished
with great skill, destroying the blockhouse and killing the
occupants. The Turk, hoAvever, was persistent. Time and
again he roofed over the crater; but with hairbrush bombs —
tw^o pounds of gun-cotton tied on to a wooden handle — wdth
kerosene, benzine, and other gentle agents in the art of

"The Agony of Anzac." 171

persuasion, the Turkish garrison were kept most unhappy,
even though they were all promoted to the rank of corporal
About this time it w^as learned that the Ottoman soldiers had
christened this set of trenches "the Slaughterhouse," but it
must be said that the Turks operating in No. 3 Section,
especially opposite Quinn's, earned the respect of all who
fought against them.

Early in June the New Zealand Infantry Brigade took
over this No. 3 Defence Section. The posts once held by
General Monash 's famous 4th Brigade were now garrisoned by
men from Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago. The
New Zealand Engineers still kept up their sapping and
mining. The No. 1 Company had been on duty without
relief from the landing, until relieved by the No. 2 Company,
which arrived on June 3, and took over the sapper work
within the section.

**The Agony of Anzac."

A periscopic view of No Man's Land was a terrible sight —
littered with jam tins, meat tins, broken rifles and discarded
equipment — every few yards a dead body and hosts of
buzzing flies. Chloride of lime, with its hateful associations,
was scattered thickly on all decaying matter, and the scent
of Anzac drifted ten miles out to sea. In this foetid atmo-
sphere, with the miners on both sides burrowing under the
posts like furtive rabbits, hand-grenade throwers carrying on
their nerve-racking duels, stretcher bearers constantly carry-
ing out the unfortunate ones, digging and improving the
trenches under a scorching sun — is it any wonder that the
men of Anzac were looked at almost pityingly by the rein-
forcements and the rare visitors from Helles and the war-
ships ? Let one of these visitors speak : —

"The soul of Anzac is something apart and distinct
from any feeling one gets elsewhere. It is hard to
write of its most distressing feature, which is the
agony it endures. But it is quite necessary, in
justice to the men, that this should be said. There
is an undercurrent of agony in the whole place.
The trace of it is on every face — the agony of

172 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

danger, of having seen good men and great friends
die or snffer, of being away from home, of seeing
nothing ahead, of sweating and working nnder
hot suns or under stars that mock. Let there be
a distinct understanding that the agony is not
misery. The strong man bears his agony without
misery ; and those at Anzac are strong. What the
men endure should be known at home."
It is true that the Australians and Ncav Zealanders did
not altogether realize how badly off they were. The Turk
had said a landing was impossible — yet a landing had been
forced. The Turk had boasted he would drive the infidel into
the sea — the perspiring daredevils refused to be driven. Lack
of water, lack of ammunition, monotony of food, rebellious
stomachs, the loss of brothers and friends — all these things
the men of Anzac triumphed over. The two young nations
had found their manhood on these barren Turkish hillsides.
Whatever our enemies and the benevolent neutrals thought,
the Australian and New Zealand Army was confident in itself,
confident in its leaders, confident in the wisdom of the High
Command that deemed it necessary to prosecute the enter-
prise.

A Sortie Irom (Jiiinii's Post.

Lying along the flank of the Turkish communications, the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a constant
thorn in the side of the enemy troops journeying to reinforce
the Ottoman army in the Krithia zone. The enemy kept a
large general reserve with which he could reinforce his troops
at either Krithia or Anzac. When the British attacked on the
southern sector it was the duty of the Anzac troops to simu-
late an attack in force, so preventing Turkish reinforcements
being sent from opposite Anzac to the south, and by making
frequent sallies causing the Turkish commander to become
uncertain in his mind as to the real attack. But always, in
the first few months, Anzac was "playing second fiddle to
Helles."

On June 4 the redoubtable soldiers at Helles made another
great attempt on Achi Baba. The Anzac troops co-operated

174 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

by threatening the Turkish defences in the direction of Gaba
Tepe, and by two raids, one on the trenches opposite Quinn's,
the other on German Officers' Trench.

At first it was the custom to capture the first-line trench
and to endeavour to keep it. In practice this was rarely suc-
cessful. The front line of a trench system is generally lightly
held ; a surprise attack by determined troops can almost rely
on being successful if the element of surprise is availed of.
But to take a trench is one thing; to hold it another. Re-
member that the rest of the front line is still held by the
enemy, who, working from traverse to traverse, can bomb
down it. The second and third lines are also intact, with
good communication trenches leading from them to the broken
firing line. Bombers can also Avork doAvn these communica-
tion trenches ; ammunition, food and water, and (most im-
portant of all) hand-grenades, can arrive in unlimited
numbers and in comparative safety. All of these things re-
quired by the attackers lodged in the enemy's trenches must
come over the bullet-swept, shrapnel-torn surface of No Man's
Land. By the end of a day, unless reasonable communications
can be provided, the troops who so easily captured the hotly-
contested position find that they must choose between annihi-
lation or retreat. So it was raiding grew up. This appealed
more to the primitive instincts of man — the sudden dash into
the enemy, the attempt to achieve the maximum amount of
damage in the minimum time, and to get to the home trench
again before the enemy reinforcements could arrive. This
method was particularly valuable when it Avas considered
necessary to destroy the entrances to enemy galleries, to in-
terfere with the progress of enemy saps, and to obtain
prisoners for identification by the Intelligence Department.

The sortie from Quinn's Post on June 4 was a typical
example of the early method. If ever an attack was organized
to succeed this one Avas. Eager volunteers from the Auckland
and Canterbury Battalions Avere selected to carry out the
Avork, and at 11 p.m. a heavy artillery fire was to be directed
on the surrounding communication trenches. An assaulting
party of sixty men Avas to dash across the thirty yards of No
Man's Land, take the opposing trench and transpose the

A Sortie from Quixn's Post. 175

Turkish parapet. Two working parties were detailed to
follow the first line. These men carried filled sandbags with
which to build a loopholed traverse at each end of the cap-
tured trench; other parties were to commence two communi-
cation trenches from the new work to the old. The 4th Aus-
tralian Infantry Brigade was held in reserve.

In the dark, the eager groups made ready to carry out
their hazardous task. It is a strange impulse that prompts
thoughtful men to face death so eagerly. But up there iu
the gloom of the dark Gallipoli night, at the very salient of
the Anzac line, only twenty yards from a stubborn foe,
these daring young infantrymen carefully examined their
rifles and hand-grenades, finally adjusting their equipment,
and peered at their wristlet w^atches slowly ticking of¥ the
leaden-footed minutes. Precisely at 11 p.m., Nos. 1 and 2
Batteries on PluggiP's Plateau and Walker's Eidge joined
with the 4th Australian Battery in shelling the Turkish com-
munications. Our howitzers near the beach dropped shell after
shell in the trenches leading to Quinn's. The 21st (Jacob's)
Mountain Battery added its contribution to the din. Under
cover of this noise and the darkness the two groups of at-
tackers crept over the parapet of Quinn's, across the wreck-
age of No Man's Land, and fell on the Turkish garrison
before the alarm could be sounded. A few Turks were
bayonetted and twenty-eight taken prisoners. But every
minute of darkness was priceless. About seventy yards of
trench had been taken, the parapet shifted over, and the
flanking traverses commenced. Now the Turks opposite
Courtney's commenced to enfilade the captured position with
machine-gun fire — the Australian party attacking German
Officers' Trench had not been successful. Presently the Turkish
counter-attack commenced. Bombs were showered on the
working parties struggling to complete the traverses and
communications. It was obvious that when daylight came the
trench Avould be difficult to hold, especially if the machine
guns opposite Steel's Post were not silenced. The work in
the captured trench was now complete, and the Australians
were asked to carry out another attack on German Officers'
Trench. This sortie failed about 3 a.m. An hour after, a

aim. v^^. .

" 9
ti 3.

^ 5"°
2 S-a^

The Last Attack on Anzac. 177

bomb and lire counter-attack l)y the enemy destroyed our
flanking traverses, wi'ecked the overhead cover, and pushed
our men back, step by step, until Ave held barely thirty yards
of captured trench. When dawn came the Turks became
more insistent, the machine-gun fire increased in intensity,
and the trench was filled from end to end with bursting
hand-grenades. Our men w^ere now taken in front and in
flank by skilful grenade parties, until, at 6.30, we were finally
driven down our new communication trenches to our old front
line. Our gains were nil; onr casualties numbered 137, in-
cluding one officer and thirteen men killed. Lieut.-Colonel C
H. Brown, who as Brigadier-General Brown, was later killed
in France — one of the most popular and capable officers of
the New Zealand Staff Corps — was, as officer commanding
Quinn's Post, severely wounded by a Turkish hand-grenade.

Eventually Quinn's became the stronghold of the line.
This was not accomplished in a day or without enormous
labour. But, inspired by their officers — particularly the new
commander of the post, Lieut.-Colonel Malone, of the Wel-
lingtons — the men of the New Zealand Lifantry Brigade and
the New Zealand Engineers made Quinn's Post comparatively
safe. Iron loopholes w^ere put in, bombing pits constructed,
and wonderful bomb-proof shelters built in terraces on the
hillside. It was a tremendous work. Because of the pitiless
heat and the incessant sniping, the troops w^atched and w^aited
during the day ; but as soon as it Avas dark the working
parties carried on their backs the sandl^ags, timber, iron,
ammunition, hand-grenades, water and food, np that shrapnel-
swept Valley of Death in order that Quinn's Post might be
safe.

The Last Attack on Aiizae.

Day by day the soldiers clinging to their posts at Anzac
were filled with speculations as to the progress made at
Helles. Great bombardments seemed to be of daily occur-
rence. Sometimes we could fancy that the great clouds of
dust and smoke w^ere rolling appreciably nearer. On
June 27/28 the masses of smoke and flame seemed greater
than ever. Then we learned that Helles was being attacked,

178 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

and we were.- asked to take off a little of the strain. The
extreme right of our line was now held by the 2nd Australian
Light Horse Brigade, supported on the right by the veterans
of the heroic early-morning landing — Maclagan's 3rd Austra-
lian Infantry Brigade. These units carried out dashing
attacks on the extreme right. The diversion was entirely
successful, and drew formidable Turkish reserves towards
Anzac.

Indeed, as the hours slipped by, it seemed that the object
of the Light Horse and Infantry was more than achieved, for
it was reported that, more and more of the finest Turkish
regulars were being concentrated opposite Anzac.

On the night of June 29, aliout 9.10, the enemy expended
thousands of rounds ineffectually against our extreme right —
evidently firing at nothing in particular, as most of the bullets
sailed aimlessly out to sea. This was the Turk's usual
method of advertising an attack somewhere else. Sure
enough, during the night that ' attack developed opposite
Pope's and Russell's Top. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade
(consisting of the 8th, 9th, and 10th Regiments) were now
taking turns Avith the New Zealand Mounted Brigade in No. 4
Defence Section. The machine guns were never taken out of
the line, Australian and Ncav Zealand guns staying in even
when their respective brigades were Avithdrawn to "rest."

In the moonlight, about an hour after midnight, the Turk,
calling on his God, surged forward to the attack on No. 4
Section. In the half light the machine gunners found the
range, and mercilessly cut up the attacking waves. But they
were not to be denied. On and on they pressed, right up to
the parapets. Several Turks bravely jumped into our
trenches and were killed. They certainly were game. Around
Pope's, too, they threw wave after wave, which faded away
under the hail of lead.

On the Nek we had constructed several trenches, which
were not yet joined up. Down between these new trenches
came the enemy, only to be assailed with a cross-fire which
almost annihilated the attack. Further to the left, General
Russell had an excellent secret sap — a trench with no parapet
to advertise its existence. Working I'ound our left flank, the

The Soldiek and His Clothes.

179

enemy blundered into this concealed tench, and lost over 250
men. Nowhere was the line broken, and the attack melted
away.

What a sight No jNIan's Land presented that morning of
June 30 ! The majority of the three fresh battalions of
Turkish troops lay dead or wounded out there in the open ; and
of the dead men on the parapets, each had a rough haversack
filled with dates and olives, the ever-present Turkish tobacco,
and filled water-bottles. The prisoners taken said that their
orders were to break the line at all costs. Enver Pasha him-
self was reported to be present, but prisoners' statements in

A Ceoss-kxamixatiox.
Tlie otiicer on the left of the group is Capt. the Hon. Aubrey Herbert. M.P., our
divisional interpreter: the one with his back to us is Colonel G. -J. Johnston,
the C.R..A.. of the Division, an officer loved by his subordinates for his fairness
and his enthusiasm for the guns.

matters of this kind arc always open to doubt, as there is a
certain amount of temptation to answer in a manner calcu
lated to please the interrogating interpreter.

This was the last attempt the enemy made to break the
Anzac line.

The Soldier and Hits Clothes.

Two factors worked a change in the Army's clothing.
The first was the Turk. His snipers picked out anyone wear-
ing distinctions, with the result that officers cut off their con-
spicuous badges of rank and sewed small worsted stars
or crowns on the shoulder-straps; otherwise, ranks were

180

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

indicated on tlie shoulders of tlie shirts by indelible ink pencil.

The N.C.O.'s and men took off their metal badges, the ink

pencil being again in request to draw the badge and unit

indications on the cap.

The heat was responsible for other modifications. Tunics

were the first to go, and bit by bit the soldier shed his gar-
ments until he stood only in his boots, his shortened trousers.

a shirt, and a cap. Eiding breeches, cut well above the knee,

made a most roomy pair of shorts. While no two men wore

their trousers the same

length, each one seemed to ^^'^ * , • „^ • I

pride himself on having

the ends as raggedly and

unevenly cut as possible

The hot sun burned the

exposed parts of the body

a rich brown; so, when

men went in bathing, it

was easy to deduce by the

amount of white skin

exactly what garments had

been preserved. On brown

backs it was amusing to

see a white V, testimony

that the soldier stiJl

sported a paii' of braces !
For some unknown
reason, slouch hats, vvhicli
would have been invaluable
were left behind at the
base. Many of the

Mounted Rifles arrived with the brims of their felt hats cut
off, leaving only a little peak fore and aft, like the old-time
policeman's shako. New Zealanders were forbidden to wear
helmets in Egypt, but the soldier of understanding smuggled
his away with him, and a very proud man he was who sported
one on the Peninsula. The sailor men were very keen on
getting slouch hats; many a bearded face was shaded by the
broad brim of a Colonial hat.

Dugouts on Wellington Terrace.

The Soldier and His Clothes. 181

It" there was one thing the soklier had enough of, and to
spare, it was socks. The good people at home put a pair
into every parcel. The Ordnance issued them as wxdl. It is
hard to say what socks were not used for. The soldier who
wrote, "Thanks for the socks — they will eonie in useful,"
doubtless spoke the truth.

Some things the men always craved for. Good Virginian
tobacco and cigarettes were always welcome — the ration was
of very inferior quality ; sweets were alwaj^s in great demand ;
owing to living under such primitive conditions, most watches
went wrong, and were very difficult to replace; a "salt water
soap" that would lather in salt water was looked for almost
in vain ; Avhile tinned milk was worth any trouble and risk
to procure. These w^ere the days before the Y.M.C.A. made
its welcome appearance.

About this time the Intelligence Department discovered
that the Turk might use gas, so primitive gas helmets were
procured from England. Woe betide any luckless soldier
caught without his respirator. It is not suggested that the
Turk was too humane to use gas, but luckily the masks were
never needed, principally because the ground was so broken,
and the "prevailing" winds could not be depended on. As
our front line w^as so closely involved with that of the enemy,
the enemy certainly would have received a fair share of the
poisonous fumes intended for the intidels.

182

CHAPTER XIII.

The Preparations in July.

The decisive repulses in June made the Turk very chary
of attacking. On our side it was evident that the forces at
the disposal of Sir Ian Hamilton were not sufficient to win
through. After months of desperate attack and dogged
defence the month of July saw the enemy still holding the
high ground at Helles and Anzac. At Anzac there was a
cheery optimism. Everyone was satisfied that with reasonable
reinforcements we would win through to the Narrows.

By now the front-line
trenches were secure and
the units settled down to
the routine of trench war-
fare. Troops holding the j|*
line have a good deal of n^
time in which to talk and 4«-^
think. One of the most .
dreadful phases of sol-
diering is the monotony.
It is then that the soldier
becomes "fed up." Men
at these times will growl
and argue about any-
thing. Three debatable
subjects never lost their
attractiveness — oysters,
medals, and the horizon.
The oyster question raged
furiously. Perhaps the

Turkish shells suggested it; perhaps the soldier was think-
ing of Avhat he would eat when he got home again;
but, Avith an Aucklander present, it was never safe to
say that Stewart Island oysters were the finest in the
sea. The medal question Avas a perennial one. What medals
Avould be struck for the war? Would there be a different one

The Bareicade in the Big Sap,

184

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

for the different campaigns — France, West Africa, Gallipoli,
and all other theatres? Would the clasps be names of actions
or only dates? It was persistently rumoured that the new
Sultan of Egypt would give a medal to each of the troops
who lined the Cairo streets on his coronation day. The Sultan
supplied the answer to this by dying before his alleged pro-
mise could be fulfilled. The great line of transports and
warships stretching from Cape Suvla down to Tenedos sug-
gested the horizon. What was the horizon"? There seemed to
be no end of definitions, all of which could be traversed by
learned persons present. Some ships would be hull down
and some with only the masts and smoke showing. This
raised the question as to whether one could see past the
horizon, a suggestion scouted by the majority of the debating
society, but warmly applauded by an entlnisiastic minority.

Late in the afternoon, when the little groups assembled
behind the firing line to prepare the evening meal, men Avould
talk of their favourite foods, and speculate as to where the
first big meal would be eaten when the great work Avas com-

SUNSET FROM ARI BURNU.

plete. Smoking the ration cigarette after tea, the New Zea-
lander would watch the sun set behind the rose-tinted peaks
of Samothracc and would picture again the sunset in his own
beloved country, would hear the water tiunbling and splash-
ing in the creek, would see the sheep and horses cropping
the sweet green grass of Maoriland — when ''Whizz! crash!"
would come the Turkish guiniers' evening hate. Back Avith

The Amenities of Anzac. 185

a start would the soldier come to the shells, the heat, tha
stench of chloride of lime, and the steadily increasing rows
of little crosses on the hillside.

Units not engaged in the front line were officially "rest-
ing" in Rest Gully. Paradoxically, it was an accident if one
got an hour 's respite there ! In civil life, where labour is
expensive and difficult to obtain, all means of labour-saving
devices are available to do laborious work. Near the firing
line there is no room or concealment for these cundDrous in-
struments. On the other hand, labour is plentiful. So it
happens that a multiplicity of men, with primitive picks and
shovels, are available for any necessary work. On the Penin-
sula a spell of ''rest" inevitably meant being detailed for a
working party.

The Amenities of Anzac.

The noise of battle frightened away all the little song
birds that had so charmed us in the spring. But there was
always something of interest. The common tortoise of
Europe — Avitli a hard shell about 12 inches long — loving a
quiet place shaded from the sun, crept into our dugouts
during the night, so that in addition to having nocturnal
visitors who caused a certain amount of irritation and annoy-
ance, Ave had these larger "Pilgrims of the Night" to create
a little amusement, for there is something condcal about these
prehistoric, rubber-necked shell-liacks. The fact that a tor-
toise is something like a tiirtle also appealed not a little to
the company cook, who may be a lover of the antique, but
not to such a degree that the tortoise might notice it ! Out
on the Suvla Flats, red foxes played in the sun with their
cubs. On the prickly scrub, the little praying mantis held
up her supplicating green hands and prayed as if we were
all far past redemption.

During July the shelling seemed to increase in intensity.
Perhaps it was that the Turk had more information about our
dispositions and shifted his guns a little further round on the
flanks to enfilade the beach. Dugouts that had previously
been considered safe now had shrapnel coming in the front
doors, which is disconcerting, to say the least of it. But the

186

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

New Zealander, ever adaptable, di-ove his little dugout into
the hillside at a safer angle and cheered the little trawlers
as they slipped their anchors and zigzagged out of range.
Early in the morning two big shells came over in pairs and
dropped out to sea among the shipping. Rumour had it that
they came from the "Goeben," anchored in the Straits. They
certainly caused magnificent twin geysers as they plopped
into the ^Egean, but never once did any damage materialize.
Because of their early morning regularity these guns were

[I'hoto lent by tin UUuiu Wunun^ Sssociation
Officers of the Otago Mounted Rifles.
The officer drinking from the mess tin is Lt.-Col. Grigor, D.S.O., who commanded
"C" parties of the N.Z.M.R. Brigade at the evacuation. Behind him is
Colonel Bauchop, C.M.G., the commander of the outposts.

christened ''Christians Awake." The shells really came from
an old battleship, the "Hairredin Barbarossa," anchored in
the Narrows between Maidos and Chanak. She had three
pairs of 11-in. guns, with Avhich she carried out her early
morning bombardments. Built by the Germans, she was sold
to the Turks in 1910, and finally was submarined by a British
submarine on August 8, the day the New Zealand Infantry
Brigade dashed u]i to the crest of Ghunuk Bair. The most
deadly gun was one (or a battery of them) fired from the
Olive Groves away inland from Gaba Tepe. As this gun
enfiladed the beach, it became widely known as "Beachy
Bill." He it was who interfered mostly with the landing of
stores, and worse still, the bathing. A long range gun firing
from the other flank and emplaced in the "W" Hills, was

Reinforcements Promised. 187

known as "Anafarta Annie." Not many of our liuns
had names, but the mounted regiments on Walker's Ridge
appropriately dubbed an Indian mountain gun "Rumbling
Rufus."

During daylight the beach at Anzac Cove was practically
deserted. "Beachy Bill" and his helpers attended to that.
But when night came the hive buzzed and hummed. Picket
boats brought in their barges, and the beach parties attacked
the cargoes of stores and transferred them to the A.S.C. depots
close at hand. Long convoys of pack mules and the little
two-wheeled mule carts pulled in to the stores and the water-
tanks, and started their adventurous journeys to the right and
left flanks, and up the tortuous way to Monash Gully. The
Turk had the range to a nicety, and knew quite well that if
he dropped a few shells along the beach and on the communi-
cations some damage must be done. The marvel is he did
not fire more. While the firing lasted the place was like
Inferno, for in the darkness the shells could be seen red-hob
overhead. The flash of the explosions would light up the
busy scene — Indian drivers and their terrified mules inextric-
ably mixed up with the piles of stores and water tins; mules
braying and squealing, with the patient drivers striving to
quieten them ; the shells shrieking through the air ; while the
thunderous detonations punctuated the rhythmic lapping of
the waves upon the beach, the moans of the wounded, and
the insistent cries of "Stretcher bearer."

Keiiiforceineiits Promised.

After the unsuccessful attack on Krithia early in May, Sir
Ian Hamilton cabled Home for two more Army Corps, point-
ing out that apparently we were to be left to our own re-
sources in the campaign ; the Greeks had decided not to
move at all, and the Russians had been so punished by the
Austro-Germans as to give up all hope of moving against
Constantinople from the Black Sea. The General, in his Third
Despatch to the Secretary of State for War, goes on to say : —
"During June your Lordship became persuaded of the bear-
ing of these facts, and I was promised three regular divisions,
plus the infantry of two territorial divisions. The advance

188 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

guard of these troops was due to reach Mudros by July 10;
by August 10 their conceutration was to be complete."

Now let us see what troops are available for a new trial
of strength Avith the Turk. The following troops were
already on the Peninsula : —

At Helles:

mi -n T A n (1st Division

The French Army Corps J -. , „. . .

( 2nd Division

29th Division (Regular Army)
42nd (East Lanes.) Division
The 8th Army Corps ■{ (Territorials)

52nd (Lowland) Division
(Territorials)

General Headquarters Troops | Royal Naval Division

At Anzac :

( 1st Australian Division
\ N.Z. & Australian Division

The A. & N.Z. Army Corps

New Troops Promised for an Offensive:

( lOth (Irish) Division

The 9th Army Corps - -J 11th (Northern) Division

I 13th (Western) Division

„,-.,, T3 . 1 1 r f 53rd (Welsh) Division
The Iniantry Brigade onlv oi' ,,, ,„ , . ,. , t^. . .

( 54th (East Anglian) Divisiou

All of the troops — owing- to the demands of the French
front — were woefully deficient in artillery. The 9th Array
Corps were part of the New Army — generally known as
Kitchener's Army — and, of course, had not seen service. The
infantry of the 53rd and 54tli Divisions were of the Territorial
Force, and likewise were inexperienced in Avar. These Avere
the troops it Avas determined to lead against seasoned soldiers
— inured to hardship and fighting for their native soil — the
veterans of the Turkish Regular Army.

But Avhen and Avhere should these reinforcements be used?

The time Avas easily settled. In Avar, as in many other
things, there is no time like the present. The summer Avas
Avell advanced ; the scored hillsides ga\'e every indication of
torrential autumn and Avinter rains; the naval staff kncAV

Reinforcements Promised.

189

that Avinter storms would seriously hamper their work. But
the last troops could not arrive until early in August. As
darkness was essential to any surprise attack, it w^as neces-
sary to carefully study the jiliases of the moon. It was
decided that as soon as the 53rd and 54th Divisions reached

[Lent by Seryt. P. lite. N.Z.E.

Headquarters Signal Office.

Signallers, telephonists, and linesmen risk their lives day and nisht sending and
carrying messages and repairing wires. Snipers watch the wire and
pick off the linesmen. It is significant that the only New Zealand V.C.
awarded during the campaign went to a signaller.

the scene of operations they would be kept on their ships as a
general reserve. The Aveather, the moon, and the anticipated
arrival of these reinforcements determined August 6 as the
latest date for the commencement of the operations, for by
the end of the second week the moon would be unfavourable

190 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

So far, Ave kneAv what troops Avcre available, when they
would arrive, and the most desirable time to use them. Next,
we must examine the proposals as to where they should be
used to gain the greatest advantage.

Where should the Troops be Used?

In his classical Third Despatch, General Sir Ian Hamilton
has clearly shown the different suggestions for employing the
new troops. They were resolved into four practicable
schemes, which may be summarized as f oIIoavs : —

(1) Every man to be thrown on to the Helles sector to
force a way forward to the Narrows. This was rejected be-
cause it was diiftcult to deploy a large body of troops in such
a confined area. Further, the whole of Krithia and Achi Baba
had been specially prepared against such a frontal attack.

(2) Embarkation on the Asiatic side of the Straits, fol-
loAved by a march on Chanak. The nuiuber of troops avail-
able Avas not considered sufficient to press this to a victorious
conclusion.

(3) A landing at Enos or Ibriji for the purpose of seizing
the Isthmus of Bulair. Against this project it was known
that the Turkish lines of communication were not only by
way of Bulair and down the Narrows, but also Ijy way of the
Asiatic coast across from Chanak to Kilid Bahr. The naval
objections to Bulair were overwhelming : the beaches were
bad, and, worse still, the strain on sea transport would be
tremendous. We know how difficult it was at Anzac, but a
new base at Bulair would add another fifty miles to the sea
communications, already threatened by enemy sulnnarines.

(4) Reinforcement of the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps combined with a new landing at Suvla Bay.
There was a reasonable chance of success in first Avinning
Hill 971, then across the low ground to Maidos. From thence
both the Turkish land and sea communication might be cut.
This plan Avas also acceptable to the naval authorities. The
distance to SuAda Bay Avas approximately the same as to
Anzac. There Avas also a tolerably good harbour that might
be made submarine proof. The Avater supply Avould be diffi-
cult, but it Avas reasoned that efficient organization Avould

Where should the Troops be Used?

191

mitigate this evil; in any case, it was known that this area
was not so heavily entrenched as the other three suggested
landing places.

The total allied force was known to be inferior to the
enemy, but it was thought that with skilful generalship this
superiority might be nullified. The aim of strategy is to con-
centrate a superior force at the decisive point. The advan-
tage is always with the attacker, as the side attacked must
be in sufficient strength all along the line and must keep
sufficient reserves in hand until the enemy's real attack de-
finitely materializes. Wherever Turkish troops were sta-
tioned in large numbers it was necessary to arrange feint
attacks — away on the flanks opposite Mitylene on the Asiatic
coast, and a^vay up at Bulair. Holding attacks to keep the
enemy pinned down in their areas were to be carried out at
Helles and at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 Defence Sections at
Anzac. Having induced the enemy to become committed all
along the general line, it was intended to burst out from the
left flank of Anzac, at the same time land new troops at
Suvla — the wdiole to push on towards Chunuk Bair, Hill Q,
and Hill 971. These heights in our hands the fall of Maidos,
Gaba Tepe, and eventually Kilid Bahr was only a matter of
time.

The strategical and tactical situation may be easier
grasped dia grammatically : —

TURK/SH ReSERI^ES

Bulair

Feint

flTTACK

HILL97I

<^3

f\tiZttC

NEWLAND/NG
WASSISTW

m/fasTFO/f
/f/u97/

LEFT

Flhnk

OfANZAC

THRUST

FOR

Hills? I

Centremnd

RiGHTOF

HOLDING
ATTACK

HULES^'

ATTACK

MnVLENE

FEinr
Attack

The general idea was that at Bulair and Mitylene eneni:,^
forces would be immobilized, and that the Turkish reserves
on the Peninsula Avould flow towards Helles and the right of
Anzac. As soon as these reserves were committed the troops

192 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

of Anzac and Suvla would press to^vards Hill 971 and turn
the Turkish flank.

In anticipation of this advance, a party of selected officers
and scouts lived day and night out on the Suvla Flats and
in the Turkish territory on the Sari Bair. These were the
men Avho were selected to guide the troops over the new
ground to be attacked.

Two other important Avorks were put in hand at once in
the Anzac area; the first, to Aviden the long communication
trench from Anzac to the outposts; the second, to make a
road available for wheeled traffic along the beach. In order
not to make the enemy suspicious, this had to be done after
dark, as the entire area Avas under the observation and rifl3
fire of the enemy on the heights.

Makiiin the Beach Koad.

Night after night the troops Avho Avere "resting" crept
Avith their picks and shovels along the beach, to make the
necessary road. This after-dark activity is most trying —
each man Avorking as silently as possible Avith his rifle at his
elboAv. Any noise is a magnet certain to attract machine-gun
fire. Even in daylight it takes careful management to collect
working parties and the necessary transport at the right spot,
but in the darkness and in a region where enemy scouts and
snipers roamed as soon as daylight failed, the difficulties Avere
increased a hundredfold.

Sand makes a poor road. To get a reasonable result it
Avas necessary to collect the big stones of the seashore and
carry them to the shore edge of the beach and place them as
a foundation ; on the top of this, clay Avas deposited — carted
from the hillside near by in the mule carts of the Indian
transport service ; the A\diole Avas top-dressed by the sand of
the beach, and finally, the hard-Avorked soldiers carried petrol
tins of Avater from the sea and poured it over the surface to
make the material set. So, harassed by the splutter of
machine guns night after night, and Aveakened by the heat
of the day, the faithful souls of the Avorking parties steadily
carried the road from Anzac Cove along North Beach tOAvards
the SuAda Flats.

[Photo hy the Author
The "Big Sap" near Fishermen's Hut.
This view is looking back towards Walkers Ridge and was taken before the
sap was widened to 5 feet.

194

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Working- on the Big- Sap.

To get troops quickly and secretly from Anzac to tlie out-
posts and to the foot of the deres up Avhich the assaulting
columns must approach the Turk, it was necessary to widen
the communication trench known as the "Big Sap." This
trench had been evolved as the outposts Avere established,
and at many places could be enfiladed by the enemy on the
heights; and nowhere was it wide enough to take troops two
abreast. The pack mules used it by day, and though the
soldier cared little for Turkish shells, he lived in fear of the
donkey's steel-shod hoofs; it was no uneOmmon sight to see
the soldier, disbelieving the warning "No kick! No kick!"
of the Indian muleteer, climb out of the trench and risk a
bullet rather than encounter a transport mule.

