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MUI.KS IN IIIK ANZAC SAP
THE TENTH
(IRISH) DIVISION
IN GALLIPOLI
BY
BRYAN COOPER
MAJOR, GENERAL LIST NEW ARMIES
FORMERLY 5TH SERVICE BATTALION THE CONNAUGHT RANGERS
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
Major-Gen. SIR BRYAN MAHON, D.S.O.
WITH APPRECIATIONS BY
MR. ASQUITH
MR. BALFOUR
SIR EDWARD CARSON
MR. JOHN REDMOND
HERBERT JENKINS LIMITED
3 YORK STREET ST. JAMES'S
LONDON S.W.I ^ ^ MCMXVIII
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" So they gave their bodies to the common weal and
received, each for his o\m memory, praise that will never
die, and with it the grandest of all sepulchres, not that in
which their mortal bones are laid, but a home in the minds
of men, where their glory remains fresh to stir to speech or
action as the occasion comes by." — Thucydides.
" It seems as if this poor Celtic people were bent on
making what one of its own poets has said of its heroes
hold good for ever : ' They went forth to the war but they
always fell.' " — Matthew Arnold.
I^RINTED BY BUSLBIGH LTD., At VRB BVKLBIOH NtBtS, BRISTOL, ENGLAND
TO
THE GLORIOUS MEMORY
OF THE
OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
AND MEN
OF THE
TENTH IRISH DIVISION
WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN
GALLIPOLI
AND
TO THOSE WHO MOURN FOR THEM
c:
352:ii;
APPRECIATIONS
Major Cooper's narrative of the exploits of
the loth Division in the GalHpoH Campaign is
a moving and inspiring record, of which Irish-
men everywhere may well be proud.
I trust that it will be widely read in all parts
of the Empire.
(Sd.) H. H. ASQUITH
This war has been fruitful in deeds of splendid
bravery and heroic endurance ; but neither in
bravery nor endurance have the loth Division
in the Gallipoli Campaign been surpassed by
any of their brothers-in-arms who have been
fighting in Europe and iVsia for the cause of
civilisation and freedom.
(Sd.) ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR
Dear Bryan Cooper,
I am very glad that you have undertaken
to record the splendid services of the loth
Division in Gallipoli. Their magnificent
bravery in the face of almost insurmountable
viii THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
difficulties and discomforts stands out amongst
the countless acts of heroism in this war, and
I think it particularly apt that the history
of the actions of these brave Irishmen in the
campaign should be recorded by a gallant
Irish officer.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) EDWARD CARSON
I have been asked to write a short Foreword
to the following pages, and I do so with the
utmost pleasure. By the publication of this
little book, Major Bryan Cooper will be per-
forming a most valuable service, not only to
his own country, Ireland, but to the Empire.
The history of the loth (Irish) Division is, in
many respects, unique. It was the first Irish
Division raised and sent to the Front by Ireland
since the commencement of the War. Not
alone that, but it was the first definitely Irish
Division that ever existed in the British Army.
Irish Divisions and Irish Brigades played a
great part in history in the past, but the}/ were
Divisions and Brigades, not in the service of
England, but in the service of France and other
European countries and America.
The creation of the loth (Irish) Division,
therefore, marks a turning point in the history
of the relations between Ireland and the
Empire.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION ix
In many respects, the loth (Irish) Division,
notwithstanding the extraordinary and out-
standing gallantry that it showed in the field,
may be said to have been unfortunate. No
Division in any theatre of the War suffered more
severely or showed greater self-sacrifices and
gallantry. And yet, largely, I fancy, by reason
of the fact that its operations were in a distant
theatre, comparatively little has been heard of
its achievements ; and, for some reason which a
civilian cannot understand, the number of
honours and distinctions conferred on the
Division has been comparatively small. And
yet we have the testimony of everyone, from the
Generals in Command down, that the Division
behaved magnificently, in spite of the most
terrible and unlooked-for difficulties and
, sufferings.
Before they went into action, their artillery
was taken from them, and they landed at
Suvla and Anzac without a single gun.
They were a Division of the new Army
entirely made up of men who had no previous
military experience, and who had never heard a
shot fired. Yet, the very day they landed, they
found themselves precipitated into the most
tremendous and bloody conflict, exposed to
heavy shrapnel and machine-gun fire, on an
open strand, where cover was impossible.
To the most highly trained and seasoned
troops in the world, this would have been a
X THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
trying ordeal ; but, to new troops, it was a
cruel and terrible experience. And yet the
testimony all goes to show that no seasoned or
trained troops in the world could have behaved
with more magnificent steadiness, endurance,
and gallantry. Without adequate water supply
— indeed, for a long time, without water at all,
owing to mismanagement, which has yet to be
traced home to its source — their sufferings were
appalling.
As Major Bryan Cooper points out, it is
supposed to be a German military maxim that
no battalion could maintain its morale with
losses of twenty-five per cent. Many of the
battalions of the loth Division lost seventy-five
per cent., and yet their morale remained
unshaken. The depleted Division was hastily
filled up with drafts, and sent, under-officered,
to an entirely new campaign at Salonika, where
it won fresh laurels.
Another cruel misfortune which overtook
them was, that, instead of being allowed to
fight and operate together as a Unit, they were
immediately split up, one Brigade being
attached to the nth Division, and entirely
separated from their comrades.
There has been some misapprehension created,
in certain quarters, as to the constitution of this
loth Division and its right to call itself an
Irish Division. Major Bryan Cooper sets this
question at rest. What really occurred was.
'r THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION xi
that, quite early in the business, when recruiting
for the loth Division was going on fairly well
in Ireland, for some unexplained reason, a
number of English recruits were suddenly sent
over to join its ranks. They were quite un-
necessary, and protests against their incursion
into the Division fell upon deaf ears. As it
happened, however, it was found that a con-
siderable number of these English recruits
were Irishmen living in Great Britain, or the
sons of Irishmen, and, when the Division went
to the Front, Major Bryan Cooper states that
fully seventy per cent, of the men, and ninety
per cent, of the officers, were Irishmen. That
is to say, the Division was as much entitled to
claim to be an Irish Division in its constitution
as any Division either in England, Scotland, or
Wales is entitled to claim that it is an English,
Scotch, or Welsh Division. |
Men of all classes and creeds in Ireland joined
its ranks. The list of casualties which Major
Bryan Cooper gives is heart-breaking reading
to any Irishman, especially to one like myself,
who had so many personal friends who fell
gallantly in the conflict.
Irishmen of all political opinions were united
in the Division. Its spirit was intensely Irish.
Let me quote Major Bryan Cooper's words : —
" It was the first Irish Division to take the
field in War. Irish Brigades there had often
been. They had fought under the Fleur-
xii THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
de-Lys or the Tricolour of France, and under
the Stars and Stripes, as well as they had done
under the Union Jack. But never before in
Ireland's history had she seen anywhere a
whole Division of her sons in the battlefield.
The old battalions of the Regular Army had
done magnificently, but they had been
brigaded with English, Scotch, and Welsh
units. The loth Division was the first
Division almost entirely composed of Irish
Battalions who faced an enemy. Officers
and men alike knew this, and were proud of
their destiny. As the battalions marched
through the quiet English countryside, the
drums and fifes shrieked out ' St. Patrick's
Day ' or ' Brian Boru's March,' and the dark
streets of Basingstoke echoed the voices that
chanted ' God Save Ireland,' as the Units
marched down to entrain. Nor did we lack
the green. One Unit sewed shamrocks into
its sleeves. Another wore them as helmet
badges. Almost every Company cherished
somewhere an entirely unofficial green flag,
as dear to the men as if they were the regi-
mental colours themselves. They constituted
an outward and visible sign that the honour of
Ireland was in the Division's keeping, and the
men did not forget it/'
The men who had differed in religion and
politics, and their whole outlook on life, became
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION xiii
brothers in the loth Division. Unionist and
NationaHst, Catholic and Protestant, as Major
Bryan Cooper says — *' lived and fought and
died side by side, like brothers/' They com-
bined for a common purpose : to fight the good
fight for liberty and civilisation, and, in a
special way, for the future liberty and honour
of their own country.
Major Bryan Cooper expresses the hope that
this experience may be a good augury for the
future.
For my part, I am convinced that nothing
that can happen can deprive Ireland of the
benefit of the united sacrifices of these men.
I congratulate Major Bryan Cooper on his
book. The more widely it is circulated, the
better it will be for Ireland and for the Empire.
J. E. REDMOND
St, Patrick's Day, 1917
INTRODUCTION
1HAVE been asked to contribute a short
introduction to this account of the doings
of the loth (Irish) Division in Gallipoli.
I commanded the Division from the time
of its formation until it left Gallipoli Peninsula
for Salonika, and I am extremely glad that
some record has been made of its exploits.
I do not think that the author of this book
intends to claim for the Division any special
pre-eminence over other units ; but that he
puts forward a simple account of what the
first formed Irish Service Battalions suffered
and how creditably they maintained the honour
of Ireland.
Memories in war-time are short, and it may
be that the well-earned glories of the i6th and
Ulster Division have tended to obliterate the
recollections of Suvla and Sari Bair. (The
Division has also the distinction of being the
only troops of the Allies that have fought
in Bulgaria up to date.)
In case these things are forgotten, it is well
that this book has been written, for never in
history did Irishmen face death with greater
xvi THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
courage and endurance than they did in Gallipoli
and Serbia in the summer and winter of 1915.
During the period of its formation the
Division suffered from many handicaps. To
the difficulties which are certain to befall any
newly created unit were added others due to
the enormous strain that the nation was under-
going ; arms and equipment were slow in
arriving ; inclement weather made training
difficult, and for sake of accommodation units
had had to be widely separated in barracks
all over Ireland. All these difficulties were,
however, surmounted, partly by the genuine
keenness of all ranks, but in the main by the
devoted work of the handful of regular officers
and N.C.O.'s who formed the nucleus of the
Division.
No words can convey how much was done
by these men, naturally disappointed at not
going out with the original Expeditionary
Force. They nevertheless threw themselves
whole-heartedly into the work before them,
and laboured unceasingly and untiredly to
make the new units a success, they were ably
seconded by retired officers who had rejoined, and
by newly-joined subalterns, who brought with
them the freshness and enthusiasm of youth.
Nor were the men behindhand. Though
the monotony of routine training sometimes
grew irksome, yet their eagerness to face the
enemy and their obvious anxiety to do their
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION xvii
duty carried them through, and enabled them
to become in nine months well-trained and
disciplined soldiers.
When they reached Gallipoli they had much
to endure. The 29th Brigade were not under
my command, so I cannot speak from personal
knowledge, but I believe that every battalion
did its duty and won the praise of its generals.
Of the remainder of the Division I can speak
with greater certainty. They were plunged
practically at a moment's notice into battle,
and were placed in positions of responsibility
and difficulty on a desolate sun-baked and
waterless soil, where they suffered tortures
irom thirst. In spite of this, and in spite of
the fact that they were newly formed units
mainly composed of young soldiers, they
acquitted thernselves admirably. No blame or
discredit of any kind can possibly be attached
to the rank and file of the loth Division.
Whatever the emergency, and however great
the danger, they faced it resolutely and stead-
fastly, rejoicing when an opportunity arose
that enabled them to meet their enemy with
the bayonet.
Ireland has had many brave sons ; Ireland
has sent forth many splendid regiments in
past times; but the deeds of the men of the
loth (Irish) Division are worthy to be reckoned
with any of those of their predecessors.
(Sd.) BRYAN MAHON
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
THIS book (which was written in haste
during a period of sick leave) does not
profess to be a military history ; it is
merely a brief attempt to describe the fortunes
of the rank and file of the Tenth (Irish)
Division. The Division was so much split up
that it is impossible for any one person to
have taken part in all its actions ; but I went
to Gallipoli with my battalion, and though
disabled for a period by sickness, I returned to
the Peninsula before the Division left it, so that
I may fairly claim to have seen both the begin-
ning and the end of the operations. I have
received great assistance from numerous officers
of the Division, who have been kind enough to
summarise for me the doings of their battalions,
and I tender them my grateful thanks.
I must also thank Mr. H. Hanna, K.C., for
allowing me to inspect part of the proofs of his
forthcoming book dealing with '' D *' Company
of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers. I owe
Mr. Hanna a further debt of gratitude for his
kindness in allowing the reproduction of the
sketches of *' The Salt Lake,'* '* Anafarta
i
XX THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Plain/* and '' 'D' Company in the Trenches/'
which were executed by Captain Drummond
Fish, of the Royal Irish Rifles, for his book.
Captain Fish has also very kindly allowed me
to use three more of his sketches, which, though
deprived of the charm of colour possessed by
the originals, give a far better idea of the
scenery of Gallipoli than can be obtained from
any photograph. Having shared the life led
by Captain Fish's battalion in Gallipoli, I
cannot help admiring the manner in which
he managed to include a paint-box and a sketch-
book in the very scanty kit allowed to officers.
I must further express to my comrade, Francis
Ledwidge, who himself served in the ranks of
the Division, my sincere gratitude for the
beautiful lines in which he has summed up the
object of our enterprise. In them he has
fulfilled the poet's mission of expressing in
words the deepest thoughts of these who feel
them too sincerely to be able to give them
worthy utterance.
In dealing with the general aspect of the
Gallipoli Expedition, I have tried to avoid
controversial topics. As a general rule, I have
followed the version given by Sir Ian Hamilton
in his despatch, which is still the only official
document that exists for our guidance. I am
conscious that the book, of necessity, has
omitted many gallant deeds, and has dealt
with some units more fullv than with others.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION xxi
I can only plead in extenuation that I found
great difficulty in getting detailed information
as to the doings of some battalions, and that
to this, rather than to prejudice on my part,
is due any lack of proportion that may exist.
It is by no means easy for an Irishman to be
impartial, but I have done my best.
BRYAN COOPER
March isf, 1917
P.S.— Since this was written Francis Ledwidge
has laid down his Hfe for the honour of Ireland,
and the world has lost a poet of rare promise.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Dedication ------ v
Appreciations by Mr. Asquith, Mr.
Balfour, Sir Edward Carson, Mr.
John Redmond ----- vii
Introduction by Major-Gen. Sir Bryan
Mahon, D.S.O. ----- XV
Author's Preface ----- xix
List of Illustrations _ - - - xxv
Poem by Francis Ledwidge - - - xxvi
CHAPTER
I The Formation of the Division - - i
II Mudros and Mitylene - - - - 32
III The 29TH Brigade at Anzac - - - 62
IV Sari Bair ------ 91
V SuvLA Bay and Chocolate Hill - - 121
VI KiRETCH TePE SiRT _ _ - _ 152
VII Kaba Kuyu and Hill 6o - - - i8i
VIII Routine ------ 206
IX Last Days ------ 229
X Retrospect ------ 243
xxiii
FAOB
/cxiv CONTENTS
APPENDICES
A. On Authorities - _ _ _ _ 257
B. Names of Officers Killed, Wounded
AND Missing _____ 259
C. Names of Officers, N.C.O.'s and Men
Mentioned in Despatches _ _ - 263
D. Names of Officers, N.C.O.'s and Men
Awarded Honours _ _ - _ 266
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Mules in the Anzac Sap . '. , , Frontispiec*
Face Page
Lieut.-General Sir Bryan Mahon, K.C.V.O., C.B., D.S.O. 4
Basingstoke. A Halt ....
Musketry at Dollymount
Sari Bair .....
MuDRos. The Author's Bivouac
Sari Bair from Suvla ....
Brigadier-General R. J. Cooper, C.V.O., C.B., Commanding
29TH Brigade .....
Suvla, showing Lala Baba and the Salt Lake .
Brigadier-General F. F. Hill, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O
Commanding 31ST Brigade
Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol, C.B., Commanding 30TH
Brigade .....
A Faugh-a-Ballagh Teases a Turkish Sniper .
The 7TH Dublins in the Trenches at Chocolate Hill
The Anafarta Plain (Kiretch Tepe Sirt on the skyline)
The Anafarta Plain from the South (Hill 60 on the left
IN THE middle DISTANCE) ....
Brigadier-General J. G. King-King, D.S.O.
3TH Royal Irish Fusiliers in the Trenches
Imbros from Anzac .....
Map (fl/ the end of the Volume)
24
24
56
98
124
132
140
154
I5«
16S
186
2o8
214
230
the: IRISH IN GALLIPOLI
Where Aegean cliffs with bristling menace front
The treacherous splendour of that isley sea,
Lighted by Troy's last shadow ; where the first
Hero kept watch and the last Mystery
Shook with dark thunder. Hark ! the battle brunt !
A nation speaks, old Silences are burst.
'Tis not for lust of glory, no new throne
This thunder and this lightning of our power
Wakens up frantic echoes, not for these
Our Cross with England's mingle, to be blown
At Mammon's threshold. We but war when war
Serves Liberty and Keeps a world at peace.
Who said that such an emprise could be vain ?
Were they not one with Christ, who fought and died ?
Let Ireland weep : but not for sorrow, weep
That by her sons a land is sanctified.
For Christ arisen, and angels once again
Come back, like exile birds, and watch their sleep,
Francis Ledwidge
France
24th February, 191 7
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
IN GALLIPOLI
CHAPTER I
THE FORMATION OF THE DIVISION
" The Army, unlike any other profession, cannot be
taught through shilHng books. First a man must sufiEer,
then he must learn his work and the self-respect which know-
ledge brings." — Kipling.
WITHIN ten days of the outbreak of the
War, before even the Expeditionary Force
had left England, Lord Kitchener appealed
for a hundred thousand recruits, and announced
that six new divisions would be formed from
them. These six divisions, which were after-
wards known as the First New Arm}^ or more
colloquially as K.i, were, with one exception,
distributed on a territorial basis. The Ninth
was Scotch, the Eleventh North Country, the
Twelfth was recruited in London and the Home
Counties, and the Thirteenth in the West of \
England. The exception was the Fourteenth,
which consisted of new battalions of English
light infantry and rifle regiments. The Tenth
2 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Division in which I served, and whose history
I am about to relate, was composed of newly-
formed or *' Service '' battalions of all the Irish
line regiments, together with the necessary
complement of artillery, engineers. Army Service
Corps, and R.A.M.C. They were distributed
as follows : —
29TH Brigade.
5th Service Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.
6th ditto Royal Irish Rifles.
5th ditto The Connaught Rangers.
6th ditto The Leinster Regiment.