Partly the way was
through the sandhills — here
the necessary width of 5
feet was easy to attain; but
in the harder clay, the pio-
neer working parties had
been content to make a nar-
row slit, leaving the hardest
work still to do. All
through July the men of
No. 4 Defence Section toiled
at their herculean task — the
Australian Infantry of the
4th Brigade, the N.Z.
Mounted Rifles and Aus-
tralian Light Horse from
Walker's Ridge, and best
workers of all, the Maori Contingent from No. 1 Post.

Man is naturally a lazy animal. When men work hard,
there is always some incentive. The Maori soldier, picked
man that he was, wished to justify before the world that his
claim to be a front-line soldier was not an idle one. Many
a proud rangitira served his country in the ranks, an example
to some of his Pakeha brothers. Their discipline was super!)
and when their turn came for working party, the long-

The Maori at Anzac.

A coiivential figure carved in the clay
wall of the Bis Sap. The telegraph
linesmen of the Signal Troop have
condescended to drop their wire a
little to avoid the figure.

Working on tite Big Sap,

195

handled shovels swung- Avithont ceasing nntil, just before the
<lawn, the signal came to pack up and get home.

Where the trench was liable to enfilade fire, its direction
was altered, and here and there overhead protection was
built with some of the precious timber and sandbags. At
every few hundred yards a recess was cut to enable troops
to stand aside while mule trains or passing troops moved up
or down. Leaving nothing to chance, infantry parties, two
abreast, marched thi'ough the trench from end to end to
ensure that nowhere would there be a check.

Now these communications were complete, and July came
and went, and still there was no big attack. But vast

With the Maokis at yo. ] Post.

llV(Oi(//w, C.F.

196 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

quantities of amniuiiition, and piles of peculiar foodstuffs that
signified Indian troops to the initiated, showed that some-
thing was in the offing. With August, the transfer of the new
English troops from the neighbouring islands commenced.

Before this could happen the soldiers of Anzac were called
on to do one more big digging task — dugouts and shelters had
to be made, and terraces formed on the already crowded hill-
sides, in order that the large bodies of new troops might be
hidden from the enemy aeroplane observers. For the first
nights of August our men worked feverishly at the terraces.
Hope ran high, for here at hand was the help so long and
earnestly prayed for. During the nights of August 3, 4,
and 5, the beach masters and military landing officers disem-
barked the New Army troops intended for Anzac. After the
tiresome monotony of three months' dogged holding on,
months of incessant picking and shovelling, months of weaken-
ing dysentery, plagues of flies, and a burning sun, the men
of the New Armies and of India were arriving, and a great
blow would be struck. Sick men refused to attend sick
parade in the mornings, and in the hospitals, and on the Ked
Cross barges, proud men wept because they were too weak
to strike a blow.

197

CHAPTER XIV.

The Battle of Sari Bair.

Part I.

Tlie Preliminaries.

The great battle, apart from the feint attacks away at
Bulair and Mitylene, was to comprise four distinct opera-
tions, all closely dependent one on the other.

1. An attack in force at Cape Helles on the afternoon of
August 6. This would tend to commit Turkish reserves to an
action far away from Anzac.

2. The Australian Division, holding the line from Chat-
ham's Post to Russell's Top, was to make several attacks on
the afternoon of August 6. These would serve to immobilize
or distract the enemy reserves known to be concentrated at
Koja Dere, behind Mortar Ridge, and at Battleship Hill.

3. A great assault by the N.Z. and Australian Division,
assisted by the newly-arrived 13th Division and a brigade of
Indian troops, advancing up the three deres that lead to the
peak of the Sari Bair — up the Sazli Beit and the Chailak to
Chunuk Bair, and up the Aghyl towards Hill Q and Koja
Chemen Tepe.

4. A new landing at Suvla Bay by the 9th Army Corps,
Avhich would pass over the Suvla Flats early on the morning
of August 7, and linking up with the left flank of the army
from Anzac, would press up towards the height of Koja
Chemen Tepe, to prolong the line towards the Anafarta
villages.

The Struggle at Helles.

After a preliminary bombardment on the afternoon of
the 6th, the infantry at Cape Helles dashed to the assault of
the Turkish trenches at 3.50. Thus Avas the greatest battle
in the Gallipoli campaign commenced by the men of Helles.

The Battle of Loxe Pine. 199

The l)loocly and stul)l)oni conil)at lasted a full week, the
I'urks attacking and counter-attack iiio- with two fresh divi-
sions. The East Lancasliire Division, assisted by the war-
Avorn 29th l^ivision, dun"' tenaciously to ground they had
won — in particular, a small area of vineyard aliout 200 yards
long and 100 broad, on the west of the Krithia Road. So
fierce was the fighting for this small piece of cultivated land
that this week-long battle is always referred to as ''The
Battle of the Vineyard." The object of this attack was fully
achieved. No Turkish soldier could leave for Anzac or Suvla
while this blow was being threatened at Achi Baba.

The Battle <>1 Lone Pine.

Let us pass from the tragic vineyards of the south to the
hungry hills of Anzac. During the afternoon of August 6,
the slow bombardment of the enemy's left and centre was
increased in intensity. The 1st Battery of New Zealand Field
Artillery, firing from Russell's Top, was detailed to cut the
wire in front of the Turkish Lone Pine trenches. The
"Bacchante" searched the valleys which wei-e believed to
contain the enemy's reserves, while the monitors engaged the
batteries at the back of Gaba Tepe and at the Olive Groves.
This bombardment was intended to make the Turk believe
that at last a determined effort was to be made from the
Anzac right in the direction of Koja Dere and Maidos. The
enemy felt that this was the heart thrust, and he waited in
his well-placed cover for the inevitable assault. At 4.30 p.m.,
the New Zealand battery concentrated again on the Lone Pine
trench, and the 1st Australian Infantry Brigade mustered in
Brown's Dip ready for the assault.

Those awful hours of waiting! Platoon commanders
fidgeting with their wristlet watches that seem to tick oE
the minutes so slowly. Men smoke cigarette after cigarette,
and talk in undertones. At last the word comes, "Get
ready." Everywhere men crowd on to the firestep. "Over
the top ! ' ' Men pull themselves up over the parapet and,
regaining their feet, rush for the opposing parapet with its
angry spurts of flame. Across that bullet-swept No Man's
Land race the impetuous men of Australia. Line after line

200 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

sweeps on, but not to fall into an open fire trench on to the
foe. These trenches are roofed with timber, which has to be
torn up. A merciless machine-gun fire mows down the
attackers. Some run round the back, get into the communi-
cation trenches and fight their way into the underground
fort. So, with hand-grenade and bayonet, the 1st Australian
Infantry Brigade overpower the stubborn Turks Avithin the
fortress.

With the cry of "Allah! Allah!" reinforcements arrive
for the enemy. The weary victors again repel the foe. Night
brings no peace. But the captors of Lone Pine fight on, for
they know full well that by their vicarious sacrifice they
have pinned down all the Turkish reserves on the Ari Burnn
front, and have left a minimum of the enemy to resist the
Anzac and Suvla thrust for the peaks of Sari Bair.

Against German Officers' Trencli.

The attack at Lone Pine drew many Turkish reserves
to Anzac. Everywhere the enemy was on the alert. What
wonder, then, that the occupants of German Officers' Trench
were ready for the 6th Australians? At 11 o'clock on the
night of the 6th, mines were exploded at the end of the
trench nearest the Turk. At about midnight, the artillery
momentarily ceased, and the Australian infantrymen crept
from the end of their tunnelled communications which had
been constructed under No Man's Land. The first and
second waves of men were mown down almost to a man.
The attack on trenches defended with scientifically-manned
machine guns was almost a forlorn hope.

Tlie Glory of the Australian Light Horse.

At Quinn's, Pope's, and Russell's Top the line Avas held
by the Australian Light Horse. In common Avith their
brothers of the infantry, attacks from these places Avere to
be made.

Units of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Avere holding
Quinn's. From here, Iavo hundred men in four lines of fifty
each Avere to dash across No Man's Land in an endeavour to
simulate a determined attack. Most of these gallant troopers
died on the parapet from a hail of machine-gun fire.

The Anzac Thrust for "971." 201

From Pope's it was doterininetl to attack Dead Man's
Ridge. This el¥oi't was at first a little more successful.
Three trenches were occupied, but after about two hours'
desperate fighting our men ran short of bombs, and tried to
Avithdraw, losing heavily during the operation.

The attack from "The Nek" was as glorious, as tragic,
and, alas! as unsuccessful as from Quinn's. In the first line
there were 150 men of the 8th Light Horse Regiment. AVhen
the artillery stopped, about 4.25 a.m., the Turk commenced
a ban-age of machine-gun fire. The Victorians clambered up
on their firesteps, and at the Avord dashed into the awful
storm of lead. Down went the whole line. But the second
line, with a few scaling ladders, was ready to go over the
top. Out they sped to certain death. The scaling ladders lay
forlornly out on the fatal "Nek." The third line — 150 men
of the lOtli Light Horse — followed and shared the fate of
their comrades. The fourth line Avas stopped. Out of 450
men Avho started there were 435 casualties ! Tui'kish prisoners
stated that they never lost one man ! Surely in military
history there is no more splendid record of sacrifice than Avas
enacted that fatal morning at Quinn's Post and Russell's
Top.

But the Australian effort from the right and centre of
the Anzac line had borne fruit, for at Rhododendron and on
the Asma Dere, Ncav Zealanders and other Australians Avere
advancing to the stronghold of the Turk. Doavu at Suvla a
great British landing Avas proceeding almost unopposed.

Part II.

The Anzac Tluiist ior "1)71."

The attack from the left of Anzac Avas perhaps one of
the most complicated in history. Th(^ huge spraAvling mass
of the Sari Bair system Avas broken by a multiplicity of
Avater-courses, the sides of Avhich Avere often sheer cliffs,
scored and fissured by torrential Avinter rains. The only
possible means of approaching the peaks Avas by Avay of
these Avater-courses. Noav, it is a Avell-knoAvn military axiom

.VN\I'//.

vW^^'

AV\^'

,vyvV\

vVV^"

^0n\s\'^

^\^;^ - ^

f''% 5

-SN^^^

^>>*UM^

fe Si

^^^r^

iSAP

The Orgaxizatiox of Gkxeral Godley's Army. 203

that troops cannot pass safely through a delile until the
heights are made secure ; it Avas also known that no troops
could push up through two and a half miles of these savage,
scrub-covered hills and be fit to tight a battle with a fresh,
determined foe at the top. So the Avork had to be mapped
out in stages.

Soldiers know that with more than one body of troops
operating there is always a risk of someone being late. In
night operations this risk is intensified. Further, it is very
difficult to fit in what the staff officers call their "time and
space problem." The men could not all go up one gully.
They would arrive at the top a few men at a time, and could
not attack on a broad enough front, but only at one point.
So it was arranged that the force under the command of
^lajor-General Godley should be divided into four columns —
two to break the line and open up the lower parts of the
deres; the other two folloAving shortly after, and proceeding
up the three main deres, pass through the covering forces
to the assault of Chunuk Bair, Hill Q, and Koja Chemen Tepe.

During the nights of August 3, 4, and 5, the New Army
troops were landed at Anzac, marched along the "Big Sap"
to their prepared bivouacs on the hillside, and remained
under cover until the eventful night. The 29th Indian
Brigade, consisting of one Sikh and three Ghurka regiments,
also arrived and went to their allotted place on the left. This
made available : —

The N.Z. and Australian Division (less the Australian
Light Horse, who were at Quinn's, Pope's, Russell's
Top, and Walker's Eidge.

The 13th (New Army) Division (less five battalions).

The 29th Indian Infantry Brigade ; and

The Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade.

The Orgaiiizatioii of General Godley's Army.

Right Covering Force — (Brigadier-General A. H. Russell) :
New Zealand ^Mounted Rifles Brigade ;
Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment;
Maori Contingent;
Field Troop, N.Z. Engineers.

204 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The task assigned to this force was to ck^ai* the lower
ridges of the Sari Bair system, seizing the Turkish posts
known as Old No. 3 Post, Big Table Top, and Bauchop's Hill.
The advance was to commence from No. 2 and No. 3 Posts
at 9 p.m. on August 6, a movement which would enable the
right assaulting column to get within striking distance o£
Chunuk Bair with a minimum of fatigue.

Left Covering Force — (Brigadier-General J. H. Travers) :
4th Battalion South Wales Borderers;
5th Battalion Wiltshire Regiment;
Half 72nd Field Company.

Composed entirely of units from the 13th (New Armyj
Division, this column was to march northwards along the
flat ground ; then strike inland and seize Damakjelik Bair.
This force would be able to hold out a helping hand to the
new army landing at Suvla, and would also protect the left
flank of the left assaulting column moving up the Aghyl Dere.

Eight Assaulting Column — (Brig. -General F. E. Johnston) :
New Zealand Infantry Brigade ;
Indian JMountain Battery (less 1 Section) ;
1st Field Company, N.Z. Engineers.

This column was to move up the Sazli Beit Dere and
the Chailak Dere, commencing to move up these gullies at
10.30 p.m. Having cleared Rhododendron Spur, an attack
was to be made on Chunuk Bair, eventually holding a line
from Chunuk Bair to the head of Kur Dere, behind Hill Q.

Left Assaulting Column — (Brigadier-General H. V. Cox) :
29th Indian Infantry Brigade ;
4th Australian Infantry Brigade ;
Indian Mountain Battery (less 1 Section) ; and the
2nd Field Company, N.Z. Engineers.

The leading troops of this column were to cross the
mouth of the Chailak Dere at 10.30 p.m. towards Walden's
Point and up the Aghyl Dere, pass through the left covering
force, assault Koja Chemen Tepe, and occupy a line from
Koja Chemen Tepe to the head of Kur Dere, thus joining up
with the right assaulting column.

The Night op August 6. 205

Divisional Eeserve :

6th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment | at the

8th Battalion Welsh Regiment (Pioneers)]' Chailak Dere;

39th Infantry Brigade ) at the

Half 72nd Field Company ) Aghyl Dere.

The troops were ordered to be at the foot of the valley
mentioned at 1 a.m. on the morning of August 7, to be used
at the discretion of the General Officer Commanding.

For artillery support, in addition to the divisional artil-
lery already in position, there were two squadrons of H.M.
Navy :

(a) A southern squadron of five vessels, stationed off
Gaba Tepe, detailed to fire at Chunuk Bair and
the plateau on which Lone Pine was situated, and

(b) A northern squadron of two monitors and two de-
stroyers, which were to engage targets on the
northern and western slopes of Sari Bair.

The entire expedition was woefully deficient in heavy
guns. Heavy howitzers, for searching reverse slopes, were
desperately needed. A pathetic entry in General Godley's
"Order of Battle" is, "Corps artillery: one 6in. howitzer!"
Once again the men of Anzac were asked to do with their
bayonets and rifles what should have been done with heavy
guns.

The Mght of August 6.

We must now look at the scene near No. 2 and 3 Posts.
At Helles and Lone Pine the battles were raging. Turkish
reserves were being called up in both places. So far every-
thing was going well. With the fall of darkness the four
Anzac columns began to prepare for their arduous night
march and assault.

Everybody was to travel light. Kits and tunics were dis-
carded. In short sleeves and web equipment, with a rifle and
fixed bayonet, the men may not have looked uniform, but
they were animated with a spirit that would dare anything.
Just before dark men sewed Avhite patches on their backs
and on their sleeves, so as to indicate in the gloom who was

206 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

friend and who was foe. Officers spol^e to their men. The
principal injunction was to press on up the hill. If any
man lost touch, he was to join the nearest party and go
resolutely on.

The Right Covering; Force.

The four regiments of New Zealand Mounted Rifles were
the first to move. It Avas their duty to break the Turkish
line for the infantry brigades. At 9.30 p.m. they were to
move out from the shelter of No. 2 and No. 3. The Wel-
lington Mounted Rifles were to take Destroyer Hill and then
Table Top. The Auckland Mounted Rifles were to take Old
No. 3 Post, while the Otagos by way of Wilson's Knob, and
the Canterburys by way of Taylor's Hollow and Walden's
Point, were to clean up the lower ridges and capture
Bauchop's Hill. This should give us the line, Destroyer Hill
— Table Top^Bauchop 's Hill, and open up the Sazli Beit, the
Chailak and the Aghyl Deres for the infantry.

The Capture of Okl No. 3.

Old No. 3 Post was that high piece of ground taken and
abandoned at the end of May. Falling down towards the
sea, it resolved itself into two lower spurs, on which were
our No. 2 and new No. 3 Posts.

Every night, as soon as it was dark, the destroyer
"Colne" stood in and went through the performance of
throwing her searchlight on the heavily fortified slopes of Old
No. 3, and commenced a half -hour's bombardment. The light
guns of the destroyer did not cause much material damage to
the carefully constructed overhead cover; but it became the
custom for part of the garrison to leave their trenches and
retire to their dugouts in the rear of the post on the southern
banks of the Chailak Dere. Now, a searchlight beam, while
it illumines everything in its path, makes the surrounding
darkness appear blacker and even more intensified. As the
bombardment continued, the Auckland Mounted Rifles crept
up the Sazli Beit Dere. In fifteen minutes the party was
lying quietly at the foot of the fortress. S(iuadron com-
manders got their final instructions, and a small party of

The Capture of Old No. 3.

207

strong men, picked for their skilled w
crept up through the scrub towards
scout, this party dodged from bush to
to a sentry post of the enemy. Silently
side, the four New Zealanders sprang
overpowered them. ''Crack!" went a
discharged his rifle harmlessly in the
bayonet did its deadly work. So far

ork with the bayonet,
the crest. Led by a

bush until they came
• closing in from every
upon the sentries and

rifle. One sentry had
air as a New Zealand

we had no casualites.

[Lent by LttuL Motitzson, M.C., M.M., N Z.E.
Rough Coitntey.
Calculated to throw any troops out of direction.

Up on the crest the destroyer's shells were crashing into the
barbed wire and the heavy wooden beams of the overhead
cover. In a few minutes the attacking party was lying all
round the crest on the southern side. Presently the guns
stopped, and the searchlight faded away. This was the
signal! The Aucklanders rose and, spreading fanwise, went
straight for the post. Into the covered trenches dived the
Mounted Riflemen. The garrison fought gamely enough, but
there could only be one end to it. The main body of the
garrison came pouring back from their reserve trenches

208 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

towards the post; but, caught in the open, they were no
match for the men from Auckland. In a short time the
whole Avork was completely in our hands. There was now
time to closely examine the post. The trenches were
roofed, just like those of Lone Pine, with heavy baulks of
8x3 sawn timber covered with sand bags. The guns on
the destroyer had made no material impression on this cover,
as shells striking it had glanced off and buried themselves
uphill. In the front trenches was discovered a dugout with
a complete equipment for electrically firing the 28 small
square iron mines placed in front of the posts. Without the
destroyer ruse and the quick, clean work of the attackers, the
casualties would have been very heavy; as it was, we had
only twenty casualties, while close on one hundred Turks lay
dead within the Post and in its neighbourhood. The
Auckland Mounted Rifles had signally avenged the Mounted
Brigade losses at the end of May.

The Capture of Table Top.

Following on the heels of the Auckland Mounted Rifles
up the Sazli Beit Dere, the Wellington Regiment silently
cleaned up Destroyer Hill. As the Auckland Mounted men
were stealing on Old No. 3, their comrades of the Wellington
Mounteds were creeping up the Chailak Dere towards Table
Top. Silently up the gully went the mounted men, the 6th
Squadron leading. The 2nd Squadron was to take Table
Top itself, and the 9th was to hold it afterwards. The
first objective was Destroyer Hill.

It was quite dark, and difficult to see the way, but these
gullies had been well reconnoitred by the scouts, and the
column pressed on, dragging their telephone wire with them.
After resting for a minute, the front line crept round a
corner and came under heavy rifle fire. The leaders
dashed straight at the flashes of rifle fire twenty yards away.
Major Dick at the head of his men cried out "Come on,
boys" when down he fell. But enough surged forward to
overwhelm the party of Turks guarding the communication
trench.

The C.vpture of Table Top.

209

This was really a very strenuous piece of work, for
from Table Top on one side, and Baby 700 on the other,
communications ran down to Destroyer Hill. As fast as
the enemy here was overpowered, more Turks crowded
down to be dealt with.

The troopers took up a position above a well-defined
track and picked off the enemy as they came along it.

[Lent by Capt. Jansun. W.M.R.
The Path to Victory.
The Wellington Mounteds crept up this dere and advanced up the spur fi-om
where the cross is shown.

Presently a line of men came in single file down the ridge.
They were to pass just above the anxious little group of
mounted riflemen who were painfully conscious of their
bright white patches. Were they our men, or were they

210 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Turks? By their chatteriug it was discovered they were a
party of a hundred Turks on surrender bent. To the relief
of the 6th Squadron, they filed past to our rear talking and
laughing.

Meanwhile the squadron told oft: to assault Table Top
stole quietly up to the head of the gully. With rifles
spluttering in the scrub and bullets moaning on their
flight out to sea, the Wellingtons scaled the steep clay sides
of Table Top and went straight for the Turks. The fight
did not last long. Up came the 9th and made the position
secure. By his boldness and impetuosity the Ncav Zealand
Mounted man had again outclassed the enemy.

The path taken was the secret of success. The 6th
Squadron who had taken the first trench came at Table Top
from the front, and it took them over half an hour's hard
climbing — cutting steps in the clay with bayonets — to reach
the top. Foresight and ingenuity, boldness and deter-
mination were alike combined in these first successful
captures.

A platoon of Maoris led by a Wellington officer
also crept quietly up the Chailak Dere in order to get round
the back of Table Top to co-operate with the Wellingtons.
In the gully between Bauchop's Hill and Old No. 3 a party
of Turks fired on the Maoris, who saw red and slew the
Turks to a man. Chasing the enemy up the gully, the
Maoris never stopped until they were round the back of
Table Top, and were only with great difficulty restrained
from tackling Sari Bair by themselves !

Bauchop's Hill.

The Otago and the Canterbury Mounted Regiments
were to move off from No. 3 Post, traverse the flat ground
to the northward, wheel to the right, and work up towards
the high ground of Bauchop's Hill.

Lying in the low ground from al:)out 9 o'clock, the South
Islanders saw the white beam of the searchlight on the scrub
and heard the scream of the destroyer's shells. At 9.30
the searchlight went black out. The men rose quietly —
this was the signal for which they had been waiting. The

Bauchop's Hill.

211

Otagos wheeled to the right toward the trenches on "Wilson's
Knob — trenches they had lain opposite and observed with
periscopes the last two months of waiting. Spurts of
rifle fire ran round the scrub above Taylor's Hollow and on
Walden's Point. Pushing up the Chailak Dere, the other
squadrons of the Otagos came to the heavy barbed-wire
entanglements stretching right across the dere and enfiladed
by fire trenches on the spur. There was nothing to be
done but tear the obstruction away. A section of the Field
Troop of New Zealand Engineers, gallantly led by their
subaltern, attacked the wire with great determination
and, after sustaining many casualties, succeeded in opening
the dere to the Otagos and Maoris who pressed on up the
gully towards their objective.

'im

i^iiiLi, Iable Top.

Little Table Top was of little military importance, but its water-scored cliffs are

typical of the surrounding country.

The Canterburys with some Maoris in support, advanced
in short rushes across the flat ground towards the trenches
on the foothills. Not a shot was wasted. Bayonets alone
were used. A Turkish machine gun on the spur leading
to Walden's Point was responsible for many casualties, and
this section of the attack was momentarily held up. ''Tap,
tap, tap ' ' went the gun, exacting a heavy toll ; but a
subaltern, named Davidson, who gained the ridge higher up,
collected a few ardent spirits, and with fixed bayonets,

212 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

charged straight down the slope. The dirt thrown up by the
angry bullets flicked in their faces as they ran straight for
the gun. Down tumbled the subaltern, killed leading his
men, but the remnants of the party fell upon the gun crew.
The keen bayonets did their silent work, and the gun ceased
its death-dealing tapping.

Methodically and irresistibly the Otagos and Canterburys
pushed up the spurs until the greater part of Bauchop's Hill
was in our hands. Many a duel between surprised Turk
and desperate New Zealander was fought that night in the
tangled scrub. The ground was so broken, the twists in the
gullies so confusing, that all cohesion was lost. But the
troopers knew that their duty was to press on up the hill,
so up the hill they went. Trench after trench was taken
at the bayonet point by Pakeha and Maori. Presently three
great cheers announced the final capture of the hill. But
the losses were severe. Many officers were shot down,
including gallant Colonel Bauchop, who fell mortally
wounded, and Captain Bruce Hay who had taken charge of
a hesitating line, was killed shortly after he had bravely
rallied them and led them on.

By now the Sazli Beit Dere, the Chailak Dere, and part
of the Aghyl Dere was opened; the N.Z.M.R. Brigade had
decisively smashed the Turkish line.

The Left Covering Force.

When the attack on the lower slopes of Bauchop's Hill
was well under way the Left Covering Column moved out
over the flat ground towards the mouth of the Aghyl Dere.
Having rounded Walden's Point they at once came
under the fire of the enemy. But pressing on, the
advance guard of the 4th South Wales Bordei-ers cleared
all before them. The New Army men, resolutely led, were
capable of great things. An hour after midnight they saw
through the gloom the dark mass of the Damakjelik Bair,
and quickly put the Turks to flight.

The lower reaches of the Aghyl Dere were now held by v.s
on both sides ; our left flank was secure ; the army landing
at Suvla had a definite point to reach out to.

The Right Assaulting Column.

213

The Right Assaulting: Cohiiiiii.

By midnight the four battalions of the New Zealand
Infantiy Brigade were on their way up the deres to
the assault of Chunuk Bair. There had been some
delay at the start, as the overs from the high ground
fell among the units as they marched along to the foot
of the deres. The Canterburys went by way of the
Sazli Beit, and the Otagos, Aucklands and Wellingtons
proceeded up the Chailak.

The night was so dark and the country so rough and
unreconnoitred that the leading files often crept up little
branches of the main dere, and retracing their steps, caused
a certain amount of confusion among the troops behind. So

.MA.IllR J-'RAXK .STATHA>r, OTAGO IXFANTRY BATTALION

Who with his brother, was killed in action on Chunuk Bair.

I'hoto by Guy.

it happened on one of these occasions that part of the
Canterburys struggled in the inky blackness of the night into
a nullah that led them away from the objective. This
caused a certain amount of delay, enemy rifle fire was very
insistent, but clearing trench after trench, the men pushed
slowly up the gullies. Stumbling over the boulders of the

214 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

dry watercourse, charging each clump of scrub that spat
out tongues of fire, the men of the infantry brigade pushed
doggedly on.

Going up the Chailak, some of the Otago Infantry lost
their way and "took Table Top" only to be gruffly ordered
away by the Wellington Mounteds who had taken it some
hours before! Part of the other two companies of the Otago
Infantry— the 8th Southland and the 10th North Otago—
passed Table Top at dawn and resolutely pressed up the dere,
led by Major Frank Statham, a dauntless-spirited soldier
and a born leader. About an hour after dawn this small
band of heroes entered the Turkish communication trench
running across the lower slopes of Rhododendron Spur from
the Chailak Dere. They met with little resistance — indeed
on reaching a point where they could overlook the Sazli Beit
Dere, they were astonished to see the valley crowded with
scared Turks streaming back towards Battleship Hill.
Some of the bolder spirits of the Otagos went right on to the
Apex and Chunuk Bair ! If there had been a dozen leaders
of the Statham type — men who understood country and men
of resolution — the whole of Chunuk might have been ours by
nine o'clock. The enemy was certainly demoralized and on
the run.

A signalling officer of the Ghurkas now arrived and
sent a message back to his brigade slowly proceeding up the
Aghyl Dere.

The broken country delayed the rest of our brigade.
The Canterburys proceeding up the Sazli Beit had some
trouble at Destroyer Hill because, as we know, the Turkish
communication trenches all led in that direction and fresh
fugitive Turks were constantly arriving. It was well
light before the Canterburys reached the lower slopes of
Rhododendron. These slopes were for some time called
Canterbury Ridge, but the older name of Rhododendron
survived.

As it was now light, and the attack undoubtedly late,
Chunuk could not be taken by surprise. But looking down
towards the Suvla Flats, we were heartened by the
great flotilla of ships and barges in Suvla Bay. Hope

The Right Assaulting Column. 215

again ran high, for help seemed close at hand. With
another effort the brigade pressed forward and reached
the small depression now known as the Apex, but then
christened the Mustard Plaster.

Orders came that an effort must be made to take Chunuk.
The machine guns of the Otago Battalion established
themselves along the front, thus securing the right flank, and
doing great execution to the Turks who were being driven up
the gully and were seemingly not aware that we had a
footing on Rhododendron. The AVellington guns were then
dug in on the left of the Otagos, but lined so as to face
north and thus command Chunuk Bair which our infantry
must assault. The Auckland guns were just a few yards
behind ; those of the Canterburys had not yet arrived.
The order came for the advance with only half the guns
posted. There was a little hesitancy, but Major S. A. Grant
gallantly rushed forward and led the Aucklands over the
crest. A thousand yards of the heights, thick with Turkish
rifles, carried out rapid fire on that small band of heroes.
Nothing could live in it and with the exception of a few
survivors who gained a deserted Turk trench 120 yards in
front, the whole were either killed or wounded. The
gallant Major Grant was mortally wounded, dying from his
wounds that evening. At this point, if the Turks had
pushed out a counter attack, they could have cleared the
Apex; but the machine guns were invaluable; they cut up the
crest between them and undoubtedly saved the sadly
harassed line.

The troops were now very tired. An advance of a
little more than a mile over most difficult country had been
achieved. Taking advantage of what little cover was
available, the left flank threw out little parties to get in
touch with the Left Assaulting Column, which, as we know,
consisted of the 4th Australian Brigade and the 29th Indian
Brigade.

This column in pushing up the Aghyl Dere had met very
strenuous opposition, but had sui-prised many Turks and
driven them up the gully. The Aghyl Dere forks about 2000

216

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

yards from the sea ; the Australians went up the northern
one so that the Suvla army, after getting in touch with the
New Army troops on Damakjelik Bair could push on and
prolong General Monash's left. By dawn, this brigade had
reached the ridge overlooking the head of the Asma Dere.
The Indian Brigade,
guided by Major
Overton, of the Cant-
terbur}" Mounted

Rifles, proceeded up
the southern fork of
the Aghyl Dere to-
wards The Farm,
which lay beneath the
crest of Chunuk Bair.
Poor Overton and his
companion scout w^ere
killed while leading
up the dere. After
receiving the message
from their signalling
officer the right flank

of the Indians felt out tow^ards Rhododendron, and succeeded
in coming into touch with the New Zealand Infantry
Brigade ; the 14th Sikhs felt out towards their left and
came into touch with the 4th Australians.

The exhausted line made repeated efforts to get on,
but the Turks were now thoroughly alive to the threatened
turning movement and hastily flung fresh troops on to Abdel
Rahman spur to impede the Australians, w^ho were standing
at bay in truly aAvful country — standing at bay with their
left flank in the air — in touch with no one. The Suvla
Bay was full of ships, but there seemed no movement
towards the vital hills.

All that day the troops lay out on the hot hillside
exhausted with their heavy night march. True the
ambitious programme of the operation order had not been
achieved in its entirety, but a marked and valuable advance
had been made. The Anzac troops felt that at last they

Majub Gveutun'.s Grave.

The Right Assaulting Column. 217

had room to breathe, for Anzac had been very cramped.
Here, after four months of waitmg and watchmg, we were
standing on new ground. There was a certain thrill and a
little pardonable pride in the realization that these strongly
entrenched and defended hill-sides had been taken by a
citizen soldiery from the flower of the Turkish Army.