The 5th Royal Irish Regiment afterwards
became the Divisional Pioneer Battalion, and
its place in the 29th Brigade was taken by the
loth Hampshire Regiment.
30TH Brigade.
6th Service Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
7th ditto ditto
6th Service Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers.
7th ditto ditto
31ST Brigade.
5th Service Battalion, Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers.
6th ditto ditto
5th Service Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers,
6th ditto ditto
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 3
It will be seen that the 29th Brigade consisted
of regiments from all the four provinces of
Ireland, while the 30th Brigade had its depots
in the South of Ireland, and the 31st in Ulster.
The Divisional Troops were organised as
follows : —
Artillery.
54th Brigade R.F.A.
55th „ R.F.A.
56th „ R.F.A.
57th (Howitzer) Brigade R.F.A.
Heavy Battery R.G.A.
Engineers.
65th Field Company R.E.
66th ditto R.E.
85th ditto R.E.
loth Divisional Signal Company.
loth Divisional Train.
loth Divisional Cyclist Company.
30th Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C.
31st ditto
32nd ditto
A squadron of South Irish Horse was allocated
as Divisional Cavalry, but this only joined the
Division at Basingstoke in May, and was de-
tached again before we embarked for Gallipoli.
Fortunately, one of the most distinguished
of Irish Generals was available to take command
of the Division. Lieut. -General Sir Bryan
4 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Mahon was a Galway man who had entered the
8th (Royal Irish) Hussars from a MiHtia
BattaHon of the Connaught Rangers in 1883.
For ten years he served with his regiment,
acting as Adjutant from 1889 to 1893, but
recognising that British Cavalry were unlikely
to see much active service, he transferred to the
Egyptian Army in the latter year. He served
with the Cavalry of this force in the Dongola
Expedition in 1896, and was awarded the
D.S.O. For his services in the campaign,
which ended in the capture of Khartoum, he
received the brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
He next commanded the mounted troops which
achieved the defeat and death of the Khalifa,
and for this he was promoted to Brevet-Colonel.
He was then transferred to South Africa, where
he commanded a mounted brigade and had the
distinction of leading the column which effected
the relief of Maf eking, being created a Companion
of the Bath for his services on this occasion.
After the South African War he returned to
the Soudan as Military Governor of Kordofan.
His next commands were in India, and he had
only vacated the command of the Lucknow
Division early in 1914. While holding it in
1912 he had been created a K.C.V.O.
At the time he took over the loth Division
he was fifty-two years of age. His service in
Egypt and India had bronzed his face and sown
grey in his hair, but his figure and his seat on a
LIEUT. -GENF
;<.RAL SIR BRYAX MAIION, K.C.V.O., C.B., D.S.O.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 5
horse were those of a subaltern. He scorned
display, and only the ribbons on his breast told
of the service he had seen. A soft cap adorned
with an 8th Hussar badge, with a plain peak
and the red band almost concealed by a khaki
cover, tried to disguise his rank, but the manner
in which it was pulled over his eyes combined
with the magnificent chestnut he rode and the
eternal cigarette in his mouth, soon made him
easily recognisable throughout the Division.
Experienced soldier as he was, he had
qualities that made him even better suited to
his post than military knowledge, and in his
years in the East he had not forgotten the
nature of his countrymen. The Irish soldier
is not difficult to lead : he will follow any man
who is just and fearless, but to get the best out
of him, needs sympathy, and this indefinable
quality the General possessed. It was impos-
sible for him to pass a football match on the
Curragh without saying a pleasant word to the
men who were watching it, and they repaid
this by adoring their leader. Everything about
him appealed to them — his great reputation,
the horse he rode, his Irish name, and his Irish
nature, all went to their hearts. Above all,
he was that unique being, an Irishman with no
politics, and this, in a Division that was under
the patronage of no political party, but con-
sisted of those who wanted to fight, was an
enormous asset.
6 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Fortunately, the Infantry Brigadiers had
also some knowledge of Irish troops. Brigadier-
General R. J. Cooper, C.V.O., who led the
2gth Brigade, had commanded the Irish Guards.
Another Irish Guardsman, Brigadier-General
C. FitzClarence, V.C, commanded the 30th
Brigade at the time of its first formation, but
he was soon afterwards called to France to
command the ist Brigade in the Expeditionary
Force, and met his death at the first battle
of Ypres. His place was taken by Brigadier-
General L. L. Nicol, who had done the bulk
of his service in the Rifle Brigade, but had
begun his soldiering in the Connaught Rangers.
The 31st Brigade was commanded by Brigadier-
General F. F. Hill, C.B., D.S.O., who had
served throughout a long and distinguished
career in the Royal Irish Fusiliers. The
Divisional Artillery was at first under the
command of Brigadier-General A. J. Abdy,
but when this officer w^as found medically
unfit for active service, he was replaced by
Brigadier-General G. S. Duffus.
I must now describe the actual formation
of the Division, and in view of the fact that it
was the beginning of one of the most gigantic
military improvisations on record, it may be
desirable to do so in some detail.
Fortunately there were some regular cadres
available. In the first place, there was the
Regimental Depot, where usually three regular
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 7
officers were employed, the senior being a
major. In almost every case he was promoted
to temporary Lieutenant-Colonel, and given the
command of the senior Service Battalion of his
regiment. The other two officers (usually a
captain and a subaltern) were also transferred
to the new unit. Then, again, the Regular
Battalion serving at home before embarking
for France was ordered to detach three officers,
and from ten to sixteen N.C.O.'s. In many
cases these officers did not belong to the
Regular Battalion, but were officers of the
Regiment who had been detached for service
with some Colonial unit, such as the West
African Frontier Force, or the King's African
Rifles. Being on leave in England when war
broke out, the}'^ had rejoined the Home Battalion
of their unit, and had been again detached for
service with the New Armies. Where more than
one Service Battalion of a regiment was being
formed, the bulk of these officers and N.C.O.'s
went to the senior one.
There was yet another source from which
Regular Officers were obtained, and those who
came from it proved among the best serving
in the Division.
At the outbreak of the War all Indian Army
officers who were on leave in England were
ordered by the War Office to remain there and
were shortly afterwards posted to units of the
First New Army. Two of the Brigade-Majors
8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of the Division were Indian Army officers, who,
when war was declared, were students at the
Staff College, and nearly every battalion ob-
tained one Indian officer, if not more. It is
impossible to exaggerate the debt the Division
owed to these officers. Professional soldiers in
the best sense of the word, they identified
themselves from the first with their new
battalions, living for them, and, in many cases,
dying with them. Words cannot express the
influence they wielded and the example they
gave, but those who remember the lives and
deaths of Major R. S. M. Harrison, of the 7th
Dublins, and Major N. C. K. Money, of the
5th Connaught Rangers, will realise by the
immensity of the loss we sustained when they
were killed, how priceless their work had been.
A certain number of the Reserve of Officers
were also available for service with the new
units. It seemed hard for men of forty-five
or fifty years of age who had left the Army
soon after the South African War, to be com-
pelled to rejoin as captains and serve under the
orders of men who had previously been much
junior to them, but they took it cheerfully,
and went through the drudgery of the work on
the barrack square without complaining. Often
their health was unequal to the strain imposed
upon it by the inclement winter, but where
they were able to stick it out, their ripe ex-
perience was most helpful to their juniors.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 9
The battalions which did not secure a Regular
Commanding Officer got a Lieut. -Colonel from,
the Reserve of Officers, often one who had re-
cently given up command of one of the regular
battalions of the regiment. Besides officers
from the Reserve of Officers, there were also
a considerable number of men who had done
five or six years' service in the Regular Army
or the Militia and had then retired without
joining the Reserve. These were for the most
part granted temporary commissions of the rank
which they had previously held. A few were
also found who had soldiered in Colonial Corps,
and eight or ten captains were drawn from the
District Inspectors of the Royal Irish Con-
stabulary. These united to a knowledge of
drill and musketry a valuable insight into the
Irish character, and as by joining they forfeited
nearly £100 a year apiece, they abundantly
proved their patriotism.
It will thus be seen that each battalion had
a Regular or retired Regular Commanding
Officer, a Regular Adjutant, and the four
company commanders had as a rule had some
military experience. The Quartermaster, Regi-
mental Sergeant-Major, and Quartermaster-
Sergeant were usually pensioners who had
rejoined, while Company Sergeant-Ma jors and
Quartermaster-Sergeants were obtained by pro-
moting N.C.O.'s who had been transferred from
the Regular battalion. The rest of the cadres
10 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
had to be filled up, and fortunately there was
no lack of material.
For about a month after their formation the
Service Battalions were short of subalterns, not
because suitable men were slow in coming
forward, but because the War Office was so
overwhelmed with applications for commissions
that it found it impossible to deal with them.
About the middle of September, however, a rule
was introduced empowering the CO. of a
battalion to recommend candidates for tem-
porary second-lieutenancies, subject to the
approval of the Brigadier, and after this the
vacancies were quickly filled. Some of the
subalterns had had experience in the O.T.C.,^
and as a rule these soon obtained promotion,
but the majority when they joined were quite
ignorant of military matters, and had to pick
up their knowledge while they were teaching
the men.
About the end of the year, classes for young
officers were instituted at Trinity College, and
a certain number received instruction there,
but the bulk of them had no training other
than that which they received in their bat-
talions. They were amazingly keen and anxious
to learn, and the progress they made both
in military knowledge and in the far more
difiicult art of handling men was amazing.
Drawn from almost every trade and profession,
barristers, solicitors, civil engineers, merchants.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION ii
medical students, undergraduates, schoolboys,
they soon settled down together and the spirit
of esprit de corps was quickly created. Among
themselves, no doubt, they criticised their
superiors, but none of them would have admitted
to an outsider that their battalion was in any
respect short of perfection. I shall never
forget the horror with which one of my subal-
terns, who had been talking to some officers
of another Division at Mudros, returned to me
saying, '' Why, they actually said that their
Colonel was a rotter ! '' Disloyalty of that
kind never existed in the loth Division. The
subalterns were a splendid set, and after nine
months' training compared well with those of
any regular battalion. They believed in them-
selves, they believed in their men, they be-
lieved in the Division, and, above all, in their
own battalion.
I must now turn to the men whom they led.
Fortunately, the inexperience of the new re-
cruits was, to a large extent, counteracted by
the rejoining of old soldiers. It was estimated
that within a month of the declaration of war,
every old soldier in Ireland who was under
sixty years of age (and a good many who were
over it) had enlisted again. Some of these were
not of much use, as while living on pension they
had acquired habits of intemperance, and many
more, whose military experience dated from
before the South African War, found the in-
12 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
creased strain of Army life more than they
could endure. However, a valuable residue
remained, and not only were they useful as
instructors, and in initiating the new recruits
into military routine, but the fact that they
had usually served in one of the Regular
battalions of their regiment helped to secure
a continuity of tradition and sentiment, which
was of incalculable value. In barracks these
old soldiers sometimes gave trouble, but in the
field they proved their value over and over
again.
Of the Irish recruits, but little need be said.
Mostly drawn from the class of labourers, they
took their tone from the old soldiers (to whom
they were often related), and though com-
paratively slow in learning, they eventually
became thoroughly efficient and reliable soldiers.
There was, however, among the men of most
of the battalions, another element which calls
for more detailed consideration. Except among
old soldiers and in Belfast, recruiting in Ireland
in August, 1914, was not as satisfactory as it
was in England, and in consequence. Lord
Kitchener decided early in September to transfer
a number of the recruits for whom no room
could be found in English regiments to fill up
the ranks of the loth Division. The fact that
this was done gave rise, at a later date, to some
controversy, and it was even stated that the
loth Division was Irish only in name. This
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 13
was a distinct exaggeration, for when these
'' Englishmen " joined their battahons, it was
found that a large proportion of them were
Roman Catholics, rejoicing in such names as
Dillon, Doyle, and Kelly, the sons or grandsons
of Irishmen who had settled in England. It
is not easy to make an accurate estimate, but
I should be disposed to say that in the Infantry
of the Division 90 per cent, of the officers and
70 per cent, of the men were either Irish or
of Irish extraction. Of course, the loth Hamp-
shire Regiment is not included in these cal-
culations. It may be remarked that there has
never, in past history, been such a thing as a
purely and exclusively Irish (or Scotch) battalion.
This point is emphasised by Professor Oman,
the historian of the Peninsular War, who states :
*' In the Peninsular Army the system of terri-
torial names prevailed for nearly all the regi-
ments, but in most cases the territorial designa-
tion had no very close relation with the actual
provenance of the men. There were a certain
number of regiments that were practically
national, i.e., most of the Highland battalions,
and nearly all of the Irish ones were very
predominantly Highland and Irish as to their
rank and file : but even in the 79th or the
88th there was a certain sprinkling of English
recruits." ('' Wellington's Army,'' p. 208.)
Before leaving this subject it should be noted
that the Englishmen who were drafted to the
14 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Division in this manner became imbued with
the utmost loyalty to their battalions, and wore
the shamrock on St. Patrick's Day with much
greater enthusiasm than the born Irishmen.
They would have been the first to resent the
statement that the regiments they were so
proud to belong to had no right to claim their
share in the glory which they achieved.
At first, however, they created a somewhat
difficult problem for their officers. They had
enlisted purely from patriotic motives, and
were inclined to dislike the delay in getting to
grips with the Germans ; and being, for the
most part, strong Trades Unionists, with acute
suspicion of any non-elected authority, they
were disposed to resent the restraints of dis-
cipline, and found it hard to place complete
confidence in their officers. They also felt the
alteration in their incomes very keenly. Many
of them, before enlistment, had been miners
earning from two to three pounds a week, and
the drop from this to seven shillings, or in the
case of married men 3s. 6d., came very hard.
The deduction for their wives was particularly
unwelcome, not because they grudged the money,
but because when they enlisted they had not
been told that this stoppage was compulsory,
and so they considered that they had been
taken advantage of. However, they had plenty
of sense, and soon began to realise the necessity
of discipline, and understood that their officers,
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 15
instead of being mercenary tyrants, spent hours
in the Company Office at the end of a long
day's work trying to rectify such grievances as
non-payment of separation allowance. Regi-
mental games helped them to feel at home.
Some of them soon became lance-corporals,
and before Christmas they had all settled down
into smart, intelligent and willing soldiers.
One English habit, however, never deserted
them : they were unable to break themselves
of grumbling about their food.
The Division contained one other element to
which allusion must be made. In the middle
of August, Mr. F. H. Browning, President of
the Irish Rugb}^ Football Union, issued an
appeal to the young professional men of Dublin,
which resulted in the formation of '' D '*
Company of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
This was what is known as a '' Pals '' Company,
consisting of young men of the upper and
middle classes, including among them barristers,
solicitors, and engineers. Many of them obtained
commissions, but the tone of the company
remained, and I know of at least one barrister
who had served with the Imperial Yeomanry
in South Africa, who for over eighteen months
refused to take a commission because it would
involve leaving his friends. The preservation
of rigid military discipline among men who
were the equals of their officers in social position
was not easy, but the breeding and education
i6 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of the " Pals '' justified the high hopes that
had been formed of them when their Regiment
was bitterly tested at Suvla.
The Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Army
Service Corps, and the Royal Army Medical
Corps recruits who came to the Division were,
for the most part, English or Scotch, since no
distinctively Irish units of those branches of
the service exist. Generally speaking, they were
men of a similar class to the English recruits
who were drafted into the infantry.
A detailed description of the training of the
Division would be monotonous and uninteresting
even to those who took part in it, but a brief
summary may be given. The points of con-
centration first selected were Dublin and the
Curragh, the 30th Brigade being at the latter
place. At the beginning of September, the
29th Brigade were transferred to Fermoy and
Kilworth, but the barracks in the South of
Ireland being required for the i6th (Irish)
Division, two battalions returned to Dublin,
the 6th Leinsters went to Birr, and the 5th
Royal Irish to Longford. The latter Battalion
soon became Pioneers and were replaced by
the loth Hampshires, who were stationed at
Mullingar. The 54th Brigade, Royal Field
Artillery, were at Dundalk, and the remainder
of the Artillery at Newbridge and Kildare.
The Engineers, Cyclists, and Army Service
Corps trained at the Curragh, the Signal Com-
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 17
pany at Carlow, and the Royal Army Medical
Corps at Limerick.
Naturally, the War Office were not prepared
for the improvisation of units on such a large
scale, and at first there was a considerable
deficiency in arms, uniform, and equipment.
Irish depots, however, were not quite so over-
whelmed as the English ones, and most recruits
arrived from them in khaki, although minor
articles of kit, such as combs and tooth-brushes
were often missing. The English recruits on
the other hand, joined their battaHons in
civilian clothes, and were not properly fitted
out till the middle of October. The Royal
Army Medical Corps at Limerick also had to
wait some time for their uniform.
The Infantry soon obtained rifles (of different
marks, it is true) and bayonets, but the gunners
were greatly handicapped by the fact that the
bulk of their preliminary training had to be
done with very few horses and hardly any guns.
Deficiencies were supplied by models, dummies,
and good will ; and considering the drawbacks,
wonderful progress was made. Another article
of which there was a shortage was great-coats,
and in the inclement days of November and
December their absence would have been
severely felt. Fortunately, the War Office cast
aside convention and bought and issued large
quantities of ready-made civilian overcoats of
the type generally described as '* Gents' Fancy
i8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Cheviots." Remarkable though they were in
appearance, these garments were much better
than nothing at all, and in January the warmer
and more durable regulation garments were
issued. The men also suffered a good deal of
hardship at first from having only one suit of
khaki apiece, for when wet through they were
unable to change, but they recognised that this
discomfort could not be instantly remedied,
and accepted it cheerfully.
Until the end of 1914, the bulk of the work
done by the Infantry consisted of elementary
drill, platoon and company training and lectures,
with a route march once or twice a week.
A recruits' musketry course was also fired.
Plenty of night operations were carried out,
two evenings a week as a rule being devoted
to this form of work. The six battalions in
Dublin were somewhat handicapped by lack
of training ground, as the Phoenix Park became
very congested. This deficiency was later re-
medied to a certain extent by certain landowners
who allowed troops to manoeuvre in their
demesnes ; but considerations of distance and
lack of transport made this concession less
valuable than it would have been had it been
possible to disregard the men's dinner hour.