There was one disagreeable disadvantage in holding these
steep hills — that Avas the supply of water, ammunition
and food. But the Indian Supply and Transport Corps
was equal to the emergency. As soon as it was dark the
drabis of the supply columns started with their pack mules,
and though they paid a heavy toll in men and animals,
undeterred they gallantly soldiered on.

The Canterbury machine guns arrived at the Apex that
evening. The gunners, dead beat, had carried their guns,
tripods, spare parts, their own rifles and equipment, with
one hundred and twenty rounds of ammunition in their
pouches, and a box of ammunition between every two men.
They had marched and fought the clock round. Now they
had to stand by and hold the line. There was no time
for sleep. It was dig, dig, dig, and bury the dead.

The survivors of the Aucklands stayed out in their bomb-
swept trench. The Otagos were withdrawn to the
Rhododendron for reorganization.

So the night passed with the Auckland Battalion in
front of the Apex ; the Ghurkas and the Sikhs on the
ridge overlooking The Farm ; the 4th Australian Brigade on
the Asma Dere. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles dug in
and improved their line from Destroyer Hill to Table Top
and Bauchop's Hill. General Travers's force was secure on
Damakjelik Bair. But the Anzac Army was not yet in
touch with the troops at Suvla.

218 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Part III.

The Attack of August 8.

That night the whole of the attacking force was
reorganized in three columns: —

Right Column— Brigadier-General F. E. Johnston.

26th Indian Mountain Battery (less one section).

N. Z. Infantry Brigade.

Auckland Mounted Rifles.

Maori Contingent.

8th Welsh Pioneers ] from the 13th Division

7th Gloucesters. j in Reserve.

The Right Column was to assault Chunuk Bair at dawn
on the 8th. The Auckland Mounteds and the Maoris were
to be brought up from the Right Covering Column.
Centre and Left Columns — Major-General H. V. Cox.

21st Indian Mountain Battery (less one section).

4th Australian Infantry Brigade.

29th Indian Infantry Brigade.

9th Royal Warwicks.

9th Worcesters.

7th North Staffords.

6th South Lancashires.

The centre of this force was to attack Hill Q ; the left
was to attack the Abdel Rahman spur — the two attacks
converging on Koja Chemen Tepe, the highest point in the
range.

We must look in turn at the left, the centre, and the right.

Away on the left the Australians of the 4th Brigade
moved up the Asma Dere towards the lower slopes of
Abdel Rahman Bair. The intention was to gain a footing,
then wheel to the right, and work up this rugged northern
spur towards Koja Chemen Tepe. By this time, however,
Turkish reserves had accumulated all along the rear slopes
of the whole mountain system. With machine guns and
shrapnel the Ottoman soldiery assailed the Australians, who
were presently almost surrounded. Hopelessly outnumbered,
wearied with incessant fighting, the gallant 4th Brigade fell
back to its former line.

The Capture of Chunuk Bair. 219

111 the centre the men of the 39th New Army Brigade
and the Indians fared little better. Pushing on past both
sides of The Farm the troops assailed the lower spurs
leading up to Hill Q and the left of Chunuk. But the
Turkish machine gunners and riflemen were fresh from
reserve. They held the high ground with all its
advantages, they were fighting in a country with which they
were familiar, and compelled our line to come to a definite
standstill on the slopes overlooking The Farm.

The Capture of Cliimuk Bair.

On the right things were going better. At dawn the
men of the Wellington Infantry Regiment were ready again
to attack the fatal crestline. The tired troops of
yesterday were once again to essay the seemingly impossible.

At 4.15 in the grey of the morning, the Wellington
Infantry and the 7th Gloucesters, led by Lieut.-Colonel
Malone, commenced the desperate struggle for Chunuk Bair.
So far as the New Zealanders are concerned, August 8,
1915, was the blackest day on the Peninsula. But the
prize was the strategical key to the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Win the Ridge and we should win the Narrows. Open the
Narrows to the Navy, and Constantinople was ours ! Surely
a prize worth fighting for. So from the scanty trenches
on Rhododendron Spur leapt the Wellingtons and the 7th
Gloucesters.

By their dash and audacity the crestline was soon gained.
We now had a footing on the ridge, and to cling to that
foothold and extend from it was now the pressing need.
The Wellingtons and Gloucesters started to dig in, but the
enemy evidently made up his mind to cut the New Zealanders
off. A body of snipers picked off all the machine gun
crews. When Malone 's battalion was seen marching along
the skyline four machine guns were pushed up to him.
These guns never came back. When half way up the ridge
a veritable hail of lead burst round them, and they were
so badly damaged that only one gun could be reconstructed
from the remnants of the four ; but it got into position and
did good service until the whole of the gun crew were
killed or wounded.

ONTARIO

220 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Two machine guns that were to support the right flank
of the attackers from the Apex were pushed forward on the
slope to avoid being silhouetted against the crest line. The
Turkish snipers now concentrated on these guns. Soon all the
personnel were killed or wounded. A Maori machine gun
close by lost their officer killed and had nine other casualties,
but a few men fought their gun all day without a murmur.
This was the only machine gun- left in action on this flank.

The devoted party on the crest was assailed with every
variety of shell, hand grenades and maxims. Time after
time, Turks advanced to the attack but were driven off at
the point of the bayonet. The Gloucesters who had lost all
their officers now came down the ridge to the help of the
New Zealanders. They seemed dazed, but instinct and the
example of the New Zealanders convinced them that the
bayonet was the weapon for the Turk. Time and time again
they charged and cleared their front.

The Glory of New Zealand.

This forward Turkish trench became a veritable death
trap. Not far behind it was another line that resolved itself
into our real line of resistance. But some ardent spirits of
the Aucklands, Otagos and Wellingtons decided to stick to
their forward line. No one — except the dozen badly-
wounded survivors — can conceive the horrors of that awful
front line trench. It was practically dark when they
arrived in the early hours of the morning. When daylight
came it proved to be a fatal position. About ten or fifteen
yards to their front the ground sloped rapidly away into a
valley until again it revealed itself about six hundred
yards away. When it was light this far away hill was
seen to be occupied by about a battalion of Turks — a
battalion advancing to attack this forward trench of Chunuk!
A few long range shots were all that could be fired. Then
came the long wait while the attackers crossed the gully.
To the waiting New Zealanders — the New Zealand infantry-
men who had penetrated farthest into Turkey — the minutes
seemed hours. But a shower of hand grenades announced
the beginning of the end. From the dead ground in the

The Glory of New Zealand. 221

front came bombs and more bombs. Awa}- from the left
came the Turkish shrapnel. To fire at all, our men had to
stand up in the trench and expose themselves almost bodily
to view. One by one they died on Chunuk, until after a
few hours desperate struggle against overwhelming forces
the only New Zealanders left alive were a dozen severely
wounded. But not for a long time did the first Turk dare
show his head. Then into the trench several crept with
their bayonets to kill the wounded. Fortunately a Turkish
sergeant arrived and saved the lives of the wounded
who were carried off to the German dressing stations
behind Hill Q. In all the history of the Gallipoli Campaign
there is no finer story of fortitude, no finer exhibition of
heroism and self-sacrifice, than was shown in this forward
trench of Chunuk on that desperate August morning. Here
died some of the noblest characters in the New Zealand
Army. August 8 was a day of tragedy for New Zealand,
but no day in our calendar shines with greater glory.

All that day midst the shriek of the Turkish shrapnel,
the dull booming of the British naval guns, the incessant
rattle of musketry and machine gun fire, that heroic band
held on. With their faces blackened with dust and sweat,
with the smell of the picric acid assailing their nostrils,
with their tongues parched for the lack of water, up there in
the blazing heat of the August sun those gallant souls held on.

The Auckland Mounted Kifles and the Maoris arrived at
Rhododendron about 3 a.m. and were ordered to the firing
line about 11 o'clock. The Aucklanders went out to help
Colonel Malone on the ridge. On came the Turks again.
The line of infantry and mounteds drove them back at the
point of the bayonet. A portion of Chunuk Bair was
undoubtedly ours, but at what a cost ! Many of the finest
young men of the Dominion lay dead upon the crest.
Colonel Malone himself, one of the striking characters in the
New Zealand army, was killed as he was marking out the
trench line.

It was during this struggle for Chunuk Bair that Corporal
Bassett of the Divisional Signallers undertook to carry the
telephone line up on to the ridge and gained the first V.C.

The Apes and Chunuk Baie.

These photographs were taken after the Armistice in 1918, and clearly show the
distinction between Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which was 1,400 yards away.
No British Troops ever got on to Koja Chemen Tepe (or Hill 971). When
New Zealanders say they were on "the top of 971," they mean "the ridge of
Chunuk Bair." Hill Q is about 600 yards from the highest point of Chunuk
Bair. Koja Chemen Tepe is 800 yards further ou than the crest of Q.

Looking towards Koja Chemen Tepe (Hill 971) from Chunuk Baie.
Hill Q is the high ground to the right.

The Glory op New Zealand. 223

for New Zealand. In full daylight, with the approach
swept by rifle and machine gun fire, with the Turkish field
artillery from Abdel Rahman mercilessly searching the slopes,
Bassett dashed and then crept, then dashed and crept again,
up to the forward line on Chunuk. These lines were cut
again and again, but Bassett and his fellow linesmen of the
Signals went out day and night to mend the broken wires.
No V.C. on the Peninsula was more consistently earned.
This was not for one brilliant act of bravery, but for a
full week of ceaseless devotion.

The Maoris were sent over more to the left and most
gallantly hung on to an almost untenable position in the
neighbourhood of The Farm. They suifered grievous losses
uncomplainingly. At dusk the Otago Infantry went out
to reinforce what was left of the Wellington and Auckland
Infantry, the 7th Gloucesters, and the Auckland Mounteds.
Already the Otagos had suffered terribly, but throughout
that awful night of August 8 all previous experiences were as
nothing. It was a night of agony by thirst, of nerve-
wracking bomb explosions, and of bayonet jabs in the dark.

In the darkness a little much-needed water was carried
out to the thirsty men. Hand grenades, food and rein-
forcements went out to the battered trenches; more machine
guns were sent — three from the Cheshire Regiment, three
from the Wiltshires, and one from the Wellington jNIounted
Rifles. The Cheshire guns came back as there was ample
without them. This second lot of four guns was never seen
again.

Still another effort had to be made, for the hold we had
on Chunuk had to be increased. It was the most important
capture, so far, in the whole campaign; but the Suvla army
still clung to the low ground at Suvla, leaving the
Australians with their left flank out in the air waiting for the
necessary support to carry them on to victory up the Abdel
Rahman.

There was no time to lose. The partial success on
Chunuk must be exploited. We could not afford to wait on
Suvla.

224 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The Ghuikas Attack Hill Q.

Once again on the night of August 8 the columns
were reorganized for the attack :

No. 1 Column — Brigadier-General F. E. Johnston.
26th Indian Mountain Battery (less one Section).
Auckland Mounted Kifies.
Wellington Mounted Rifles.
N.Z. Infantry Brigade.
7th Gloucesters.
8th AVelsh Pioneers.
The Wellington Mounted Rifles came up from Table Top
during the night, but the other troops were already on
Chunuk Bair. Their duty on the morrow was to consolidate
their position, and if possible extend it.

No. 2 Column — Major-General H. V. Cox.

21st Indian IMountain Battery (less one section).
4th Australian Infantry Brigade.
29th Indian Infantry Brigade.
39th Brigade (less the 7th Gloucesters).
6th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment.
This column was to attack the heights of Hill Q.
No. 3 Column — Brigadier-General A. H. Baldwin.
6th East Lancashires. | From the

6th Loyal North Lancashires.] 38th Brigade.
10th Hampshires. ) From the

6th Royal Irish Rifles. [ 29th Brigade.

5th Wiltshires. | 40t.h Brigade.

These troops were from the Army Corps Reserve. They
were to assemble in the Chailak Dere on the night of the
8th, move up to Rhododendron Spur in the dark, and
getting in touch with the No. 1 Column on Chunuk Bair,
move up the slopes towards Hill Q.

Troops moving up defiles in the dark are always late,
for so many factors seem to work adversely. Wounded
men and transport mules will persist in coming down and
blocking the road. Wounded men are generally past caring
about the fortunes of the fight. Indian mule drivers know
they have to get back to their depot and are perhaps not
told the proper track to take. This, of course, is soon

The Ghurkas' Attack Hill Q.

225

regulated when things are normal ; but while a fight is on
there is a good deal of confusion.

No. 1 Column carried out its task and held on to
Chunuk Bair; the Ghurkas struggled up the steeps of Hill
Q, their ranks becoming visibly thinner and thinner until the
watchers from the posts below wondered if there would be
enough momentum to carry them to the top. But they
undoubtedly did get there. The Navy now commenced
firing over the crest in order to debai- the Turk from pressing
a counter-attack. Some
of the shells fell short
among the Ghurkas.
Instead of getting help
from Baldwin, who
was only at The
Farm, a few heavy
shells crashed on to the
summit. This was one
of the tragedies of
Anzac. Instead of help
came our own shells. It
is the price that must be
paid for artillery sup-
port in broken country.
These things are un-
avoidable — they are the misfortune of war.

But the enemy saw his chance. Launching a counter-
attack, the gallant handful of survivors was swept off the
crest and into the valley below. Simultaneously a flood
was loosed on the 4th Australians; wave after wave was
hurled against the New Zealanders up on the shoulder
of Chunuk Bair; flushed with success and confident in the
overwhelming superiority of numbers, wave after Avave of
skirmishers was thrown around Baldwin's forces at The
Farm until the column was Avell-nigh annihilated. General
Baldwin himself was killed with many of his commanding
oflicers. The survivors retired to their original position
on the ridge overlooking The Farm.

A Sikh and a Ghurka.

226 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The only force to hold its ground was General Johnston's
on Chunuk Bair, where a poor trenchlme of 200 yards was
occupied. Our fellows were too exhausted to dig in the
hard ground and rock of the crest-line. It was impossible
to put out wire.

This brings us to the end of Sunday, August 9. The
battle at Lone Pine was still raging. Down at Suvla, high
officers were trying to infuse a little energy into an army
that had become moribund.

Worn out with three days and three nights of fighting
under a merciless sun, with a short ration of water, suffering
tremendous losses, the New Zealanders and other troops on
Chunuk Bair were withdrawn for a little rest on the evening
of August 9. Their place was taken by the 6th Loyal
North Lancashires and the 5th Wiltshires. It was estimated
that more than two battalions could not be usefully employed
on the ridge.

We Lose the Crest of Clmiiuk.

At dawn on the 10th, these two battalions had dis-
appeared ! Some of the North Lancashires who escaped
explained that the Wiltshires arrived tired and did not dig in ;
they were attacked by the Turks with knives and bombs; the
Wiltshires ran in towards the Lancashires and the machine
guns, and so masked their fire. So were these two
battalions wiped out !

About 6 a.m. the Turks delivered their famous counter-
attack down the slopes of Chunuk Bair, and endeavoured to
get at the New Army regiments on the left of the Apex.
But the four machine guns of the Canterbury Battalion were
on the left front of the Apex, and the two remaining guns of
the Auckland Battalion were on the Apex itself; two guns
of the Wellington Battalion were back on the Rhododendron
with the Maori gun and the flank gun of the Otago Infantry
— these four could fire over the heads of the guns on the
Apex, and commanded the whole of the approaches from
Chunuk Bair. The small details of training, generally
found so irksome, now proved of value. The gunners had
already attended to their guns at the first streak of day.

We Lose the Crest op Chunuk.

227

A Canterbury gunner, finding- his gun difficult to adjust
reported to the N.Z. Brigade ]\Iachine Gun Officer, who was
sighting the gun on to the ridge when the first line of the
Turkish attack came over at that very point. This gun
had the range at once, and followed by keeping the sights
a little in advance of the enemy. The other guns quickly
took up the rat-a-tat; the range was sent to the other five
guns. The N.Z. Mounted Brigade machine guns on Table
Top and Bauchop's Hill also found a good target at extreme
range. The New Zealand field guns, especially the howitzers,
also opened up at once.

[Photo by Col. Falla, C.M.G., D.S.O.

A New Zealand 4.5 Howitzer.

The Turkish line consisted of from 250 to 300 men at about
one pace interval. By the time they reached a point
immediately in front of the guns, the whole of the N.Z.
machine guns were concentrated at that point in accordance
Avith the orders hurriedly issued. Thus was created a
death zone through which the enemy could not pass. They
fell over literally like oats before a reaper. Twenty two
lines came down each as true and steady as the first.
They moved at a jog trot with their rifles at the port.
The machine gunners with the assistance of the Navy and
the Field Artillery mowed down line after line until the
Turkish effort was spent. A number of Turks crawled
back during the forenoon. They were not molested by the

228 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

machine gunners, who admired their bravery so much as to
leave them alone.

The New Zealand Infantry Brigade was relieved at
2 p.m. that day, but the machine guns were left in to
stiffen up the New Army regiments.

At about 2.30 a.m. there was an attack and much confusion.
The Turks showed on the top of the Apex, but the two tlank
guns of the Canterbury Battalion quickly dispersed them.
Order was only restored at daylight. The presence of the
N.Z. machine guns had saved the situation. The N.Z. Infantry
Brigade again came in with the Aucklanders on the Apex.
The next morning the Turks occupied the point of the Apex,
and it was decided to take a Vickers Maxim out to the front
and open up on them from an unexpected quarter.
The gun was just in position when a peculiar incident
occurred. An Otago man of the 5th Reinforcements was
working in front of where the gun took up position.
He was told to stop work when the gun was ready and to
crouch down so that the gun could fire over him. Against
all the rules of war he immediately lighted his pipe. The
Turks, only 80 yards away, opened fire with about twenty
rifles on to the light. Their rifle flashes disclosed their
position and the machine gun drove them out.

The New Zealand Infantry were relieved again in a
short time and the machine gunners moved back to
Rhododendron. On the first morning after their move back,
a blockhouse was found to have been built in No Man's
Land duriiig the night. It now became plain what the
Turks had been trying to do, but this had been prevented
as long as the N.Z. Infantry were in possession. This
blockhouse was a great nuisance to our men at the Apex,
until it was summarily dealt with by the Canterburys later
in the month.

The Suvla Landing. ' 229

Paet IV.
The Battle of Sari Bair.

The Suvla Landiiiji".

We know that the thrust towards Koja Chemen Tepe from
Suvla Bay failed. Let us examine the causes of the failure.
For of what use is history if we do not seek to understand
its lessons?

The story of the failure at Suvla Bay is not only the
story of the misfortune of war. It ranks with the tragedy
of Kut-el-Amara as an illustration of what must happen to a
nation which accepts world-Avide responsibilities and does not
keep itself in a state of preparedness for possibilities.

The people of the British Empire did not realize that an
efficient army was the complement to a powerful navy. For
battleships cannot cross deserts or climb mountains. Indeed,
battleships, as every soldier who was on Gallipoli Peninsula
knows, are of incalculable value for moral effect, but for sup-
porting- troops ashore in mountainous country they are almost
useless. Their guns cannot get at the enemy behind the
crest. Only on rare occasions can ships' guns search reverse
slopes. Ships are built to fight ships — not to act as army
corps artillery.

No regular soldiers were available for these subsidiary
operations in the East, but the next best — an army corps of
the New Army — was available for this advance over broken,
unreconnoitred country.

The 9th Army Corps, under Lieut.-General Sir F. Stop-
ford, was organized as follows : —

The 10th (Irish) Division (Lieut.-General Sir B. Mahon)
was composed of the 29th Brigade (detached for service at
Anzac), the 30th Brigade, and the 31st Brigade.

The 11th (Northern) Division (Major-General F. Ham-
mersley), consisted of the 32nd, the 33rd, and the 34th
Brigades.

230 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The 13th (Western) Division (Major-General F. C. Shaw),
was also taken from the Suvla Army to act at Anzac. The
three brigades were the 38th, 39th, and the 40th.

In that four of his brigades were landed at Anzac, General
Stopford did not have anything like an army corps. His
divisional artillery was lamentably weak, and his corps ar-
tillery almost non-existent. True, he had the support of
some warships, but as we know, this support is not so much
material as moral.

It was estimated that a force of 20,000 rifles would over-
power a thin screen of Turks, which was reckoned at
about 4000.

The 53rd and 54th Territorial Division (of infantry only)
were to arrive later and be used as a general reserve.

The Hill Features of the 8uvla Plain.

The country was not so hilly as at Anzac. From Lala
Baba, looking due east, one saw the high ground running
from the Gulf of Saros round towards the two Anafartas
and so to the underfeatures of Sari Bair near Abdel Rahman
Bair.

The plan of campaign was to land during the night of
August 6/7 at three beaches to the north and south of Nibru-
nesi Point, push back the screen of enemy scouts holding the
sparsely-wooded plain and rolling country, and occupy the
hills about Anafarta, and so take a measure of the strain off
the direct push for Koja Chemen Tepe. Having got astride
the high ground near Anafarta the Turkish communications
from Bulair to their Ari Burnu front would be imperilled.

A reference to the map will show that the conception was
a reasonable one if the country was not strongly held.
Resolute troops, vigorously led, might have reasonably
achieved a success. But Chance did not smile upon our
efforts, and instead of closely examining the structure of this
high ground inland, Ave must look at the tactical features
much nearer the coast line.

On the extreme left flank, and overlooking the Gulf of
Saros, was the long ridge known as Kiretch Tepe Sirt. The
southern foothills of this range merged into an expanse of

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Sketch Map of the Suvla Area showing the landing beaches.

The landing place most used in the later stages was uear Cape Suvla, just inside

Suvla -Bay.

232 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

cultivated land, bounded on the east by the Anafarta Hills,
and on the west by the Salt Lake. During the winter months
the Salt Lake takes all the flood waters from the surrounding
hills, and the rough weather brings in the salt Avater. But in
August the water had disappeared and there was a circular
expanse of grey, sticky sand, measuring a mile across.

About a mile in a south-easterly direction from Lala Baba
was the tactical feature christened "Chocolate Hill." The
gorse and grass on this hill caught fire during the fighting,
and one part of it became a more pronounced reddish-brown
than ever. The southern portion was not burnt, and is dis-
tinguished on the map as Green Hill. Standing on Choco-
late Hill and looking towards the east, one saw, half left,
the high ground called Scimitar Hill, and half right, the ill-
starred Ismail Oglu Tepe, known to our inen as ''W" Hills.
The "W" Hills looked down on to the valley of the Asmak
Dere, which ran into the sea about two miles south of Lala
Baba, and running generally in a westerly direction towards
Biyuk Anafarta, threw out two forks, one to the foot of
Abdel Rahman Bair, the other towards Kaiajik Aghala
(Hill 60). The latter fork was the Asma Dere, which,
running up past Hill 60, drained the watershed of Abdel
Rahman Bair. Just to the south of the Azmak Dere, and
between Kaiajik Aghala and the sea, was the high ground of
Damakjelik Bair.

So it was intended that the Suvla Army, pushing on
across the flat plains of Suvla in the early morning, should
get in touch with their New Army comrades on Damakjelik
and prolong the right of the new Anzac line held by
General Travers's and the 4th Australian Brigades.

The Laiicliiig Beaches.

The day before the battle the component parts of the
Army Corps were widely scattered. Part was at Mitylene,
120 miles away; part was at Mudros, 50 miles away; the
remainder at Kephalos, on Imbros, about 16 miles away.
As soon as it was fully dark, these three bodies of troops
were speeding on their way to Suvla. Three beaches were

Trouble at the Beaches. 233

to be used. Beach A was in the centre of Suvla Bay. Beaches
B and C were to the south of Nibrunesi — B for infantry
and C for the disembarkation of artillery.

At 8 o'clock on the night of the 6th, the force sailed from
Kephalos with its collection of water boats, barges arid
lighters. At 9.30 p.m., the flotilla silently crept towards
Nibrunesi, and the disembarkation commenced. The 32nd
and 33rd Brigades got ashore expeditiously at Beach B and
rushed Lala Baba.

Then occurred the first disaster. Beach A was not re-
connoitred, and the barges containing the 34th Brigade ran
aground. Men jumped into the water and waded ashore.
A few Turkish snipers on Hill 10 and Lala Baba crept among
the troops, who were new to war. In the dark, confusion
reigned. When daylight came the troops were ashore, but
that was about all. There was no pressing on. The men
were shaken by their experience of the night. The line ran
round from Lala Baba across the flat ground to Hill 10.

Trouble at the Beaches.

Just as it was getting light, six battalions of the 10th
Division arrived from far-distant Mitylene. These troops
were to go out to the extreme left flank. They should have
landed at Beach A, but owing to the shallows and the diffi-
culties already experienced there, the Navy took them to
Beach B, south of Nibrunesi ! This again upset the pre-
arranged plan. These battalions fell in and marched along
the mile and a half of open beach towards the left flank,
passing behind and through the men who had earlier expe-
rienced the mess caused by inefficient reconnaissance.

By the time the remaining battalions of the 10th Division
arrived, the Navy had found a small landing place in one
of the little bays on the southern side of Suvla Point, just
inside Suvla Bay. These men of the Irish Division scrambled
ashore and pushed on to the high ground of Karakol Dagh.

When noon came the sun beat doAvn on those poor citizen
soldiers, worn out and tired by their long sea journeys,
harassed by daring snipers in the dark, not very resolutely
led, not at home in this hot and dusty country, tortured by

234 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

thirst, the improvized and intricate machine went to pieces
at the first rough jolt. Most of that day the Suvla Army sat
down and waited for something to turn up. But during the
afternoon some bold spirits led two battalions of the 11th
Division across the flat ground and secured a foothold on the
Chocolate Hills. So, from a point above Karakol Dagh, the
line ran through Hill 10 and past the Salt Lake to the
Chocolate Hills, about two miles from the outpost of their
New Army comrades on Damakjelik Bair.

That night the Anzac troops, as we know, were holding
the line Damakjelik-Asma Dere-Ehododendron Spur.

The 3I()riiiiig' of August 8.

This morning — the morning when Malone stood trium-
phant on the crest of Chunuk Bair; when the Australians
were pluckily attempting to carry Abdel Rahman — passed
strangely inactive at Suvla. Following on their exhaustion
and the heat of the midday sun, the men undoubtedly suf-
fered agonies from thirst. There was water in the Suvla
Plain, but no proper provision was made to take advantage
of it. Instead, much effort was directed towards getting the
supplies known to be somewhere at hand in ships and lighters.
So one thing reacted on another — the bad landing beach at A
caused exhaustion in the troops disembarked there, and was
the cause of greater confusion when the troops for the left
flank were landed on the right. This caused delay, which
meant that more of the precious water was consumed than
was allowed for. As a matter of fact, such was the lack of
ordinary supervision, numbers of men landed without any
water in their water-bottles at all ! Those Avho had water
consumed it during the waiting of the day. So General
Stopford brought off mules to carry water in preference to
artillery horses, and created a further excuse for delay — not
enough supporting artillery ! At the Anzac landing horses
could not be landed, but willing men manhandled the guns
up precipitous cliffs to their positions. No one seemed to
think of this at Suvla. But the Generals in command seemed
fairly satisfied with the progress of things. General Hamilton,
over at Imbros, from where he could best keep touch of his

The Next Day — August 9.

235

widely-scattered army, got so uneasy that he could not resist
hurrying to Suvla to see why the advance had been hung up.
Nothing was done, but one battalion, the 6th East York
Pioneers, occupied Scimitar Hill and dug in for the night.
It was decided to make an advance early in the morning.
Then an extraordinary incident occurred. The higher com-
mand evidently did not know where the battalions were.
The 6th East Yorks were considered to be the freshest, and
w^ere ordered to the attack on another hill in the morn-
ing. This battalion had taken Scimitar Hill, but those in
command did not seem to know it. Accordingly, the 6th East
Yorks abandoned their position on this valuable hill without
an effort and marched back to Sulajik !

\L.nt h,j Ker. ]rai

The Roll Call of thk Maoris after the August Fighting.

The Next Day— August 9.

Early in the morning the 32nd Brigade attacked the hills
towards Anafarta, but were repulsed and continued to occupy
a line running north and south through Sulajik.

This day the New Zealanders clung to the ridge of Chunuk
Bair, the Ghurkas and 6th South Lancashires struggled on
to Hill Q, but the Suvla Army, worn out with fatigue and
thirst, lay along the low ground stretching from the Chocolate
Hills towards Kiretch Tepe Sirt.

236 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Ill this day's attack on Scimitar Hill, serious scrub tires
broke out and held the attention of the troops for the rest
of the day. At noon the units fell back to a line between
Sulajik and Green Hill.

A New Move that Failed.

General Hamilton concluded that on this right flank
success would be delayed, and decided to land part of his
reserve — the infantry brigades of the 54th Division — up at
the new landing place near Cape Suvla, so that they might
advance, with the lOtli Irish Division, along Kiretch Tepe
Sirt, then thrust towards Kavak Tepe and capture the line
Ejeliner Bay to Anafarta, thus turning the Turkish flank.

The infantry of the 53rd (Territorial) Division landed
during the night of the 8/9th, and were ■ to assist the units
on the right flank. The advance of these newly-arrived terri-
torials was a pitiable thing. Crossing the open country from
Lala Baba towards the Anafarta Hills, the enemy artillery,
now considerably increased, took heavy toll. The enemy
again fouglit his sniping screen with conspicuous ability.
The attack could not get on. Realizing that the troops were
unequal to the situation, it was decided to dig in on a line
from near the Azmak Dere, through the knoll east of the
Chocolate Hill, to the ground held by the lOtli Division on
Kiretch Tepe Sirt.

On August 11, the infantry brigades of the 54th
Division were disembarked and placed in reserve.
An attack on Kavak Tepe-Tekke Tepe was planned by Sir Ian
Hamilton, but after a series of minor disasters the projected
night march and attack was abandoned. General Stopford
was now thoroughly convinced that his troops could not be
expected to do more. Even if they gained the high ground,
he considered that the supply of water and food would be
too difficult and well-nigh impossible to arrange. There
seemed nothing to do but to dig in everywhere and strengthen
the line.

So ended the great battle for the heights of Sari Bair.
The Turk still held the higher ground at Helles, Anzac,
and Suvla.

The Trenches on the Crest op Chunuk. 237

Part Y.
Alter the Battle.

The Trenches on the Crest of Clinnuk.

There has been placed on record a statement that the
trenches on the crest of Chunuk were badly sited. No
soldier of experience would have made such a criticism if
he understood the facts. Bare justice is due to Colonel
Malone and those New Zealanders who took Chunuk and
held it. It has been said that the trench line was the
wrong- side of the crest, and that there was not a good
field of fire.

AVhat would anyone else have done?

We all know that a trench should have the best field
of fire. But one can easily get in a training manual what
one seeks for in vain during a pitched battle! In the
carefully prepared treatise, principles are laid down and
their application is expounded. But the enemy is not
firing bullets and hand grenades in the book. The ground
in the book, too, is easy to dig.

Look for a moment at this sketch of a typical crest.

0U/?ADI//JNC£

It is obvious that the trenchline we have gained is the
best possible one under the circumstances. No one contends
that it is the best one theoretically, but at least one has a
certain amount of protection. Anyone who goes forward on
to the crest itself is killed by bomb or rifle fire; anyone who
goes over the enemy's side of the crest to dig posts that have

238 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

a good field of fire is also sure to be killed. This, however,
does not deter determined soldiers from trying. The men
who did try on Chunuk were buried long after by the
Turks, and cannot reply to criticism — criticism which is
cheap, and, in this case, futile.

The only thing to do is to dig deep zig-zag saps through
the crest line, put T heads on each sap, and so get posts
with a field of fire — posts that can be connected by sapping.
A determined enemy — and the Turk was very determined —
will not let attacking troops do exactly what they wish,
otherwise war might be made safe, and the front line become
more popular than it is !