Side by side with this strenuous work the
education of the officers and N.C.O.'s was
carried on. The juniors had everything to
learn, and little bv little the news that filtered
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 19
through from France convinced the seniors
that many long-cherished theories would have
to be reconsidered. It gradually became clear
that the experience of South Africa and Man-
churia had not fully enlightened us as to the
power of modern heavy artillery and high
explosives, and that many established tactical
methods would have to be varied. We learnt
to dig trenches behind the crest of a hill instead
of on the top of it ; to seek for cover from
observation rather than a good field of fire ;
to dread damp trenches more than hostile
bullets. We began, too, to hear rumours of a
return to mediaeval methods of warfare and
became curious as to steel helmets and hand
grenades.
Had these been the only rumours that we
heard, we should have counted ourselves
fortunate. Unhappily, however, in modern war
there is nothing so persistent as the absolutely
unfounded rumour, and in K.i they raged like
a pestilence. We were all eager to get the
training finished and settle to real work, and our
hope's gave rise to the most fantastic collection
of legends. The most prevalent one, of course,
was that we were going to France in ten days*
time, usually assisted by the corroborative
detail that our billets had already been prepared,
but this was run close by the equally confident
assertion on the authority of a clerk in the
Brigade Office, '' that we were destined for
20 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Egypt in a week." It is to be hoped that after
the War, some folk-lore expert will investigate
legends of the New Armies. If he does so, he
will be interested to find that France and Egypt
were almost the only two seats of War which the
Division as a whole never visited.
In the New Year, battalion training began,
carried out on the occasional bright days that
redeemed an abominable winter. At the
beginning of February it was proposed to start
brigade training, and in order to enable the 29th
Brigade to concentrate for this purpose, various
changes of station were necessary. Accordingly,
the whole 29th Brigade moved to the Curragh,
where one battalion was accommodated in
barracks and the other three in huts. In order
to allow this move to be carried out the 7th
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Reserve Park Army
Service Corps and the Divisional Cyclist
Company were transferred to Dublin where
they were quartered in the Royal Barracks.
Brigade field days, brigade route marches and
brigade night operations were the order of the
day throughout February, and a second course
of musketry was also fired. Early in March
the Divisional Commander decided to employ
the troops at the Curragh in a series of combined
operations. For this purpose he could dispose
of two infantry brigades (less one battalion),
three brigades of Royal Field Artillery, the
heavy battery (which joined the Division
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 21
from Woolwich about this time), three field
companies of Royal Engineers, while on
special occasions the divisional Signal Com-
pany were brought over from Carlow and
the Cyclists from Dublin. He could also obtain
the assistance of the two reserve regiments of
cavalry which were stationed at the Curragh.
Though we criticised them bitterly at the
time, these Curragh field-days were among the
pleasantest of the Division's experiences. By
this time the battalions had obtained a corporate
existence and it was exhilarating to march out in
the morning, one of eight hundred men, and feel
that one's own work had a definite part in the
creation of a disciplined whole. The different
units had obtained (at their own expense)
drums and fifes, and some of them had pipes as
well. As we followed the music down the wet
winding roads round Kilcullen or the Chair of
Kildare, we gained a recollection of the hedges
on each side bursting into leaf, and the grey
clouds hanging overhead, that was to linger
with us during many hot and anxious days.
As a rule, these combined operations took
place twice in the week. For the rest of the
time ordinary work was continued, while on the
i6th of April, Sir B. Mahon held a ceremonial
inspection of the units of the Division which
were stationed at the Curragh, Newbridge
and Kildare. The infantry marched past in
** Battalion Mass," and the artillery in *' Line
22 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Close interval." At this time, too, Company
Commanders began to mourn the loss of many of
their best men who became specialists. As
mules, Vickers guns, signalling equipment, etc.,
were received, more and more men were with-
drawn from the Companies to serve with the
regimental transport, the machine-gun section,
or the signallers. The drain due to this cause
was so great that the Company Commander
seldom saw all the men who were nominally
under his command except on pay-day. While
this process was going on the weaklings were
being weeded out. A stringent medical exam-
ination removed all those who were considered
too old or too infirm to stand the strain of Active
service, and they were sent to the reserve
battalions of their unit. Men of bad character,
who were leading young soldiers astray, or who,
by reason of their dishonesty, were a nuisance
in the barrack-room, were discharged as un-
likely to become efficient soldiers. But on the
whole there was not much crime in the Division.
A certain amount of drunkenness was inevitable,
but the principal military offence committed
was that of absence without leave. This was
not unnatural under the circumstances. Men
who had not fully realised the restraints of
discipline, and had been unable to cut them-
selves completely adrift from their civilian life
were naturally anxious to return home from
time to time. If they could not obtain leave,
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 23
they went without it ; when they got it, they
often overstaffed it, but their conduct was not
without excuse. One man who had overstayed
his pass by a week, said in extenuation, ** When
I got home, my wife said she could get no one
to plant the land for her, and I just had to stay
until I had the garden planted with potatoes/'
And there is no doubt that in most cases of
absence the relations of the absentee were
responsible for it. It w^as not easy for men who
had been civilians four months before to realise
the seriousness of their offence while they saw
the Division, as they thought, marking time, and
knew that their homes were within reach, and
officers were relieved when at the end of April
units received orders to hold themselves in
readiness to move to a point of concentration
near Aldershot.
This point of concentration proved to be
Basingstoke, and by the end of the first week in
May the whole Division was assembled there.
As we journeyed we read how the 29th Division
had charged through the waves and the wire, and
effected its landing at Cape Helles, and how
against overwhelming odds the Australians and
New Zealanders had won a foothold at Gaba
Tepe. At that time, however, our thoughts
were fixed on France.
At Basingstoke we were inspected and watched
at work by the staff of the Aldershot Training
Centre, and were found wanting in some
24 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
respects. In particular, we were unduly
ignorant of the art and mystery of bombing, and
many hot afternoons were spent in a labyrinth
of trenches which had been dug in Lord Curzon's
park at Hackwood, propelling a jam tin weighted
with stones across a couple of intervening
traverses. Bayonet-fighting, too, was much
practised, and the machine-gun detachments
and snipers each went to Bordon for a special
course. In addition, each Brigade in turn
marched to Aldershot, and spent a couple of
days on the Ash Ranges doing a refresher course
of musketry.
The most salient feature, however, of the
Basingstoke period of training was the
Divisional marches. Every week the whole
Division, transport, ambulances and all, would
leave camp. The first day would be occupied
by a march, and at night the troops either
billeted or bivouacked. On the next day there
were operations : sometimes another New Army
division acted as enemy, sometimes the foe was
represented by the Cyclists, and the Pioneer
Battalion. As night fell, the men bivouacked
on the ground they were supposed to have won,
occasionally being disturbed by a night attack.
On the third day we marched home to a tent,
which seemed spacious and luxurious after two
nights in the open. These operations were of
great value to the staff, and also to the transport,
who learned from them how difficulties which
BASINGSTOKE. A HALT
^t
^mNP^ ;■
MUSKKTRY AT DOLLY MOUNT
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 25
appeared insignificant on paper became of
paramount importance in practice. The in-
dividual officer or man, on the other hand, gained
but little military experience, since as a rule the
whole time was occupied by long hot dusty
marches between the choking overhanging hedges
of a stony Hampshire lane. What was valuable,
however, was the lesson learnt when the march
was over. A man's comfort usually depended
on his own ingenuity, and unless he was able
to make a weatherproof shelter from his ground
sheet and blanket he was by no means unlikely
to spend a wet night. The cooks, too, dis-
covered that a fire in the open required humour-
ing, and all ranks began to realise that unless a
man was self-sufficient, he was of little use in
modern war. In barracks, the soldier leads a
hard enough life, but he is eternally being
looked after, and if he loses anything he is
obliged to replace it at once from the grocery
bar or the quartermaster's store. On service,
if he loses things he has to do without them, and
in Gallipoli where nothing could be obtained
nearer than Mudros and everything but sheer
necessities had to be fetched from Alexandria
or Malta, the ingrained carelessness of the
soldier meant a considerable amount of un-
necessary hardships. It would be too much to
say that these marches and bivouacs eradicated
this carelessness, but they did, at any rate,
impress on the more thoughtful some of the
difficulties to be encountered in the future.
26 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
The monotony of training was broken on the
28th of May when His Majesty the King visited
and inspected the Division. The 31st Brigade
was at Aldershot doing musketry, but the 29th
and 30th Brigades and the Divisional Troops
paraded in full strength in Hackwood Park.
His Majesty, who was accompanied by the
Queen, rode along the front of each corps and
then took up his position at the Saluting Point.
The troops marched past : first the Infantry in a
formation (Column of Platoons) which enabled
each man to see his Sovereign distinctly,
followed by the Field Ambulances, the squadron
of South Irish Horse, and the Artillery, Engineers
and Army Service Corps. On the following day,
His Majesty inspected the 31st Brigade as they
were marching back from Aldershot to Basing-
stoke.
This inspection was followed by another one,
as Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener, who had
been unable to accompany His Majesty, paid
the Division a visit on June ist.
It would be superfluous to describe both
these inspections, since the same ceremonial
was adopted at each, and since the 31st Brigade
was absent on the 28th May, an account of the
parade for Lord Kitchener may stand for both
occasions. The inspection took place in an
open space in Hackwood Park, the infantry
being drawn up, one brigade facing the other
two on the crest of a ridge, while the mounted
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 27
troops in an adjoining field were assembled on
a slope running down to a small stream. The
scene was typically English ; here and there
a line of white chalk showed where a trench had
broken the smooth green turf, and all around,
copses and clumps of ancient trees, in the full
beauty of their fresh foliage, spoke of a land
untouched for centuries by the stern hand of
war. Soon very different sights were to meet the
eyes of the men of the loth Division, and at
Mudros, and on the sun-baked Peninsula, many
thought longingly of soft Hampshire grass and
the shade of might}/ beeches.
Though the sun shone at intervals, yet there
was a chill bite in the wind, and the troops
who had begun to take up their positions at
10 o'clock were relieved when at noon the
Field-Marshal's cortege trotted on to the review
ground, and began to ride along the lines.
The broad-shouldered, thick-set figure was
familiar, but the face lacked the stern frown
so often seen in pictures, and wore a cheerful
smile. Yet he had good reason to smile.
Around him were men — Hunter, Mahon, and
others — who had shared his victories in the past,
and before him stood the ranks of those who
were destined to lend to his name imperishable
glory. He, more than any other man, had
drawn from their homes the ofiicers and men
who faced him in Hackwood Park, and trained
and equipped them, until at last, after ten
28 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
months' hard and strenuous work, they were
ready to take the field. He looked on the stal-
wart lines, and all could see that he was pleased.
After he had passed along the ranks, he
returned to the saluting point, and the march
past began. The Division had no brass bands,
but each unit, in close column of platoons, wa»
played past by the massed drums and fifes
of its own Brigade. First came the Royal Irish,
swinging to the lilt of " Garry Owen,'' in a
manner that showed that their C. O. and
Sergeant-Major were old Guardsmen. Then
followed the Hampshires, stepping out to the
tune that has played the 37th past the saluting
point since the days of Dettingen and Minden.
Then again the bands took up the Irish strain,
and the best of drum-and-fife marches, ** St.
Patrick's Day," crashed out for the Connaught
Rangers. Then came a sadder note for the
Leinsters' march is " Come Back to Erin,"
and one knew that many of those marching
to it would never see Ireland again. But
sorrowful thoughts were banished as the quick-
step of the Rifles succeeded to the yearning tune.
After the Rifles had passed, the music became
monotonous, since all Fusilier Regiments have
the same march-past, and by the time the rear
of the 31st Brigade had arrived, one's ears were
somewhat weary of the refrain of the ** British
Grenadiers." At a rehearsal of the Inspection,
the Dublin Fusiliers had endeavoured to vary
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 29
the monotony by playing ** St. Patrick's Day/*
but the fury of the Connaught Rangers, who
share the right of playing this tune with the
Irish Guards alone, was so intense that it was
abandoned, and Munsters and Dublins, Innis-
killings and Faugh-a-Ballaghs, moved past to
the strains of their own march. '' The British
Grenadiers " is a good tune, and Fusilier
regiments are not often brigaded together,
so that this lack of variety is seldom noted,
yet there are so many good Irish quick-steps
unused that perhaps the Fusilier regiments
from Ireland might be permitted to use one of
them as an alternative.
After the Infantry came the Field Ambulances,
and after them the squadron of the South
Irish Horse. These were followed by rank after
rank of guns with the Engineers and Army
Service Corps bringing up the rear. The long
lines of gleaming bayonets, and the horses,
guns, and wagons, passing in quick succession,
formed a magnificent spectacle. Not by
dragon's teeth had this armed force been
raised in so short a time, but by unresting
and untiring work.
As a result of these inspections the following
orders were issued : —
'' 10th Division Order No, 34. 1st June, 1915.
" Lieutenant-General Sir B. Mahon received
His Majesty's command to publish a divisional
io THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
order to say how pleased His Majesty was to
have had an opportunity of seeing the loth
Irish Division, and how impressed he was
with the appearance and physical fitness of
the troops.
" His Majesty the King recognises that it
is due to the keenness and co-operation of
all ranks that the loth Division has reached
such a high standard of efficiency/'
'' The General Officer Commanding loth
Irish Division has much pleasure in informing
the troops that Field-Marshal Earl Kitchener
of Khartoum, the Secretary of State for War,
expressed himself as highly satisfied with all
he saw of the loth Division at the inspection
to-day."
After these two inspections the men began
to hope that they would soon be on the move,
but the regular routine continued, and all
ranks began to get a little stale. The period
of training had been filled with hard and strenu-
ous work, and as the days of laborious and
monotonous toil crept on, one felt that little
was being gained by it. It is not an exaggera-
tion to say that so far as physical fitness was
concerned, the whole of the Division which
went as an organised whole to Gallipoli was
in better condition at the end of April than
when they left England. Infantry, engineers,
and the Royal Army *Medical Corps were all
fully trained and qualified for the work they
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 31
were called on to do. The transport were not,
but then the transport were left behind in
England. It is possible, too, that the artillery
gained by the delay, but they did not accompany
the Division, and the two brigades that eventu-
ally landed in the Peninsula were competely
detached from it. The staff certainty gained
much experience from their stay at Basingstoke,
but on reaching Gallipoli the Division was
split up in such a manner that the experience
they had acquired became of little value.
Just as we were beginning to despair of ever
moving, on the 27th of June the long-expected
order arrived, and the Division was warned to
hold itself in readiness for service at the
Dardanelles.
CHAPTER II
MUDROS AND MITYLENE
" When in Lemnos we ate our fill of flesh of tall-horned
oxen." — Homer.
IT will now be proper to describe the doings
of the Division in somewhat fuller detail.
The immediate result of the warning re-
ceived on June 27th, which was officially
confirmed on July ist, was to throw an enor-
mous amount of work upon officers and N.C.O.'s.
Already the gaps in our strength had been filled
up by drafts drawn from the i6th (Irish)
Division, and now it was necessary for the whole
of the men to be re-equipped. Helmets and
khaki drill clothing had to be fitted, much of
the latter requiring alteration, while the adjust-
ing of pagris to helmets occupied much attention,
and caused the advice and assistance of men
who had served in India to be greatly in demand.
At the same time new English-made belts and
accoutrements were issued, the American leather
equipment, which had been given out in March
and had worn very badly, being withdrawn.
We had gained one advantage from the numer-
3«
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 33
ous false alarms that rumour had sprung upon
us, the men*s field pay-books and field conduct-
sheets were completely filled in and ready.
This turned out to be extremely fortunate, as
the company officers, sergeant-majors, and
platoon sergeants found that the time at their
disposal was so fully occupied that they would
have had little leisure left for office work.
The pay lists were closed and balanced, and
sent with the cash-books to the Regimental
Paymaster ; any other documents which had
not already been sent to the officer in charge of
records were consigned to him, and at last we
felt we were ready.
One symptom of the conditions under which
we were going to fight was to be foimd in the
fact that we lost some of our comrades. The
Heavy Battery and the squadron of the South
Irish Horse were transferred to other divisions
destined for France, while the transport, both
Divisional and Regimental, was ordered to
stand fast at Basingstoke. Worse than this,
all regimental offi^cers' chargers were to be
handed over to the Remount Department.
This indication that we were intended for a
walking camp^gn caused considerable dismay
to some machine-gun officers, who had invested
in imposing and tight-fitting field boots, and
were not certain whether they would be pleasant
to march in. As for the men of the machine-gun
detachments, their feelings were beyond ex-
34 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
pression. The knowledge that gun, tripod, and
belts would have to be carried everywhere by
them in a tropical climate deprived them of
words. However, they were too delighted to
be on the move at last to grumble for long.
In the week beginning July 5th the departure
began. The trains left at night, and battalions
would awake in the morning to find tents
prev;iousIy occupied by their neighbours empty.
The weather had changed to cold showers, and
the men marching through the night to the
station had reason to be thankful that their
drill clothing was packed away in their kit-bags,
and that they were wearing ordinary khaki
serge. The helmets, however, were found to
keep off rain well. Units were so subdivided
for entraining purposes that there was little
ceremony and less music at the departure.
The men paraded in the dark, marched through
the empty echoing streets of the silent town,
sometimes singing, but more often thoughtful.
The memory of recent farewells, the complete
uncertainty of the future, the risks that lay
before us, alike induced a mood that if not
gloomy was certainly not hilarious. The cheer-
ful songs of the early training period were
silent, and when a few voices broke the silence,
the tune that they chose was *' God Save Ire-
land.'' We were resolved that Ireland should
not be ashamed of us, but we were beginning
to realise that our task would be a stiff one.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 35
The composition of the Division was as
follows ■ —
Divisional Staff.
G.O.C. : Lieut. -General Sir B. T. Mahon,
K.CV.O., C.B., D.S.O.
Aide-de-Camp : Capt. the MarqvpLs of Headfort
(late 1st Life Guards).
General Staff Officer, ist Grade : Lieut. -Col.
J. G. King-King, D.S.O., Reserve of Officers
(late the Queen's).
General Staff Officer, 2nd Grade : Major G. E.
Leman, North Staffordshire Regiment.
General Staff Officer, 3rd Grade : Captain
D, J. C. K. Bernard, The Rjfle Brigade.
A.A. and Q.M.G. : Col. D. Sapte, Reserve of
Officers (late Northumberland Fusiliers).
D.A.A. and Q.M.G. : Major C. E. HoUins,
Lincolnshire Regiment.
D.A.Q.M.G.i : Major W. M. Royston-Piggott,
Army Service Corps.
D.A.D.O.S. : Major S. R. King, A.O.D.
A. P.M. : Lieutenant yiscount Powerscourt,
M.V.O., Irish Guards, S.R.
A.D.M.S. : Lieut.-Col. H. D. Rowan, Royal
Army Medical Corps.
D.A.D.M.S. : Major C. W. Holden, Royal Army
Medical Corps.
36 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
29TH Brigade.
G.O.C. : Brigadier-Greneral R. J. Cooper, C.V.O.
Brigade Major : Capt. A. H. McCleverty, 2nd
Rajput Light Infantry.
■.Staff Captain: Capt. G.Nugent, Royal IrishRifles.
Consisting of : —
loth Hampshire Regiment, commanded by
Lieut. -Col. W. D. Bewsher.
btlf Royal Irish Rifles, commanded by Lieut. -
CoL E. C. Bradford.
5th Connaught Rangers, commanded by
Lieut. -Col. H. F. N. Jourdain.
6th Leinster Regiment, commanded by Lieut. -
Col. J. Craske, D.S.O.
30TH Brigade.
'^G.O.C. : Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol.
. Brigade Major : Major E. C. Alexander, D.S.O.,
55th Rifles, Indian Army.
Staff Captain : Capt. H. T. Goodland, Royal
Munster Fusiliers.
Consisting of : —
6th Royal Munster Fusiliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. V. T. Worship, D.S.O.
7th Royal Munster Fusiliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. H. Gore.
.6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. P. G. A. Cox.
-7th Royal Dublin Fus,iliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. G. Downing.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 37
31ST Brigade.
G.O.C. : Brigadier-General F. F. Hill, C.B.,D.S.O.
Brigade Major : Capt. W. J. N. Cooke-Collis,
Royal Irish Rifles.
Staff Captain : Capt. T. J. D. Atkinson, Royal
Irish Fusiliers.
Consisting of : —
5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, commanded
by Lieut. -Col. A. S. Vanrenen.
6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, commanded
by Lieut.-Col. H. M. Chffe.
5th Royal Irish Fusiliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. M. J. W. Pike.
6th Royal Irish Fusiliers, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. F. A. Greer.
Divisional Troops.
5th Royal Irish Regiment (Pioneers) commanded
by Lieut.-Col. The Earl of Granard, K.P.
Divisional Artillery.
Brigadier-General, R.A. : Brigadier-General G.
S. Duffus.
Brigade Major : Capt. F. W. Barron, R.A.
Staff Captain : Captain Sir G. Beaumont.
Consisting of : —
54th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, com-
manded by Lieut.-Col. J. F. Cadell.
55th Royal Field Artillery, commanded by
Lieut.-Col. H. R. Peck.
38 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
56th Brigade Royal Field Artillery, com-
manded by Brevet-Col. J. H. Jellett.
The 57th (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A., re-
mained in England.
Royal Engineers.
Commanding Officer, Royal Engineers : Lieut. -
Col. F. K. Fair.
Consisting of : —
65th Field Company, R.E.
66tli ditto
85th ' ditto
loth Signal Company, commanded by Capt.
L. H. Smithers.
Royal Army Medical Corps.
30th Field Ambulance, commanded by Lieut. -
Col. P. MacKessack.
31st Field Ambulance, commanded by Lieut. -
Col. D. D. Shanahan.
32nd Field Ambulance, commanded by Lieut.-
Col. T. C. Lauder.
loth Divisional Cyclist Corps, commanded by
Capt. B. S. James.
There is one particular in which the British
Army may fairly claim to be superior to any
force in the world, and that is in embarkation.
Years of oversea expeditions, culminating in
the South African War, have given us abundant
experience in this class of work, and the fact
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 39
that even in a newly formed unit like the loth
Division every battalion contained at least
one officer who had taken a draft to India,
helped to make things run smoothly. The
voyage itself was uneventful. For the most
part the troopships employed were Atlantic
liners, and the accommodation and food pro-
vided for officers might be called luxurious.
There were, however, two ffies in the ointment.
The architect of the boats had designed them
rather for a North Atlantic winter than for
summer in the Mediterranean, and the fact that
at night every aperture had to be tightly
closed for fear lest a gleam of light might
attract an enemy submarine, made sleep diffi-
cult. The men, who were closely packed,'
found it impossible in their berths down below,
and the officer of the watch was obliged to pick
his way among hundreds of prostrate forms as
he went from one end of the deck to the other.
The second grievance was lack of deck space,
which precluded anything in the shape of
violent exercise. Attempts at physical drill
were made wherever there was an inch of spare
room, and for the rest lectures and boat drill
whiled away the tedium of the day. Almost
the only soldiers on board with a definite occu-
pation were the machine gunners perched with
'their guns on the highest available points, and
keeping a keen look-out for periscopes. Re-
sponsibility also fell upon the officer of the
40 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
watch, who was obhged to make a tour of the
ship, looking out for unauthorised smoking and
unscreened Hghts every hour, and reporting
" All correct '* to the ship's officer on the bridge.
For the rest, the foreseeing ones who had pro-
vided themselves with literature read ; officers
smoked and played bridge ; men smoked,
played '' House " and dozed ; but through all
the lethargy and laziness there ran a suppressed
^undercurrent of suspense and excitement.
The bulk of the transports conveying the
Division called at Malta and Alexandria, on
their way from Devonport to Mudros, but one
gigantic Cunarder, having on board Divisional
Headquarters, 30th Brigade Headquarters, the
6th Leinster Regiment, 6th and 7th Royal
Munster Fusiliers, and detachments of the
5th Royal Irish Regiment (Pioneers), and 5th
The Connaught Rangers, sailed direct from
Liverpool to Mudros, and cast anchor there on
July i6th. These troops were the first of the
Division to reach the advanced base of the
Dardanelles operations, and it was with eager
curiosity that they looked at the novel scene.
They were in a land-locked harbour, which
from the contour of the hills surrounding it
might have been a bay on the Connemara
coast had not land and sea been so very different
in colour. Soft and brilliant as the lights and
tints of an Irish landscape are, nothing in
Ireland ever resembled the deep but sparkling
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 41
blue of the water, and the tawny slopes of the
hills of Lemnos. Northward, at the end of the
harbour, the store-ships and water-boats lay
at anchor ; midway were the transports, and
near the entrance the French and British
warships.
On the eastern shore dust - coloured tents
told of the presence of hospitals ; and to
the west, lines of huddled bivouacs indicated
some concentration of newly-arrived troops.
The heart ot the place, from which every nerve
and pulse throbbed, was a big, grey, single-
funnelled liner, anchored near the eastern shore.
Here were the headquarters of the Inspector-
General of Communications, and the Principal
Naval Transport Officer ; here the impecunious
sought the Field Cashier ; and the greedy
endeavoured (unsuccessfully, unless they had
friends aboard) to obtain a civilised meal.
Next to her a big transport acted as Ordnance
Store, and issued indiscriminately grenades and
gum-boots, socks and shrapnel. At this time,
no ferries had been instituted, and communica-
tion with these ships, though essential, was not
easy. If you were a person of importance,
a launch was sent for you ; if, as was more
likely, you were not, you chartered a Greek
boat, and did your best to persuade the pirate
in charge of it to wait while you transacted
your business on board.
We had ample time to appreciate this factor
42 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
in the situation as it was three days before we
disembarked. During that time we succeeded
in learning a little about the conditions of
warfare in what we began to call '* the Penin-
sula/' Part of the 29th Division, which by
its conduct in the first landing had won itself
the title of '' Incomparable/' was back at
Mudros resting, and many of its officers came
on board to look for friends. Thus we learned
from men who had been in Gallipoli since they
had struggled through the surf and the wire on
April 24th the truth as to the nature of the
fighting there. They taught us much by their
words, but even more by their appearance ;
for though fit, they were thin and worn, and
their eyes carried a weary look that told of the
strain that they had been through. For the
first time we began to realise that strong nerves
were a great asset in war.
At last the order for disembarkation came,
and a string of pinnaces, towed by steam
launches from the battleships, conveyed the
men ashore. Kits followed in lighters, and wise
officers seized the opportunity to add to their
mess stores as much stuff as the purser of the
transport would let them have. It was our
last contact with civilisation.
On the beach there was a considerable amount
of confusion. The western side of the harbour
had only recently been taken into use by troops,
and though piers had been made, roads were as
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 43
yet non-existent. Lighters were discharging kit
and stores at half-a-dozen different points, and
the prudent officer took steps to mount a guard
wherever he saw any of his stuff. In war,
primitive conditions rule, and it is injudicious
to place too much confidence in the honesty of
your neighbours.
At last the over-worked staff were able to
disentangle the different units, and aUot them
their respective areas, and the nucleus of the
Division found itself installed in the crest of a
ridge running northward, with the harbour on
the east, and a shallow lagoon on the west.
Across the lagoon lay a white-washed Greek
village, surrounded by shady trees, in which
Divisional Headquarters were established, and
behind this rose the steep hills that divided
Mudros from Castro, the capital of Lemnos.
Further south was another village with a
church ; otherwise the only features of the
landscape were a ruined tower and half-a-dozen
windmills. Except at Divisional Headquarters ^
there was not a tree to be seen. The ground
was a mass of stones. Connaught is stony,
but there the stones are of decent size. In
Mudros, they were so small and so numerous
that it took an hour to clear a space big enough
for a bed. Between the stones were thistles
and stubble, and here and there a prickly
blue flower. In the distance one or two patches
of tillage shone green, but except for these
44 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
everything was dusty, parched and barren.
On the whole an unattractive prospect.
However, it was necessary to make the best
of it, and soon the bivouacs were up, though
their construction was made more difficult by
v^the complete absence of wood of any kind.
The men had been instructed to supplement the
blanket, which they had brought from England,
by another taken from the ship's stores, and
the hillside soon presented to the eye an endless
repetition of the word '* Cunard " in red letters.
Officers soon found it impossible to obtain
either shelter, tables, or seats sufficient for a
battalion mess, and companies began to mess
by themselves. Few parades could be held,
for there were very few lorries and no animals
at all in Mudros West, so that practically
everything required by the troops had to be
carried up from the beach by hand. Most of
the camj>s were nearly a mile from the Supply
Depot, so that each fatigue entailed a two-mile
march, and by the time that the men had
carried out a ration fatigue, a wood fatigue,
and two water fatigues, it was hard to ask them
to do much more. A few short route marches
were performed, but most commanding officers
were reluctant to impose on the men harder
tasks than those absolutely necessary before
they became acclimatized.
Already we were beginning to make the
acquaintance of four of the Gallipoli plagues —
•V ''#^. \^^
SARI HAIR
lUDROS. thp: author s bivouac
(In the background is the officers mess)
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 45
dust, flies, thirst and enteritis. Our situation ^'
on the spur was exposed to a gentle breeze from
the north. At first we rejoiced at this, thinking
it would keep away flies and make things
cooler ; but soon we realized that what we
gained in this respect we lost in dust. From the
sandy beach, from the trampled tracks leading
to the supply depots, from the bivouacs to
windward, it swept down on us, till eyes stung
and food was masked with it. It became
intensified when a fatigue party or, worst of all,
a lorry, swept past, and the principal problem
confronting a mess-president was to place the
mess and kitchen where they got least of it.
The flies were indescribable. For a day or v
two they seemed comparatively rare, and we
hoped that we were going to escape from them ;
but some instinct drew them to us, and at the
end of a week they swarmed. All food was
instantly covered with them, and sleep between
sunrise and sunset was impossible except for a
few who had provided themselves with mosquito
nets. Not only did they cause irritation, but
infection. There appeared to be a shortage of
disinfectants, and it was impossible either to
check their multiplication, or to prevent them
from transmitting disease. They had, however,
one negative merit : they neither bit nor stung.
If instead of the common housefly we had been
afflicted with midges or mosquitoes, our lot
would have been infinitely worse.
46 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
The third plague was thirst. In July, in the
Eastern Mediterranean, the sun is almost
vertical ; and to men in bivouac whose only
shelter is a thin waterproof sheet or blanket
rigged up on a couple of sticks, it causes tortures
of thirst. All day long one sweats, and one's
system yearns for drink to take the place of the
moisture one is lOvSing. Unfortunately, Lemnos
is a badly-watered island, and July was the
driest season of the year. All the wells in the
villages were needed by the Greek inhabitants :
and though more were dug, many of them ran
dry, and the water in those that held it was
brackish and unsuitable for drinking. The
bulk of the drinking-water used by the troops
was brought by boat from Port Said and
Alexandria, and not only was it lukewarm and
tasteless, but the supply was strictly limited.
The allowance per man was one gallon per day ;
and though on the surface this appears liberal,
yet when it is reflected that in 1876 the con-
sumption of water per head in London was 29
gallons,* it will be seen that great care had to
be exercised. Even this scanty allowance did
not always reach the men intact, for the water
carts of some units had not arrived, and so the
whole of it had to be carried and stored in camp-
kettles. In order to spare the men labour,
* Table in Humber's Water Supply of Cities and Towns (London,
1876), p. 86.— Quoted by Hodgkin in " Italy and her Invaders,"
Vol. 4, p. 172.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 47
arrangements were made by which these camp-
kettles were to be carried in a motor-lorry ; but
on the primitive roads so much was spilt as to
render the experiment futile. Even in carrying
by hand, a certain amount of leakage took
place. In order to control the issue of water,
most of it, after the men had filled their water-
bottles, was used for tea, which though re-
freshing, can hardly be called a cooling drink.
However, Greek hawkers brought baskets of
eggs, lemons, tomatoes and water melons.
The last, though tasteless, were juicy and cool,
and the men purchased and ate large quantities
of them.
Possibly they were in part to blame for the
fourth affliction that befell us in the shape of
enteritis. Though not very severe, this afflic-
tion was widespread, hardly anyone being free
from it. A few went sick, but for every man
who reported himself to the doctor, there were
ten who were doing their duty without complain-
ing that they were indisposed. Naturally, men
were reluctant to report sick just before going
into action for the first time ; but though they
were able to carry on, yet there was a general
lowering of vitality and loss of energy due to
this cause, which acted as a serious handicap
in the difiicult days to come.
Some thought that this epidemic was caused
by the food issued to the men, and it was
certainly possible to imagine a diet more suited
48 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
to a tropical climate than salt bully beef and hard
dry biscuits. An issue of rice was, however,
sanctioned, and this boiled with currants formed
the men's usual midday meal — the inevitable
stew of bully, cooked in a dixie with dessicated
vegetables, being reserved till the evening. The
rice would have been nicer had it been cooked
with milk, but the small allowance of condensed
milk available was needed for tea. The bully,
too, could have been made more palatable had
curry-powder been forthcoming, as the officers'
messes which possessed this condiment found it
invaluable in disguising the peculiar flavour.
Tinned meat is not suited to tropical climates.
However, very few officers' messes had brought
much in the way of stores, as they were un-
certain whether they would be able to carry
them, and all officers soon found themselves
reduced to the same rations as the men, supple-
mented by the few eggs and tomatoes obtainable
from Greek hawkers. Except for these hawkers,
Mudros West had no resources for shopping at
this time. All villages were out of bounds, and
there was at this period no canteen — even a
Greek one.
One advantage, however, the place possessed :
the bathing was magnificent. From 8 a.m. to
6 p.m. (or, as we were learning to call it, from
8 to i8 o'clock), it was forbidden, as the doctors
feared sunstroke ; but at six in the evening the
bulk of the day's work over, everyone who could
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 49
leave camp trooped down to a little bay. The
men undressed on the shore, the officers on a
small pier which ran out far enough to make a
dive possible. The water was perfect — warm
enough to make it possible to stay in for an hour,
and yet cool and refreshing after the heat and
dust of the day. The western sun, no longer
blazing fiercely overhead, made dressing and
drying a pleasure ; and the walk up the hill to
the evening meal in the twilight made one feel
that the world was not such a bad place after all.
There was more cheerfulness and laughter at the
bathing place than anywhere else in Mudros.
Many friendships were made there, some soon
to be severed by Death, and men who had
begun to harp on the truth of Kipling's words :
" Comfort, content, delight,
The ages slow brought gain.
They vanished in a night :
Ourselves alone remain."
were forced to admit that pleasure and happiness
had not completely vanished from the world.
While the first comers were becoming hardened
to the discomforts of the Island, the remainder
of the Division began to arrive. They had
called at Alexandria, the base of the Mediter-
ranean Expeditionary Force, and had left there
the details allotted to the base and the bulk of
their kit, wagons and water-carts. The
artillery had also been ordered to remain in
50 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Egypt till further orders. The rest of the 29th
Brigade, with their Brigade Headquarters,
arrived between the 23rd and 29th of July, and
they were followed by the rest of the Pioneer
Battalion, the Field Companies of the Royal
Engineers, the Signal Company, who found
their motor-cycles more hindrance than help
on the roadless Island, the Cyclists, and the
Field Ambulances. These last no sooner
arrived than they were called on to receive
patients, for the prevalent malady had already
knocked some men out. It was a severe test,
but the doctors and orderlies rose to it splendidly,
providing for their patients from their own
private stores when Government supplies were
not available.
The newly-arrived units were for the most
part employed on fatigues. Everything needed
on the Peninsula had to be carried up to camp :
everything else, including the base kits of the
units who had not called at Alexandria, had to
be carried back again to the beach, where a
dump was being formed inside a barbed wire
fence. Officers were ordered to lighten their
valises, so that they could be carried with ease
by one man, and there was much cogitation as to
what should be taken and what left behind. As
a matter of fact, we saw so little of our valises
after landing in the Peninsula that the careful
distinction established between essentials (bed-
ding, spare socks and shirt) and non-essentials
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 51
(spare coat and breeches and boots^ was wasted.
Most of us determined to rely on our packs,
which, we stuffed with a mackintosh, razor,
soap, sponge, and (in my own case) a couple of
books. From this packing, however, the 29th
Brigade were distracted by Brigade night opera-
tions, which took the form of an attack on a hill
five miles away. The march in the dark over
broken and stony ground proved very trying to
the men, who had not recovered the condition
which they had lost on the voyage, and many of
them dropped off to sleep as soon as they halted.
It became clear to us that our task was likely
to be an arduous one.
Meanwhile, we began to wonder as to the
whereabouts of the remainder of the Division,
since half of the 30th Brigade and the entire
31st had not landed. The transports conveying
them had reached Mudros, but owing to the
shortage of water it had been decided not to
land them there, but to send them to Mitylene.