The fact remains that the treuches on Chunuk Bair were
the only possible ones for such a situation. Those of us
who have found it necessary to entrench on a crest line in
close proximity to a determined foe, know that what was
done on Chunuk could not have been done any better by
anybody else ; and there, for the present, the matter must
stand.

The Water Problem.

The question of water was perhaps our most terrible
problem during the week-long battle. It had always been
one of the problems of Anzac, but that awful week in
August was the culmination.

In anticipation of the offensive, great efforts were made
to overcome the shortage. It was known that good wells
existed on the other side of the watershed where the
Turkish armies bivouacked, and in the neighbourhood of
Kabak Kuyu on the Suvla Plain. Until we could get these
wells, we had to make extraordinary provision. From Egypt,
India and England, every class of water receptacle was pro-
cured. Milk cans came from England ; f antassahs from the
caravans of Egypt; pakhals from India; sealed petrol tins
by the thousand, filled with water from the Nile, arrived and
were stacked ready for the advance. Water from a petrol
tin looks rusty and tastes abominably, but it is water,
and men count themselves fortunate to get it.

The value of water in the campaign can be realized from
one illustration. Success seemed within our grasp when we

The Water Problem. 239

got a foothold on the crest of Chuniik. Tacticians of the
Army consider that from there success should have been
exploited — that all available reserves should have been
thrown in there and so distributed along Hill Q to Koja
Chemen Tepe. General Sir Ian Hamilton has put it on record
that he was tempted to throw his reserves into the balance
at Chunuk Bair, but each time the problem of the water
supply dissuaded him from putting any more thirsty men at
Anzac. That they were ultimately more thirsty at Suvla is

\Lent by Capt. Boxer, N.Z.M C.
A Dressing Station in the Chailak Deee.

part of the tragedy, which is easy to point out now, but
difficult then to foresee.

All through the fight on Chunuk Bair men's throats were
parched for the want of water. Intense thirst is one of the
cruellest torments man can suffer. Hot weather, hill climb-
ing, and the excitement of fighting combine to accentuate
the desire to drink. On occasions like this, the contents of
two water bottles do not last long. When the New Zealand
infantry went out on to Chunuk Bair, they had marched all
the night before and lain out on the hillside during the torrid
day. Their water was soon consumed. AVater bottles were
carefully collected from the dead, more carefully even tha«
ammunition. The short supply gallantly carried up by the

240 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Indian transport service did not go far, but it saved tho
situation.

Perhaps the success of the Australian and New Zealand
divisions in this war was due to having in their ranks skilled
and resourceful men who had spent most of their lives solving
problems for themselves. In any case the New Zealand
Engineers took advantage of the well near No. 2 and
developed it to the full. Not that there were no difficulties.
On one occasion the bearings got heated, metal ran out of the
couplings, and the engine broke down. Spare parts could be
made on the warships, but that meant delay. We were getting
1,000 gallons per hour, and pumping 20 hours a day. This
meant keeping 2 divisions supplied ; so one old sapper filed up
a new bearing out of the gun-metal coupling off a service
pump ! Again, owing to the lubricating oil being so poor,
the cylinder rings used to burn on to the piston, and had to
be forced off. First one was broken, and then another. New
rings were made by cutting up a Turkish 4.5 shell with a
hack-saw ! The job was a lengthy one, but as the shell was
the right thickness, they proved to be Al. After that a few
were always kept on hand. Not without ingenuity and
knowledge born of experience did the troops at Anzac
get the water denied their unfortunate comrades at Suvla.

The Fifth Reiiiforcenieiits.

If ever mortals were projected into a hell of torture and
isuffering it was the men of the 5th Reinforcements. Coming
straight from the transports, they arrived at No. 2 Post
on August 8, and were summarily introduced to modern war.
Hundreds of wounded had been carried down from the
bloody slopes of Chunuk and were laid in rows in the neigh-
bourhood of No. 2 Post, in readiness to be carried along
the Big Sap, and so to the piers as soon as it was dark. These
men of the 5th Reinforcements had served little apprentice-
ship to active service ; but they had heard of the casualties
of the landing at Anzac and Helles, and some have written
that at first they were of the impression that these rows of
wounded men were an everyday occurrence ! In a sort of
nightmare, not knowing whither they were going, or even

The Valleys of Torment. 241

the name of the dere they traversed, these men dived into
the trenches on Chumik Bair and found themselves among
Wellington and Otago Infantry, Auckland and Wellington
Mounteds — the heroic band of brothers clinging to Chunuk
and prepared to die there. A great proportion did die there;
but they held Chunuk! Into this company of heroes stumbled
the men of the Fifths.

They were greeted with "dig for your lives for dawn is
not far away, and if you haven't got cover by then, you're
dead men ! ' ' All through the night the digging, the
bombing, and the shooting continued. Rifle barrels got so
hot they had to be discarded, and a rifle from a dead man
used. Ammunition and water were collected. Some men
used three rifles, turn and turn about.

Carrying wounded to the Picket Boats.

With dawn came the lyddite shells from the Navy. Dense
rolls of yellow smoke curled round the hills. Small coloured
flags were waved to indicate our position to the Navy.

The suffering from thirst was terrible. When relief did
come, men croAvded round the wells at No. 2 and drank
tin after tin of the precious water.

The Valleys of Torment.

During the nights of August 7, 8, 9, and 10, the wounded
men of Anzac seemed to encompass the sum total of human
suffering. Travelling light to avoid the heat of the day, a
badly wounded man Avho could not walk had to lie out all
through the long cold night. To men without blankets and
tunics, and often without a shirt because of the noonday
heat, those nights were excruciatingly cold. Those who
could walk were in fairly good stead. They could reach

[Photo hy Capt. Boxer, A'.Z.if.C

A Trawler alongside a Hospital Ship.

Under the big Union Jack are six bodies; and one under the small flag. The trawler
made a trip every morning out to the three mile limit, where a solemn burial
service was held — the only mourners being the padre and the seven men of the
trawler.

The Valleys of Torment. 243

the dressing stations near the beach, and get near the piers
when the Red Cross barge came alongside. So it happened
that the least wounded were always ready to be evacuated;
the others had to lie in those stricken gullies until the few
overworked stretcher-bearers could carry them down. The
lack of facilities for evacuating wounded was as pronounced
as at the landing. Of course, in war it must always happen
that during big battles things will go wrong. That seems
unavoidable, and conditions generally adjust themselves
after a few days. But to get a parallel to the sufferings at
Anzac one must go back to the days of the Crimea.

The Sazli Beit Dere and the Chailak Dere were crowded
with walking cases ; those who could not walk, waited in vain
for stretcher-bearers, then born of desperation, crawled, crept.

,,ir- „-

In Egypt: The Red Cross Cars and the Red Crescent Train.

The Christian Cross and the Mahommedan Crescents — for perhaps the first time in

historj- — working together in the interests of humanity.

and rolled down the slopes into the gullies. Here there
was a certain amount of protection against Turkish fire.
Ghurkas, New Armj' men, and New Zealanders painfully
crept towards the low ground. Perhaps the gully would lead
too far away from the direction of No. 2 Post ; men at the last
stages of exhaustion would give up here and wait for the
stretcher-bearers who could not come, for they were over-
whelmed with cases nearer home. Medical officers, padres,
dentists and stretcher-bearers toiled against one of the most
heartbreaking experiences of the war. Up in these gullies
of torment men died by the hundred — died of thirst, of
awful bomb wounds and of exposure.

Down near No. 2 Post was an awful sight — a thousand
wounded men lying in rows and in heaps. Crash would

244 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

come a Turkish shell and the already wounded would be
wounded once again. Mule trains moving up and down to
the Big Sap raised great clouds of fine dust that settled on
everything, increasing the discomfort already caused by
wounds, fever, flies and the alternating heat and cold.

Barges full of mules would pull in to be disembarked.
The stretcher bearers would help with the unloading, and
without any cleaning, for there was no time to worry about
the niceties, the serious cases would be placed on the
bottom of the barge and towed out to the hospital ship or
carrier.

When a string of Red Cross barges would come in, the
walking cases Avould naturally crowd up to the pier in
anticipation of getting off; there was a tendency to leave the
helpless man on the beach, but the medical officers and
orderlies watched as well as they were able, and sent the
serious cases to the hospital ships as soon as possible, the
less serious ones going to Lemnos by the hospital carrier.

It is difficult to conceive what clean sheets, soft
food, the sight of the army nurses, and the sound of their
English voices, meant to the tired men of Anzac.
Worn to shadows by hardships and suffering, these men
could not understand the present situation. For if their
experiences had been awful, they expected little else. As
pioneers in a desperate enterprise they knew the path would
not be strewn with ease and comfort, but rather with danger
and pain — and their expectations were realized at Anzac ;
but here on the hospital ships where there were warm baths,
clean underclothing, and the tender ministrations of the
army nurses, the suffering New Zealander Avas literally over-
whelmed with his good fortune.

245

CHAPTER XV.

The Battle ol Kaiajik Agliala.

When Sir Ian Hamilton realized that he could not win
through to the Narrows with the force at his disposal, he
cabled to England for reinforcements. The answer came
that no reinforcements could be sent. Men and all the
munitions of war were wanted for the Western Front. The
dominant school of thought was now in favour of a Avinter
base at Salonika. There was a keen disappointment over
the Suvla failure. The people had been told that we Avere

f/vf)!? hi/ Captain Jansini, W.MR.
At the foot of the Chailak Dere.
Officers and men of the Wellington Mounted Rifles going out to Hill 60.

only two miles from the greatest victory of the war. And
that was true ! But what miles ? And we were now not
much nearer victory than we had been before the push, for
our every post was dominated by a higher Turkish one.

Sir Ian Hamilton decided to make another effort with a
regrouping of the troops at his disposal.

246 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The only new troops he could call on were the 2nd
Mounted Division, a body of British Yeomanry who had
been doing garrison duty in Egypt. They were composed
of young men who had served in the volunteer mounted
service before the war and correspond to our New Zealand
regiments of Mounted Eifles. They totalled about 5000 men,
and were organized in four brigades (the 1st South Midland,
the 2nd South Midland, the North Midland, and the London.)

The 29th Division, who since their desperate landing, had
borne the brunt of the fighting at Cape Helles, were
moved from there to stiffen the New Army division, which
were dug in along the Suvla Flats.

By the night of August 20/21, all was ready for the
projected attack. This was to consist of two preliminary
movements.

(1) The 29th Division was to move from Chocolate
Hills against Scimitar Hill. Everywhere along the line
the other units were to take the offensive to hold the
enemy's reserves in check. The 13th Division was to
attack at 3.15 p.m. The 34th Brigade was to attack ou
the plain near Hetman Chair. Next to it the 32nd
Brigade was to get possession of a trench running from
Hetman Chair towards "W" Hills.

(2) The Anzac troops from Damakjelik Bair were to
attack Kaiajik Aghala (Hill 60) and swing their left
round to junction Avith the Suvla forces.

A reference to the map will show that when these two
points — Scimitar Hill and Kaiajik Aghala — were taken the
way would be clear for a converging combined assault on
Ismail Oglu Tepe, the well known "W" Hills of Anzac.
From it in a south-easterly direction ran the long spur on
which — some 2700 yards away — was situated the village of
Biynk Anafarta. A similar distance away, but to the north-
east, lay Kuchuk Anafarta. The occupation of Ismail Oglu
Tepe would not only give us possession of the valleys running
up to both these villages, but would also give us uninterrupted
intercourse between Anzac and Suvla, now continually under
the fire of the guns on ''W Hills. The wells in the
neighbourhood were also valuable to whichever side held
them.

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248

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The Attack on Hoiniitar Hill.

On the night of August 20/21, the 29th Division assembled
at Chocolate Hills and prepared for the advance on the
morrow. All that day they kept under observation their
objective for the morrow— the ill-starred Scimitar.

The preliminary bombardment was very heavy for
Gallipoli, but a mist on the Suvla plain favoured the enemy,
interfering with the aim of our gunners. At 3.15 in the
afternoon the 34th Brigade reached their objective — the
trenches on the plain near Hetman Chair ; but the 32nd
Brigade lost direction, and instead of taking the communi-
cation trench leading to the "W" Hills, went far north of it
and suffered heavy casualties. The 33rd Brigade went out
to retrieve the situation, but made the same mistake and
failed entirely in its object.

Just after 3.30, the 87th Brigade of the 29th Division,
taking advantage of every bush and every fold in the
ground, moved steadily from
Chocolate Hill towards the
Scimitar. The 1st Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers stormed
the crest and chased the
Turks back towards the high
ground leading to Kuchuk
Anafarta. But just higher
than the first crest of the
Scimitar were other rows of
Turkish trenches. From the
machine guiis there, from the
field guns of "W" Hills, and
from Tekke Tepe, came a
storm of lead. The Scimitar
was swept with a devastating
converging fire.

The 86th Brigade was to attack the right of the Scimitar,
and merge with the 87th Brigade for the attack on the crest ;
but the badly-directed 32nd and 33rd Brigades of the 13th
Division were now scattered over the ground between Green

Ofpiceks of the '29th Division in the
trenches at suvla.

The Attack on Scimitar Hill. 249

Plill and the Scimitar. These troops got mixed with the
regulars and threw them into confusion ; but born of long
training, led by experienced officers, companies emerged
from the chaos, and pressed on to the Scimitar. Then a
great fire broke out in the undergrowth and little headway
could be made.

At five o'clock the Yeomanry were called from the
reserve at Lala Baba. With their hearts in their mouths,
the watchers from the Anzac hills saw the long lines extend
in open order and move across the wide expanse of plain.
Right across the dry Salt lake the troopers quickly marched.
The wonder is that so few casualties occurred. They had
some difficulty in pressing through the scattered men of
the 13th Division round the Chocolate Hills; but by 7 o'clock
at least one brigade was at the foot of the Scimitar.
Darkness fell as thej^ commenced to work their way to the
crest. The converging fire again swept the crest and they
too suffered the fate of the Inniskillings and had to withdraw
after suffering fearful loss.

Scimitar Hill, which was taken so easily by the 6th
East Yorks and so tragically abandoned on August 8th,
cost over 5000 casualities. There was not an atom of gain,
for everywhere the troops fell back to the original line.

The First Attack on Kaiajik Aghala.

The attack from Anzac met with better fortune. It will
be remembered that the Left Covering Force occupied
Damajelik Bair on the morning of August 7. The 4th
Australian Brigade which fell back from Abdel Rahman had
dug in along the southern bank of the headwaters of the
Kaiajik Dere.

The line to be attacked was shaped like a boomerang.
The operation was divided into two parts.

(1) The 29th Indian Brigade of Ghurkas and Sikhs was
to seize the important wells, principally Kabak Kuyu
— the Suvla end of the boomerang.

(2) The other force under Brig.-General Russell was to
storm Kaiajik Aghala, Avhich we knew as Hill 60 — this
was the elbow and the Anzac end of the boomcrHnu'

The First Attack on Kaiajik Aghala. 251

The troops for (2) were disposed from right to left as
follows : —

(a) The 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, noAV
reduced to about 1,400 men, had available for the attack
about 400 men from the 13th and 14th Battalions.

(b) The Canterbury Mounted Rifles were already on
the ground, and the Otago Mounted Rifles were brought
over to reinforce them. To each of these regiments a
platoon of Maoris was attached.

(c) Detachments of the 5th Connaught Rangers (10th
Div.), the 4th South Wales Borderers (13th Div.) and the
10th Hampshires (10th Div.) were on the extreme left,
where the South Wales Borderers had been since August
7 waiting for the joining up of the Suvla forces. The
Indians, it must be remembered, were also part of the
Anzac Army.

The ravine of the Kaiajik Aghala separated the
Australians and New Zealanders from their objective. This
ravine gradually broadened out in front of the New Army
troops, and debouched on the wide open plain around the
wells of Kabak Kuyu and Susuk Kuyu.

The line was to be attacked as follows : —

Kabak Kuyu.
29th Indian Inf. Brigade.

The Hill of Kaiajik Aghala (Hill 60)

Connaughts Canterbury M.R. Otago M.R. 13th & 14th

S.W. Borderers Maoris Maoris Batt. A.I.F.

Hampshires (about 500 men)

By some strange mischance, the artillery bombardment
which was so liberal at Suvla, overlooked Hill 60 altogether.
But at 3.30 the troops made ready for the advance.

The 13th and 14th Australian Battalions — those veterans
of Pope's and Quinn's, the men who early in August
struggled on to the Abdel Rahman — dashed down the slope.
Losing heavily, they raced into the gully and up the other
side. Beaten by Turkish machine gun fire, they held their
ground, but could not get on.

The New Zealand attack had about 800 yards to go.
Squadron and troop leaders spent the day observing the

252 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

objective and the best lines of advance. They went back
to their men, explained the position and made clear to
everyone that the attack was to be by bayonet only, then
bombs. The formation was to be in lines of successive
troops ; each ridge to be taken advantage of as a reforming
point for a fresh advance.

There Avas some wonderment at the lack of artillery fire,
but punctually at 3.30, over the top went the troopers.
Down the slope went the Canterburys and Otagos. Troop
after troop dived into the hail of death and pushed on
to the first ridge to collect their scattered fragments. Each
troop made its fifty yard rushes and fell down exhausted.
These men had lived for months on hard rations
and were weakened by dysentery and fatigue. But on
they swept again. It Avas a triumph of resolute minds
over wasted bodies. Reaching the shelter of the gully,
they reformed and commenced the steep ascent. Between
the large ridge and the Turkish trench there was about 100
yards of bullet-swept scrub. Dozens of the troopers fell
never to rise again ; the wounded crept into positions of
comparative safety. The Turkish shells set the scrub
and grass on fire, but luckily there was little wind, and the
little there was blew the flames away from our wounded.

By now the Canterburys and Otagos had reached the
first enemy trench, and a bomb fight ensued. Down the
communication trench the Turk was driven. Our men
came across an enemy machine gun, which was promptly
turned on to the fugitives. Back came the Turk with a
counter attack, but the troopers stuck like limpets to their
hardly-won position.

The position 'now was : The Indians had seized the well,
and were well round the Suvla flank of Hill 60. The
N.Z.M.R. had 150 yards of the Turkish trenches ; but on the
right, the 13th and 14th Australians could not get on. We
had a precarious hold that night, as the Connaughts sent
round between us and the Indians were mercilessly bombed
back again.

A most dramatic incident occurred when there was
a sudden cry of "cease fire," and from the Turkish

The First Attack on Kaiajik Aghala. 253

trenches on Kaiajik Aghala over 150 Turks issued
with their hands held high in the air. They had rifles with
them, but their movements and demeanour strongly suggested
that they were willing to be taken prisoners. There was no
one who could talk Turkish, so an interpreter was sent for.
But before he arrived our men were out of the trenches
trying to carry on a conversation with the Turks, who
seemed perfectly friendly, but could not understand our
words or signs that they must put down their arms and
come quietly away. Suddenly shooting rang out on the
right and left. But the O.C. Otago Mounteds went right
out into No Man's Land towards the Turkish trenches,
surrounded by a mob of Turks. He was convinced that we
were about to make one of the biggest hauls of prisoners in
the campaign. The few New Zealanders were hopelessly
outnumbered, but still they tried to indicate by signs and
pantomimic gestures that the Turks must first lay down their
arms. By this time firing was brisk in other parts of the
line. Some Turks who came to our trenches reached
down to assist our fellows out, but our men pulled them
in and made them prisoners, very much to their annoyance.
The Otago colonel got right to the enemy's trench, and a
Turkish ofKcer tried to pull him in. This did not seem
good enough, so in the grey of the morning the colonel, a
lonely figure, retraced his steps across No Man's Land. Then
firing became general, but not before we had captured a
dozen of the enemy.

To this day the senior officers who were on the spot are
not certain of the Turk's intention, but as it was discovered
that all the prisoners and the dead carried many bombs, it
is almost certain that they did not wish to surrender. The
most likely story is that a few New Army men were
captured out on the Suvla Flats, and told the enemy
intelligence officers that we were badly shaken and perhaps
would surrender. So this party came down to conduct us
into their lines. But instead of finding a place in the line
— if there was one — where men were willing to give them-
selves up, they came upon a nest of hornets that stung them
very severely.

254 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

During the rest of the night, communications were dug
from the old Australian trenches to their new front line on
the other side of the Kaiajik Dere. The New Zealanders in
the Kaiajik trenches were not in touch with the Australians
on the right.

The newly arrived battalion of Australian Infantry — the
18th — now came out from Anzac as reinforcements. This
was at 4.30 a.m. Two companies were taken round by the
Kabak well, along an old Turkish road, and sent to attack the
northern flank of the hill. At first they were very
successful, but the bombing tactics of the enemy were
too much for the newly arrived soldiers, who had to evacuate
— about 9 a.m. on the 22nd. At 11 a.m. the N.Z.M.R. again
took part of those trenches on the extreme left, and built a
sandbag barricade.

The position now was that the front line trench on Hill
60 was held for about 200 yards by the New Zealand
Mounted Rifles. This trench ran approximately round the
60 metre contour line. We built traverses to separate us
from the enemy, who held the rest of the trench.

This attack had fallen very heavily on the troops engaged.
The Canterburys, Otagos and Maoris had severe losses — the
Canterburys losing 58 per cent, of their effectives, the Otagos
65 per cent. But we had taken part of the enemy's trench,
and that was something — in fact, the only thing gained in the
whole line from the Asma Dere to the Chocolate Hills.

We set to work on our communication trenches,
and the Turks dug and dug until they made the rest of
Kaiajik Aghala into a veritable redoubt.

Second Assault on Kaiajik Agliala.

For the next few days the units in the line carried on an
incessant bomb and rifle duel, but it was decided to make
one more effort to win the coveted hill.

In the reorganization which took place for the second
attack, the disposition was as follows : —

On the right a detachment of the 4th Australian Infantry
Brigade (250 men), with 100 men of the 17th Battalion,

Second Assault on Kaiajik Aghala. 255

A.I.B\ In the centre, the four regiments of the N.Z.
Mounted Rifles Brigade (300 men), with 100 men of the
18th Battalion, A.I.F. On the left were the 5th Connaught
Rangers, totalling 250 men.

This attack on Contour 60 of Kaiajik Aghala was timed
for 5 p.m., with an artillery bombardment for an hour
prior to that. The gunners promised 500 H.E. shells over
the space of 500 yards square. In our section of the attack
5 officers and 100 men of the Canterbury Mounteds were to
form the first line, with special bombing parties of 20 men of
the Aucklands supporting the right and left flanks ; Wellington
and Otago Mounted Rifles made the second line; the 18th
Battalion, A.I.F. the third line. Bayonets and bombs only
were to be used. The Canterbury men took up their places
in the trench at 4.30 p.m. with the other regiments in the
communication trench.

After a bombardment by our artillery, at 5 p.m. our men
jumped out to advance and were immediately under
a terribly hot fire from machine guns and rifles. But
they never wavered, and with men falling everywhere they
continued in one long straight line, magnificent in their
courage, on into the first trench where they disappeared for
10 or 15 minutes, amongst a nest of live Turks. Finishing
these off, without more hesitation, they rose again and
advanced under the same withering fire, fewer in numbers,
but dauntless in determination, only to meet a new foe in
the enemy's shrapnel.

The casualties were fearful. But still they pressed on to
the second trench, then the third. Men were falling more
quickly now. Yet it was a charge to stir the heart and
quicken the blood of a stoic, and so forlorn it looked against
such dreadful odds. The little pink flanking flags were
gradually moving forward as the artillery exploded their
shells just in front of them. It was noticeable that the
4th Australian Infantry Brigade had not been able to
make an advance on the right, and the troops on our left
were making little headway. Our machine guns now
hurried forward to take up a forward position and all
hung on to the ground gained as darkness set in. Wounded,

256

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

slightly and severely, now began to pour into the dressing
stations.

It then became a bomb duel for the remainder of the night.
The trenches were choked with dead and wounded Turks and
our own people, and Avere so narrow that no stretchers could
be used to send them out.

During the early hours of the morning the 18th
Australians continued to improve and deepen their trenches.
Up and down the trenches roamed the padres of the
Mounted Rifles so that they might be near the men. Chaplain
Grant, the beloved padre of the Wellington Mounted Rifles

[Phoio by Bev. 11. L. Blamirrs, C.F.
Padre Grant out at Hill 60.
This picture was taken about an hour before his death.

laboured Avith a comrade attending to the wounded. He
heard a man crying out in the scrub, so he took the risk and
went beyond the barricade erected to divide our line from
the Turks. Bandaging friend and foe, the two chaplains
pushed on, but on rounding a traverse, they came suddenly
on a party of Turks, and Padre Grant was killed instantly.
The enemy now began to enfilade with 75m. guns from
the east. Their gunners knew the range to a yard, for these
were his own captured trenches he was shelling. There
seemed to be no escaping these terrible guns ; man after man,
group after group, was destroyed, but the survivors held
stubbornly on. Up in the salient held by our fellows, the
Turk attacked again and again, but the IMounted Rifles

Second Assault on Kaiajik Aghala.

257

stood to it. New Zealanders have a tradition that they
cannot be shifted out of reasonable trenches.

The 9th Light Horse, about 200 strong, were placed at
General Russell's disposal and were ordered to come over
from Walker's Ridge. They arrived at 10 o'clock, and
an hour later two parties of 50 each, were taken over to the
trenches to help hold our left. They encountered very strong
opposition, and had to fall back again to a barricade,
which was held by them for the rest of the night.

The position was greatly improved during the day, large
working parties being kept going deepening the trenches.
The work was much interrupted by shell fire from Abdel
Rahman Bair.

[Photo by Rev. H. L. Blamires, C.F.
After Hill 60: The Remnants of the Auckland Mounted Rifles.

At 2 p.m. the officers of the 10th Light Horse came over
from Walker's Ridge and were shown the position. A plan
was unfolded whereby these Light Horsemen might attack
an essential piece of trench away on the left. That night
the old 10th, our comrades of Walker's Ridge, came over to
Kaiajik, and at 11 o'clock, in the darkness of the night, fell
upon the Turks in the remainder of the trench. This was

258

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

the climax. Bomb as the Turk might, he could not shift the
Light Horse and Mounted Rifles. It was here that Thossell
of the Light Horse got his V.C. for holding the barricade
against persistent bombing attacks. The top of Kaiajik
Aghala was now partly in our hands. We never gained the
whole of the crest; but what we took on August 21/28 we
held till the evacuation.

Three machine guns and 46 prisoners were taken, as well
as three trench mortars, 300 Turkish rifles, 60,000 rounds of
small arm ammunition, and 500 bombs. The estimate of the
Turkish losses was given at 5,000, but this is likely an
exaggeration.

Alongside the Hospital Ship "Maheno."

Many of the wounded in these two battles for Kaiajik
Aghala were fortunate enough to be taken aboard our own
Hospital Ship — the "Maheno" — which arrived off Anzac on
August 26. With what joy did the soldiers welcome the
clean sheets, the hot baths, the thousand and one comforts
and the sight of real New Zealand girls. After the hand-to-
hand struggle at Hill 60, to lie at rest on the ''Maheno" and
watch the nurses Avas like creeping quietly into heaven.

259

CHAPTER XVI.

Preparing' lor the End.

The struggle near Kaiajik Aghala was the last pitched
battle on the Peninsula. After the desperate landings in
April ; the trench warfare of May, June and July ; the
titanic efforts of August — four strenuous and bloody months
— Ave were forced to admit that at Helles, Anzac and Suvla.
we were still holding only the lower fringes of the Turkish
position. The troops, weakened by continual hardships
and malnutrition, were an easy prey to dj'sentery and

[Lent by Lieut Carr, A.M.R.

An Officer's Dugovt.

On the left is the soldiers pack and an empty rum jar: on the right of the "door"
a petrol tin for water.

similar ailments. The dressing stations were also kept
busy by men troubled with septic sores. Scratched
by the prickly scrub, or with a meat or jam tin, the wounds
were healed with great difficulty, which was not surprising,
as the men were not strong enough to throw off or resist
even the most trifling ailment.

Resting at Sarpi.

About the middle of September, taking advantage of the
arrival of the 2nd Australian Division, it became possible to
relieve the troops of the two veteran Colonial divisions.

^^KUCHUK
'^ANAFARTA

BlVUK

Anafarta

POST

AOUA DSRE

Scale of Yards

A Sketch Map of the New Anzac Line.

Chatham's Post to No. 3 Post were the original Anzac boundaries. The dotted line
at Lone Pine, and from the Apex to Jephson's Post indicates the territory
gained in August. The Anzac are:, went as far as Hill 60.

Resting at Sarpi. 261

excepting the New Zealand and Australian divisional troops
(artillery, engineers, A.S.C. and ambulance) who went
through unrelieved right up to the evacuation.

The N.Z.M.R. Brigade at Cheshire Ridge handed over to
some recently arrived Australians, leaving only a few officers
and men as machine gun crews. The remainder of the brigade
— 20 officers and 229 other ranks — were accommodated in one
small barge ! It was only on occasions such as this that we
could comprehend our losses. The old "Osmanieh" sailed
for Lemnos, and the brigade disembarked at Mudros early
on September 14, and marched by road to Sarpi Camp, about
three miles from the pier. This road connected Mudros with
the chief toAvn of the island, Castro. Tents were scarce, and
during the night a torrential rain made everybody most
unhappy. The ground was very soft, but a hot sun made
things more bearable during the day. A few tents were
erected for the Infantry Brigade Vvdiich was expected during
the day.

The infantry battalions were in the same plight as the
mounted regiments. Although having absorbed the 3rd, 4th,
and 5th Reinforcements, these one-thousand-strong battalions
of the landing were now pathetically weak — the strongest
not totalling more than 300 men. Four months of living on
monotonous food, of constant hammering at the Turk, of
thirst and danger and fatigue, had left its mark on the hollow-
cheeked, sunken-eyed, but dauntless-spirited soldiers of Anzac.
Arriving at night, the men of the N.Z. Infantry Brigade
stumbled along the dark and dirty highway. Many of the
troops slept by the wayside rather than struggle on and
further weaken themselves. As there were few tents at the
camping place, it turned out that the ones who did struggle
on were in no sense rewarded, and to make matters worse,
a real Mediterranean downpour set in. Daily more "Indian
pattern" tents arrived, into which as many as forty men crept
at iiight. Gradually the number of tents increased, the
weather cleared, and the men made an effort to extract a
little pleasure out of life.

Here at least there was no shelling, and the food, in
quality and quantity, surpassed 'our most sanguine

262

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

expectations. For the first time on active service wc
tasted the luxury of canteens. Even recreational institutes
sprang up. Day by day the men gained strength until they
were colourable imitations of the original arrivals at Anzac.
How genuinely pleased we were to get the many gifts of
eatables from New Zealand, and from good friends in Eng-
land and Scotland — these
good people can never rea-
lize what pickles, straw-
berry jam, condensed milk,
crisp Edinburgh shortbread,
illustrated periodicals, and
letters meant to those war-
worn, homesick men.

A gift particularly
touching was a large con-
signment of sweets packed
in tins by the school children
of the Dominion. Some of
the cases had evidently been
stowed too near the ship's
boilers, as, on being opened,
there was discovered a con-
glomerate mass of molten
sugar, tin, and little notes
from the various packers. Weird mixture though it was, the
sweets were most acceptable, and appreciated not only for
their value, but for the kindly solicitude that prompted the
service.

Nurses !

The camp was thrilled when Canadian nurses were dis-
covered on the island. With their wonderful ways, their
delightful accents, and their cute little naval capes, the memory
of those nurses working away in that hell-hole of Mudros
should never be forgotten. On the road from Anzac, Suvla and
Helles; on this dusty, rocky island; surrounded by that atmos-
phere of desolation and suffering caused by an aggregation of
wounded and broken men — these girls, with no halfpenny
illustrated paper to print their pictures and sing their praises,

a French Senegalese.
Dressed in white with a red sash, these
troops were very vain and like all negroes
could not keep their hands off the hen-
roost.