The fact that it was found impossible to con-
centrate three divisions at Mudros simultane-
ously, illustrates the enormous increase that has
taken place in the numbers employed in modern
war. The most famous military expedition of
ancient history had its rendezvous and base at
Lemnos before it proceeded to attack Troy, and
it would appear probable that Mudros Bay, the
largest and best harbour on the Island, was the
one used by the fleet of Agamemnon. There
52 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
seems no reason to suppose that the water
supply there has diminished, and it is certain
that as the time needed for the voyage was
longer, the sailing ships and oared galleys in
which the Greek host made their way to the
Trojan plain, must have been furnished with a
copious supply of drinking water before they
set sail. Homer does not record the fact that
they suffered from thirst, and so it is clear that
the whole army was able to subsist on what
proved insufficient for less than 50,000 British
soldiers. The theory of Professor Delbriick*
that the numbers taking part in ancient battles
were grossly exaggerated, seems to rest on some
foundation.
In some respects the units that went to Mity-
lene were more fortunate than the rest of the
Division. They did not disembark, but re-
mained on board the liners which had brought
them out from England, thus securing good
food and immunity from dust and flies.
Mitylene, moreover, is far more beautiful than
Mudros, and its smiling farms set in the midst of
fruit trees and olive groves,were more welcome
to the eye than the bare stony hills of Lemnos.
There was, too, a larger and more friendty Greek
population. Boats from the shore came out
loaded with melons, grapes, and other varieties
of fruit, so that those men who were possessed
* Numbers in History, by Dr. Hans Delbriick, London University
Press, 1914.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 53
of money could get a change of diet. The worst
that the 31st Brigade and 6th and 7th Dubhn
Fusihers had to complain of, was dullness.
Except for bathing and an occasional route
march on shore, there was but little to break the
monotony of shipboard life ; and after a week
or so in harbour, ever3^one was beginning to be a
Httle '' fed-up/'
They disliked, too, the fact that they appeared
to have lost the rest of the Division, and had no
information about their future movements ;
but they were no worse off in that respect than
the rest of us. All that we knew was, that we
were part of the 9th Corps, commanded by
Lieut. -General Sir F. Stopford. We knew little
of him, but we knew that he was an Irishman
and were prepared to take him on trust.
Battalion commanders had been issued with
sets of maps which, when put together, covered
the whole of the Gallipoli Peninsula and part of
the Asiatic coast ; but possibly this was only a
'' blind.'' Rumours, of course, were plentiful
and very varied : a strong favourite was one
which may conceivably have been encouraged
by those in authority, and which suggested that
we were intended to make a descent on Smyrna.
The fact that the remainder of the Division were
known to be at Mitylene tended to confirm this,
though there were sceptics who flouted this view
and declared that we were to land near Enos in
order to co-operate with the Bulgarian Army.
54 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
We had already been informed by irrespon-
sible individuals that Bulgaria had declared war
on Turkey. All these rumours undoubtedly tried
the nerves of the troops, but secrecy was abso-
lutely essential. The Island was not entirely
under Allied control, a considerable part of the
population were Turks, and any leakage of
information would have proved fatal to the
General's plans. As it was, we could see in
the evening, as the ferry boats sailed out with
their loads of reinforcements past the cheering
battleships, bonfires kindled on the heights in
order to inform the enemy on the mainland of
the numbers and strength of the troops being
moved. Some of us, as we watched them,
recalled the beacons which signalled to Argos
from the same peaks the news that Troy had
fallen, and wondered if the day was soon to come
when they would announce the capture of
Constantinople.
In order that the movements of the Division
may be understood, it is now necessary to give a
short summary of the plan of campaign adopted
by General Ian Hamilton ; but it must be borne
in mind that at the time regimental officers and
men knew nothing of what was intended.
The objective of the Mediterranean Expedi-
tionary Force was to secure the high ground
commanding the Narrows of the Dardanelles,
and to silence or capture the Turkish batteries
which barred its passage to the Fleet. In
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 55
order to achieve this object. Sir Ian Hamilton
had at the end of April landed the bulk of his
forces at the Southern extremity of the Gallipoli
Peninsula. The landing was achieved by the
29th Division, much assisted by a subsidiary
landing on the Asiatic coast executed by a
French Division. On the following day the
French re-embarked and joined the British in
Gallipoli.
At this period Sir Ian Hamilton had at
his disposal at Cape Helles the 29th Division,
the 43rd (East Lancashire) Territorial Division,
the Royal Naval Division, and two French
Divisions. With these troops, he made repeated
assaults on the Turkish positions, on Achi Baba,
but although he succeeded in considerably
enlarging the area held by him, the main Turkish
defences remained intact. Reinforcements in
the shape of the 52nd (Lowland) Territorial
Division and the 29th Indian Brigade hardly
did more than compensate for wastage due to
wounds and disease ; and by the beginning of
July it was clear to the Commander-in-Chief
that, in spite of the desperate courage displayed
by his troops, little was to be gained by keeping
on hammering at Achi Baba. If it were won it
would only be at a terrific cost, and its capture
would not mean decisive victory, as behind lay
another and taller mountain, Kilid Bahr, which
barred the way to Maidos and the Narrows.
Fortunately, Cape Helles was not the only
56 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
foothold that we had gained in the Peninsula.
While the landing there was taking place on
April 25th the Australian and New Zealand
Army Corps, under General Sir William Bird-
wood, had succeeded in establishing itself on
shore about a mile north of Gaba Tepe, about
halfway up the western coast of Gallipoli.
It was a marvellous achievement for troops who
had had little more than six months' training,
but in physique and courage Australians and
New Zealanders are unsurpassed by any soldiers
in the world, and the conditions under which
they were called on to fight made initiative and
endurance of greater value than rigid discipline.
In their first success they pressed on half-way
across the Peninsula ; but the ground that they
occupied was too great in extent to be held by
two Divisions, and they were forced to fall back
to the coast. There they held an irregular semi-
circle drawn at a radius of about a mile from the
little cove, christened in their honour Anzac.
In parts, the Turkish lines were close to the
beach, and the Australians clung to the crest
with nothing but a precipice between them and
the sea : elsewhere a narrow salient pointed
inland into a tangle of hills and gullies, meeting
with the usual fate of salients in being bom-
barded from both flanks. As a matter of fact,
the whole Anzac position was a salient, and even
the beach was regularly swept by the enemy's
artillery and pestered by snipers posted on the
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 57
hills to the northward. However, small as the
area gained was, it provided a foothold from
which Sir Ian Hamilton could launch his next
attack.
The plan adopted for this was as follows : —
He proposed to send to Anzac as many
reinforcements as space and water would permit,
smuggling them in under cover of darkness.
This done, he would take advantage of the
absence of moonlight on the night of the 7th of
August to break out northward from Anzac
and seize the backbone of the Peninsula — the
high ridge of Sari Bair. This hill ran north-east
from Anzac for about four miles, and from its
highest point commanded Maidos, the Narrows,
and the whole of the lines of communication by
which the Turks on Achi Baba were supplied.
At the same time, the remainder of the re-
inforcements for whom there was not room at
Anzac, were to effect a landing at Suvla Bay
about six miles up the coast, advance in a south-
easterly direction across the plain, and establish
themselves on the northern end of the Sari
Bair ridge, thus protecting the flank of the Anzac
force. While the Turks were known to be in
strength opposite Anzac, and to have reserves
at Maidos, it was believed that Suvla Bay was
weakly guarded.
Sir Ian Hamilton was able to dispose of the
following troops to execute this operation. He
had at Anzac the two Divisions of the
58 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and
reinforced them by the 29th Indian Infantry
Brigade from Cape Helles. The reinforcements
he received, and was still receiving, from
England, consisted of the loth, nth and 13th
New Army Divisions, together with the infantry
of the 53rd (Welsh) and 54th (East Anghan)
Territorial Divisions. The last of these
Territorials were not due to reach Mudros till
August loth — three days after the commence-
ment of operations. The whole of these re-
inforcements on August 1st were either still at
sea, or divided between the islands of Imbros
(16 miles from Gallipoli), L'emnos (60 miles) and
Mitylene (120 miles away).
The Commander-in-Chief decided to reinforce
the two divisions already serving at Anzac
under Sir William Birdwood, by the Indian
Brigade, the 13th Division and the 29th Brigade
of the loth Division. All these troops had to be
conveyed to Anzac, and hidden there before the
commencement of operations. To the landing
at Suvla Bay he allotted the nth Division
supported by the loth Division (less one
brigade). The 53rd and 54th (Territorial)
Divisions were retained as general reserve.
The control of the operations at Anzac was
entrusted to Sir W. Birdwood, who placed
Maj or-General Sir A. Godley in charge of the
attack on Sari Bair. The troops allocated to
this operation were, the- Australian and N^W
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 59
Zealand Division, two Brigades of the 13th
Division, and the Indian Brigade. The Anzac
position was to be held, and the feint attack on
the Lone Pine position executed by the ist
Australian Division. The 29th Brigade (loth
Division) and 38th Brigade (13th Division)
were held in reserve. At Suvla, Sir F. Stopford
was in command, and it was decided that the
nth Division which was concentrated at Imbros
should execute the first landing, and that the
30th and 31st Brigades of the loth Division
should arrive from Mudros and Mitylene at
dawn in support.
It will be seen how great a part in these
operations was to be played by newly-formed
units which had had no experience of • war.
The Australians, New Zealanders, and Indians
had been in the Peninsula for three months, and
though their ranks had been thinned yet those
who remained were hardened and acclimatized.
The New Army and Territorial Divisions had
come straight from England, and though the
13th Division had spent ten days in the trenches
at Helles, the remainder as units had never
heard a shot fired in anger. It is true that they
had many experienced soldiers in their ranks.
The General Commanding the loth Division had
seen the last warriors of Mahdism lying dead on
their sheepskins around the corpse of their
Khalifa. One of the Brigadiers had witnessed
the downfall of Cetewayo's power at Ulundi ;
6o THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
another had marched with the Guards Brigade
across the desert to Tel-el-Kebir ; while the
third had played his part in the desperate
fighting outside Suakim in 1884. Nearly all the
Colonels and many of the Company Commanders
had served in the South African War, and so had
a number of the senior N.C.O/s. Nevertheless,
the men, as a whole, were inexperienced, and the
organization of the units had not been tested
under the stern conditions which prevailed in the
Peninsula. To attempt the landing at Suvla
with untried troops, and staffs which had not
been tested on service and were not in the habit
of working together, was a great adventure ; but
the prizes of victory were great.
One thing was certain : never did soldiers go
forth to battle with sterner and more resolved
determination to maintain the honour of their
country and their regiment unsullied than the
men of the loth Division. It was the first trial
of the New Army in a great battle. We
remembered the traditions of our regiments —
traditions dearly gained and dearly cherished
by generations of Irish soldiers. On the colours
of the Royal Irish Fusiliers blazed the glorious
name of Barrossa, and the Connaught Rangers
cherished the memory of Salamanca and the
storming of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos.
The Royal Irish, the oldest Irish regiment of
the line, had fought at Namur and Blenheim,
and there was no lack of glory won in more
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 6i
recent fighting for the DubHns round Ladysmith
and the InniskilHngs at Pieter's Hill had
performed deeds never to be forgotten. Each
and every regiment had had its name inscribed
on the scroll of fame by the men of the past : the
loth Division were resolute that their Service
battalions should be worthy of those imperish-
able traditions.
CHAPTER III
THE 29TH BRIGADE AT ANZAC
" Then lift the flag of the Last Crusade
And fill the ranks of the Last Brigade ;
March on to the fields where the world's remade
And the Ancient Dreams come true." — T. M. Kettle.
ON August the 4th, as the Division were
bemoaning the fact that the first anniver-
sary of the war had arrived without their
having heard a shot fired in action, the 29th
Brigade received orders to send three officers
and approximately 180 men from each battaHon
to the newly formed Divisional Base Depot.
These were intended to remain at Mudros and
to act as a first reinforcement when needed.
As a rule, the officers and men selected for this
duty were those who were in bad health, as it
was hoped that a few days' rest might make
them better acclimatized. They were, however,
highly disgusted at being left behind, not
knowing that they would rejoin in less than a
week. They marched over to their new camp
on the afternoon of the 4th, and those who were
left packed up in earnest. That evening,
definite orders were received : battalions were to
62
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 63
hold themselves in readiness to embark for the
Peninsula at 9 a.m. next day, and C.O.'s were
permitted to inform Company Commanders in
confidence that the destination was Anzac.
At that time, no one had ever heard of the
place, but diligent search on the numerous maps,
with which units had been supplied, at last
revealed Anzac Cove marked a mile north of
Gaba Tepe. '' The Australian place," the best
informed called it. So the Brigade were not
destined to make a new landing. That, at any
rate, was something to know, and we had to
content ourselves with it, for nothing further
was divulged. Subalterns and the rank-and-file
did not even know what the destination was :
all that they were told was that we were to
embark.
Before dawn, each of the two chaplains
attached to the Brigade held a service. The
Church of England Chaplain, the Rev. J. W.
Crozier, celebrated Holy Communion in the
operating tent of the 30th Field Ambulance,
while Father O'Connor said Mass in the open
air just outside the camp. It had been decided
that the Chaplains were not to come with the
Brigade, but were to remain with the Field
Ambulance. This decision caused much regret,
not only to the Chaplains themselves, but to
all ranks in the Brigade. The Roman Catholics
in particular disliked losing Father O'Connor
even temporarily, for he was personally loved
64 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
by the men, and in addition the Irish soldier
faces death twice as cheerfully when fortified
by the ministrations of his Church. Never
were more reverent and solemn worshippers
seen than at those two short services at Mudros,
as the well remembered words were murmured,
and the grey twihght shone faintly on the faces
of many who were soon to die.
As the last prayers were uttered, the dawn
was breaking, a grey dawn fretted with many
clouds. The congregations dispersed and took
up the burden of work and war again. A
hasty breakfast was swallowed, valises were
strapped up and carried by fatig^ule parties down
to the pier, while the men rolled up their
blankets and ground sheets and fastened them
to their packs. In the deserted lines, officers
were endeavouring to prevent improvident
soldiers from eating or leaving behind them
part of the three days' rations with which they
had just been issued, while bands of predatory
Greek children, who were on the look-out for
anything that they could pick up, were driven
away with threats and sometimes with blows.
Then between eight and nine o'clock the bat-
talions fell in, ready at last for the great
adventure.
It is often difficult for the historian, writing
years after the event, to ascertain the exact
dress worn by those who took part in the events
portrayed in his page, and so it may be well
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 65
to put on record the outward aspect of the
Irish Division when it left for GaUipoli. Officers
and men were dressed alike in thin, sand-
coloured khaki drill. Shorts were forbidden,
and the men wore their trousers tucked into
putties of the darker khaki shade that is worn
in England. Except for the metal shoulder
titles, there were not many marks to distinguish
the different units, since England had been left
at such short notice that there had been little
time to procure badges of coloured cloth to
sew on the big mushroom-shaped helmets.
The Royal Irish Rifles had improvised a green
and black patch, however, and the officers of
the Hampshires had mounted a claret and
yellow one. The Colonel of the Leinsters had
with infinite ingenuity procured ink, and sten-
cilled an enormous black *' L ** on the side of
each helmet. The Connaught Rangers had
ordered shamrock badges with the device
**5 C.R.,''but their ambition was their undoing,
since these elaborate decorations took so long
to make that they did not reach the Peninsula
until most of those who were to wear them
had been killed or invalided. The 7th Munsters
were more fortunate, and went into action with
a green shamrock on each arm just below
the shoulder. A few Fusilier officers sported
a hackle of the regimental colour, but this
conspicuous ornament drew too much attention
to the wearer to make it safe in Gallipoli. It
66 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
mattered less what the men wore on their
bodies, since it was almost impossible to see
it, so heavily were they laden.
They hardly looked like fighting, and
would have run a poor chance if they had had
to swim. On their backs they had their great-
coats, rolled in their packs, on top of which
they carried two blankets and a waterproof
sheet. Their haversacks contained three days'
rations ; in their pouches, and festooned round
their necks, were two hundred rounds of
ammunition, and in addition to rifle, bayonet,
entrenching implement and water-bottle, every
man carried either a pick, shovel, or camp-
kettle. The signallers and machine-gunners
were loaded up with their technical equipment,
and the effect of the whole parade, topped as
it was by broad-brimmed sun-helmets, suggested
strength rather than mobility. Heavily the
columns swung down to the beach, and there
waited, for embarkation proved a slow process.
The sun was hot, and there was no shade,' so
that many of the men emptied their water-
bottles before they had been there long, though
fortunately it was possible to refill them at a
neighbouring well. Many more bought water-
melons, and the far-seeing laid in a stock of as
many eggs and lemons as they could carry,
to take to the Peninsula. The loads that the
naval pinnaces could carry were small, and it was
only after repeated journeys that at 3.30 p.m.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 67
the whole Brigade embarked. The infantry
were not accompanied by either the Field
Company Royal Engineers, or the Field Am-
bulance, which were usually attached to the
Brigade. They were to accompany the re-
mainder of the Division.
The ships used as ferries between Mudros and
the Peninsula were not large, and the men
found themselves tightly packed fore and aft,
with only just enough room to squat or lie on
the decks. The boats had, however, seen
plenty of service, and their officers and men were
able to supply abundance of good advice. As
soon as night fell, no lights of any kind were
permitted, and consequently it was necessary
for every man to remain close to his kit, or
fearful confusion would follow at disembarka-
tion. It was evident that landing was likely
to be somewhat of a trial, as even the numbers
of changes of station that the Brigade had had
at home had given them no practice in dis-
embarking in pitch darkness. No food was
obtainable on board, but there was plenty of
hot water, so that the men were able to make
tea in their mess-tins to wash down the bully
and biscuit taken from their iron ration.
All ranks had settled down pretty comfortably
by the time the boats approached Imbros, and
the sun sank in a dark bank of clouds behind
the Lemnos hills. A few slept, but most were
too excited to do so ; for as the ship approached
68 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
the invisible coast the flashes of the guns
became visible, and a broad searchlight beam
stabbed the sky from the summit of Achi Baba.
A little further up the coast a destroyer had
focussed her searchlight on a path down the
face of a cliff, and the round circle of light
looked for all the world like a magic lantern
in a village entertainment at home. On they
steamed, leaving all this behind, and most
dozed off, only to be awakened by the stoppage
of the boat. By straining one's eyes one could
see a few more ships anchored close by, but the
only other sign of life was a couple of dim
lights, which seemed to be high overhead.
This was Anzac.
The Brigade was soon, however, to discover
that the Turks were vigilant, for a sniper,
hearing the rattle of the anchor-chain of one
of the boats, fired at a venture and wounded a
man of the Leinster Regiment in the chest.
A Connaught Ranger was also wounded in
the hand. Clearly the warnings against lights
and noise were justified. However, nothing
could be done but to get the men into their
equipment and wait. At last the lighters
grunted up alongside and disembarkation began.
The darkness was intense, and it was impossible
to speak above a whisper. Men of all companies
were crowded together ; N.C.O.'s were quite
unrecognisable, and no previous rehearsal had
been possible. However, good will triumphed
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 69
over these obstacles. One by one the men
and their burdens were hurried into the lighters,
the specialists unloaded their technical equip-
ment, and disembarkation proceeded smoothly,
if not quickly.
By the time the last ship began to unload her
troops the first traces of the dawn were appearing
in the sky, and the sailors on the lighters became
very anxious. Not onty was it undesirable that
the Turks should learn that large reinforcements
were being sent to Anzac, but the whole of the
harbour was exposed to the fire of the enemy's
guns, and if the slow-moving lighters were
detected by daylight, they would have to pass
through a storm of shrapnel, and would have
suffered many casualties. Most of the men
did not realise this, and were inclined to be
deliberate in their movements, but, bustled
by sailors and officers, they got ashore safely.
They found themselves in the grey dawn stand-
ing on the shores of a little bay. Above them
towered broken sandy slopes, at the foot of
which stood a narrow strip of beach, covered
with sand-bagged dug-outs and piles of forage
and rations. They massed under cover of
these ; officers and company-sergeant-majors
hurriedly checked their numbers as far as it
was possible to do so, and then they were led
away by New Zealand guides to a dangerous
position.
A certain amount of cover had already
70 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
been prepared by Australian and New Zealand
digging parties, in what was very rightly
known as Shrapnel Gully. Battalions followed
the guides up a low ridge of sandhills, through
a short sap, and past a row of water-tanks,
on to a path which wound up between two
high hills. It was, as we discovered later,
wider than most gullies in Gallipoli, and if
anything the slopes were gentler ; but it was
a fair specimen of its kind. On the southern
side the formation was regular ; to the north
a smaller gully running into it formed a sort
of bay about two hundred yards in circum-
ference. Both slopes were covered with low
prickly scrub, rising at its highest to about
four feet ; in between were patches of sand
and the dug-outs prepared for the brigade.
To the south these were arranged regularly
in rows, something like the galleries of the
model coal-mine in the South Kensington
Museum, and these were allotted to the Hamp-
shires. Rifles, and Leinsters. On the northern
slope they were arranged irregularly on the
side of the small bay, and were occupied by
the Connaught Rangers. Brigade Headquarters
were established in a sand-bagged dug-out
close to the road that ran down the bottom
of the gully.
The men were distributed among their dug-
outs, and the officers sat down to take stock
of the situation. We had arrived, but that
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 71
was all that we knew. There was any amount
of noise, but nothing to look at, and as the noise
of firing seemed to come from every point of
the compass, including the sea, it hardly
enlightened us as to where in particular the
fighting was going on. It was impossible to
try and see anything, as all ranks had been
warned that to go up to the top of any of the
hills would probably be fatal. Standing orders,
however, had been issued to company com-
manders, who sat down in their dug-outs to
study them. No fires or lights of any kind
were allowed after dark, and green wood was
never to be used for fires. These were obvious
precautions, as light or smoke would be certain
to cause heavy shelling.
An order was also issued that every man
was to wear a white band six inches wide,
on each arm, and a white patch eight inches
square, in the middle of his back. The
materials for these had been brought with
battalions from Mudros, and all ranks set to
work at tailoring. It was clear from this that
we were likely to take part in a night attack,
and this impression was confirmed by the
warning soon passed round that men were to
rest as much as possible during the day.
Absolutely nothing more was known, not even
where the remainder of the Division were.
It was not until a conference of Commanding
Officers was held at Brigade Headquarters at
72 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
4.30 p.m. that it was discovered that the brigade
was on its own I We also received orders
that the men's packs, great-coats, blankets,
and waterproof sheets, together with all the
officers' valises, were to be left in our present
position, one N.C.O. and eight men per battalion
remaining in charge of them. Units were
instructed to hold themselves in readiness to
move off at i a.m. the following morning.
Though we had been told to rest, the heat and
the flies made sleep impossible. Just before
leaving Mudros, a mail from home had arrived,
so there were a few three -week old English
papers to look at, and the rest of the time was
spent in watching the Australians passing up
and down the road at the bottom of the gully.
They were the first Australians that we had
seen, and one could not help admiring their
splendid physique and the practical way in
which they had adapted their costume to the
conditions prevailing on the Peninsula. Some
were stripped to the waist, and few wore
more clothing than boots, a slouch hat, a sleeve-
less shirt, open at the breast, and a pair of the
shortest shorts that ever occurred to the
imagination of a tailor. As a result of this
primitive costume, they were burnt to a rich
brown by the Gallipoli sun. They were splendid
men, but quite different in physique from the
European, for their sloping shoulders, loose-
knit limbs, and long thin legs suggested an
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 73
apparent reversion to the kangaroo type as the
result of dimatic conditions. Above all, they
seemed absolutely devoid of nerves ; three
months of constant shelling, which had left
its mark even on the veterans of the 29th
Division, appeared to have no effect of any kind
on the Australians. Clearly, they were very
good men to fight side by side with.
About eleven a.m. the Turks began to shell
the gully with shrapnel. Most of their shells
were badly fused, and burst too high, but one
" blind " shell knocked off the head of a Con-
naught Ranger. A man in the Rifles was also
killed, and these catastrophes had the effect
of inducing the men who had been watching
the bursting shells with great curiosity, to take
cover in their dug-outs. In spite of this pre-
caution, each unit had several men wounded,
Lieutenant Mayne of the Rifles also being hit.
About noon the bombardment slackened for
a time, only to be renewed about three in the
afternoon and continued till dusk with re-
doubled intensity. Many men were grazed or
bruised by spent bullets or fragments of shell,
but refused to report themselves to the Doctor.
Though we were unaware of it at the time, we
were suffering from Turkish retaliation for the
attack on Lone Pine, which was going on
half-a-mile away, for the Turks knowing that
Shrapnel Gully was about the only spot in the
Anzac area where reserves could be sheltered
74 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
from their view, were systematically searching
it with their fire. Had their fusing been more
accurate, and had dug-outs not been prepared
in readiness for the brigade, its losses would
have been heavy. As it was, the Turks hardly
got value for the shells they expended, and the
men were encouraged by the result of their
baptism of fire.
It was impossible to cook the men any dinner,
and after a few mouthfuls of cold bully and
lukewarm water they fell asleep in their dug-outs
as soon as it became dark. At 12.30 a.m., on
Saturday, the 7th, orders were received to fall
in, but the order was easier to give than to
execute. '' Falling in *' presupposes a parade
ground of some sort, and on a steep slope
covered with bushes and dug-outs it was not
easy to discover an assembly post. Even when
it had been chosen b}^ daylight, it was hard
to find it in the pitch darkness, and the men
scattered in many little dug-outs were slow in
coming together. In some cases a company
commander thought that he had been left
behind by his company, only to discover that
it had not yet been awakened. The innate
perversity of inanimate objects, too, had full
play ; watches stopped, electric flashlights re-
fused to flash, and lanyards attached themselves
to every bush in the neighbourhood.
Eventually, however, the men were collected,
their numbers checked, and the brigade moved
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 75
off in single file down the road at the bottom
of the gully in the direction of the sea. The
Leinsters led, followed by the Irish Rifles,
Connaught Rangers and Hampshires in the
order named. Progress was slow, which was
fortunate, as the numerous halts made it
possible for men who had been late in waking
to join their units. At last, however, the head
of the long column reached the bottom of
Shrapnel Gully and turned northward, moving
up a subsidiary gully in the direction of Russell's
Top. At that time, however, we knew nothing
of where we were going or what we were to do,
though we could see the Great Bear hanging
low over the hill tops, and knew that we were
going north. The night was very dark, and
only the outline of the hills against the star-lit
sky, and the faint white line of the path were
visible. Here and there an oflicer came hurrying
up. '* Are you the South Lancashires ? Where
are the 13th Division ? '' It was impossible
to answer these queries, for we knew nothing
of anybody's whereabouts, and the noise was
so terrific that the words would have been
inaudible.
From every hill -top came the rattle of
musketry, but the dominant note in the
symphony came from the guns of the monitors
drawn in close to the beach at Anzac. They
sounded as if they were only ten yards away,
although it must have been a full mile. To
76 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
this accompaniment the long Hne traced its
way up the gully for about an hour, halting
every five minutes. While doing this, three
miles to the northward, the assaulting columns
were working up the Aghyl and Chailak Deres
to the assault of Sari Bair, but we knew nothing
of this at the time. At last the order came to
turn about and retrace our steps, leaving the
6th Leinster Regiment to act as support to
the Australians. The remainder of the Brigade
slowly returned to Shrapnel Gully.
There throughout the day they waited at
the side of the road, never knowing when they
might be called on to move. Every staff
officer who came near was cross-questioned, but
they knew little more than ourselves. Rumours,
of course, were manifold, and for some curious
reason they all centred round a position known
as Prussian Officers' Trench. Twice we heard
that it had been taken, and twice that the
attack on it had failed. To us it seemed as if
the capture of this position was vital to our
success, although as a matter of fact, it was
purely a subsidiary operation. We knew
nothing of the fighting at Lone Pine, we had then
never heard the name of Sari Bair, we were
completely ignorant that our comrades were
at that moment landing at Suvla ; all our
interest was centred on this one name caught
from a passing Australian. They were passing
pretty frequently now, some on stretchers,
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION ^^
and others limping down unattended from the
fight at the head of the gully, but they were
not communicative. *' Pretty tough up there/'
was as a rule their only response to the volley
of queries that came whenever a man looked
strong enough to answer.
The wait lasted all day, varied by shrapnel
fire. No doubt the three battalions were
retained there, as the position was central and
covered from view, while if the Turkish counter-
attacks on the recently captured Lone Pine
position should be successful, their services
would be badly needed. At 7 p.m., however,
General Cooper was instructed to send a
battalion into the Southern section of the
Anzac area, to act as Reserve to the first Aus-
tralian Brigade. No attack had been launched
from this part of the defences, and it was
feared that the Turks might retaliate for the
attack on Sari Bair by attempting to crush
Anzac from the South.
The Connaught Rangers, who were selected
for this duty, reached the position allotted to
them at 8.10 p.m. They detached one company
to Brown's Dip, where they were employed in
burying the Turks and Australians who were
killed in the Lone Pine fighting. The unpleasant-
ness of the task was increased by the fact that
the position was being heavily shelled, and
several men were w^ounded. On the following
day (August 8th) the Connaught Rangers were
78 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
again moved, this time to Victoria Gully, about
three-quarters of a mile nearer Anzac Cove.
The detached company at Brown's Dip was
relieved by another from the same battalion,
which carried on the duty of burial party, and
also sustained a number of casualties. The rest
of the battalion remained in reserve at Victoria
Gully throughout the 9th of August in dug-outs,
which had been hastily constructed, and which
they did much to improve.
By this time the Battalion were becoming
something of connoisseurs in the qualities of
dug-outs. Dug-outs are of two kinds, those
you dig for yourself and those you dig for
somebody else. In the former case, you collect
as many sand bags, pieces of corrugated iron,
pit props, and other miscellaneous building
materials as your ingenuity or your dishonesty
can achieve, and then proceed to dig yourself
an eligible residence. The depth dug is usually
in inverse proportion to rank : the higher, the
deeper, though to go too deep was considered
to exhibit a somewhat excessive desire to be
safe at all costs. The Australians had a story
of an officer whom they did not like, and on
whose courage they (probably unjustly) re-
flected. They declare that he was severely
wounded, as the rope broke while he was being
lowered into the dug-out, and he fell the re-
maining eighteen feet.
The dug-out that is dug for another is not
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 79
so elaborate. You burrow into the vertical
face of the hill until a cavity large enough to
contain a man is created, and leave it for the
occupant to make the best of. Before he has
learnt to do this, he has probably bumped his
head several times and filled his hair with earth.
At the same time, however small it may be,
it is unwise to forsake the burrow constructed
for you by the experienced inhabitant and
strike out a line for yourself. Two officers
who attempted to do this were quickly dis-
illusioned. Their first effort installed them in
a cemetery, where a corpse was awaiting burial.
Their second reopened a recently filled in
latrine, while the third found them in the
midst of buried Turks. Then they gave it up.
It is now necessary to return to the doings
of the 6th Leinster Regiment, and since this
battalion was detached from the 29th Brigade
throughout the battle of Sari Bair, it will be
simpler to give an account of all its actions
in this chapter. Though it played a distin-
guished part in the fight, yet its deeds were
performed in a separate theatre and can be
understood without a detailed description of the
operations elsewhere. At about 3 a.m. on
August 7th, the Leinsters were detached from
the 29th Brigade and allotted to the ist Aus-
tralian Division in order to act as General
Reserve for the Northern sector of the old
Anzac Defences.
8o THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
In framing his plans, Lieut. -General Sir William
Birdwood was compelled to take into account
the possibility that instead of concentrating
their forces at Suvla or on Sari Bair, the enemy
might decide to make a desperate attack on
Anzac, in the hope of breaking through there
and cutting the columns operating on Sari Bair
off from the sea. It would, no doubt, have been
possible for us to obtain supplies and ammuni-
tion from Suvla once the landing there had been
effected, but the organisation of new lines of
communication must inevitably have taken time,
and the position of the force would have been
a critical one. Two battalions from the General
Reserve were, therefore, placed at the disposal
of the 1st Austrahan Division, and of these the
6th Leinsters was one.
The dispositions adopted were as follows :
" B " Company, under Major Stannus, went
to Courtney's Ridge, and '' C" Company,
under Major Colquhoun, to Quinn's Post. The
other two companies and Battalion Head-
quarters remained at the end of Shrapnel
Gully. This disposition was adhered to
throughout the 7th and 8th, the detached com-
panies earning the praise of the Australians
to whom they were attached by the keenness
and alacrity with which they carried out the
duties that fell to their lot. Naturally, like
everyone else in the Anzac area, they suffered
from shrapnel and snipers, but the casualties
during this period were not heavy.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 8i
At sunset on the 8th, the detached companies
were withdrawn to BattaHon Headquarters,
and the whole unit was warned to hold itself
in readiness to move at five minutes' notice.
By this time it was clear to the Higher Command
that little danger was to be apprehended from
Turkish attacks on Anzac, while the struggle
for the Sari Bair ridge was still in a doubtful
state, and the presence of a fresh battalion
might make the difference between victory
and defeat. Accordingly the men of the Lein-
sters lay down formed in close column of
platoons, girt with all their accoutrements and
tried to slumber.
Sleep does not come easily when one is
wearing full equipment and another man's
boots are within an inch of one's face, while an
increasing bombardment rages all round ; but
at Anzac men were tired enough to welcome
any possibility of rest. During the night they
were not disturbed by fresh orders, and at
dawn there was sufficient time to cook tea and
refill water-bottles. At 8 a.m. on the 9th, the
battalion marched off making its way north-
ward in single file until Number i Post was
reached. Here there was a halt and a long
wait, during which the battalion crowded up
behind such shelter as was afforded by a small
knoll. Water-bottles were again replenished,
and the provident forethought of Colonel Craske
procured a number of petrol tins filled with
82 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
water, which were carried by the battaHon as a
reserve. After a midday meal of bully and
biscuit had been eaten, the battalion received
orders to proceed to the relief of the New
Zealand battalions holding Rhododendron Spur.
This ridge, which was an outcrop of the main
Sari Bair range, had been seized by the New
Zealanders at dawn on the 7th, and was still
held by them.
On the way there, the Leinsters met with an
experience similar to that endured by the 31st
Brigade at Suvla on the morning of the 7th,
for in order to reach the gully leading where
they wanted to go, they were compelled to
traverse 400 yards of open country, which was
exposed to heavy hostile fire. Not only were
snipers hidden in the scrub on the hillsides
doing their worst, but the space was also covered
by a machine-gun high on the slopes of the
Chunuk Bair, and shrapnel was continually
bursting over it.
Little spurts of dust continually rising where
the bullets had struck made the prospect of
crossing this area an unattractive one, but the
Leinsters doubled briskly across, half a platoon
at a time, and luckily did not incur severe
losses. They then entered a gully which was
not much safer than the open space, as every
corner was under machine-gun fire, and during
half the time the men were bending double
to avoid observation, and during the other half
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 83
racing forward to avoid its consequences.
Somewhat exhausted by this, and by the great
heat, the Leinsters reached the foot of Rhodo-
dendron Ridge at three in the afternoon.
Here they remained till dusk in order to
carry out the relief after dark ; but while they
waited the enemy's shrapnel again found them
out and one officer and several men were
killed. At nightfall, "A" and '' D " Com-
panies relieved the New Zealanders, the two
others remaining behind the crest in support.
The ridge was joined to the main chain of the
Chunuk Bair ridge by a col, and in front of this
the shallow trenches, which marked the furthest
point gained by our advance, had been dug.
They were not deep and had not been well
sited, but at any rate they served to indicate
the line to be held. On the right of the Leinsters
the 8th Royal Welsh Fusiliers held a line ex-
tending back to the old Anzac position ; while
on the left, the 6th Loyal North Lancashire
Regiment were in possession of the crest of the
Chunuk itself.
Throughout the night the Turkish artillery
kept up a continual fire, and at daybreak their
counter-attack was launched. The general course
of these operations will be described in greater
detail in the following chapter. For the present,
it suffices to say that a Turkish force, estimated
at more than a division, came rolling over the
crest of the Chunuk Bair against the three
84 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
battalions holding it. The main force of the
attack fell on the Loyal North Lancashires, and
to use Sir Ian Hamilton's words, ''overwhelmed
them by sheer force of numbers." On their left,
three companies of the Wiltshires who had only
just arrived on the hill were caught in the open
and annihilated. But on the right the Leinsters
stood their ground. At last the moment had
arrived to which they had so anxiously looked
forward. Turk and Irishman, face to face, and
hand to hand, could try which was the better
man. Modern warfare is so much a struggle
of moles, of burrowing and creeping and hiding
that it is with a thrill of joy that the soldier
looks on the face of his enemy at close quarters.