Hot Baths at Thermos. 263

slaved away in the Mudros hospitals and saved the lives of many
Ne"\A' Zealanders who must have perished had it not been for
the devotion of the nurses. The soldiers of New Zealand
can never adequately express their thanks for the magnificent
work of those Canadian and Australian women at Lemnos,
and the British, Australian and New Zealand nurses who
toiled so heroically on those awful journeys in the hospital
ships from Anzac to Mudros, Alexandria and Malta.

War has some compensations, after all. One begins to
realize that we are so dependent on our fellows for most of
the happiness and joys of life. Between the sallormen and
the Colonials, too, there was a strong bond of friendship.
This became very manifest after the landings, and further
intimate acquaintance strengthened those early ties. The
latest expression of these feelings came from the cruisers and
destroyers in the bay. The crews had a "tarpaulin muster,"
the result of which was a present for every man in the
division of half a pound of tobacco, at a time when it was
specially acceptable.

Hot Baths at Thermos.

Most welcome news was that, at Thermos, about three
miles away, hot baths could be had. From the day when
the baths were built, they could not have been more crowded.
Since leaving Egypt, five months before, hot baths were
unknown, unless one was lucky and sufficiently hurt to be
put aboard a hospital ship. So out to Thermos hurried the
men, to whom a hot bath was a boon beyond price. The
little stone building was below ground level, the inside lined
with marble, and with marble basins full and overflowing in
each corner so that the marble floor was also awash. The
procedure was to strip off and with a little dipper pour the
water over oneself. Thermos became the most popular resort
on the island.

In the little villages, too, very good meals could be
obtained — especially those delicious Continental omelettes
made only in countries where eggs, tomatoes and fine herbs
are estimated at their full value. The mild Greek beer was
also most palatable. Mixed with the wine of the country,

264

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

it made even the listless Anzaes quite hilarious. The quaint
old windmills on the hill, and the church in the village
square, where the gossips gathered together, were reminis-
cent of the Old World life made familiar to us in our youth
by means of books and pictures. Indeed, some of these old
villages seemed just like an ancient painting come to life.

Flocks of sheep with little
kM^ bells on their uecks made

!^| ^ sweet tinkling music as they

Avandered to and from their
pasture lands ; by the road-
side the comely (if rather
fat) Greek women worked
in the fields, and winnowed
in olden style their crops of
grain and seeds ; on the hill-
side the ancient windmills
ground corn Avhich made a
most palatable brown bread;
under the spreading tree in
the village square, pictur-
esque old patriarchs, appar-
ently telling the tales of
ancient Greece, were really
discussing how much money they could extract in the
shortest time from these open-handed, spendthrift Avarriors !

The Main Street in Mtdros.

The Problem of a Mixed Coinage.

The troops certainly had plenty of money to spend, and
indulged in orgies of tinned fish, tinned fruit, and tinned
sausages from the naval canteens, supplemented by melons,
grapes, figs and eggs bought from the villagers. The Mudros
shopkeeper made a small fortune out of the exchange of
English money. Generally we had English treasury notes
for one pound and ten shillings. These were over-printed in
Turkish, so that their value might be comprehended in cap-
tured villages, but so far Kuchuk Anafarta and Krithia had
resisted our efforts to make them legal tender !

Welcome Reinforcements.

265

Perhaps the strangest thing of all was the readiness with
which Australian silver was accepted. A few years ago it
was not legal tender in New Zealand, but away up here in
the Levant, and all over Egypt, it was not questioned. The
emu and kangaroo signified nothing to these simple folk,
but did not the other side picture King George of England?

-'**'^!r

[Photo bji the Author.
Tiiii Village Pump.

A sentry on guard at Mudros. Greeks draiving \',-ater with the ubiquitous kerosene tin.

The change given for an English pound was enough to
make the soldier join the scientists in praying for the early
adoption of a universal coinage. French Colonials from
Senegal and Tunis brought their own money with them ;
French territorials contributed francs and centimes to the
medley ; Egyptian labourers tendered their piastres and
millemes ; Greek, Turkish and Italian money circulated freely ;
English and Australian was as good as the best — so, when a
man got his change, the silver would be Australian, the
nickels would be endorsed with an inscription which was
Greek in more ways than one, while the coppers bore on one
side a meaningless Arabic scrawl and ''Tunis" on the other!

Welcome Keiiiforceiiieiits.

The arrival of the 6th Reinforcements gave a tremendous
fillip to the sadly depleted brigades. To the 20 officers and

266

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

200 other ranks of the N.Z.M.R. Brigade were added a draft
of 30 officers and 1060 men of eager volunteers. The In-
fantry Brigade was reinforced in a like manner. The new
men were so fresh and fit, rosy-cheeked and cheery. "Just
like a lot of young schoolboys," said an officer. "1 aever
realized before how different the newcomer was to the zvlyi-
dried, war-stained, weather-beaten Anzac."

A^^^ ^

'--.'U ;'"l*

[Lent by I..' "/ ( ^irr. A.M.R.
Auckland Mounted Rifles at Lemnos.

With mixed feelings the units learned that they were to
return to Anzac. This rest at Sarpi had been a great relief.
Strengthened by the fresh blood of the reinforcements, strong
in the veteran's knowledge of warfare, the troops once again
embarked. "I'm glad we're going home," said one boy.
Strange what we can get accustomed to call "Home"! Fare-
wells were exchanged with the nurses, the sailormen and the
Greek ladies gathered round the village pump. Lemnos was
once again lost to view and the pleasant sojourn at Sarpi
became onlv a memorv.

The Seething Pot of Balkan Politics.

During the months of midsummer the political situation
in Europe gave the staffs and soldiers of the Mediterranean
Expeditionary Force something to think about. We studie<i
the Balkan situation and knew of the different candidates
and parties struggling for dominance in Greece. The boy

The . Seething Pot of Balkan Politics. 267

from Awarua waited anxiously for the latest election return
from the islands of the Cyclades!

And now the Russian armies on which we had so much
depended were being hurled from line to line by the Austro-
Germans. Warsaw and Brest-Litovsk fell in August; Grodno
and Vilna in September. It was reluctantly admitted that
no help could be expected from Russia.

Meanwhile the Greek Premier, Venizelos, who had been
returned to office with an overwhelming majority in June,
experienced opposition from King Constantine. It was
understood that the Greeks would always help the Serbians
if attacked by an outside power, but to the disgust of all
true lovers of freedom, the Greeks refused to move. Serbia's
cup of bitterness was filled to overflowing on September 19,
when a powerful Austro-German force struck again at that
gallant army which but a few months before so decisively
punished the Austrians. The next day Bulgaria made public
a treaty (secretly signed two months before) throwing in
her lot with Geraiany, Austria and Turkey !

King Constantine, convinced that Germany must win the
war on land, prevented the Greeks coming to the assistance
of their traditional friends. So it was that Serbia found
herself assailed on one side by the Austro-Germans, and
threatened by the Bulgarians on the other.

The French and British wished to help their ally, Serbia,
but once again the old complaint was evident — a shortage
of trained available men. See how this re-acted on the
Gallipoli compaign : Sir Ian Hamilton was asked if he could
now spare three Divisions ! With the consent of the French,
the 53rd (Welsh) Division, the 10th (Irish) Division from
Suvla, and the 2nd (French) Division from Helles were sent
to Salonika. Thus was the Gallipoli army despoiled to
provide troops for the new venture at Salonika, whence
with other allied troops, it was thought an effort could be
made to save Serbia. But once again the allied help arrived
in time only to fight a rearguard action, and Serbia shared
the fate of Belgium.

Salonika absorbed more and more British troops — troops
which might have made all the difference if they had been

268

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

ready and released a little earlier for the attacks on Sari Bair.
On the Western Front a great effort was being made to
concentrate men, ammunition, and guns, for the coming great
offensive, which culminated in Neuve Chapelle, Loos, and
the French attacks in Champagne.

The British authorities — almost beside themselves with
the demands from the Western Front ; troubled by the
hesitancy of the Greeks; dumbfounded by the deceitfulness
of the Bulgarians; appalled by the evident collapse of the

[Pliofo by Col. Falla, C.M.G., D.s.o.
Water carriers of the 4th Howitzer Battery.
These small donkeys were purchasable in the .^Sgean Islands at about two pounds each.

Russians ; and now faced with the necessity of providing a
force at Salonika, had, in taking three divisions from the
Peninsula, again demonstrated that the Gallipoli campaign
did not have the whole-hearted support of those responsible
for its vigorous prosecution. They had not realized that,
perhaps more in war than in other matters, things done by
halves are never done right.

So it was that while the troops were resting at Sarpi, the
fate of the Gallipoli adventure was being decided elsewhere.
All the gallantry, heroism, and sacrifice of the British,
Indian, French and Colonial troops were to be sacrificed
because the Allies, caught unprepared by the Central Powers,
had no well-defined plan of action. Nations unprepared
must always pay the price in fle.sh and blood.

General Hamilton is Recalled. 269

The Responsibility of Australia and Xew Zealand.

In this inatter the people of New Zealand are not one
whit better than their kinsfolk of the Old Land, of Canada,
of South Africa, of Australia. The people of New Zealand
cannot preen themselves in the knowledge that they were
prepared for war. The advocates of preparedness had been
for 3'ears voices crying in the wilderness. A little reasoning
here may be of value. For of what use is experience and
history if we do not measure our shortcomings?

Ultimately New Zealand maintained a Division in the
Field. At the end of the war — in that we had twelve,
instead of nine battalions of infantry — we had the strongest
division in all the Allied Armies.

Australia maintained five, and always four, divisions in
France. Now the August offensive in Gallipoli took place
just one year after war had been declared between Great
Britain and Germany. Yet New Zealand — because, before
the Avar, the people refused to comprehend the German
challenge for world dominion — could not put into the field
more than two brigades. It Avas not that the public was not
warned, but the English-speaking peoples Avill not see that
if we must do the Avorld's work Ave must use Avorldly tools.
We are men in a Avorld of men, and despite the \nsionaries
and the dreamers, the last appeal is to force. This may be
regrettable, but unfortunately it is true !

If the Australians could have placed their four
magnificent divisions at Anzac and SuAda ; if NeAv Zealand
could ha\'e loosed a full division at Chunuk Bair, Avhile the
Australians Avent for Hill 971 and Suvla — there perhaps
Avould be no talk of ''the Gallipoli failure." Admitting
that the Ncav Army di\isions Avere not of a calibre
required for desperate fighting in rough country, they Avere
certainly better from a soldier's point of vieAV than the
excellent material not yet aA'ailable from Australia and
NcAv Zealand.

General Hamilton is Recalled.

The story of Sir Ian Hamilton's recall is best told in his
own words. After describing the battle for Kaiajik Aghala,

270

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

he says : ' ' From this date onwards up to the date of my
departure on 17th October, the flow of munitions and drafts
fell away. Sickness, the legacy of a desperate trying
summer, took heavy toll of the survivors of so many arduous
conflicts. No longer was there any question of operations
on the grand scale, but w^th such troops it was difficult to be
downhearted. All ranks were cheerful; all remained con-
fident that so long as they stuck to their guns, their country
would stick to them, and see them through the last and
greatest of the crusades.

"On the 11th October, Your Lordship cabled asking me
for an estimate of the losses which would be involved in an
evacuation of the Peninsula. On the 12th October I replied
in terms showing that such a step was to me unthinkable.

i'inito by Captain Wilding, N.Z.F.A.
A Gun Pit of the 6th Howitzer Battery, N.Z.F.A.

On the 16th October I received a cable recalling me to
London for the reason, as I was informed by Your Lordship
on my arrival, that His Majesty's Government desired a
fresh unbiased opinion, from a responsible commander, upon
the question of early evacuation."

The reasons for Sir Ian Hamilton's recall were not
promulgated to the men on the Peninsula, but his departure
was made known to the troops through a manly farewell
order. The Colonial divisions were very sorry to see him
go. His commanding figure, his charming personality, his

General Munro Assumes Control. 271

warm and expressed admiration for the "ever-victorious
Australians and New Zealanders" endeared him to the
soldiers, who like himself, were high-spirited, brave,
optimistic, and warm-hearted. ''Our progress was constant,
and if it was painfully slow — they know the truth." And
knowing the truth we grieved to see him go. We knew
that the age of miracles had passed, and that improvized
machines could not stand the rough tests of war.

General Miiiiro Assumes Control.

The new "responsible Commander" proved to be General
Sir Charles Munro, K.C.B., a soldier of much experience in
former wars, and a fine record of service on the Western
Front. Until General Munro 's arrival on the Peninsula at
the end of October, General Birdwood acted as Commander-
in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. No
movement was attempted during this period. There seemed
nothing to do but strengthen the line and prepare for the bad
weather everyone anticipated.

General Munro arrived on the Peninsula at the end of
October. His duty was :

(a) To report on the military situation on the Gallipoli
Peninsula.

(b) To express an opinion whether, on purely military
grounds, the Peninsula should be evacuated, or
whether another attempt should be made to carry it.

(1) To carry the Peninsula.

(2) To keep the Straits open.

(3) To take Constantinople.

It was not long before the General was able to report that
"the positions occupied by our troops presented a military
situation unique in history. The mere fringe of the coaat
line had been secured. The beaches and piers . . were
exposed to registered and observed military fire ; our
entrenchments were dominated almost throughout by the
Turks. The possible artillery positions were insufficient and
defective. The force, in short, held a line possessing every
possible military defect. The position was without depth.

272 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

the communications were insecure and dependent on the
weather." After reviewing the conditions of the troops —
they could not get the necessary rest from shellfire as in
France; they were much enervated from the diseases in that
part of Europe in the summer ; through their tremendous
losses there was a great dearth of officers competent to
lead — these and other considerations forced the General to
the conclusion that the troops available on the spot could
not achieve or attempt anything decisive.

A I .\l:i'- i. riF.r: AT IMBROS.

Ships sunk to make a pier at Kephalos. A close examination of this large vessel will
reveal the deception — she is a merchant steamer with enough fake super-structure
to make her look like a British dreadnought. Observe her own funnel with the
outer imitation funnel removed. A fleet of these dummy warships often
masqueraded in the North Sea as the British Fleet.

On considering the possibilities of an early success by the
provision of reinforcements, he came to the conclusion that
"an advance from the positions we held could not be
regarded as a reasonable military operation to expect;" and
"even had we been able to make an advance on the
Peninsula, our position would not have been ameliorated to
any marked degree, and an advance to Constantinople Avas
quite out of the question." Which brought the General to
the point: "Since we could not hope to achieve any purpose
by remaining on the Peninsula, the appalling cost to the nation
involved in consequence of embarking on an Overseas

The Great Blizzard.

273

Expedition with no base available for the rapid transit of
stores, supplies, and personnel, made it [an evacuation]
urs^ent."

It must be remembered that the soldiers were not
informed of these important decisions. It was essential to
the plan that absolute secrecy should be observed, and that
the enemy should be led to believe that an attack might take
place at any time. It was now announced that the
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force would consist of two
distinct and separate parts — the ''Salonika Army" under
Lieut. -General Sir B. Mahon ; and the "Dardanelles Army"
under Lieut. -General Sir W. Birdwood.

The Great Blizzard.

With the advent of cooler weather the daily sick parades
became appreciably smaller, but the men of Anzac were to
have still another trial of their endurance and cheerfulness,
for on November 27, the weather turned extremely cold.
Next morning- the troops awoke to find everything white
with snow. A snowstorm is not a verv disagreeable thing

[Lent hy Li
.\i:\v Zealand Troopers in the Snow.

A.M.R

provided one has a comfortable home and clean streets. But
at Anzac everyone lived in a dugout — clay walls, clay floor,
and a clay track up to the door. The mud and slush made
all the tracks as sticky as glue. Locomotion became
difficult. Supplies ran short.

The blizzard was almost the fiercest enemy encountered
on the Peninsula. We could fight with, and often outwit, the
Turk, but against snow and slush we had very little defence.

274 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The troops Avere greatly indebted to some enterprising
men who anticipated cold weather, and issued a small supply
of whale oil with instructions how to apply it to the
extremities in case of heavy frosts. This simple pre-
caution prevented a very large number of frost-bite cases,
as far as the New Zealand brigades were concerned. In
comparison Avith the other troops we were more or less
fortunate, as we occupied the higher ground on the Peninsula,
and our trenches drained themselves down the slopes. But
to those who had to go uphill to the trenches, the task was
almost impossible. The deres which were always used as
tracks became miniature rivers of mud, eventually becoming
frozen and covered with snow. The troops will long re-
member the small hours of November 28 as they were rudely
awakened by the tarpaulin roofs of their never-too-elaborate
dug-outs collapsing on top of them with the weight of snow.

[Photo by Col. Falla, G.M.6., D.S 0.
Rough Weather at Anzac : A Storm in Anzac Cove.

The gale made playthings of the light craft in the Cove.
Barges and launches broke from their moorings and com-
pleted their sphere of usefulness on the beach. The snow-
covered hills presented a wonderful sight. Long icicles hung
doAvn from the parapets in the trenches. Comparatively few
of our men suffered from frost bite, but it was really a very
sad and pitiful sight to see long queues of stretcher bearers
carrying the suffering men from the lower slopes.

The poor fellows caught it very badly, especiaUy
towards Suvla Bay, as the trenches became inundated

276 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

with the rushing -waters. Many of the occupants
were drowned. The brigades of the 29th Division held the
trenches into which drained the flood w^aters from the
Kiretch Tepe Sirt. They suffered severely. The New-
foundland contingent, noAv attached as a battalion to one of
these famous brigades, almost revelled in the frost and snow,
as might have been expected ! The casualties among the
Turks, according to those who surrendered at this period
(and there w^ere quite a few) must have been enormous.

The most popular place after the blizzard broke out
Avas the ordnance stores, as everyone was in want of extra
clothing — and, thank goodness, it Avas available. It was
amusing to see sentries on duty after their experience of
the first night. It Avould have needed a very energetic
bullet to penetrate the amount of clothing worn! This is a
fair sample:- — Hat, balaclava cap, (two if procurable) water-
proof cape, greatcoat, tunic, cardigan jacket, shirt, two
singiet-s, two pairs of underpants, trousers, puttees, two pairs
of socks, straw^ or paper round the feet, and a pair of trench
boots ! After each tour of duty a compulsory tot of rum
Avas issued. Fortunately for all concerned perfect Aveather
set in about December 4.

This blizzard set all thinking. The chief topic of
conversation Avas "Hoav AviJl Ave fare, supposing the bitter
Aveather holds out for a couple of months?" as nothing
in the Avay of stores or provisions could be landed other than
in perfectly fine Aveather. Units avIio had sited their homes
near the deres carved out neat A'illas on higher ground.
Hospitals evacuated their sick as quickly as possible, and men
not employed making high IcA^el roads, Avere busily engaged in
making Avinter dugouts, Avell beneath Mother Earth — Avell
beneath advisedly, as about this time Ave Avere almost daily
informed that our airmen Avere locating concrete em-
placements for heavy hoAvitzers. The Turkish prisoners
were also kind enough to say that a large number of heavy
guns Avere being placed in position to bloAv us into the
Mediterranean, Avhich Avas understood to be A^ery cold in
AAdnter.

The Hours of Silence. 277

The Visit of Lortl Kitchener.

We did not g'et many callers, so the visit of Lord
Kitchener of Khartoum to the Anzac battlefields started us
speculating afresh and making Avild conjectures. His visit,
needless to say, was very secret. On landing he went
straight to Russell's Top and right through the trenches
on the Nek. Indians passed by the way were overawed and
simply went down on their knees. Needless to say there
were wonderful rumours as to what he did and said, but it
was generally understood that the decision to evacuate the
Peninsula was confirmed there and then. Viewing the
country from the observing station of the 2nd Battery,
N.Z.F.A., he Avas much impressed by the rough country.
His time at Anzac was chiefly spent at that portion of the
line held by the Australians, and it was impossible to
suppress the outburst of enthusiam w^hen they recognized
Lord Kitchener. The men cheered and he made short
speeches, but did not tarry. Soon he stepped aboard the
waiting motor launch and sped away north to Suvla.

The Hours of Silence.

A mysterious order for forty-eight hours' silence Avas
hailed Avith delight by the men. No Avork Avas to be
attempted, not a shot Avas to be fired. It Avas Avell to let
the Turk believe that Ave could stay silent if Ave Avanted to.
If he had come on to investigate, our machine guns Avould
haA'e punished him severely. But he Avas too Avary, and not
prepared to put his head into our noose. He made no move.
Perhaps he had a hearty laugh at our tempting him, so the
ruse certainly prepared him for an occasional silence that
might l)e priceless later on. Presently he became bolder and
put out a good deal of Avire. The silent period Avas
lengthened and eventually ended at midnight of November
27/28, having lasted seventy-two hours.

278

CHAPTER XVII.

The Evacuation.

Even as the military feat of the landing was unparalleled,
so the situation now presenting itself to the staff was unique.
Nowhere in history could be found any precedent. This was
not an ordinary strategical or tactical retreat. With our
farthest post about 3,000 yards from the sea ; with a No
Man's Land in many places only 20 yards wide; with the
opposing trenches held by an unbeaten enemy — we had to
disengage ourselves, march down narrow defiles, and embark
from flimsy piers, each one of which was liable to be
heavily shelled during the operation. This was no time
for muddling through. Cool and ingenious brains pro-
pounded plan after plan. The orthodox thing would have
been to attack everywhere but at Anzac and Suvla, and
under cover of these diversions, seek to beat a retreat.
But for many reasons this method did not commend itself.
Already indiscreet people in high places had openly talked
of evacuating the Peninsula. The Press of England had
discussed the matter, and the Turk was bound to be
suspicious. So it Avas decided that the enemy must be
deceived as much as possible. A nimour became persistent
that Lord Kitchener, with a great new army, would land
and make one last grand effort on Christmas Day.

Secret instructions were issued to officers that the
evacuation would be accomplished in three distinct phases.
First : all surplus men, supplies, and animals were to be
sent away. Secondly : during December 13 and 14, a whole
battalion and regiment should go out of each brigade — this
alone would reduce the force by over a fourth. Thirdly: on
the nights of December 19 and 20 there should embark the
last rearguard, specially selected men, in numbers just strong
enough to hold the line.

With the memory of the blizzard and its accompanying
wind — the wrecked piers at Imbros and Anzac were mute
evidence of its furv — General Munro decided to accelerate

The Evacuation.

279

the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla. On December 8, General
BirdAvood was ordered to prepare a detailed plan for the
daring and perilous enterprise. Almost everything depended
on the weather. Unless anything unforseen happened, Rear-
Admiral Wemyss undertook to remove all the troops by the
night of Sunday, December 19.

Men who had battled on with complaints, only parading
sick for treatment, now found that if they complained of
the most trivial ailment they Avere sent away to the hospital
ship. It was announced that only the fittest men were to be
kept on the Peninsula during the winter. Every night saw
the outgoing barges crowded to their fullest capacity ; but
as it grew light a great show of landing troops would be
made — an effort that was not lost upon the Turks, who
erected barbed wire more vigorously than ever.

[Lent hi, l.i.ut. MoHtzson, M.C., MM., N.Z.E.

Peepabing for the Evacuation.

The small trestles prepared by the engineers, ready for the decking. They were
only to be used in case of emergency.

The evidence gradually became too strong for most men.
Parties visiting the beach found ordnance and supply
officers astonishingly openhanded. Tinned fish, condensed
milk, different varieties of jam and other rarities could be
had for the carrjdng away. Officers' coats, leather leggings,
puttees, and many pairs of boots Avere appropriated. Men
going back to the front line looked like itinerant haAA^kers.
Toiling up one of the deres a trooper called to a friend
"HoAv's this for evacuation?" A brigadier overheard the

280 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

remark and bounced out of his dugout. "Who's that
talking about evacuation! Don't you know there's an order
against using the word? Anj'way, tliere is no evacuation!"
The trooper, while lugubriously examining his assortment of
ordnance stores, preserved a silence so eloquent that even the
attendant staff officer had to turn his face away. "What
have you got to say for yourself?" said the brigadier, who
felt that he was losing ground. "Nothing," said the quiet
trooper, "but I never signed for these," and he held up a
pair of gum boots. The brigadier retired before the evidence
of such unparalleled generosity.

The Order to Evacuate.

On December 8 it was decided to withdraw those guns
that were not required for a passive defence. On December
12, 19 guns of varying calibre, belonging to the N.Z. and A.
Division, were embarked. On the same day it was announced
that a Rest Camp had been formed at Imbros to which
units would go in turn during the winter. Some men
still thought it was all a big bluff, but were inclined to be
convinced upon the departure of the 3rd and 10th Australian
Light Horse Regiments, the Auckland Mounted Rifles, the
Otago Infantry Battalion, the Maori Contingent, the 15th
Australian Infantry Battalion and other details from the
New Zealand and Australian Division.

But the decision could not be concealed indefinitely, and
the following order was issued on December 16:

"The Army Corps Commander wishes all ranks of
your Division to be now informed of the operations that
are about to take place, and a message conveyed to them
from him, to say that he deliberately takes them into his
confidence, trusting to their discretion and high soldierly
qualities to carry out a task, the success of which will
largely depend on their individual efforts.

If every man makes up his mind that he will leave
the trenches quietly when his turn comes, and sees that
everybody else does the same, and that up to that time
he will carry on as usual, there will be no difficulty of
any kind, and the Army Corps Commander relies on the

The Order to Evacuate. 281

good sense and proved trustworthiness of every man of
tlie Corps to ensure that this is done.

In case by any chance we are attacked on either days,

the Army Corps Commander is confident that the men

who have to their credit such deeds as the original

landing at Anzac, the repulse of the big Turkish attack

on May 18, the capture of Lone Pine, the Apex

and Hill 60, Avill hold their ground with the same valour

and steadfastness as heretofore, however small in numbers

they may be ; and he wishes all men to understand that

it is impossible for the Turk to know or tell what our

numbers are, even up to the last portion of '^C" party

on the last night, as long as we stand our ground."

Officers who knew the state of affairs were greatly

relieved at the decision, but sick at heart now that the blow

had fallen. To give up Anzac and all that it meant ! To

leave the place where our brothers and friends were lying !

Out there in No Man's Land graves were marked where men

had fallen, but no cross had been erected, and noAv the chance

was slipping away. Men crept out at night to pay their

last visits to those lonely graves. One soldier writing home

voiced the undisguised emotion of many :

''My goodness, Mother, how it did go to our hearts —
after all we had gone through — how we had slaved and
fought — fought and slaved again — and then to think
that we had been sizzled in the heat, tortured by flies
and thirst, and later nearly frozen to death. It was hard
to be told we must give it up. But it was not our wasted
energy and sweat that really grieved us. In our hearts
it was to know we were leaving our dead comrades
behind. That was what every man had in his mind.
We thought, too, of you people in New Zealand and what
you might think of us. Believe me, it is far harder to
screw one's courage up for running away than it is to
screw it up for an attack ! ' '

But now that the decision liad been made, everyone
worked with a will. The horses and mules, valuable
vehicles and guns were mostly embarked before the last two
nights. The Division withdrew 53 guns in all, only 12 being

282 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

left for the last night. The batteries were ordered to
continue firing- in ' ' an extraordinary erratic manner ' ' in order
to mystify the enemy. The gunners were busy burying and
otherAvise destroying surplus stores. The enemy gunners were
very energetic during the last three days. Round Russell's
Top their shells arrived in myriads, and quite noticeably
of better quality. Each battery was reduced until only
one gun remained. The New Zealand gunners were
determined that they would get all their horses away, and
every gun. In order to facilitate an uninterrupted passage for
the last night, resourceful and hard-working artillerymen pre-
pared bridges and cuttings to get their beloved pieces away.
The last gun from Russell 's Top had to cross a perfect maze of
communication trenches, but the men refused to rest until
the ten improvized bridges were readj^ for the eventful night.

Prepariiij*- for the Big- Bluff.

Thursday and Friday nights came, and in the darkness,
crowded barges were towed out to the transports lying out
to sea. On Friday night an accident occurred that certainly
invited disaster. Great piles of stores in all the depots
were soaked in kerosene and petrol and made ready for
firing just before leaving. By some mischance the heaps at
Anzac Cove burst into flame, lighting up the scene like day —
with the troops waiting on the beach ; the picket boats with
their loads puffing in and out; and away out to sea, the
Avaiting transports and the destroyers, ever vigilant. So
light it became that the embarkation of troops had to be
discontinued. Still the Turk made no sign beyond directing
a few shells towards the long tongue of flame. It transpired
afterwards that he was under the impression that the
valuable stores had been set ablaze by his shell-fire !

By day there was little rest. There seemed to be a
thousand things to be done in the short time available.
Much material had to be destroyed, rather than let it fall
into the hands of the Turk. Ammunition Avas buried
or dropped into the sea. Condensed milk that would
have been invaluable earlier in the campaign was destroyed

Preparing for the Big Bluff.

283

by punching' holes in the tins with bayonets. Jar after
jar of rum was smashed. Blankets by the thousand and
piles of clothing were saturated with petrol ready to be
burned. Everything of value to the Turk was made valueless.

"Safe Road to Beach."

At Suvla where there was more room than at Anzac, an
inner position was prepared by the erection of a strong
barbed wire fence eight feet high, with great gates across
the roads. At Anzac, barricades were made in all the
principal deres and communication trenches. A final
covering position, manned by machine gunners, was

284 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

prepared. Its left flank was on No. 1 Post, and ran by way
of Walker's Eidge, across to Plugge's Plateau and so down
Maclagan's Eidge to the sea, very much the Ime decided
on when the re-embarkation after the April landing was
momentarily considered. Oh ! the what-might-have-beens of
those eight tragic months !

There were now only two nights to go, Saturday night
and Sunday night. The 20,000 troops remaining at Anzac
and Suvla were to be evacuated at the rate of 10,000 per
night. The numbers from our division were 3491 on the
second last night, and the final 3000 on the last night.

The line from Suvla to Chatham's Post was held as
follows :

9th Army Corps — The Suvla front up to and including.

Hill 60;
N.Z. & A. Division— from the right of Hill 60 to the

Apex ;
1st and 2nd Australian Divisions — from Walker's
Eidge to Chatham's Post.
The Suvla Army embarked from the piers in Suvla Bay
and on the Ocean Beach. The Ncav Zealanders and
Australians on the left of Anzac had to come down the three
principal deres to the piers on Ocean Beach. The Australians
from the centre and right of Anzac naturally moved down
Shrapnel Gully and along the beach from the extreme right
towards the piers at Anzac Cove.

The New Zealand Brigades were now disposed as follows :

Ehododendron Spur
Hill 60 Hill 100 Cheshire Eidge The Apex

Wellington, Otago 4th Aust. Canterbury, Wellington

and Auckland Inf. Brigade and Auckland

Mounted Rifles Infantry Battalions

The Mounted Eifles would come down the Aghyl Dere,
and the N.Z. Infantry down the Chailak Dere to the Williams
Pier on North Beach.

A divisional rendezvous was formed at No. 2 Post.
Here the troops paraded according to a timetable, and were
drafted into groups of 400 — the capacity of those big motor
lighters that the men had christened ''beetles."

Actors at Anzac. 285

All through the night of that last Saturday at Anzac the
little groups assembled, and were packed into the lighters.
By 4.30 a.m. on December 19, the last beetle cleared from
the shore leaving the ''Diehards" of the Division, only
3,000 strong, to hold the line against a mighty army.

It was an anxious day, but there was much to do.
Men devised all sorts of mechanism to keep rifles going
mechanically after the last party had left. The
favourite method was as follows : It takes a certain amount
of pressure to pull the trigger of a rifle. After many
experiments a device was perfected whereby an empty tin
was suspended by a piece of string to the trigger of a
loaded rifle. Another tin full of water, but with a small
hole in it, was placed above the empty one, so that the water
leaked into the bottom one, thus gradually increasing the
weight until it was sufficient to pull the trigger !

Actors at Anzac.