In spite of the odds, the two companies in the
front line succeeded in checking the attack,
and at the crucial moment they were reinforced
by *' B " and *' C '* Companies from the support
line. It is said that the alarm was given to
the latter by a New Zealander, who ran down
the hill shouting, '' Fix your bayonets, boys,
they're coming ! " and that on hearing this
the men seized their weapons and rushed up
the hill without waiting to put on their putties
or jackets. It is certain that Colonel Craske
led them into action with a cheer, and that
their arrival was most timely. Shouting, they
flung themselves into the fray, and drove the
Turks back after a desperate struggle at close
quarters.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 85
It was impossible that such success could
be gained without loss, but the Leinsters were
fortunate in escaping more lightly than the
English regiments on their left. They had,
however, three subalterns killed and several
officers wounded in this fight, among them
Colonel Craske himself, who received a bullet
wound in the arm. He was a gallant soldier,
who had won the D.S.O. in South Africa, and
his men long remembered the way in which
he had led his battalion into action. He
carried on for a time, but the wound proved
serious, and he was obliged to hand over his
command to Major R. G. T. Currey. Another
officer of the Leinsters who was wounded in
this action was Captain J. C. Parke, who was also
hit in the arm. Before the War he was one
of the greatest, if not the greatest, lawn tennis
players in the British Isles, and had represented
the United Kingdom in the Davis Cup. Now,
though the injury he had received threatened
to incapacitate him for his favourite game, he
took misfortune with the same smiling com-
posure with which he had been wont to confront
all the chances of life.
But while the Leinsters were collecting and
bandaging their wounds, on their left the soil
was carpeted with dead. The main Turkish
attack, after overwhelming the Wiltshires and
Loyal North Lancashires, had pressed onward
to try and drive the British off Rhododendron
86 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Ridge. As they came over the ridge they were
full in view of our fleet, and every gun in the
ships as well as the bulk of the artillery at
Anzac was turned on to them. They fell by
thousands, and as the few survivors struggled
on, they were met with the fire of a concentrated
battery of New Zealand machine-guns. Line
after line fell, and those who had the good
fortune to escape hastened to place themselves •
in safety on the further side of the ridge.
The western slope of the Chunuk became No
Man's Land, and Rhododendron Ridge remained
in our hands, but the price that both sides had
paid was terrible. In a land of dry bushes
and stunted oak and holly like Gallipoli, the
great shrubs that give the ridge its name must
in Spring present a feast of beauty to the eye,
but they stand in the midst of a cemetery, and
are but the adornments of the grave. Around
them Turk and Briton and Anzac lie side by
side in glorious fellowship, in a graveyard bought
at a great price and made lovely to the eye by
the bounty of Nature. To the soul, the spot
is made holy by the memory of what passed
there and of the courage and self-sacrifice of
those who lie under its sod.
The fact that we had been driven off the
Chunuk made a modification of the line neces-
sary in order to join up with the position on
Rhododendron Ridge, which now marked the
boundary of our gains. The Leinsters rested
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION ^7
for a little and began to dig in on the new line
in the afternoon. The work proved difficult,
since whenever the working parties showed
themselves the enemy opened with shrapnel,
and in consequence as long as daylight lasted
very little headway was made.
After dark, however, a fresh attempt was
begun and '' B " and '' C " Companies of the
Leinsters were sent out to dig themselves in.
The men had had practically no sleep since
the uneasy slumber snatched on the night of
the 8th, and had fought a stiff action in the
morning, but they worked with a will. Progress
was, however, slow, as under cover of darkness
the Turks were creeping forward, and soon
every bush contained a sniper. For a while
work went on by fits and starts, advantage
being taken of every lull to make headway
with the trench until heavier firing compelled
the working parties to take cover. At the end
of two hours the hindrance to the work was
found to be greater than could be borne. It
seemed not unlikely that the annoyance was
caused by a comparatively small number of
snipers, so No. 9 Platoon was sent out in front
of the line to drive them away, and then act
as a covering party. The officer commanding
this platoon (Lieutenant Barnwell) soon dis-
covered, however, that the Turks had advanced
in considerable force, and that his men were
outnumbered. A grim struggle was waged in
88 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
the darkness, and when the platoon at last
extricated itself it left nearly half its strength
killed and wounded behind it.
Work on the trench now became quite out
of the question, and the Leinsters had to fight
hard to hold their ground against the repeated
attacks of the enemy. At last matters looked
menacing and '' A '' and ** D '' Companies who
had been in support were called up into the
firing line. In this fighting Major Stannus who
commanded *' B '* Company, was wounded. It
was stern work, for the night was pitch dark
and the tired men could see but little except the
flash of the hostile rifles. Again and again a
wave of shadowy figures pressed forward in
close ranks only to be driven back by rifle-fire at
close range and bayonet charges.
At last, as the sky grew pale with the dawn,
the Turks massed for a final effort. They came
on with determination, and the Leinsters, know-
ing that there was hardly another formed unit
available as reserve in the Anzac area, resolved
to meet the attack with a counter-charge. With
a ringing yell the line of grey bayonets surged
forward against the foe, to prove once again that
to attack is not only the best defensive policy
but is that best suited to the Irish temperament.
The Turks faltered as the charge swept against
them, and the Leinsters were at last able to take
their revenge for the losses of the night. Fatigue
and thirst were forgotten and men after much
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 89
suffering exulted in the taste of victory at last.
The pursuit became almost too eager. At one
point Captain D'Arcy Irvine and Lieutenant
Willington at the head of ** D '' Company
pressed after the enemy so hotly that they were
cut off and have never been heard of again.
Probably they were surrounded and killed,
and their bones still lie with those of many
another brave fellow on the slopes of the
Chunuk Bair.
All ranks acquitted themselves well in this
charge, but the courage displayed by Captain
Lyster who commanded *' A '' Company was so
conspicuous as to earn for him the Military
Cross. Rewards of this kind were not very
freely bestowed in Gallipoli, and to have gained
one in a battalion like the Leinsters, which never
failed to hold the position allotted to it, was an
indication that the officer who won it was a man
of exceptional distinction. In addition to this
honour, Colonel Craske received a C.M.G., while
the whole battalion were thanked by General
Godley for the good service done on this
occasion.
The charge achieved its object, since the
spirit of the Turks was temporarily broken and
their snipers were driven back. As a result the
battalion spent a quiet day on the nth. The
arrangements for supplying water initiated by
Colonel Craske had worked well on the whole,
and though the men were often thirsty like
90 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
everyone else in the Peninsula, they did not
suffer so much from thirst as some other units.
The petrol tins proved of great assistance, as
they enabled a reservoir to be formed for each
company or platoon which could be easily
controlled. When the whole water supply of
the unit is contained in the water-bottles of
individual soldiers it becomes impossible for
officers and N.C.O.'s to check the improvident
use of it, and so in times of dearth a central
reservoir becomes a necessity.
On the evening of the nth, the Leinsters were
relieved and marched back in the direction of the
beach. They had well earned a rest, since they
had been fighting hard for thirty-six hours and
had been going for two days without sleep.
They had, however, acquitted themselves well
and were in good spirits.
CHAPTER IV
SARI BAIR
" So desperate a battle cannot be described. The Turks
came on again and again, fighting magnificently, calling
upon the name of God. Our men stood to it, and main-
tained, by many a deed of daring, the old traditions of their
race. There was no flinching. They died in the ranks
where they stood." — General Sir Ian Hamilton.
IN order to follow the details of the battle of
Sari Bair, it is necessary to understand
something of the configuration of the
country north-east of Anzac. At Lone Pine and
Quinn's Post the Australians had gained a
footing on the southern extremity of the Sari
Bair range. Thence it ran, increasing in height
as it got further from the sea, for about five
miles to the north-east, forming the main
watershed of the Gallipoli Peninsula. From its
sides started the gullies known as Deres, which
were of paramount importance in the course of
the fighting. In Spring they were foaming
torrents, but in August they were bone-dry and
formed the only paths in the wilderness by which
it was possible to gain the foot of Sari Bair.
The country on each side of them was covered by
91
92 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
impassable scrub intersected by invisible preci-
pices, but the sandy beds of the Deres afforded
smooth, if not easy going. In places they ran
through deep ravines but, for the most part,
their banks were from lour to six feet high and
lined with prickly scrub and an occasional
barren olive tree. They would have been
invaluable as roads, had it not been for the fact
that long stretches of them were under constant
fire from the Turkish machine guns on Sari Bair,
and could therefore only be safely used at night.
The principal gullies beginning from the North
were Asmak Dere, Aghyl Dere, Chailak Dere
and Sazli Beit Dere. The last of these ran
down to what, on the 6th of August, was the
Northern extremity of the Anzac position.
Between it and Chailak Dere, a spur left the
main ridge of Sari Bair and ran down towards
the sea : after it came into Christian hands,
this spur was christened Rhododendron Ridge
and played an important part in the August
fighting. The portion of the Sari Bair range,
which was joined by Rhododendron Ridge, was
known as the Chunuk Bair and here the battle
was to rage most fiercely. It culminated to the
northward in a summit called Hill Q., and thence
the range trended eastward to Koja Chemen
Tepe, the culminating height of the position and
the objective of the Suvla force. Half-way
down the slope of the Chunuk Bair facing the
Gulf of Saros, was a patch of cultivation known
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 93
as The Farm. The whole of the seaward face
of the Chunuk Bair was covered with prickly
scrub about four feet high and cut by narrow
ravines running down to the Aghyl Dere which
starts just below The Farm.
On the night of August 6th General Godley
had launched his attack northward from Anzac.
By 1.30 a.m. on the 7th the mouths of the
Chailak Dere and Aghyl Dere had been seized
and a strong lodgment made on Damakjelik
Bair, a detached hill between the Asm ah and
Aghyl Deres. This lodgment protected the left
flank of the assault on the Chunuk Bair which
was then launched.
By dawn the left assaulting column had forced
its way up the Aghyl Dere, and the Indian
Infantry Brigade had occupied The Farm, while
on the extreme left the 4th Australian Brigade
had reached the Asmak Dere, and were advanc-
ing towards Koja Chemen Tepe. The advance
of the New Zealanders up the Chailak Dere
had been slower, but soon after 6 a.m. they had
stormed the Turkish trenches on Rhododendron
Ridge, and established themselves at the point
where that ridge joins the Chunuk Bair. At the
same time they got into touch with the Indian
Brigade on their left. Preparations were made
for an assault on the main Chunuk Ridge, but
the troops were terribly exhausted by their
night marches in an impossible country, and the
arrival of Turkish reinforcements made further
94 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
advance by daylight impossible. It was decided
to allow the troops to rest, and attack again just
before dawn on the 8th.
For this attack the New Zealanders, Austral-
ians and Indians who had taken part in the first
day's fighting were reinforced by six battalions
of the 13th Division. On the right the assault
from Rhododendron Ridge on the Chunuk
Bair was successful, and a firm footing on the
crest was gained ; but the centre attack was
unable to advance much further than The Farm,
and the attempt on Koja Chemen Tepe was
unsuccessful. The General resolved to attack
again under cover of darkness, and called up
the two battalions of the 29th Brigade, which
had not already been allotted any duty, to take
part in it.
The Hampshires and Royal Irish Rifles had
moved at i a.m. on the 8th from their bivouacs
in Shrapnel Gully, to Rest Gully. This gully
was situated near the southern end of the great
sap which ran northward from Anzac Beach
towards what was known as No. 2 Post. The
cove of Anzac itself, between the headlands
of Hell Spit and Ari Burnu, though often swept
by Turkish fire, was concealed from the enemy's
view by overhanging cliffs. To the northward,
however, the beach was commanded throughout
its length by the heights of the Chunuk Bair, and
men moved on it by daylight at their peril. In
order to facilitate movement by day, Australians
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 95
and New Zealanders working by night had dug a
sap wide and deep enough to hold a mule, which
ran northward parallel with the sea for nearly a
mile. This had acquired the name of '* T^e
Anzac Sap."
About 10 a.m. on the 8th, the Hampshires
and Rifles fell in, and followed Brigade Head-
quarters along this sap in single file, until
they reached its northern end at No. 2 Post.
At this point General Godley had established
his headquarters, and here the two battalions
collected and waited for the greater part of the
day. Late in the afternoon they again moved
northwards, and entered the area which had
just been won from the enemy. Here they
came under fire from hostile snipers, but worse
was to come. They had been ordered to move
up the Chailak Dere, but the Turks were well
aware that this was one of the few paths by
which reinforcements could approach the Chunuk
Bair, and were shelling its entrance persistently.
In small parties the men dashed through the
barrage, and in most cases got off without
heavy losses. Lieutenant Graham Martyr's
platoon of the Irish Rifles, however, was un-
lucky, and was almost annihilated. Having
passed this dangerous spot, the whole long
procession moved on in Indian file up the deep
bed of the Dere. Progress was slow, since the
gully was half choked already with supplies and
iciiiiui cements going up to the hills, as well as
96 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
with the wounded coming down. As dusk fell
the two battalions bivouacked on the slopes
leading down to the Gully. They did not
however have much time for rest, since at 9.15
p.m. they were aroused to take part in the
assault on the Chunuk Bair. For this, three
columns were being organized, the Rifles and
Hampshires being allotted to the centre column,
which was under the command of Brigadier-
General A. H. Baldwin, who had previously
commanded the 38th Brigade. Besides the two
loth Division battalions, General Baldwin had
also the 6th East Lancashires and 5th Wiltshires,
which belonged to the 13th Division. The
column which was to move on the right of the
centre column was commanded by Major-
General F. E. Johnston, and consisted for the
most part of New Zealanders. It was intended
to operate from and extend the territory already
gained on the Chunuk Bair. To the left a column
under Major-General H. V. Cox, consisting
of the 4th Australian Brigade, the Indian
Brigade, and four battalions of the 13th Division,
was to attack Hill Q. at the northern end of the
Chunuk Bair.
General Baldwin's column was entrusted with
the task of moving up the Chailak Dere and
attacking Hill Q. from the south-west, with its
flanks protected by the columns on the right and
left. The intention of the Commander-in-Chief
had been that this centre column should start
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 97
from the Chailak Dere and deploy behind the line
already occupied by the New Zealanders, moving
thence at dawn along the crest of the Chunuk
Bair to assault Hill Q. Unfortunately, however,
this complicated manoeuvre miscarried, as the
guides allotted to the column missed their way,
with the result that the troops, after alternately
marching and halting all through the night, found
themselves at dawn on the 9th in the Aghyl
Dere at the foot of the Chunuk. The column on
the left had been more fortunate, and its head
succeeded in reaching its objective, occupying
the col which connects Hill Q. with the Chunuk
Bair. Hardly however had the Gurkhas and
South Lancashires gazed on the town of Maidos
and the Dardanelles crowded with transports
bringing up reinforcements for the enemy, when
they were shelled off the position, which was
promptly re-occupied by the Turks.
Meanwhile General Baldwin's column was
closing up and getting into formation for the
attack. The men went forward with splendid
spirit, but the task they were called on to
perform was beyond human power. Not only
did the enemy's shrapnel fire redouble its force,
but the whole of the left flank was enfiladed by
hostile machine-guns, which almost wiped out
the East Lancashires. In this advance many
of the officers of the Rifles were wounded. To
climb the Chunuk in broad daylight in the face
of an enemy well supplied with machine-guns
98 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
and possessing observation posts from which he
could direct the fire of his still unsubdued
artillery, was a harder feat than the storming of
the breach of a hostile fortress in the Napoleonic
wars, since the distance to be covered was so
long and so rugged, that it was impossible to
maintain the impetus of the charge. An
attempt to find easier ground to the left failed,
and so the Rifles and Hampshires took up their
position behind the crest of a small under-
feature which jutted out some three hundred
yards from The Farm.
General Baldwin was accompanied to this
position by General Cooper and the staff of the
29th Brigade, who, since the whole Brigade
had been allotted piecemeal to different Com-
manders, came up to assist in passing orders.
At 9 a.m. a company and a half of the Hamp-
shires under Major Pilleau were ordered to move
up the slope to the right and try to get in touch
with the New Zealanders of General Johnston's
column. While doing so they came under heavy
shrapnel fire, but succeeded in working their way
up to that part of the ridge which was in the
hands of the New Zealanders.
The position thus gained was maintained
throughout the 9th, the Hampshires holding a
line down the seaward slopes of the Chunuk
Bair, and then turning almost at right angles
towards the north-east along the crest of the
under - feature above The Farm. The Rifles
-:R-(iENERAL R. J. COOPER, C.V.O.
COMMANDING 29TH BRIGADE
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 99
prolonged this line on the left to a point where
it was taken over by the two battalions of the
38th Brigade. This left flank was somewhat in
the air, as the flank-guard on the Damakjelik
Bair was more than a mile in rear of the line.
The only protection to this flank was that afforded
by the Left Column under General Cox, which
had succeeded in occupying Hill Q. at dawn and
had been driven off it. These had now with-
drawn to the line of the Asmak Dere, but they
were terribly exhausted. The Australians and
Indians had been marching and fighting in a
tropical climate for forty-eight hours without
relief, while the New Army battalions had lost
heavily, especially in officers.
Throughout that day Baldwin's column lay
out on the face of the Chunuk Bair. Pinned to
their positions by the Turkish shrapnel which
hailed on them without respite, they suffered
terribly from the scorching rays of the sun.
Shade there was none, for the scrub was so
prickly that it was impossible to crawl under-
neath it, while nothing short of direct cover
afforded any protection from the sun vertically
overhead. Water was terribly scarce ; although
wells had been discovered in the bed of the
Aghyl Dere, it was a task of great difficulty to
convey the water up to the troops, since part
of the Aghyl Dere was swept by the enemy's fire.
The torments of thirst were increased by the fact
that the only food available for the men was
100 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
salt bully beef and hard dry biscuit. It was an
effort to swallow more than a few mouthfuls,
and to the weakness caused by enteritis was
added the weakness of inanition.
The casualties did not appear heavy, but they
steadily mounted up, and in the course of the
day each of the 29th Brigade battalions lost
about a fifth of its strength. Night brought
relief from the sun, but no rest, for the
battalions were ordered to entrench them-
selves where they stood. The exhausted men
were incapable of heavy labour, but a narrow
shallow trench was gradually excavated. Night
too gave an opportunity to send the wounded
away, for after hasty dressing had been applied
by battalion medical officers they had, of
necessity, been obliged to await a convenient
occasion for their removal. The nearest hospital
was four miles away on the shore at Anzac,
and a terrible burden thus fell on the stretcher-
bearers, who had to carry their comrades all
this distance. Every man who could limp
or hobble down to the beach, walked, but
the serious cases were numerous, and the bat-
talion establishment of stretcher-bearers (which
had not been fixed with such an abnormal
campaign in view) found itself severely taxed.