In an endeavour to mystify the Turk observers, the few
men left at Anzac became very energetic. With packs up
they marched uphill wherever the Turk might see them.
Like actors impersonating a crowd in a moving picture
studio, these small bodies of men passed ostentatiously back-
wards and forwards until they were tired.

Reinforcement drafts always went in reserve for a time
after their arrival, so down in Eeserve Gully and Waterfall
Gully enthusiastic parties entertained themselves and mystified
the enemy by spreading out blankets to dry even as the new
arrivals did ! The innumerable small fires that smoked
incessantly were made to smoke more copiously than ever,
for the Turks must fully understand that the great new army
was now arriving in strength.

Every man ate as much as he could of the tinned goods
now so plentiful. Pennies were tossed freely in the air —
"Heads for Constantinople; tails for Cairo!" Everybody
was in great spirits and betrayed no anxiety. There was
little departure from the normal, except that at the Apex
there was heavier shelling than usual.

286 The New Zealanders at Gallipou.

A, B, and C Parties.

The 3,000 men of the Division still to be withdrawn were
divided into three: A, parties totalling 1,300; B, parties
totalling 1,100 ; and C, parties totalling 600. All of A and B
were to withdraw and embark as the parties of the preceding
night — they came to the divisional rendezvous and embarked
in their groups of 400. It was quickly decided that if A
parties were for Alexandria, B parties must be for the
Beach, and C for Constantinople.

Up the deres, great wire gates had been erected so that
if the force w^as attacked the gates would be shut down and
the garrison left to its own resource — to fight where it stood
and cover the retirement until 2 a.m., and then retire down
the ridges to the beach. It would not be possible to come
down the ordinary communication trenches in the deres, for
on the sign of an attack, the great barbed gates were to be
dropped into place in the entanglements and the deres
themselves heavily shelled by the warships. The "last
ditchers" were to be sacrificed for the army. There was
no lack of volunteers. Australians and New Zealanders;
New Army men and Yeomanry; men Avho had been there
since the landing, and men who had recently arrived as
reinforcements ; men of Anzac and Suvla alike — vied with
each other in the endeavour to become included in the
''Diehards." These men — whether they came from Mid-
lothian or Yorkshire, Queensland or far Taranaki — were all
volunteers, proud of their race and the Empire, and con-
vinced of their personal superiority over the seemingly
victorious foe. Messages were left warning the Turk he
was on the wrong side, exhorting him to look after our
scattered graves and the unburied dead of No Man's Land,
and promising to return again and punish all the allies of the
Germans.

A rear party of the No. 1 Field Ambulance was detailed
to look after the wounded should disaster overtake the rear-
guard. They were each equipped with a surgical haversack
containing field dressing and morphia. The dressing
stations were left equipped with the necessary instruments,
so that if the Turk did appreciate the situation and come

A, B, AND C Parties.

287

over in force, the wounded might be tended by our own men.
It was thought that life-boats from the Hospital Ships might
be allowed to approach the shore and take away the serious
cases. Luckily there were no casualties in the division, nor,
in fact, in the Army Corps.

Watchixg for the Turk.

The day was fairly quiet, but at about 11 o'clock in the
morning the kinema actors had so impressed the Turks that
much heavy shell was dropped into the communication
trenches leading from the beach, and into the gullies where
the reserves usually bivouacked. Thanks to the great dug-
outs constructed for the winter, there were no casualties.

At 4 o'clock that afternoon, the Turkish shelling increased
very much in intensity. Was this a preliminary bombard-
ment before the attack? But the shelling ceased with the
sunset, and everything became normal once more.

288 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The Last Night.

The sun went down that evenmg on a wondrously peaceful
scene. The peaks of Samothraee and Imbros were bathed in
the glow of a glorious golden sunset. The sea was unruffled
by the faintest breeze. Faint wisps of clouds floated lazily
across the sky, fitfully obscuring the moon. As soon as it
was dark men became very busy.

At ten minutes past six the last gun fired its last shot
from Russell's Top, and its removal to the beach commenced
over the temporary bridges, down through the wider trenches,
past much barbed wire entanglement — over cliff-sides and
down Walker's Ridge the proud gunners triumphantly
brought their charge, and before eight o'clock were safely
embarked on their waiting transports.

Two much-worn guns — not New Zealand ones, but
attached to our division — were rendered useless and
abandoned. One Avas a 5-inch howitzer in Australian
Valley, the other a 3-pounder Hotchkiss in the Aghyl Dera

All the men were travelling very light. Previous parties
had taken the "Diehards" kits and impedimenta. With a
rifle and bayonet and a stock of hand grenades the men
of the rearguards took up their positions in the front line.
Machine guns were carefully looked to. Ammunition was
plentiful. If the Turk did come over he would pay a big
price. As one of the normal smells of Anzac was that of
tobacco smoke, men smoked packet after packet, and pipe
upon pipe. Out to sea, the traffic was quite noticeable to
the anxious watchers on the hillside.

A and B Parties Leave.

Soon after dusk the men of the A parties at Anzac and
Suvla said goodbye to their comrades of B and C, marched
to their respective divisional rendezvous, and passed down the
sandbag-muffled piers to the waiting "beetles."

Early on that last night many were confident that the
Turk was completely fooled. If he had wanted to attack
he would have attacked before dark ; if he attacked at dawn
he would be too late. If he had known, as some clever
people say, that we were leaving, would it not have been a

A AND B Parties Leave. 289

"tremendous victory" if he had come boldly on and
overwhelmed the "Diehards?" He certainly would havo
taken no prisoners — the men of Anzac would have attended
to that. But the fact is : the Turk helped us at the
evacuation in the same degree as he helped us at the landing?

B party commenced to leave at nine o'clock. It was
very hard to go. What might happen to the waiting men of
C? However, the barges were waiting and the timing could
not be arranged otherwise. So, with a "Goodbye, boys!
see you in Cairo ! " on their lips, but with misgivings in their
hearts, tEe second last parties left their posts and made for
the rendezvous. By 11.25 all of A and B parties were
safely embarked without a casualty.

Those left moved quickly from place to place, firing their
rifles in order to preserve the "normality" of things. The
old trench mortars coughed spasmodically, and the Turks
returned the compliment. Away on Walker's Ridge several
very heavy bursts of firing broke out. Men could not
help questioning themselves. Was Quinn's Post holding out
with so numerically weak a garrison? Quinn's that had cost
so much to hold all those weary months. It was hard to
give up Quinn 's !

And Lone Pine ! Where the glorious men of those
veteran battalions made such a sacrifice for the sake of
Anzac — and for the sake of Suvla. These last men, with
their boots muffled in sandbags, crept back and meditated at
Brown's Dip with its rows of silent eloquent graves. The
dead men took Lone Pine from the Turks, the survivors held
it against angry hordes, to-night the rearguard was to
hand it quietly back !

The men of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade looked
out towards The Farm and the fatal crest above if, and
thought of those boys who in August went straight for the
ridge of Chunuk and doggedly waited for the help
from the left, the help that never came. Here
the last New Zealanders stood fingering their trigger
guards — holding the line at the Apex, only 2,000 yards from
the sea. Eight months of incessant striving, a gain of 2,000
yards of bare clay hillside, a loss of so many valuable lives !

290 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

And Hill 60! Where the New Zealand Mounted Kifles
had refused to be worsted when others fell back ! Hill 60 !
Now honeycombed with galleries hewn out with such an
expenditure of blood and sweat. These men of the C
parties could not help feeling that the dead deserved a
better fate than this. Yet what could be done? No men
could have achieved more. If the men of Anzac had failed,
they certainly had been faithful failures.

No pains were spared to make everything appear normal.
Some men went round lighting candles in the empty dugouts,
others concocted placards to welcome the Turks. The soldiers
bore no malice. "Goodbye Johnnie, see you soon in the Suez
Canal;" and "Remember you didn't push us off, we simply
went," are typical. Others were more amusing if not quite
so polite ! Men wandered up and down firing- occasional shots,
and at 11.30 the message came round to the men iii the line
that everywhere the plans were working without a hitch and
well up to time. In front of the Apex and near Hill 60 the
Turks were putting out more wire in anticipation of the big
attack on Christmas Day. They evidently interpreted the
shipping off the coast as the prelude to a big attack.

The Last Anxious Moments.

Midnight came and the firing died down as Avas the
normal cvistom. Slowly the minutes crept by. One o'clock!
Still there was no alarm. Some men began to feel the
tension very keenly. Everybody else was safe. Would
C party get away? At 1.30 the first of the C parties
commenced to come in. At 1.45 the duty machine gun at
the Apex fired three shots three times in rapid succession.
This was the signal for all the machine guns of our infantry
brigade to withdraw. With a quarter of the remaining
infantry, the gunners marched down the gullies and joined
up with the other detachments. The organization worked like
clockwork. One party was two minutes early in the Chailak
Dere and was halted by its captain until, to the second, the little
party resumed its march and dovetailed into the long column
now winding down the gully towards the muffled piers.

At two o'clock another party left. The men of the last
group were now looking anxiously at their wristlet Avatches,

The Last Anxious Moments.

291

[Photo hij Capt. WHdniri, N.Z.F.A.
Off Anzac: A Gun of the 6th Howitzer Battery.

which had been carefully synchronized. At about 2.15 each
man in the trenches quietly walked out into the nearest
communication trench. There was little time to lose. The
gate in the Chailak Dere was to be closed at 2.25. Here a
staff officer carefully checked the numbers and made sure
that all were accounted for.

292 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

Between the 4th Australian Brigade on Cheshire Ridge and
the Welsh Horse at Hill 60, were the New Zealand Mounted
Rifles. They had the farthest to march from the left flank.
But officers had stepped it out and carefully timed the
journey from their front line trench to the pier. With
careful timing of watches, they got away their A and B
parties to the minute.

Last of all came the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, who were
steadily sticking to their schedule time of 2 miles per hour.
Hand-grenades were tossed into the sea. The motor barges
were qiiickly crowded. As the loaded ''beetles" moved
slowly out from Anzac a deafening roar and a blinding
explosion occurred. Our great mine on the Nek had been
detonated. The Turk trenches instantly btirst into flame.
Fires broke out among the piles of stores. The bay seemed
crowded with motor barges and flotillas of trawlers.

Once on the warships the men were hurried below to a
meal of hot cocoa, steaming pea soup, and every delicacy the
ships' stores could offer.

By 3.40 a.m. the embarkation was complete. Men could,
hardly realize that the work was accomplished without a
terrible disaster. Restraint was thrown aside. New
Zealanders from the Apex and the Lone Pine rearguard of
Australians danced wild measures with the sailors on the
iron decks.

As the ships moved over towards Imbros, Suvla and
Anzac burst into flame. All the stores were afire now and
the great tongues of flame seemed to reach to the very
heavens. Right along the line Turkish rifles and machine
guns opened, but caused no casualties, as most of the bullets
plopped harmlessly in the water.

So we said good-bye to Anzac. Next morning the Turk
rubbed his eyes and proclaimed a great victory.

The Evacuation of Helles.

It was thought that we might hold Helles as we hold
Gibraltar, but ]\Iudros was considered an easier base for a
naval power. The poor souls of the 29th Division,

Tpie Evacuation of Helles.

293

after being withdrawn from Suvla, hardly had time to rest
a day at Mudros before they were ordered to
return and hold the line at Helles. They weve bitterly
disappointed, but Avere they not tried and trusted Regulars?
The Territorials they relieved went back to Egypt for a
New Year's dinner in peace; the brigades of the 29th
went back to the firing line. This perhaps was the
greatest test of the 29th, for the men were sure
that the bluff of Anzac and Suvla could not be repeated.
They made ready for a heavy rearguard action to cover their
retirement. During the days of waiting, it rained and blew
until they were perhaps the most miserable men on earth.
At least they should have been — but they were British
regular soldiers, and there was nothing to do but stick it.
So the troops who bore the brunt of the bloodiest landing
were to bear the brunt of the evacuation. But a miracle
again happened ! The Turk could not make up his mind
when we were going, and he could not make up his mind
to attack. On the night of January 9, the coup came off.
There was much heavy shelling of piers and landing places,
but the casualties were infinitesimal, though much equipment
was lost. The enemy was again baulked of his prey !

[Lent hu Lieut. Lockyer, W.M.R.
The Wastage of War.
Boots dumped on the wharf at Alexandria after the evacuation.

294

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Return to Aiizae.

Three years in succession the valleys of Anzac were
flooded with the crimson poppies of the Aegean Spring.
During these three years the New Zealanders in France and
Palestine shared in the vicissitudes and the dearly-bought
victories of the Allied Armies.

ll ))

The Great Turkish Victory Monument on the Nek.

While the soldiers were fighting, some of the politicians of
England — a few of whom had been prominent in reducing
Army and Navy expenditure before the war — enquired with
great deliberation into the rights and wrongs of the

The Hhi.'^trations in this Chapter are hi/ Col. Findlatj. C.B. and Capt. Dviiglas Beans of the C.2I.R.

The Eeturn to'Anzac 295

Gallipoli campaign. Money that would have been better
spent m hand grenades in 1915 was lavishly poured out in
trying to discover who was to blame for this and who
should be censured for that. It may be said with pride that
the people of New Zealand — and the people of Australia, too
— did not indulge in recrimination. They knew that the
armies were not to blame, and were content to leave it at that.
While commissions investigated ancient history the
triumphant Turks erected great monuments on the Peninsula
— monuments to commemorate the defeat of the infidels.

But the months slipped by, and nearer and nearer crept
the forces enveloping the Central Powers. The Bulgars felt
the pressure first. When they finally broke and fled up the
Seres Koad, our airmen bombed them unmercifully. Caught
in their mountain passes, they were killed in thousands by
our low-flying planes. So was Bulgaria finally bombed out
of the war by British airmen.

On October 26, 1918, British cavalry and armoured cars
entered Aleppo and cut the Constantinople — Baghdad railway.
On October 29, General Marshall's forces on the Tigris
severed the Turkish communications at Mosul. The Turkish
armies were everywhere helpless.

One day at the end of October a little launch with
General Townshend on board slipped out from Chios down
near Smyrna, carrying a white flag. A representative of
Vice-Admiral Calthorpe, the British naval commander in
the Aegean, conducted the liberated hero of Kut-el-Amara
and the fully-accredited representatives of the Turkish
Government to Mudros — the Mudros of our rendezvous and
of our Rest Camp — where the Turkish representatives signed
the Armistice terms, preparatory to an unconditional
surrender. This was on the evening of October 30. The
Armistice came into effect at noon on the following day.

The end of 1918 saw British and French warships lying
off the Golden Horn and British soldiers on guard at the
forts of Chanak and Kilid Bahr.

Was it not prophesied that one day a New Zealander
would sit on London Bridge and survev the ruins of the

296

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

metropolis? In the year of grace, 1918, the real modern New
Zealanders — with the dust of the desert still on their faded
tunics, complete with their wristlet watches and folding
kodaks — stand on the famous Galata Bridge and snapshot
the imperturbable Turkish boatman who seem but faintly
interested in the doom of the Ottoman Empire. There in
their old slouch hats stand the war-worn troopers — young
crusaders who have contributed their full share to the
humbling of those despots who for centuries have been the
curse of Western Europe.

Going ashore at AIaidos.

Among the troops to re-occupy Gallipoli were the Canter-
bury Mounted Rifles, who, in December, disembarked at
Maidos, and with their comrades of the 7th Australian Light
Horse, did not hesitate to sit as conquerors on the giant guns
of Kilid Bahr.

Up the valley towards Lone Pine they rode, until they
came to the Turkish victory monument erected on
the site of the famous Australian salient. Then over to
Koja Chemen Tepe, to stand in silence where British soldiers
had never stood before. This was the moment of triumph :
this was the prize for which we had striven in 1915, and now,
after all these years, the prize was ours — on the one hand the
great forts and Point Nagara running out into the rushing
waters of the Narrows ; on the other side the great

298

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

KilUlJUDl-.XliUOX Sl'Uit Fi;u-M 'lilE AI'EX^

Notice the luxuriant growth of thistle in the old trench lines.

The Promised Land: The Country behind Koja Chemen Tepe.

panorama of the Aegean Sea — Saniothi-ace and Imbros in
the distance ; the Salt Lake and the fatal plains of Suvla ;
away South, the forbidding hump of Achi Baba; and closer
in, the Anzac beaches, Russell's Top, the tangled steeps of
Walker's Ridge, The Farm, and the ridge of Chunuk.
These men of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles were the

The Return to Anzac 299

triumphant victors, but slowly they rode down the winding
ways of dry watercourses looking for the last resting places
of brothers and comrades-in-arms. Never a yard but somebody
stopped and silently searched for an identification disc.

And here on the Nek was the great monument erected by
the Turks in honour of their victory in December, 1915 !

Down the Aghyl Dere where the gallant Overton rests
under the shade of the Turkish trees; out to Hill 60 where
the white bones lie in heaps; along to Ari Burnu where the
graves are thickly crowded; and so to Anzac Cove itself.
Here, pathetic beyond words, were the skeletons of old barges
and boats — rotting in the smooth white sand once pock-
marked by thousands of hurrying feet; here on the sandy
beaches the Turk paid the men of Anzac the greatest com-
pliment, for they had wired the beach against another
landing! Did not the daredevils say they would come back?
Was it not wise to prepare for possibilities? But the
soldiers who went so quietly away in December, 1915, chose
to come another way as victors.

This is the end of the Gallipoli campaign. The men of
New Zealand were there at the start — here they are as the
victors at the end.

And now that the struggle is over, now that the great
guns of Chanak are silent, and the hillsides once peopled with
busy men are again given over to the song birds and the
wandering Turkish shepherds — what is the gain to the
world? What is the gain to New Zealand?

For assuredly there is some gain? Our eight months
struggle — even if it grievously tried us — undoubtedly
weakened the military power of the Turks. But it did
more. It taught the New Zealander many things. It
taught him lessons that stood him in excellent stead on the
battlefields of the world. It taught him to respect his own
strength and capabilities. For before the war we were an
untried and insular people ; after Anzac, we were tried and
trusted. Before Anzac we had few standards ; after Anzac,
we knew that, come what may, if it were humanly possible —
and often when it seemed almost impossible — New Zealanders

300

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

would not be found wanting, but Avould prove irresistible
in attack, steadfast and stubborn in defence — and what more
can anyone ask of soldiers?

Even as in the war we lost our insularity and found our
national spirit, so at Anzac we found our brothers-in-arms,
the gallant sons of Australia ; and we did our work together
— for if the initial "A" stands for Australia, New Zealand
furnished the very necessary pivotal consonants. So m
the future we must stand together and carry the white man's
burden in these Southern Seas.

A Turkish Victory Moni'ment behind No. 1 Post.

The design is carried out with shell-cases. The monument itself was knocked down

by our troops.

And if Anzac means suffering, a hopeless longing, aching
hearts and a keen sense of loss to many in this land of ours,
the gain cannot be measured — for the miner at Quinn's Post
did not sweat at the tunnel face in the interests of self; the
middies of the picket boats and the men of the trawlers were
not working for dividends; the nurses on those hospital ships
did not toil the long nights through for praise or notoriety;
the women who waited so l)ravely and patiently at home in
hourly dread of the telegraph bo}', thought nothing of them-
selves. One and all made their willing sacrifices for the
common good. And that is the message of Anzac to the

The Retukn to Anzac

301

people of New Zealand : Place the interests of the community
before the interests of self, follow in the footsteps of the
early pioneers, and make New Zealand a sweeter place for
the little children.

Anzac Cove To-day.

Anzac Cove.

(From Lean Gtilt-rt'a " Suiiiit; of a Oiiiiivihir/ ")
There's a lonely stretch of hillocks :

There's a beach asleep and drear.
There's a battered broken fort beside the sea.

There are sunken trampled graves ;
And a little rotting pier :

And winding paths that wind unceasingly.
There's a torn and silent valley :

There's a tiny rivulet
With some blood upon the stent's beside its i:
There are lines of tiuried bones :

There's an unpaid waiting debt :
There's a sound of gentle sobbing in the Sout
.Tanuary. 191(1

302

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304

Establishment of Main Body, N.Z.E.F.

Expeditionary Force
Main Body, sailed
October 16th, 1914.

Headquarters Staff

New Zealand Mounted Rtfle.s Brujade—

Headquarters

The Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment

The Canter liury Mounted Rifles Regiment

The Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment

Field Ti'oop, N.Z.E.

New Zealand Signal Troop, N.Z.E.

New Zealand Mounted Field Ambulance ..

New Zealand Infantry Bricade^

Headquarters
The Auckland Battalion
The Canterbury Battalion
The Otago Battalion
The Wellington Battalion

4
33
33
33
33

68 84

523

18
977
977

977
977

34
549
549
549

77
33
78

1,010
1,010
1.010
1,010

Divisional Troops —

The Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment

2(1

523

549

Dirisi(i)ial Art/ Her// —

1st Field Artillery Brigade—

Headquaiters

No. 1 Field Battery

No. 2 Field Battery

No. 3 Field Battery

No. 1 Brigade Ammunition Column

5
5
5
5
3

38
141
141
141
131

43
146
146
146
134

Div'/a/oiial Signal Serrice —

New Zealand Signal Company (3 Sections)

109

113

D/r/gioual Tniz/sporf tu/il Siijipl// Units —

Divisional Train —

No. 1 (Divisional Headquarters) Company
Army Service Corps (attached to units) ...

5
4

90
125

95
129

Divisional Medical Units —

New Zealand Field Ambulance No. 1
Dental Surgeons (unattached)

13
10

182

195
10

Services and Departments —

Veterinary Surgeons (unattached)
General Base Depot
Army Pay Department ...
Chaplains

'"4

Total

351

7,410

7,7()1

305

New Units Raised (liiriiij»- (laliipoli Caiii[)aij'n.

Addif ioual l^nits Formed in New Zealand.

Unit.

Date of I>espatch.

Officers.

other
Banks.

Total.

Divisional Trooi-s —

Dirislti7i(il A rtiller// —

2nd Field Artillerj- Brigade —

Headquarters ...

June, 1915

No. 4 (Howitzer) Battery

Dec. 1914

141

146

No. 5 Field Battery

April, 1915

.*)

141

146

No. (■) (Howitzer) Battery

June, 1915

141

146

(B) Howitzer Battery Ammunition

Column (for No. (> (Howitzei')

Battery) ...

June, 1915

Dirixional Knqineeni —

No. 2 Field Company. N.Z.E. ...

April, 1915

211

217

Divisional Tratixpart d- Siippl// Units —

Divisional Train — No. 4 Company

April, 1915

DivisidiiaJ Medical U/iitt^—

New Zealand Field Ambulance

No. 2

182

192

Services and Depahtments —

No. 1 Stationary Hospital

May. 1915

No. 2 Stationary Hospital

June, 1915

2 Jlobile Veterinary Sections

Dec, 1914

2 Veterinary Sections

Dec, 1914

226

230

in New Zealand ...

1398

1458

Additional Units Formed by N.Z.E.F.

(Egypt).

Unit.

Iiate of Formation.

Officers.

other
Ranks.

Total.

Divisional Tkoops —
Dirisiinial A rtilU/ry —
2nd Field Artillery Brigade —
Divisional Ammunition Column ...
(A) Howitzer Battery Ammunition

Column
No. 2 Brigade Ammunition Column
No. 3 Brigade Ammunition Column

Diris/ii//al Einjiiieers —
Headquarters
No. 1 Field Company. N.Z.E. ...

Divisiti/ial Train —

No. 2 (New Zealand Infantry Bri-
gade) Company
No. 3 (New Zealand ]Monnted Rifles
Brigade) Comiianv ...
Total

;■ Feb., 1915 i

1
1
3

5
5

233

40
46
66

11
211

80
80

238

41
47
69

13
217

Total ...

767

795

Main Body

U nits raised during Gallipoli Campagn

i 351

J 88

7410
2165

7761
2253

Total (This does not include reinf

orcements.) ...

439

9575

10014

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307
The Men of Anzac.

Although this volume deals specifically with the doings of the New
Zealanders at Anzac, the Colonials "nho were there quite recognize that
they played only a part in the Great Game. They fully appreciate
the magnificent work of the Navy and of their French and British
comrades who braved the same dangers, and worked together against
the common foe.

The Men of Anzac know that a war correspondent cannot be in three
places at once. What he sees he describes, and what he does not see
he obviously nyist collect information about, and cannot do justice to.
So perhaps the glory of the Anzac landing was magnified at the
expense of the men who landed at Helles. Australians and New
Zealanders alike agree that the Helles landing called for a greater
show of discipline and self-sacrifice than was needed at Anzac — for
Anzac was a surprise landing, Helles was not. But considerations of
space, and the fact that volumes have already appeared dealing with
the work of our British, French and Indian comrades, precludes full
justice being done to their work in these pages.

In our own army there are two groups of soldiers that have to a
certain extent been overlooked.

Even in the Colonial Armies we depended for light and a certain
amount of leading on British Eegular Officers — officers loaned before the
war to the Colonial Forces, — and it is right that mention should be made
of them here. For what in the days of its infancy would the N.Z.
Expeditionary Force have been without the services of Colonel Braith-
waite — "Dear Old Bill" — Colonel Johnston of the Gunners; Colonel Prid-
ham of the E.E's; Major Temperley of the Infantry Brigade Staff, and a
dozen others? They contributed much more than has been acknowledged
to the initial successes of our New Zealand Army.

Of the second group it is difficult to write. It may have been
noticed that most of the soldiers mentioned in this volume are men who were
killed in action. There is perhaps more in this than meets the eye. For
the men killed in action and the mortally wounded are those who put
the fear of death into the Turk — men who by their impetuosity and their
eagerness to close really established the Anzac front line. This meant
personal leadership and absolute contempt for death. These men were
often not officers — often they were privates, but natural leaders nevertheless.
They were not necessarily university men or large employers of labour — ■
sometimes they were miners and taxi-drivers — they were of the glorious
democracy of the Front Line. Ajiyone, whatever his rank or social standing,
could have demonstrated his claim to be a leader of men at Anzac.

We know that the list of decorations does not recognize all the
gallant deeds performed on the field of action; and those left
alive in the following list of soldiers decorated would be the first
to admit that they knew of men long since killed who deserved
greater reward. Think of a few of them: Lieut. -Colonel Stewart, of
the Canterburys, who died on the day of the landing fighting for
Walker's Eidge; Lieut.-Colonel Malone who died on the crest of Chunuk;
Lieut. -Colonel Bauchop, mortally wounded in the advance that smashed
the Turkish line; Major Stat ham, impetuous leader of men. who died
in the forefront of the battle — each of these admittedly heroic souls
jiassed away without receiving a decoration.

And these officers were only worthy of the men in the ranks — men
who if they had lived, might have become great and famous soldiers,
but who sacrificed themselves thus ear/ly in the struggle so that
we who survived might carry on: Sergt. Wallace, one of our most

308

The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

promising Khodes Scholars, who came straight from Oxford to a soldier's
death while sapping out in front of Pope's; and the well-beloved Arthur
Carbines, who, disregarding the terrors and the dangers on the crest of
Chunuk, died so tragically endeavouring to rescue the body of his
Colonel, the gallant Malone — these men are typical of the scores who
received the small wooden cross which is the only distinction that
the gallant thruster is likely to receive; and some do not have even a
wooden cross, but die so far forward that they are buried by the Turks
in nameless graves and to these is the greatest honour!

New Zealanders decorated and mentioned
in despatelies.

VICTORIA CROSS.

Corporal Cyril Eoyston Guyton Bassett, N.Z. Divisional Signal Company:

"For most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the

Chunuk Bair ridge in the

Gallipoli Peninsula on the

7th August, 1915.

After the New Zea-
land Infantry Brigade
had attacked and estab-
lished itself on the ridge,
Corporal Bassett, in full
daylight and under a con-
tinuous and heavy fire
succeeded in laying a tele-
phone-line from the old
position to the new one on
Chunuk Bair. He had
Subsequently been brought
to notice for further ex-
cellent and most gallant
work connected with the
repair of telephone-lines
by day and night under
heavy fire. "

London Gazette, 15th
October, 1915.

Corporal C. R. G. Bassett, V.C.

(New Lieutonant Bassett. V.C. )

KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF
THE BATH. (K.C.B.)

Major-General (temp. Lieutenant-General) Sir A. J. Godley, K.C.M.G.,
General Officer Commanding, N.Z. Expeditionary Force.

KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED ORDER
OF SAINT MICHAEL AND SAINT GEORGE. (K.C.M.G.)

Colonel (temp. Brigadier-General) Sir A. H. Russell, General Officer
Commanding, N.Z. Division.

COMPANIONS OF THE MOST HONOURABLE ORDER OF THE BATH.

(C.B.)

Colonel E. W. Chaytor, N.Z. Staff Corps, New Zealand Expeditionary

Force (Staff).
Lieutenant-Colonel J. Fiudlay, Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment.
Major (temp. Brigadier-General) F. E. Johnston, N.Z. Infantry Brigade

(The Prince of Wales's Own, North Staffordshire Regiment).

New Zealanders Decorated.

309

COMPANIONS OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED ORDER OF SAINT
MICHAEL AND SAINT GEORGE. (C.M.G.)

Lieutenant-Colunel W. M. Alderman, Auckland lofaiUry Battalion

(Commonwealth Military Forces).
Lieutenant-Colonel C. M. Begg, N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant-Colonel (temp. Brigadier-General) W. G. Braithwaite, D.S.O.,

Headquarters, N.Z. Expeditionary Force (Royal Welsh Fusiliers).
Lieutenant-Colonel A. B. Charters, Otago Infantry Battalion.

Photo

Bnrtlett

A nrlrrtv.

Lieut. -Colonel W. (J. Br.aithwaite. C.M.G., D.S.O.
(Royal Welsh Fusiliers)

Major (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) J. J. Esson, Staff Headquarters

N.Z. Expeditionary Force.
Lieutenant-Colonel P. C. Fenwick, N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant-Colonel J. G. Hughes, D.S.O., Canterbury Battalion (N.Z.

Staff Corps).
Reverend J. A. Luxford, Chaplain, 3rd Class, N.Z. Chaplains Department.
Lieutenant-Colonel W. Meldrum, D.S.O. , Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. Parkes, M.D., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant-Colonel A. Plugge, Auckland Battalion.
Major (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) G. S. Richardson, N.Z. Mediterranean

Expeditionary Force, (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Lieutenant-Colonel F. Symon, N.Z. Field Artillery (Royal N.Z. Artillery).
Lieutenant-Colonel R. Young, Auckland Battalion.

COMPANIONS OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER.

(D.S.O.)

Major H. E. Avery, No. 1 Company Divisional Train (N.Z. Staff Corps).

310 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Honorary Captain W. T. Beck, N.Z. Ordnance Corps (attached N.Z. Staff

Corps).
Major C. H. J. Brown, Canterbury Battalion (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Captain A. C. B. Critchey-Salmonson, Canterbury Battalion (Koyal

Munster Fusiliers).
Major N. S. Falla, N.Z. Field Artillery.
Captain B. S. Finn, N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant-Colonel E. E. Grigor, Otago Mounted Eifles.
Major N. C. Hamilton, N.Z. Army Service Corps (Army Service Corps).
Major Herbert Hart, Wellington Battalion.
Major N. F. Hastings, Wellington Mounted Eifles.
Major H. C. Hurst, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

Major Gr. A. King, Headquarters N.Z.M.E. Brigade (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Major Eugene Joseph O'Neill, F.E.C.S., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Captain (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) C. G. Powles, Headquarters,

N.Z.M.E. Brigade (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Major G. S. Smith, Otago Battalion.

Major I. T. Standish, N.Z. Field Artillery (Eoyal N.Z. Artillery).
Major (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) F. B. Sykes, N.Z. Field Artillery

(Eoyal Artillery)
Major W. McG. Turnbull, Otago Battalion (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Major Fred Waite, N.Z. Engineers.

Major E. Wyman, Auckland Mounted Eifles Eegiment.
Major E. Young. Wellington Battalion.

MILITARY CROSS. (M.C.)

Captain L. G. D. Acland, N.Z. Army Service Corps.

Lieutenant W. G. A. Bisho}), Otago Infantry Battalion.

Captain D. B. Blair, Canterbury Mounted Eifles, (N.Z. Staff Corps).

Lieutenant G. E. Blackett, Canterbury Mounted Eifle Eegiment.

2nd Lieutenant E. T. E. P. Butler, N.Z. Engineers (Eoyal Engineers).

Captain G. E. Daniell, N.Z. Field Artillery (Eoyal N.Z. Artillery)

Eeverend P. Dore, Chaplain, 4th Class, N.Z. Chaplains Department.

Captain T. E, Eastwood, Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary Force

(The Eifle Brigade, Prince Consort's Own).
Captain T. Farr, N.Z. Field Artillery.
A. Greene, Chaplain, 4th Class (Salvation Army), N.Z. Chaplains

Department.
Captain E. N. Guthrie, N.Z. Medical Corps.
Captain P. B. Henderson, Canterbury Infantry Eegiment (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
Captain G. H. Holland, Auckland Infantry Battalion.
2nd Lieutenant E. McPherson, N.Z. Field Artillery.
Lieutenant A. N. Oakey, N.Z. Engineers.

8/1048 Sergt. -Major A. Vv. Porteous, Otago Infantry Battalion.
Captain J. M. Eichmond. N.Z. Field Artillery (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Captain J. M. Eose, Wellington Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Captain L. M. Shera, N.Z. Engineers.
2nd Lieutenant W. H. Stainton, N.Z. Maori Contingent.
Captain H. Stewart, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
Captain N. W. B. B. Thoms, Headquarters N.Z. and A. Division (N.Z.

Staff Corps).
Lieutenant F. K. Turnbull, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant F. M. Twistleton, Otago Mounted Eifles.
Captain J. A. Wallingford, Auckland Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
Captain F. A. Wood, Auckland Mounted Eifles (N.Z. Staff Corps).

New Zealaxders Decorated. 311

DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT MEDAIi. (D.C.M.)

4/85a Sergeant A. W. Abbey, X.Z. Engineers.

13/5 Trooper L. J. Armstrong, Auckland Mounted Eifles.

6/S84 Sergeant A. A. Atkins, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

10/1731 Private C. K. Barker, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

6/194 Private H. Barlow, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

10/274 Corporal P. H. G. Bennett, Wellington Infantry Battalion

8/1370 Acting Sergeant-Major P. C. Boate. Otago Infantry Battalion.

9/129 Sergeant J. Campbell. Otago Mounted Eifles.

3/317 Private J. F. Cardno, X.Z. Medical Corps.

4/363 Sapper A. L. Caselberg. Signal Troop, X.Z. Engineers.

2/83 Driver N. Clark, N.Z. Field Artillery.

3/158 Private J. Comrie, X.Z. Field Ambulance.

13/606 Private L. Crawford-Watson, X.Z. Medical Corps.

4/506 Sapper B. L. Dignan, Divisional Signal Company, X.Z. Engineers.

2/444 Acting Sergeant C. J. K. Edwards. X.Z. Field Artillery.

4/188a Lance-Corporal F. J. H. Fear, X.Z. Engineers.

6/227 Private A. J. Findlay, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

12/1627 Sergeant J. H. Francis, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

8/465 Quartermaster-Sergeant L. S. L. L. Graham, Otago Mounted Eifles.

7/516 Corporal G. G. Harper, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

7/517 Sergeant E. P. Harper, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

8/872 Sergeant A. G. Henderson, Otago Infantry Battalion.

3/168 Private W. J. Henrv, X.z! Field Ambulance.

2/147 Acting Sergeant J. F. Hill, X.Z. Field Artillery.

4/203a Sapper E. A. Hodges, X.Z. Engineers.

2/115 Bombardier D. C. Inglis, X.Z. Field Artillery.

14/43 Sergeant F. Jenkins, X.Z. Divisional Train.

9/1316 Sergeant J. Little, Otago Mounted Eifles.

10/2228 Private F. Makoney, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

8/33 Sergeant F. Mitchell. Otago Infantry Battalion.

3/269 Sergeant-Major F. W. Moor. X.Z. Medical Corps.

8/1302 Private E. C. McLeod. Otago Infantry Battalion.

7/764 Trooper D. J. O'Connor, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

10/1307 Private F. 0. O'Connor. Wellington Infantry Battalion.

16/407 Private Tau Paranihi, Maori Contingent.

7/583 Trooper H. Pidgeon. Canterburv Mounted Eifles.

2/1252 Gunner J. Eankin.'X.Z. Field Artillery.

12/1015 Corporal W. J. Eeid. Auckland Infantry Battalion.

6/1129 Corporal H. Ehind, Canterbury Infantry' Battalion.

11/442 Sergeant-Major W. Eicketts. Wellington Mounted Eifles.

6/978 Sergeant W. J. Eodger. Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

4/208a Corporal C. W. Salmon, X.Z. Engineers.

4/60a Corporal C. W. Saunders, X.Z. Engineers.

6/1399 Sapper E. G. Scrimshaw, X.Z. Engineers.

3/95 Lance-Corporal W. Singleton, X.Z. Field Ambulance.

8/1837 Lance-Corporal H. D. Skinner. Otago Infantry Battalion.

12/1799 Corporal H. Spencer, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

3/447 Lance-Corporal G. Steedman. X.Z. Field Ambulance.

6/1156 Private T. Stockdill, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

10/1674 Private J. W. Swan. Wellington Infantry Battalion.

6/157 Sergeant B. X. Tavender. Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

12/1062 Private G. A. Tempany, Auckland Infantrv Battalion.

2/146 Bombardier J. P. Thomson, X.Z. Field Artillery.

12/472 Sergeant E. Tilsley, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

12/1020 Corporal F. W. Watson, Auckland Infantrv Battalion.

312 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

4/450 Sapper K. T. Watson, N.Z. Engineers.
6/741 Private C. M. Wilson, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
14/76 Lance-Corporal J. Wimms, N.Z. Divisional Train.
11/941 Trooper J. H. Winter, Wellington Mounted Eifles.

MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES.

* Mentioned twice. t Mentioned three times,

4/85a 2nd Corporal A. W. Abbey, D.C.M., N.Z. Engineers.
*Captain L. G. D. Acland, M.C., Divisional Train, N.Z. Army Service
Corps.

4/513 Sergeant G. D. Alexander, N.Z. Engineers.

13/64 Sergeant F. Allsopp, Auckland Mounted Eifles.

13/5 Trooper L. J. Armstrong, D.C.M., Auckland Mounted Eifles.

10/1731 Private C. E. Barker, D.C.M., Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Lance-Corporal P. G. Barratt, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Lieut. -Colonel A. Bauchop, C.M.G., Otago Mounted Eifles.

Captain W. T. Beck, D.S.O., N.Z. Army Ordnance Corps (attached N.Z.
Staff Corps).

Lieut. -Colonel C. M. Begg, C.M.G., N.Z. Medical Corps.

3/233 Lance-Corporal T. Biggar, N.Z. Medical Corps.

Lieut. W. G. A. Bishop, M.C., Otago Infantry Battalion.

Lieut. G. E. Blackett, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

Captain D. B. Blair, M.C., Canterbury Mounted Eifles (N.Z. Staff Corps).

8/1370 Sergt.-Major P. C. Boate, D.C.M., Otago Infantry Battalion.

7/311 Trooper J. M. Boocock, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

tLieut.-Colonel W. G. Braithwaite, C.M.G., D.S.O. (Eoyal Welsh Fusiliers),

Major (temp. Lieut. -Colonel) C. H. J. Brown, D.S.O.. Canterbury Infantry
Battalion (N.Z. Staff Corps).

2nd Lieutenant E. T. E. P. Butler, M.C., N.Z. Engineers (Eoyal En-
gineers).

9/129 Sergeant J. Campbell, D.C.M., Otago Mounted Eifles.

10/706 Private A. V. Carbine.s, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

8/911 Sapper S. Carlyon, N.Z. Engineers.

13/535 Trooper N. D. Champney, Auckland Mounted Eifles.

Major F. Chapman, Auckland Mounted Eifles.

Lieut. -Colonel A. B. Charters, C.M.G., Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Colonel E. W. C. Chaytor, C.B., N.Z. Staff Corps.

2/83 Fitter N. Clark,' D.C.M., N.Z. Field Artillery.

3/158 Private J. Comrie, D.C.M., N.Z. Field Ambulance.

Lieutenant A. E. Conway, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

Captain C. F. D. Cook, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

11/520 Corporal F. E. Corrie, Wellington Mounted Eifles.

Lieutenant J. G. Cowan, Otago Infantry Battalion.

Major E. P. Cox, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

13/606 Private L. Crawford-Watson, D.C.M., N.Z. Field Ambulance.

Captain A. C. B. Critchley-Salmonson, D.S.O., Canterbury Infantry Bat-
talion (Eoyal Munster Fusiliers).

10/729 Private C. Crone, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Major W. H. Cunningham, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Captain G. E. Daniell, M.C., N.Z. Field Artillery (Eoyal N.Z. Artillery).

12/1185 Private D. Davidson, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

*Major T. H. Dawson, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

4/506 Sapper B. L. Dignan, D.C.M., N.Z. Engineers.

Eev. P. Dore, M.C., Chaplain, 4th Class, N.Z. Chaplains' Department.

10/966 Corporal A. G. Duncan, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

3/144 Private A. F. D. East, N.Z. Medical Corps.

New Zealanders i\Ientioned in Despatches. 313

Captain T. R. Eastwood, M.C., Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary

Force (Rifle Brigade, Prince Consort's Own).
Captain H. M. Edwards, N.Z. Engineers (Royal Engineers).
7/SOO Trooper J. Edwards, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
Major J. McG. Elmslie, Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Major (temp. Lieut.-Colonel) J. J. Esson, C.M.G.
Major N. S. Falla, D.S.O., N.Z. Field Artillery.
Captain T. Farr, M.C., N.Z. Field Artillery.
Major F. A. Ferguson, N.Z. Engineers (Royal Engineers).
*6/227 Private A. J. Findlay, D.C.M., Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
Lieut.-Colonel J. Findlay. C.B., Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
Captain B. S. Finn, D.S.O., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieut.-Colonel N. Fitzherbert, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
7/-441 Sergeant R. A. Fleming, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
2nd Lieutenant E. N. Gabites, Otago Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant L. J. Gibbs, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
6/234 Sergeant D. D. Gill, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
*Major-General (temp. Lieut.-General) Sir A. J. Godley, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.,

General Oflicer Commanding N.Z. Expeditionary Force.
2nd Lieutenant T. M. P. Grace, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
9/465 Sergeant-Major L. S. L. L. Graham, D.C.M., Otago Mounted Rifles.
Major S. A. Grant, Auckland Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff Corps).
Rev. W. Grant, Chaplain, 3rd Class, N.Z. Chaplains' Department.
A. Greene, Chaplain, 4th Class (Salvation Army), M.C., N.Z. Chaplains'

Department.
7/340 Sergeant A. R. Greenwood, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
3/251 Private J. Greenwood, N.Z. Medical Corps. '

Major R. R. Grigor, D.S.O., Otago Mounted Rifles.
Captain R. N. Guthrie, M.C., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant W. Haeata, Auckland Mounted Rifles.
2nd Lieutenant C. St. C. Hamilton, Otago Infantry Battalion.
*Lieut.-Colonel N. C. Hamilton, D.S.O., N.Z. Army Service Corps (Army

Service Corps).
7/516 Corporal G. G. Harper, D.C.M., Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
7/517 Sergeant R. P. Harper, D.C.M., Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
Captain E. S. Harston, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Major H. Hart, D.S.O., Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Major N. F. Hastings, D.S.O., Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Major W. H. Hastings, Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary Force

(92nd Punjabis, Indian Army).
Captain B. S. Hay, Otago Mounted Rifles.

10/723 Private H. E. Hayden, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant C. Hayter, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
3/170 Private W. Heaver, N.Z. Field Artillery.
Captain P. B. Henderson, M.C., Headquarters N.Z. Mounted Rifles Brigade

(N.Z. Staff Corps).
8/1504 Private W. J. Henry, D.C.M., N.Z. Field Ambulance.
2/147 Sergeant J. Hill, D.C.M., N.Z. Field Artillery.
4537a Sergeant P. Hill, N.Z. Maori Contingent.
Captain F. L. Hindley, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.
Major (temp. Lieut.-Colonel) J. G. Hughes, C.M.G., D.S.O., Canterbury

Infantry Battalion (N..Z. Staff Corps).
Major E J. Hulbert. N.Z. Engineers.

Major H. C. Hurst, D.S.O., Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment.
Major G. F. Hutton, Canterbury Mounted Rifles (Roval Welsh Fusiliers).
2/115 Bombardier D. Inglis, D^C.M., N.Z. Field Artillery.
Captain W. Janson, Wellington Mounted Rifles.

314 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

7/128 Trooper D. Jenkins, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.

10/824 Company Sergt. -Major A. Johnson, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

*Major (temp. Brigadier-General) G. N. Johnston, N.Z. Field Artillery

(Eoyal Artillery).
10/392 Private S. Johnston, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
3/180 Private H. W. Keesing, N.Z. Medical Corps.
Captain V. A. Kelsall, Wellington Mounted Eifles.
Captain G. A. King, D.S.O., Headquarters N.Z. Mounted Eifles Brigade

(N.Z. Staff Corps).
2nd Lieut. J. B. Le Mottee, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
Captain E. Logan, Wellington Mounted Eifles.

Eev. J. A. Luxford, Chaplain, 3rd Class, C.M.G-., N.Z. Chaplains' Depart-
ment.
10/2228 Private F. Mahoney, D.C.M., Wellington Infantry Battalion.
*Lieut.-Colonel W. G. Malone, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Colonel N. Manders, N.Z. Medical Corps (Eoyal Army Medical Corps).
12/1710 Private C. J. Maroni, Auckland Infantry Battalion.
9/445 Sergeant-Major V. Marshall, Otago Mounted Eifles.
13/272 Trooper A. Mason, Auckland Mounted Eifles.
Lieutenant-Colonel W. Meldrum, C.M.G., Wellington Mounted Eifles. .
8/33 Sergeant F. Mitchell. D.C.M., Otago Infantry Battalion.
3/269 Warrant-officer F. W. Moor, D.C.M., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Lieutenant-Colonel A. Moore, D.S.O., Otago Infantry Battalion (Eoyal

Dublin Fusiliers).
Captain K. McCormick, N.Z. Medical Corps.

Eeverend A. Macdonald, Chaplain. 4th Class, N.Z. Chaplains Department.
Major C. McGilp, N.Z. Field Artillery.

2nd Lieutenant E. J. McGregor, Auckland Mounted Eifles.
Temp. 2nd Lieutenant E. McPherson, M.C., N.Z. Field Artillery.
10/1109 Private J. Neale, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Major C. E. Neale, N.Z. Veterinary Corps.
4/655 Sergeant S. Neels, N.Z. Engineers.
Lieutenant M. G. E. Newbold, N.Z. Engineers.
Major C. N. Newman, N.Z. Field Artillery.
4/1 15 Sergeant H. W. Newman, N.Z. Engineers.
Lieutenant T. H. Nisbet, Otago Infantry Battalion.
12/606 Private E. L Noakes, Auckland* Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant A. N. Oakey, M.C., N.Z. Engineers.
*Major E. J. O'Neill, D.S.O., M.B., N.Z. Medical Corps.
Major P. J. Overton, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.
2nd Lieutenant W. T. Palmer, Auckland Mounted Eifles.
16/407 Corporal Tau Paranihi, D.C.M., N.Z. Maori Contingent.
Lieutenant-Colonel W. E. Fearless, N.Z. Medical Corps.
4/827 Sergeant A. G. Picken, N.Z. Engineers.
Major W. E. Pinwill, Headquarters Stafi', N.Z. Expeditionary Force

(Liverpool Eegiment).
*Lieutenant-Colonel A. Plugge, C.M.G., Auckland Infantry Battalion.
8/1048 Sergeant-Major A. W. Porteous, M.C., Otago Infantry Battalion.
Caiitain C. Guy Powles, D.S.O.. Headquarters, N.Z.M.E. Brigade (N.Z.

Staff Corps).
Lieutenant A. H. Preston, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant-Colonel G. E. Pridham, N.Z. Engineers (Eoyal Engineers).
7/108 Sergeant F. L. Eees, Canterbury Mounted Eifles.
Major H. G. Eeid, N.Z. Army Service Corps (Army Service Corps).
10/778 Private J. E. Eeid, Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant A. T. G. Ehodes, Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary

Force (Grenadier Guards).

New Zealanders Mentioned in Despatches. 315

Major (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) G. S. Richardson, C.M.G., Head-
quarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary Force (N.Z. Staff Corps), attached
Royal Naval Division (Staff).
Captain J. M. Richmond, M.C., N.Z. Field Artillery (N.Z. Staff Corps).
11/442 Sergeant W. Ricketts, D.C.M., Wellington Mounted Rifles
13/438 Trooper R. R. E. Rollett, Auckland Mounted Rifles.
11/736 Sergeant B. Ronaldson, Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Captain J. M. Rose, M.C., Wellington Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
*Colonel (temp. Brigadier-General) Sir A. H. Russell, K.C.M.G.
4/208a Corporal C. W. Salmon, D.C.M., N.Z. Engineers.
4/60a Corporal C. W. Saunders, D.C.M., N.Z. Engineers.
6/1399a Sapper E. G. Scrimshaw, D.C.M., N.Z. Engineers.
Captain L. M. Shera, M.C. N.Z. Engineers.
Captain A. V. Short, N. Z. Medical Corps.
9/343 Corporal A. Simon, Otago Mounted Rifles.
3/95 Lance-Corporal W. Singleton, D.C.M., N.Z. Field Ambulance.
8/1837 Lance-Corporal H. D. Skinner, D.C.M., Otago Infantry Battalion.
Major G. S. Smith, D.S.O., Otago Infantry Battalion.
Captain R. B. Smythe, Headquarters N.Z. and A. Division (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
12/1799 Sergeant H. Spencer, D.C.M., Auckland Infantry Battalion.
Major I. T. Standish, D.S.O., N.Z. Field Artillery (Royal N.Z. Artillery).
Lieutenant W. H. Stainton, M.C, N.Z. Maori Contingent.
Major F. H. Statham, Otago Infantry Battalion.
3/447 Lance-Corporal G. Steedman, D.C.M., N.Z. Medical Corps.

13/237 Trooper K. M. Stevens, Auckland Mounted Rifles.

Captain H. Stewart, M.C, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.
Lieutenant-Colonel D. McB. Stewart. Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

6/1156 Private T. Stockdill, D.C.M., Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

Lieutenant J. K. D. Strang, Otago Mounted Rifles.

6/770 Lance-Corporal W. H. Studley, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

10/1674 Corporal J. W. Swan, D.C.M., Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Major (temp. Lieutenant-Colonel) F. B. Sykes, D.S.O., N.Z. Field
Artillerv (Roval Artillery).

Lieutenant-Colonel F. Symon, C.M.G., N.Z. Field Artillery (Royal N.Z.
Artillery) .

6/157 Lance-Corporal B. N. Tavender, D.C.M., Canterbury Infantry
Battalion.

Lieutenant G. N. Taylor, Canterbury Mounted Rifles.

23/1213 Private G. A. Tempany, D.C.M.. Auckland Infantry Battalion.

Major A. C Temperley, Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary Force
(Norfolk Regiment).

Captain N. W. B. B. Thorns, M.C, Headquarters Staff, N.Z. Expeditionary
Force (N.Z. Staff Corps).

6/1131 Private A. Thomson, Canterbury Infantry Battalion.

2/146 Bombardier J. P. Thomson. D.CM., N.Z. Field Artillery.

8/494 Corporal T. A. Timpany, Otago Infantry Battalion.

9/91 Trooper A. K. Topi, Otago Mounted Rifles.

12/267 Bugler D. B. Treacher, Auckland Infantry Battalion.

Lieutenant F. K. Turnbull, M.C, Wellington Infantry Battalion.

Major W. McG. Turnbull, D.S.O., Otago Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff
Corps).

Lieutenant F. M. Twistleton, M.C, Otago Mounted Rifles.

16/161 Company Sergeant-Ma j or H. R. Vercoe, N.Z. Maori Contingent.

*Major F. Waite, D.S.O., N.Z. Engineers.

Lieutenant W. H. Walker. N.Z. Maori Contingent.

316 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

4/72a Sergeant A. Wallace, X.Z. Engineers.

Captain J. A. Wallingford, Auckland Infantry Battalion (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
12/J.020 Corporal F. W. Watson, D.C.M., Auckland Infantry Battalion.
*Major J. H. Whyte, D.C.M., Wellington Mounted Eifles (N.Z. Staff

Corps).
11/654 Sergeant J. W. Wilder, Wellington Mounted Eifles.
Lieutenant Gr. L. Wilson, Otago Infantry Battalion.
Captain E. E. Wilson, W'ellington Infantry Battalion.
14/76 Lance-Corporal J. Wimms, D.C.M., N.Z. Divisional Train.
11/941 Trooper J. H. Winter, D.C.M., Wellington Mounted Eifles.
Captain F. A. Wood, M.C., Auckland Mounted Eifles (N.Z. Staff Corps).
*Lieuteuant-Colonel E. Young, C.M.G.. D.S.O., Wellington Infantiy

Battalion.

317

The Place-Names oi Aiizae.

Some unfortunate tracts of country are destined from their situations
to be the battlegrounds of the world. Old world names, before this war
but the memory of former campaigns, have once again become house-
hold words. So Mons and St. Queutiu, Kantara and Damascus, have
become familiar to the boys of the present generation, for have not their
elder brothers been on police picket in the back streets of every one of
them?

But war sometimes chances to descend on poor, unsettled and other-
wise unimportant territory. Such a place was Anzac — rough and
hungry clay hillsides, no habitations in its area except the lonely
Fishermen's Hut near the mouth of the Sazli Beit Dere, and a poor
shepherd's hut at the foot of Monash Gully. Into this desolate country,
with only a few ridges and watercourses important enough to be marked
on the map, came legions of foreign soldiers who i)eopled every scrubby
ridge and winding gully.

The necessity for place-names became very pressing. Ketaining such
of the native ones as were show-n on the maps, a multitude of Australian
and New Zealand names appeared sj^ontaneously at Anzac, just as the
English and French names ai^ijeared at Helles.

Difficulties often arose. An Australian unit holding a part of the
line had local names for every place within the sector, whereas a New
Zealand unit taking over manufactured or evolved names quite different.
The prejiaration of a trench map or oj)eration orders written by the
Staff fixed the name for all time. Place-names like "The Sphinx" are
evidence of this.

Ismail Oglu Tepe with its wavy crestliue, naturally became the
"W" Hills of Anzac. From Walker's Eidge the description point —
"W" Hills — never failed to be recognized.

Most places in Anzac are named after men or units. This is natural.
But sometimes accidents crept in here, too. For instance, an attack of
measles made what might have been * ' Johnston 's Ridge, ' ' into ' ' Walker 's
Eidge. ' '

The word "Anzac" arrived in quite a different way. "Anzac"
obviously suggested itself. But numerous stories are current as to its
origin, and doubtless many of the stories are correct. Statements on
this subject have been made by the two most important Generals
connected with the campaign, and their claims may easily be reconciled.

1. In the "Anzac Book" General Birdwood stated that when he

took over the command of the Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps in Egypt, he was asked to select a telegraphic code address
for his Army Corps, and adopted the word "Anzac." Later on,
after the landing, he was asked by General Headquarters to
suggest a name for the beach, and in reply he christened it
' ' Anzac Cove. ' '

2. General Ian Hamilton wrote in his preface to "Crusading at Anzac,

A.D. 1915," by Signaller Ellis Silas: "As the man who first,

seeking to save himself trouble, omitted the five full stops and

brazenly coined the word "Anzac," I am glad to write a line or

two in preface to sketches which may help to give currency to that

token througliout the realms of glory."

In compiling this list of place-names and their origins, the aim has

been to set down only those names that were generally accepted and

used at Anzac. Official trench maps, operation orders, books, pamphlets,

and captured Turkish maps have been searched and verified. I am

greatly indebted to the work of my friend Sapper Moore-Jones in his

unrivalled ' ' Sketches Made at Anzac. ' ' Besides being works of art,

these sketches are particularly valuable as showing in faithful detail

318 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

the land features of the Anzac area, with many of the place-names in
use during the operations.

It is not necessary to burden this volume with a complete Turkish
dictionary, but the following words, with their equivalents in English,
may be found of value: —

Bair

Spur

Kuchuk

Small

Biyuk

Large

Kuyu

- Well

Burnu

Cape

Ova

Plain

Chair

Meadow

Sirt

A Summit

Dagh

Mountain

Tepe

- Hill

Dere
Kale

Valley with stream
- Fort

Tekke

Shrine

Abdel Rahman Bair. — The great northern spur of the Sari Bair range.
Anafarta. — (1) The Turkish name for the Suvla front.

(2) There are two villages inland from Suvla Bay called Biyuk
Anafarta and Kuchuk Anafarta.

(3) A long-range gun firing from the hills w'as called "Anafarta
Annie. "

Anzac. — Formed from the initial letters of Australian and New Zealand

Army Corps. First used (written A. and N.Z.A.C.) in Egypt, when

the Army Corps was formed. It soon became A'.N.Z.A.C, and the

new word was so obvious that the full stops were omitted.
Anzac Cove. — The little bay where the principal landing was made on

April 25, 1915.
The Apex. — High up on Ehododendron Spur, and the furthest point inland

retained by the Anzac forces after the attack on Chunuk Bair. An

earlier name, little used, was "The Mustard Plaster."
Ari Bumu. — The northern horn of Anzac Cove. The Turk called the

Anzac area the Ari Burnu front.
Asma Dere. — One of the upper reaches of the Azmak Dere, starting in

the foothills of the Abdel Kahman Bair.
Azmak Dere. — A watercourse leading from Biyuk Anafarta, running to

the south of Ismail Oglu Tepe and debouching on to the Suvla flats.

There is another Azmak flowing into the north of the Salt Lake at

Suvla.
Australian Valley. — One of the northern branches of the Aghyl Dere,

named after the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade.
Baby 700. — A Turkish position between The Nek and Battleship Hill.
Battleship Hill. — High ground within the Turkish lines between Baby 700

and Chunuk Bair. Turkish reserves sheltered behind it, and were

frequently shelled by the warships.
Bauchop's Hill. — A hill between the Aghyl Dere and the Chailak Dere.

Named after the gallant colonel of the Otago Mounted Eifles, who

was mortally wounded here on August 8.
Beach Road, The. — The road running along the sea beach from Ari Burnu

toward No. 2 Post.
Bedford Ridge. — A ridge opposite Cheshire Ridge on which were

situated our three isolated posts: Newbury's Post, the southern one;

Franklin Post, the central one; Warwick Castle, the northern one.
Blarney's Meadow. — Overlooked by Tasmania Post. Named after Major

Blamey, an Intelligence Officer who carried out extensive recon-
naissances in Turkish territory towards Maidos.
Blockhouse, The. — A Turkish position opposite the Apex. This blockhouse

was built after the Turks swept us off Chunuk Bair in August.
Bloody Angle. — The gully between Dead Man's Ridge and Quinn's Post.

The 4th Australian Brigade and the battalions of the Royal Naval

Division suffered heavj- losses here on the night of May 2/3.

The Place-Names op Axzac. 319

Bolton's Hill. — Named after Colonel Bolton, Sth A.I. Battalion. On the

extreme right flank; part of the front line of the Australian position.
Biyuk Anafarta. — See Anafarta.
Braund's Hill. — A hill behind the centre of the Australian line on the

right, and overlooking Shrapnel Valley. Named after Colonel Braund,

of the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion. Colonel Braund was a

member for Armidale in the New South Wales Paliament, and was

killed soon after the landing.
Broadway. — The wide sunken road leading from the top of Walker's

Eidge round the back of the firing line on Eussell's Top.
Bridges' Road. — A road leading to the right from Shrapnel Valley

towards Wire Gully. Named in memory of General Bridges, the

Australian Divisional Commander, who was mortally wounded in

Shrapnel Valley.
Brighton Beach. — The long stretch of beach running southwards from

Hell Spit towards Gaba Tepe. Brighton is the well-known watering

place near Melbourne, named after the English seaside resort.
Brown's Dip. — A depression just behind the Australian trenches opposite

Lone Pine, where the Turkish and Australian dead were buried after

the struggle for Lone Pine. The lower part of Brown's Dip was known

as Victoria Gully.
Eully Beef Gully. — A gully running up from the centre of Anzac Cove

past Army Corps Headquarters. As stores on the beach would be

threatened by rough weather, beef and biscuits were stacked in this

valley.
Bully Beef Track. — A communication trench running from the right of

Eussell's Top to the head of Monash Gully.
Bully Cut. — A deep communication trench cut to enable troops to avoid

a much-sniped section of the Aghyl Dere.
Camel's Hump. — A Turkish position just below Snipers' Nest.
Canterbury Gully. — A small gully between Plugge 's Plateau and Shrapnel

Valley, where the Canterbury Infantry Battalion rested when in

reserve from Quinn 's Post. Often shown on the map as Rest Gully.
Canterbury Slope. — On the slopes of Rhododendron Spur.
Canterbury Knob. — A famous machine gun position on the right flank

of the Apex position and overlooking the head waters of the Sazli

Beit Dere. Known to machine gunners as Preston's Top after the

gallant Lieut. Preston (killed in France) who first placed machine

guns there on August 7.
Canterbury Ridge. — A name given to Rhododendron Spur during the

early days of August. The Canterbury Infantry occupied this ground

on the morning of August 7.
Chailak Dere. — A narrow valley falling down from Chunuk Bair, past

the north side of Table Top and between Bauchop 's Hill and "Old

No. 3 Post."
Chatham's Post. — The southern limit of the Anzac line. Named after

Lieut. Chatham, of the 5th Australian Light Horse.
Chessboard, The. — A criss-cross network of Turkish trenches opposite

Pope's Hill and Eussell's Top.
Cheshire Ridge. — A ridge between the upper reaches of the Chailak Dere

and the southern fork of the Aghyl Dere. Named after the Sth

Cheshires who were in the 40th Brigade of the 13th Division. Its

respective parts were known as Upper and Lower Cheshire. Durrant's

Post was in the centre.
Chocolate Hills. — A range of hills inland from Suvla Bay, south of the

Salt Lake. These hills were brownish red, and later swept with fire.

One part was covered with scrub and, not being burnt, was known

as Green Hill.

320 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Chunuk Bail. — A ridge about 860 feet high on the Sari Bair, below
Hill Q, and above Ehododendron Spur.

Clarke Valley. — Between Victoria Gully and Shell Green. Colonel Clarke
had the 12th Australian Infantry Battalion.

Cornfield, The. — A small patch of cultivated ground on the right flank
just above Shell Green.

Courtney's Post. — One of the three famous posts at head of Monash
Gully. Lieut. -Colonel E. E. Courtney, of the 14th Australian Infantry
Battalion, was in command here in May. He died at Melbourne on
October 22, J 919.

Daisy Patch, The. — A piece of old meadow at Cape Helles.

Damakjelik Bair. — On the left of the Anzac line; the objective of the
Left Covering Force on August 6.

Dawkins' Point. — On Brighton Beach, about 600 yards south of Hell
Spit. Named after an officer of the Australian Engineers.

Dead Man's Ridge. — A much-contested Turkish salient running in
between Pope 's Hill and Quinn 's Post. So called because of the
bodies of New Zealanders, Australians, and men of the Eoyal Naval
Division which lay there from May 2/3 until the Armistice.

Destroyer Hill. — A small hill overlooking the Sazli Beit Dere and mid-
way between Ehododendron Spur and No. 1 Post. Often heavily
shelled by the torpedo destroyers.

Durrant's Post. — A post on Cheshire Ridge. Major Durrant was an
officer in the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade.

Farm, The. — A hotly contested corner of the Chunuk Bair battlefields.
Just underneath the ridge of Chunuk Bair. It eventually remained
in the hands of the Turk.

Fishermen's Hut. — A rude hut or huts near the coast, at the foot 'of
the Sazli Beit Dere.

Gaba Tepe. — A headland about a mile and a quarter south of the Anzac
right flank. The Anzac landing was originally known as the Gaba
Tepe landing. Most of the earlier gazetted decorations were prefaced
"in the neighbourhood of Gaba Tepe," which really means Anzac.

Gillespie Hill.— A part of Hill 60. On the left of the Anzac theatre.
Named after Lieut. -Colonel Gillespie, of the South Wales Borderers.

Hampshire Lane. — A communication trench leading from the Aghyl Dere
towards Sandbag Eidge.

Happy Valley. — The valley just north of Walker's Eidge, and immedi-
ately below Turk's Point. In the spring the lower reaches were a
mass of flowering shrubs, beautiful grasses, and fragrant wild thyme.

Hay Valley. — A southern arm of the Aghyl Dere; branching to the left
it was known as Stafi'ord Gully, and to the right, Hotchkiss Gully.
Captain Bruce Hay, N.Z.S.C, was killed while leading a squadron ot
the Otago Mounted Eifles in the attack on Bauchop 's Hill.

HeU Spit. — The southern horn of Anzac Cove. Jutting out into the sea,
it was a convenient mark for the Turkish gunner of the Olive Groves
and Gaba Tepe.

Hill Q. — Sometimes known as Nameless Peak. Midway between the
heights of Hill 971 and Chunuk Bair. About 280 feet.

Hill 60. — The height in metres of the hill known as Kaiajik Aghala,
near which was the important w'ell Kabak Kuyu.

Hill 100. — High ground between the Asma Dere and the head of the
Kaiajak Dere; held by the Otago Mounted Eifles at the evacuation.

Hill 112. — Ismail Oglu Tepe, which see.

Hill 971. — The most important tactical feature on Gallipoli Peninsula.
The highest Peak of the Sari Bair range, 971 feet high. Known to
the Turk as Koja Chemen Tepe, and shown on the later maps as
Hill 305, from its height in metres.

The Place-Names of Anzac. 321

Hotchkiss Gully. — See Hay Valley.

Howitzer Gully. — The northernmost gully running up towards Plugge 's

Plateau from Anzac Cove. Here the 4.5 Howitzer Battery, under

Major Falla, made its welcome appearance the morning after the

Anzac landing.
Hughes Gully. — Part of the Sazli Beit Dere running to the north opposite

Destroyer Hill, towards the front of Table Top. Lt.-Col. J. G.

Hughes, C.M.G., D.8.O., was in command of the Canterbury Battalion

during the August offensive.
Ismail Oglu Tepe.— See "W" Hills.
Johnston's Jolly. — A Turkish position between Lone Pine and German

officers' trench. Named after Colonel G. J. Johnston, Brigadier of

the 2nd Australian Artillery Brigade.
Koja Chemen Tepe.— See Hill 971.
Koja Dere. — A Turkish village two miles due east of Lone Pine. Here

were concentrated a large proportion of the enemy's reserves. Koja

Dere (sometimes spelt Kurija Dere) was the site of the Turkish Army

Headquarters in the southern sector of the Ari Burnu front.
Kaiajik Aghala.— See Hill 60.
Kuchuk Anafarta. — See Anafarta.

Kabak Kuyu. — A valuable well in the neighbourhood of Hill 60.
Kur Dere. — A valley between Chunuk Bair Hill Q, on the enemy 's side

of the watershed. Mentioned as one of the objectives in the

operation order for August 6.
Lala Baba. — The highest ground between Nibrunesi Point and the Salt

Lake. This observation post was raided several times by New

Zealanders before the Suvla landing. On it a German flag was

flown after the evacuation.
Leane's Trench. — A set of Turkish trenches near Tasmania Post, taken

on July 31 by Western Australian troops under Major Leane, who

was killed during the operations.
Little Table Top.— A small, flat-topped hill north of the original "Table

Tup,'" which was sometimes called "Big Table Top."
Long Sap, The. — A communication trench running from Anzac Cove, near

Ari Burnu, along the foothills out to No. 2 Post.
Lone Pine. — A set of Turkish trenches south of Johnston's Jolly, taken

and held by the Australians during the August fighting. Seven

Victoria Crosses were won here by Australians.
Malone's Gully. — A dry watercourse between Happy Valley and No. 1

Post, leading up towards Baby 700. Named after the gallant Colonel

of the Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Mai Tepe.— A small hill inland from Gaba Tepe, on which the Turks had

guns. One of the objectives mentioned in the operation order for

the Anzac landing.
Monash Gully. — See Shrapnel Valley. Brigadier-General Monash com-
manded the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, which first held the

head of Monash Gully.
Mortar Ridge. — A ridge behind German OflScers' Trench. Under the
reverse slope of Mortar Eidge were innumerable dugouts protecting

the Turkish reserves.

Mule Gully. — A ravine running up behind Walker's Eidge. Under the

shelter of the high banks the mules of the Indian Supply and

Transport Corps were protected from fire.
Mustard Plaster, The. — See the Apex.
Maclagan's Ridge. — The ridge running from Plugge 's Plateau down to

Hell Spit. Named after the landing in honour of Colonel Sinclair

Maclagan, D.S.O.

322 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Maclaurin's Hill. — Just south of Steel's Post. Colonel Maclaurin. the
Brigadier of the 1st Australian Infantry Brigade, was killed in
Monash Gully two days after the landing.

McCay's Hill. — On the right flank, north of White Valley. Named
after the Brigadier of the 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade.

No. 1 Post. — On the left flank of Anzac. Sometimes known as Maori
Post, from it being ga.rrisoned by the Maori contingent.

No. 2 Post. — Called Nelson Hill in the earlier days because held by the
10th (Nelson) Mounted Rifles; then taken over by the Otago Mounted
Eifles; eventually became Divisional Headquarters for the August
operations.

No. 3 Post. — Established just north of No. 2 Outpost, when Old No. 3
was abandoned.

Nameless Peak. — See Hill Q.

Nek, The. — A narrow tongue of No Man's Land, running from Russell's
Top towards the Turkish trenches.

Nelson Hill. — See No. 2 Post.

Nibrunesi Point. — The southern horn of Suvla Bay, shown on some
Turkish maps as Kuchuk Kemekli.

North Beach. — See Ocean Beach.

Ocean Beach. — The stretch of sea shore between Ari Burnu and No. 2
Post. Sometimes known as North Beach.

Old No. 3 Post. — High ground above Fishermen's Hut. Captured and
held for two days by the N.Z.M.E. in May, but eventually abandoned
to the Turks; retaken during the August advance.

Olive Groves. — Clumps of trees inland from Gaba Tepe. "Beachy Bill"
and other obnoxious Turkish guns were "dug in" in the vicinity.

Otago Gully.— Near No. 3 Post. The Otago Mounted Rifles had their
headquarters hereabouts during June and July.

Overton Gully. — A gully named to commemorate Major Overton, Canter-
bury Mounted Eifles, a keen ofiicer who directed the scouting and
reconnoitering on the left flank. He was killed on August 7 while
leading Cox 's Indian Brigade up the Aghyl Dere.

Owen's Gully. — A gully in Turkish territory between Johnston's Jolly
and Lone Pine; named after Brigadier-General Cunliffe Owen, the
artillery commander of the A.N.Z.A.C.

Phillip's Top. — Near the bottom and on the southern side of Shrapnel
Valley there was a low ridge called "The Razor Back," which,
running up towards the firing line, became known as Phillip 's Top,
after Major Phillips, of the Australian Field Artillery.

Pimple, The. — A salient in the Australian line just opposite the Turkish
Lone Pine trenches; this Pimple became the Lone Pine Salient.

Pine Ridge. — A Turkish position opposite the extreme right flank of
Anzac.

Plugge's Plateau. — The high ground immediately inland from Anzac
Cove, the southern spur running down to Hell Spit being named
Maclagan 's Eidge. Plugge 's Plateau is called after the O.C. Auck-
land Infantry Battalion.

Point Rosenthal.— On the ridge below Bolton 's Hill. Colonel Eosenthal
commanded the 1st Australian Artillery Brigade!

Pope's Hill. — An isolated post at the head of Monash Gully; on its right
was Dead Man's Ridge; on its left a deep canyon separating Pope's
from Russell's Top. Colonel Pope was the gallant white-haired
commander of the famous 16th Australian Infantry Battalion.

Poppy Valley. — There .were many "Poppy" Valleys and "Poppy"
Fields in the Anzac area, but the only one to get on the map was in
the Turkish territory between Harris' Ridge and Pine Ridge, on the
extreme southern flank of Anzac.

The Place-Names of Anzac. 323

Queensland Point. — That lower part of Maclagan's Eidge which resolves
itself into Hell 8pit. The Queensland Infantry landed here early on
April 25.

Quinn's Post. — At the head of Monash Gully; the most famous post in
Anzac, the salient of the Anzac line. Named after Major Quinn, of
the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, who was killed defending the
post. For the first few days this ground was held by Major Eankine
("Bobby") of the 14th Battalion A.I.F. He then handed over to
Major Quinn.

Eeserve Gully. — A "rest" gully in the low ground between Plugge's
Plateau and the Sphinx. It eventually became unsafe, being period-
ically searched by the guns from the "W" Hills.

Rest Gully. — 8ee Canterbury Gully.

Rhododendron Spur. — A prominent spur running westward from Chunuk
Bair, and between the Chailak Dere and the Sazli Beit Dere, the
point nearest Chunuk Bair being called the Apex. It was first called
Ehododendron Spur by Major Overton, who saw in the scrubby
arbutus some resemblance to a rhododendron.

Rose Hill. — A northern underfeature of Bauchop Hill, below Little Table
Top and above Hotchkiss Gully. Guns placed here defended the
ground between The Blockhouse and our position on the Apex.
Major Eose was a New Zealand machine gunner in charge of the
4th Australian Infantry Brigade machine guns.

Russell's Top. — The highest point of Walker's Eidge, where Brigadier-
General Eussell, commanding the New Zealand Mounted Eifles, had his
headquarters during May, June, and July.

Ryrie's Post. — On the right of the Australian line; named after Brig-
adier-General Eyrie, 2nd Light Horse Brigade.

Sandbag Ridge. — A salient in the new Anzac line near Hill 100.

Sari-Bair. — The tangled mass of hills and watercourses inland from
Anzac and Suvla, culminating in Hill 971.

Sazli Beit Dere. — A watercourse, dry in summer, originating in the
slopes of Chunuk Bair, and entering the sea near Fishermen's Hut.

Scimitar Hill. — A round hill north of the "W" Hills, on which was a
curved strip of yellow earth resembling a Turkish sword; skown on
some maps as Hill 70, from its height in metres.

Scrubby Knoll. — A Turkish position about 1500 yards due east of
Courtney 's Post.

Shell Green. — A small area of cleared cultivable ground on the extreme
right of Anzac, between Clarke Valley and Eyrie 's Post.

Shrapnel Valley. — The road to the centre of the Anzac position; heavily
shelled by the Turkish artillery from the first day. Known to the
Turks as Kamu Kapu Dere. The upper portion of the valley was
known as Monash Gully.

Snipers' Nest. — A scrubby hill about 1000 yards from the sea, from
which Turkish snipers made tke beach north of Ari Burnu unsafe for
bathing or traffic.

Smyth's Post. — A post in the Australian sector, named after an
Australian officer.

Sphinx, The. — A peculiar knife-edge spur jutting out seawards from
Walker's Eidge. During the early days it was known by many
names such as the Sphinx, the Knife Edge, the Cathedral, the
Snipers' Crevice, &c., until it was entered on the map as the Sphinx.
A legend that from a crevice a sniper picked off men for the first
few days, until shot by Captain Wallingford, the welI-kno^^^l machine
gunner, has no foundation in fact, except that some wild pigeons
which had their home there were thought to be carriers.

Stafford Gully.— See Ha^- Yallev.

324 Tpie New Zealanders at Gallipolt.

Steel's Post. — The post south of Courtney's, named after Major Steel,
of the 14th Australian Battalion. For the first week, Courtney 's
and Steel's were included in Steel's Post; but Lt.-Col. Courtney
took over the left section which was renamed Courtney's.

Susuk Kuyu. — A well just north of Hill 60, where the Anzae forces got
in touch ^rith the Suvla forces after the Suvla landing.

Table Top. — A flat-topped hill, 1400 yards inland from the sea, just south
of Chailak Dere and at the foot of Rhododendron Spur; captured by
the Wellington Mounted Eifles on the night of August 6/7.

Tasmanian Post. — A post held by the Tasmanians on the right of the
Anzac front line, just north of Eyrie's Post.

Taylor's Hollow. — A depression just below Bauchop's Hill; named after
Lieut. Taylor, of the 10th (Nelson) Mounted Eifles, who made
numerous reconnaisances in the vicinity.

Turks' Hump. — A Turkish position on the lower slopes of Gunners' Hill,
opposite Canterbury Knob.

Turk's Point. — Part of the left of the original Anzac line, overlooking
the head of Malone 's Gully.

Valley of Despair, The. — A valley in Turkish hands opposite our extreme
right flank, running from near Lone Pine down towards the sea.

Victoria Gully. — See Brown 's Dip.

Walden's Point. — North of Taylor's Hollow. Waklren, whose name
was always mis-spelt "Walden," was a very daring sniper who did
much reconnoitering on the Suvla Flats as a machine gun officer of
the ^Maoris. He was killed on the Apex.

Walker's Ridge. — The left flank of the original Anzac line. Brigadier-
General "Walker was attached to Armj- Headquarters, but as Colonel
Johnston was down with measles on the morning of the Anzac
landing. General Walker took command of the Brigade.

Walker's Pier. — A wharf erected north of Ari Burnu, between Mule
Gully and Eeserve Gully.

Wanliss Gully. — A gully breaking the Anzac line just opposite German
Officers' Trench. This section was at one time under the command
of Colonel Wanliss. 5th Australian Infantry Battalion.

Warley Gap. — The gap in the line at Sandbag Eidge.

Waterfall Gully. — A small sheltered gully in Bauchop's Hill, where
newcomers bivouacked. The Headquarters of a Turkish unit was
','aptured here on August 6/7.

Wr^tson's Pier. — The first wharf built at Anzac Cove by the New
Zealand Engineers. Captain Watson was an officer of the Australian
Signal Service, who overlooked the work when N.Z.E. officers could
not be spared.

Wellington Terrace. — The clifl" side under the shadow of the Sphinx,
studded with dugouts; originally a rest camp for the W^ellington
Eegiment, who saw some resemblance to their native hillsides.

White's Valley. — A valley turning to the right off Shrapnel Valley,
north of MeCay's Hill; named after Lieut-Colonel White, of the Sth
Australian TJght Horse.

Wine Glass Ridge. — A Turkish j^osition opposite the Anzac right flank.

Williams Pier. — A pier on North Beach.

"W" Hills. — A low ridge 112 metres high, about a mile due north of
Hill 60; shown on Turkish maps as Ismail Oglu Tepe, but better
known to the Anzac troojjs as the " W " Hills. W^hen looking north
from Eussell 's Top, the spurs of this feature formed the line W,
while the re-entrants formed the shadows.

325

A Gallipoli Diary.

War has many phases. Within the compass of a volume such as this,
it is not possible to describe in detail all those events bearing on the
subject of the Gallipoli campaign. Neither is it possible — though the
temptation is great — to deal with the glorious achievements of our silent
Allied Navies, and the accomplishments of our heroic French, British, Indian
and Australian comrades.

The following diary has been compiled so that the bearing of all
the multifarious happenings: — naval, military, and political — may be seen in
their proper setting in regard to the campaign.

1914.

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Serajevo.

Austria declared war on Serbia.

Preliminaiy arrangements made in New Zealand for a

volunteer Expeditionary Force.
Germany declared war on Russia. Germans entered France.
Russians entered Germany.
Germany declared war on France.
Britain declared war on Germany.
' ' Goeben and ' ' Breslau ' ' at Messina, Italy.
The New Zealand Government cabled to the Imperial Govern-
ment offering the services of an Expeditionary Force.
British Expeditionary Force landed in France.
' ' Goeben ' ' and ' ' Breslau ' ' reported at Constantinople.
Services of N.Z.E.F. accepted by Imperial Authorities.
Sanioan Force of 1.350 New Zealanders and four guns sailed.
German Samoa surrendered.
Main Body embarked on transports.
Force ordered to await a more powerful escort.
"Minotaur" and "Ibuki" arrived in Wellington Harbour.
Main Body again embarked on transports.
Convoy sailed from Wellington.
Arrived at Hobart.
Left Hobart for Albany.
28. Arrived at Albany.
Nov. 1. Australian and New Zealand convoy left Albany.
British Naval defeat at Coronel.
2. Martial law proclaimed in Egypt.

First shelling of the Dardanelles Forts by French and
British Squadrons.
5. Britain and France officially declared war on Turkey.
9. H.M.A.S. ' ' Sydney ' ' destroyed the ' ' Emden ' ' at the Cocos
Islands.
13. Convoy crossed the Equator; the "Hampshire" joined the

convoy.
15. Arrived at Colombo.
17. New Zealand transports left Colombo for Aden.

25. New Zealand transports arrived at Aden.

26. Combined Australian and New Zealand convoy left Aden

for Suez.
28. Received wireless to prepare for disembarkation in Egypt.
30. Arrived at Suez.

June

28.

July

28.

30.

Aug.

10.

12.

15.

28.

Sept.

24.

25.

Oct.

14.

15.

16.

21.

22.

326 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

Dec. 1. New Zealand ships passed through the Suez Canal.

3. Commenced disembarkation at Alexandria.

4. First troop train arrived at Helmieh station for Zeitoun Camp.
8. German Naval defeat at the Falkland Islands.

Australian Light Horse Brigade and Ceylon Planters Eifle
Corps attached to N.Z.E.F.
12 British Section trained on Salisbuiy Plain left Southampton
for Egypt.

13. Lieut. Holbrook in BII. torpedoed the "Messoudieh" in the

Dardanelles.

14. Second Eeinforcements left New Zealand.

18. 18. Proclamation of a British Protectorate in Egypt; the

Khedive Abbas deposed.

19. His Highness Prince Hussein proclaimed Sultan of Egypt.

23. March of N.Z. Troops through the streets of Cairo.

24. British Section arrived at Zeitoun Camp.

25. Christmas Day spent on the Desert.

1915.
Jan. 18. Division now styled the "New Zealand and Australian Division."

25. N.Z. Infantry Brigade ordered to Suez Canal.

26. Infantry Brigade left Zeitoun for Ismailia and Kubri.
Feb. 1. Advance parties 4th Aust. Inf. Bde. arrived at Zeitoun.

3. Turks attacked Suez Canal. New Zealanders engaged; one
man died of wounds and one wounded.

14. Third Reinforcements left New Zealand.

19. Naval attack on the forts at the entrance of the Dardanelles.

26. N.Z. Infantry Brigade returned from Suez Canal to Zeitoun,

March 18. End of Dardanelles Naval attack. "Queen, " "Irresistible"

and ' ' Bouvet ' ' sunk.
26. Third Reinforcements, consisting of 63 officers and 2417 other

ranks arrived at Zeitoun.
29. Inspection of Division by Sir Ian Hamilton.
April 9. N.Z. & A. Di\nsion, less mounted units, entrained for

Alexandria.
10. First transports left for Mudros.

15. Trans.port "Lutzow" with Divisional Headquarters on board

arrived in Mudros Harbour.
17. Fourth Reinforcements left New Zealand.

24. French, British, Australian and New Zealand transports left

Mudros Harbous.

25. French landed at Kum Kale.
British landed at Cape Helles.

A. & N.Z. Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove; 3rd Australian
Infantry Brigade forced a landing at dawn.

N.Z. Divisional Headquarters and details ashore at 10 a.m. ;
Auckland Battalion all ashore by 12 noon; No. 1 Field
Company N.Z. Engineers and Canterbury and Otago
Infantry came ashore during the afternoon.

Wellington Infantry landed during the night.

26. 6 a.m. two guns of N.Z. Howitzer Battery landed and came

into action.
Turkish counter attacks beaten off at Anzac.

27. 2nd Battery N.Z.F.A. landed at 3 a.m.

Heavy attack against centre and Walker's Ridge beaten off
9.30 a.m.

28. Portsmouth and Chatham Battalions (Royal Marine Brigade)

arrived 6 p.m.
No. 2 Company Divisional Train arrived at night.

A Gallipoli Dmry. 327

April 29. Heavy Turkish attacks all along the Anzac Line.

A Naval Brigade (Nelson and Deal Battalion) arrived at
night.
May 2. Turkish observation post destroyed at Lala Baba by New
Zealanders.
2/3. Our attack at head of Monash Gully failed.

3. Turk warship in straits fired on transports; "Annaberg" hit.

4. Australian attack on Gaba Tepe beaten off.

5/6. N.Z. Infantry Brigade and 2nd Australian Brigade left for
Cape Helles.

6. 3rd Reinforcements arrived Anzac — sent down to Helles.
Combined French, British and Colonial Forces commenced

attack on Krithia.

7. New Zealanders in support of 29th Division.
Sinking of ' ' Lusitania ' ' in the Atlantic.

8. Great attack on Krithia not successful.

10. Australians at head of Monash Gully attacked Turks, but

withdrew.
12. N.Z. Mounted Rifles (1500 men) arrived at Anzac to fight

as Infantry.
Gen. Chauvel with 1400 men of the Australian Light Horse

arrived.

14. H.M.S. ' ' Goliath ' ' sunk at mouth of straits.
Queenslanders made a sortie from Quinn's Post.

15. General Birdwood slightly wounded in the head at Quinn 's

Post.
General Bridges mortally wounded.

16. 0-inch Howitzer with R.M.L.I. crew arrived in support of

the Division.
Machine Gun detachment Otago Mounted Rifles arrived.

17. 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade returned. 3 guns of 2nd

Battery N.Z.F.A., man-handled up to Plugge's Plateau.

18. Heavy Turkish attacks.
German Taube flew over Anzac.

19. Turks fail to drive A. N.Z. Corps into the sea.
N.Z. Infantry Brigade returned from Helles.

20. Otago Mounted Rifles (dismounted) arrived.

Turks first ask for an armistice.

24. Armistice Day to bury dead.

25. H.M.S. "Triumph" torpedoed off Gaba Tepe.

27. H.M.S. "Majestic" torpedoed off Cape Helles.

28. Late at night Turks fire mine in front of Quinn's Post.
Canterbury Mounted Rifles take ' ' Old No. 3 Post. ' '

29. Attack on Quinn's Post — Major Quinn killed.
Major Bruce, 26th Indian Mountain Battery killed.

31. Turk blockhouse blown up in front of Quinn's by two sappers.
June 3. 2nd Field Company, N.Z.E., arrived.

4. Slight advance made at Cape Helles.

Canterbury Infantry raided from Quinn's Post late at night.

5. Another sortie against German Officers' Trench opposite

Courtney's post.

7. Fourth Reinforcements arrived Anzac Cove.
Sortie from Quinn's Post night of 7/8th.

8. First Monitor appeared off Anzac.

10. Scouting parties of N.Z.M.R. driven back to No. 2 Post.
12. 4.5 Howitzer taken from Howitzer Gully up to Plugge's
Plateau.

21. French captured the Haricot Redoubt at Cape Helles.

June

28.
9/30.

July

4/5.'

10.

11.
12.

328 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

A marked advance made in the Helles sector.

Turks again unsuccessfully endeavoured to drive the infidels

into the sea. The last Turkish attack on Anzae.
Determined Turkish attack at Helles unsuccessful.
Another heavy attack beaten off the British at Cape Helles.
Turks at Cape Helles asked fur Armistice to bury their dead.

Armistice refused.
X.Z. Hospital ship ' ' Maheno ' ' left Wellington.
General Masnou, conmianding the 1st French Division at

Helles, mortally wounded.
31. 200 men of the 11th West Australian Battalion took Turkish

trenches oj^posite Tasmania Post.
Aug. 3. 13th (New Army) commenced landing at Anzac.
5. Fall of Warsaw.
6/7. British delivered holding attack at Cape Helles.

Australians made heroic attack at Lone Pine, Quinn 's Post

and Eussell's Top.
Old No. 3 Post retaken and Table Top and Beauchop's HiU

taken by N.Z.M.E,
Daniakjelik Bair captured by Left Covering Force.

7. New landing at Suvla Bay before dawn.
Ehododendron Spur in the hands of New. Zealanders.

8. New Zealanders storm Chunuk Bair.
New Army remains inactive at Suvla.

Fifth Eeinforcements reach Anzac and go into the firing line.

9. Ghurkas reach the Saddle between Hill Q and Chunuk Bair.
New Zealanders cling to the shoulder of Chunuk Bair;

relieved at night by New Army Troops.

10. New Army Troops driven from Chunuk Bair by Turkish

counter attack.

11. Advance from Suvla definitely held up.
1-4. Sixth Eeinforcements left New Zealand.
21. First attack on Hill 60.

Italy declared war on Turkey.

26. ' ' Maheno ' ' arrived oif Anzac.

27. Battle i-enewed for the possession of Hill 60.

28. New Zealanders held on to and consolidate their position on

Hill 60.
Sept. Troops go to rest camp at Sarpi.

19. A'on Mackensen renewed attack on Serbia.

20. Bulgaria Treaty with Turkey announced, thus opening the

Balkan corridor.

29. British and Indian troops enter Kut-el-Amara.

30. 10th (Irish) Division left Suvla for Salonika.
Oct. 3. 2nd French Division left Helles for Salonika.

7. Britain offered Cypnis to Greece.

9. Belgrade captured by Austro-Germans.

11. Lord Kitchener asked Sir Ian Hamilton the estimated cost

of evacuation.

12. Sir Ian Hamilton replied that evacuation was unthinkable.

14. In the House of Lords, Lord Milner and Lord Eibblesdale

urged the evacuation of Gallipoli.

15. Britain declared war on Bulgaria.

16. Lord Kitchener telegraphed recalling Sir Ian Hamilton.

17. Sir Ian Hamilton issued his farewell order.

20. General Munro, in London, received instructions to proceed

to the near east and take over command of the M.E.F.
23. Wreck of Marquette — 10 nurses drowned.
30. General Sir Charles Munro first \asits the Peninsula.

A Gallipoli Diary. 329

Nov. 2. 4th Australian Infantry Brigade arrived from Sarjii Rest
Camp.
6. Nish captured by the Austro-Germans.
10. N.Z. Mounted Rifles arrived from Mudros Rest Camp.
13. Lord Kitchener visited Anzac.

13. Mr. Winston Churchill resigned from the British Cabinet.
17. Lt.-Col. Braithwaite. D.S.O., assumed command of N.Z.

Infantry Brigade.
22. Battle of Ctesiplipn.

24. Period of silence ordered: lasted 72 hours.

Major General Russell took over N.Z. and A. Division.
26. Major General Godley assumed conunand of Army Corps.
27/28. Commencement of the Great Blizzard.
Dec. 3. General Townsheud besieged at Kut-el-Amara.

8. General Munro ordered General Birdwood to proceed with the
evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.
10/11. All sick, wounded, surplus troops, vehicles and valuable
stores removed.
12. Announced at Anzac that a winter rest camp would be
formed at Imbros. Surplus guns removed.

15. Detailed orders issued for the evacuation.

16. All ranks were warned of the impending operations.

19. The last night of the evacuation of Anzaq and Suvla.

20. Evacuation of Anzac and Suvla completed by daylight.
Troops disembarked at Lemos.

21. Brig.-Gen. F. E. Johnston returned to Mudros and took over

N.Z. Infantry Brigade; Lt.-Col. W. G. Braithwaite pro-
ceeded to Egypt to take over N.Z. Rifle Brigade. Col.
E. W. C. Chaytor took over N.Z. Mounted Rifle Brigade.

25. Christmas Day mostly spent at sea on transports returning

to Egypt. Troops transferred to Egypt between December
21 and 31.

1916.
Jan. 9. Evacuation from Cape Helles completed.

1918.

Sept.

29.

Surrender of Bulgaria.

Oct.

31.

Surrender of Turkey.

330 The New Zealanders at Gallipoli.

A Note by the Author.

Thanks are due, and are here tendered, to Generals Sir Ian Hamilton
and Sir William Birdwood for their most interesting forewords. They
with their authority and special knowledge, have said what might have
been difficult for a New Zealand officer.

I might also be permitted to say that from Sir James Allen I have
received most sympathetic encouragement. Any criticisms that I have
made appear without alteration, as. the opinion of myself speaking for
the soldiers. My only aim has been to put the case before the people of
New Zealand as it occurred to the soldiers serving overseas.

The writing of this volume has not been easy. The records of the
New Zealanders at Gallipoli are far from complete, as Embarkation Eolls,
War Diaries and Eeturns of Casualties were kept by soldiers who
frequently became casualties; often the stress was so great that the
continuity of these records was broken. As the Company or Eegimental
records box was sometimes lost altogether, it is difficult to reconstruct
the story. But by the aid of diaries, soldiers' letters, personal exper-
ience and the willing assistance of old comrades, this story of the New
Zealanders at Gallipoli has been written. It would be easier to write
a history of the Crimean war, for the soldiers who fought at Inkerman
are nearly all dead, but many of the veterans of Gallipoli happily
survive and are keen critics. I can only throw myself on their charity.

For considerable help, particularly in the later chapters, I am indebted
to Major Wallingford, M.C., Lt.-Colonel Bowles, C.M.G., D.S.O., Lt.-
Colonel Grigor, D.S.O., Major Lampen, D.S.O., Major Blair, D.S.O., M.C.,
and Colonel Findlay, C.B.; to my thousand and one other helpers — dis-
tinguished generals, unknown soldiers, and- harassed typists — I can only
say "Thank you! " They will understand that a record of their names
would be almost a nominal roll of the Main Body and the Staff of
Base Kecords.

The photographs are unique in that they were all taken by soldiers
serving in the line. Working on my own collection as a basis I
was fortunate enough to secure those of Captain Boxer, N.Z.M.C, and
Sergeant Tite. N.Z.E., whose beautiful photographs will be found duly
acknowledged. Just before going to Press I received a number of
photographs taken by members of the Canterbury Mounted Rifies, in
December 1918, and to Colonel Findlay and Captain Douglas Deans
special thanks are due. Wherever possible photographs have been
acknowledged, but some of which I cannot trace the owners are
included. From these I shall be glad to hear, so that acknow-
ledgment may be made in future editions. It is only right to say
that whenever I have asked a soldier or a sailor for permission to use
photographs, that permission has been freely given. In not one case
has there been a refusal — for that is the way of the men of Anzac.

My rough maps and sketches have been transformed into works of
art by A. E. West, Esq., and W. Bedkober, Esq. All distances in the
Anzac area should be measured on the large folded map at the end
of the volume.

I cannot say how indebted I am to J. Jeffery, Esq., of Anderson's
Bay, Dunedin, for valuable suggestions, and to W. Slater, Esq., who has
helped me with the proofs.

Waiwera South, J/XJl^ M^^^i^

November, 1919.

Printed and Published under the Autliority of the
New Zealand Government by

WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS LIMITED

WELLINGTON,
AUCKLAND, CH RISTCH U RCH, DUNEDIN

1921 W1502

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
UNWERS.TY OF TORONTO UBBABV

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1921

Waite. Frederick

^^ The New Zealanders at

Gallipoli

. V