During the night the New Zealand Brigade on
the right of the Hampshires, was withdrawn and
relieved by part of the Wiltshires and Loyal
North Lancashires, and also by the 6th Leinsters.
THE TENTH (IRISH); DIVISION loi
Dawn came, and with it the 1 urkish counter-
attack. Throughout the night their artillery
had thundered unceasingly, but before day-
break it redoubled in violence. As the light
grew, an enormous mass of the enemy threw
itself against the battalions holding the lodgment
effected by the New Zealanders on the crest of
the Chunuk Bair, while further hordes moving
down from the north and Hill Q. attacked \
Baldwin's column at The Farm. The two bat-
talions on the crest were almost annihilated, and
the ground they held was lost. Fortunately,
however, as was described in the last chapter, the
momentum of the attack was checked by our
artillery.
The Turks moving down the crest of the
Chunuk were in full view of the fleet, and
the fire brought to bear on them was so terrific
that their reinforcements were unable to pene-
trate the barrage. They pressed on against
Rhododendron Ridge, but were stopped by
the concentrated fire of ten New Zealand
machine-guns which were placed in position by a
famous Hythe musketry expert. But al-
though for the time the danger was lessened and
the Turkish losses were enormous, yet the fact
that the two battalions holding the Ridge of the
Chunuk had been driven back, left the right
flank of the Hampshires dangerously exposed.
Although its losses were very heavy, this com-
pany and a half which had been sent out to
102 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
maintain connection with the ridge succeeded
in holding its ground.
The remainder of the Hampshires were now
up in the firing line on the right of The Farm
position, but were losing very heavily. Colonel
Bewsher who commanded them had been
seriously wounded in the head about 6 a.m.,
and was resting before making his way down
to the beach when a wounded sergeant-major
informed him that there appeared to be no
officers left unhurt. He, therefore, wounded
as he was, returned to the firing line, and
discovered that although there were still two
captains with the detached company and a
half, the remainder of the battalion had not
only lost all its officers but all its company
sergeant - ma j ors and quartermaster - sergeants
as well. One machine-gun had been put out of
action by a shell, but the men were holding
their ground manfully.
Meanwhile, on the left, the hostile attack
developed with even greater force. Orders had
been received to send the 5th Wiltshires to
relieve the New Zealanders on the crest of the
Chunuk, but one company had been retained as
its withdrawal would have left part of the line
completely unmanned. A company of the 9th
Warwicks had come up to relieve the Wiltshires,
but were found to be very weak. There were
also on the left in addition to the Royal Irish
Rifles, about 50 men, all that remained of the
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 103
East Lancashires, and a few Ghurkas and
Maoris belonging to the left column who had
retired down the hill and joined General Baldwin.
Against these few exhausted men, less than a
thousand in all, the Turks were free to throw
the whole of their reserves, since by this time
(dawn, Tuesday) it was clear that the advance
from Suvla was not likely to get much further.
They came on again and again, covered by a
very heavy shrapnel fire, and again and again
they were driven back. Our losses, however,
were terribly heavy and they could afford to
lose ten men to our one, for our last reserves
(except for one battalion five miles away) were
already up in the firing line. Worst of all were
the casualties in officers. The dawn was misty
and just as it began to grow light General
Baldwin was killed. Almost at the same
instant General Cooper fell, severely wounded
in the lungs. Colonel Bradford of the Rifles
was then the senior officer with the column, but
just as he was informed that the command
devolved upon him, he, too, fell seriously
wounded.
In quick succession. Major Morphy, the
second-in-command of the Rifles, received a
bad wound in the thigh, and Major Eastwood,
their Adjutant, was killed. Very shortly after-
wards Captain McCleverty, the Brigade Major,
was hit by a bullet which passed through both
cheeks and broke his jaw, while Major Wilford
104 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of the Rifles, on whom the command of his
battaUon had devolved and who had exhibited
great courage and resource, sustained a severe
wound in the head. Colonel Bewsher of the
Hampshires, who had been wounded twice
but was able to stand, then took over the com-
mand of all that was left of General Baldwin's
force. The oft -repeated attacks continued,
nearly all the junior officers were down, and
though our thin line was never actually pierced
yet in many places the enemy came so near that
they fought with our men at close quarters.
In an effort to repulse a rush of this kind on
the left about 9 a.m. Captain Gerald Nugent,
Staff Captain of the 29th Brigade, fell, revolver
in hand, leading his men forward. His death
was a sorrow to the whole brigade, for he was a
man in a thousand. The surliest cynic who
cultivated a grievance against all Staff Officers
found himself quite unable to resist Nugent's
kindness of heart and wonderful charm of
manner. The manner of his death was suited
to his bright and unselfish life.
About this time Colonel Bewsher came to the
conclusion that the position was untenable.
On the right the enemy had reoccupied the crest
of the Chunuk Bair and were pressing the
Hampshires hard, while on the left General
Cox's column had retired to the Damakjelik
Bair in rear, leaving the Chunuk completely
exposed on that flank. There appeared nothing
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 105
to prevent the Turks from establishing them-
selves in the Aghyl Dere and so cutting the only
line of communication. The casualties, too,
had been terrible. Every staff officer on the
hill was either killed or wounded. The Hamp-
shires and Rifles had only four officers left
between them and the English companies were
in just as bad case. The fight had been raging
for over four hours, the men were utterly
exhausted, and there was no sign of reinforce-
ments. Colonel Bewsher, therefore, ordered a
retirement which was carried out in a regular
and orderly manner. This little mixed force,
drawn from seven different units, comprising
in its number men from Winchester and
Salisbury, Birmingham, Burnley and Otago,
Belfast and Khatmandu, had held a weak
position against enormous odds, with little food
and less water, for over 24 hours, and when they
retired had hit the enemy so hard that they
were not pursued.
Even then they were not disposed of, for at
the bottom of the hill a staff officer (Captain
Street) who was arranging to send up water and
ammunition, called to them to come on again
and they responded. The Hampshires on the
right under their last officer, the Rifles in the
centre, and the Wilts and Warwicks on the left,
turned their faces again to the Hill of Death and
advanced once more. The effort was futile
for by this time the Turkish line was strengthened
io6 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
by machine-guns, but it was heroic, a vindica-
tion of the power of the spirit of man to soar
above hunger and thirst and the imminent fear
of death, and place itself on a level with that
of the heroes.
Both battalions had suffered terribly. The
Hampshires, who had gone into action on the
morning of the 9th, with a strength of approxi-
mately twenty officers and over 700 men, had at
noon on the loth one combatant officer (Captain
Hellyer) and not more than 200 men fit for duty.
A few more who had lost their direction in the
retirement rejoined in the course of the following
day. The Rifles were in nearly as bad a con-
dition. They were commanded by their junior
captain, who had only been promoted to that
rank at Mudros, and two subalterns were all the
combatant officers that he had under him. The
men, too, had been driven back in small parties
and had been scattered, and it was clear that
neither of the battalions was in a position to
fight again for some days. Fortunately for
their personal well-being, both of their quarter-
masters had survived the fight. Lieutenant
Dowling of the Rifles had toiled unceasingly in
drawing and attempting to send up rations,
water, and above all, ammunition. The Rifles,
too, had obtained devoted service from their
doctor. Lieutenant Adam, R.A.M.C., who had
worked like a hero in dealing with the hundreds
of cases that had passed through his hands.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 107
The Hampshires had found their quarter-
master a tower of strength. Not only had
Lieutenant Saunders worked magnificently
throughout the fight, but in the difficult days of
reorganization, he turned his hand to anything
and acted as Adjutant and Company Com-
mander and in any other capacity in which he
could be of use. In spite of the misfortunes of
his battalion he remained cheerful and imperturb-
able, and it was refreshing to look at his beaming,
bearded face. In recognition for the good work
he had done he was awarded the Military Cross.
A quartermaster is described as a non-com-
batant officer, and his services are not always
fully recognized, but in Gallipoli he was exposed
to fully as much danger as anyone else, while
the load of responsibility on his shoulders was far
greater. Any negligence on his part meant that
his battalion would go hungry and thirsty and
lack ammunition at a pinch. Soldiers will agree
that no man does more important work and
better deserves recognition than a good quarter-
master.
Meanwhile, the last battalion of the brigade
was hurrying towards the scene of action. At
7 a.m. on the morning of the loth the Connaught
Rangers received orders to prepare to move at
once. The detached company, which had been
doing fatigue work at Brown's Dip all night, was
hastily recalled, and in less than an hour the
battalion moved off. It was necessary for them
io8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
to take a circuitous route to the beach for fear
that the Turkish observers on Gaba Tepe
should notice that the right of the Anzac
position was being weakened. At 9 a.m. Anzac
Cove was reached, and the battahon hurried
on northwards. As it entered the long sap
leading to No. 2 Post, it began to realise the
severity of the fighting for the first time, for
the sap was full of wounded.
Most of these wounded, too, belonged to the
Leinsters, Hampshires, and Irish Rifles, and
their number made it clear that the brigade
had suffered heavy losses. It was only, however,
when checks in the march allowed an oppor-
tunity of speaking to the less seriously injured
that the full extent of the casualties became
clear. The officers of the Rangers heard with
growing sorrow that the whole Brigade Staff
were either killed or seriously wounded, and
that the Rifles and Hampshires had practically
ceased to exist. They saw carried past them,
with drawn set faces, half masked by dry and
clotted blood, men who had worked and played
with them at the Curragh and Basingstoke,
whose wives and children were their friends.
Even in the pale, unwashed, unshaven faces
and strained and suffering eyes of the less
seriously wounded who paused to speak to
them, they read the realization of the ordeal
that lay before them. Behind all was the
thought of the friends lying up on the slope
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 109
of the Chunuk Bair, whose families would never
look on them again.
It was an unnerving ordeal for a young regi-
ment, but, fortunately, there was little time for
reflection, and the Rangers hurried on. At No. 2
Post there was a short halt, while Colonel
Jourdain interviewed General Birdwood and
General Godley, who informed him that the
Turks had broken through a section of the line,
and that his battalion was placed under the
command of General Cox to help him to retrieve
matters. He was exhorted to move forward as
quickly as possible, as the need for reinforce-
ments was urgent. Accordingly, before the rear
of the battalion had extricated itself from the
sap, the head was in motion again. It must be
borne in mind that except for the brief informa-
tion which the Colonel had received from
General Birdwood, officers and men alike were
completely ignorant of the previous operations.
They knew nothing of the extension of the
Anzac position northward on the night of
the 6th, nor of the repeated attacks on the
Chunuk Bair ; above all, they were unaware
that a landing had taken place at Suvla. It
was, however, clear to them that they were
in new country, for up to No. 2 Post they had
moved by well-trodden paths protected at any
point of danger by saps and sandbags. Now
they were in open country, with the sea on
their left, an,d on the right a range of low foot-
no THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
hills, which in places sank sufficiently to enable
them to see the ridge of the Chunuk high above
them.
Here and there accoutrements hurriedly-
cut off a wounded man showed that Turkish
shrapnel and snipers had to be reckoned with,
but there appeared to be a momentary lull
in the fighting. Past the mouth of the Chailak
Dere the Rangers hurried in single file sweating
under the pitiless sun past Bauchop's Hill,
and over a low nek into the Aghyl /Dere. Here,
again, their progress grew slower, for the gully
was narrow and filled with wounded and mules
and resting Ghurkas. It was stiflingly hot, and
the smell of the mules and the dust, shut in
tightly between the high scrub-fringed banks
of the gully, were almost unendurable. The
Rangers moved forward for a hundred yards
at a time, until at 11.15 a.m. General Cox's
headquarters were reached.
The halt there was a brief one for the Rangers
were at once directed to place themselves under
the orders of Brigadier-General W. de S. Cayley
commanding the 39th Brigade, for the purpose
of reinforcing his line. Below General Cox's
headquarters, the Aghyl Dere forked into two
branches, one coming from the Damakjelik
Bair, the other, the southern branch, from the
foot of the Chunuk. Along this southern
branch the Rangers went in single file for about
four hundred yards, passing an extemporized
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION iii
dressing station crowded with Ghurkas in
slouch hats, and broad, baggy shorts, until
they reached a point where a spur ran down
from the Damakjelik Bair and gave a certain
amount of protection against rifle fire from the
Chunuk. Here, General Cayley had estab-
lished his headquarters in the narrow pro-
tected area ; in rear of it were crowded all that
remained of three or four English battalions.
Above, the crest was lined by Sikhs. Into this
zone of safety the Rangers hurried, and after
forming up, lay down to rest while their Colonel
went to General Cayley for orders. The General
was established in an observatory of boughs,
which gave some shelter from the view of
snipers on the Chunuk, and after giving Colonel
Jourdain and the officers who accompanied him
a very welcome cup of tea, he proceeded to
explain the situation.
Although General Baldwin's column had been
driven from The Farm position, yet, apparently,
it had not yet been occupied by the Turks.
It was believed that they were greatly exhausted
and had been much discouraged by the heavy
losses inflicted on them by our artillery, and it
was considered that it might be possible to
re-occupy The Farm position. Accordingly
" A '' and '' B '' Companies of the Connaught
Rangers were ordered to advance up the Aghyl
Dere, climb the slopes of the Chunuk Bair as
far as The Farm, and occupy the position.
112 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
which was reported to have been partly en-
trenched. The men were much exhausted,
since they had marched about seven miles in
the noonday heat without regular halts.
They were allowed an hour's rest, and
endeavours were made to fill their water-bottles,
but very little water was obtainable, as the
allowance at Anzac had been reduced to a
pint a day per man. Extra ammunition was
given out, and sandbags and entrenching tools
were carried by the men. About two in the
afternoon, " B " Company, who were to keep
The Farm on their right hand, led off into the
scrub on the left of the gully, '' A '' Company
followed them, and for about two hundred
yards were able to work along the bed of the
Dere itself, crouching under the high bank to
avoid the bullets which whistled overhead.
Although the main body of the enemy had
retired behind the main crest of the Chunuk
Bair, yet they had pushed forward snipers and
machine-guns in sufficient numbers to render
the advance of the two companies a decidedly
unpleasant proceeding. A sudden turn in the
direction of the gully brought the commander
of " A '' Company, who was at the head of
his column, face to face with a long bare stretch
of sand running for three hundred yards
straight in the direction of the Chunuk Bair,
which was filled with corpses and with the
equipment that showed where a wounded man
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 113
had fallen. Instinctively, he ran forward as
the bullets began to throw up the sand all
round him, and was followed by his signallers
and observers and the men of the leading
section. For about fifty yards they ran on
until the}^ reached a spot where a cross gully,
running down from Rhododendron Ridge,
afforded some protection from the pitiless
machine-gun fire, but in that fifty yards half
of the dozen men had fallen. Accordingly,
the subaltern of the leading platoon was sent
back to warn the remainder of the company,
not to attempt to use the Dere, but to work
their way through the scrub on its right. He
ran the gauntlet successfully and the advance
continued slowly.
Unfortunately, it had been impossible to
give the men any definite objective, as from
below The Farm was invisible, and many of
them lost their way in the thick undergrowth,
but about a platoon and a half of each company
found its way through the bushes fringing the
Aghyl Dere and commenced the ascent of the
Chunuk Bair. Once they began to climb they
were comparatively free from the attentions
of the snipers and machine-guns, since the
lower slopes of the hill were dead ground, but
the climb itself was almost intolerable. The
ascent was extremely steep, and covered in
scrub, in which lurked enormous boulders.
The sun was still tropical, and the men, most
114 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of whom carried picks or shovels, as well as
their weapons, were heavily laden. Often a
man was obliged to lay down his rifle to haul
himself up a rock, and found it an almost
intolerable burden to have to take it up again.
It was only by halting and resting every ten
minutes that it was possible to make any pro-
gress. The officers, who did not know that they
might not find the whole position in the hands
of the Turks, did their utmost to retain in the
men a sufficient reserve of energy to enable
them to charge if it proved necessary. As The
Farm came in sight three hundred yards ahead,
an irregular extension was formed on the
hillside, and the two companies got into touch
again. " B " on the left, " A " on the right,
pressed forward to reach their objective. It
was unoccupied.
Unoccupied by the Turks, indeed, yet there
were many relics of the struggle that had been
waged there at dawn. A narrow ditch hardly
a foot deep showed where an attempt had
been made to entrench the position, while
scattered round it were sandbags and entrench-
ing tools, rifles and bandoliers of ammunition
in a confusion so unnatural that it seemed
horrible. Normally, such things are carefully
stored and arranged, and even more carefully
accounted for, and to see them thrown broadcast
about a bare hillside was desolate indeed.
Among them lay the men who had used them ;
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 115
some groaning for water, while others, under
the influence of the scorching sunshine, had
already begun to give forth the unspeakably
foul sweet odour of corruption that in those
August days tainted half the hills and valleys of
Gallipoli. The sight was depressing enough,
but at least the enemy were not there, and the
men would be able to rest before they had to
fight.
As the senior officer on the position was
congratulating himself on this, a concealed
machine-gun opened on the right about two
hundred yards away. The right flank of '' A '*
Company was in full view of it, and both
Captain Massy, who commanded there, and a
subaltern with him were wounded. Captain
Massy, however, remained calm, and after
binding up his comrade's wounds as neatly as
a man with a bullet -hole through his right
arm was able to, he withdrew his men to join
the remainder of the company on the left.
These were screened from the direct view of
the hostile machine-gunners by bushes, but
the gun was firing at every sound, which made
movement, and still more digging, impossible.
Gradually, however, sandbags were filled, and
a traverse made of them, which protected the
men as long as they lay still. A few picked
shots were detailed to fire at intervals into the
bushes where the invisible machine-gun appeared
to be, and the knowledge that they were
ii6 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
retaliating encouraged them greatly. Further
comfort was given by the capture of a Turkish
sniper, who had been found lurking in the
bushes behind us. None of the men had ever
seen a Turk before, and the general curiosity
as to his appearance served to distract the men*s
minds from their immediate prospects.
These, as they presented themselves to the
officer who found himself temporarily in com-
mand, were by no means cheerful. The trench
which the men were supposed to hold would
require at least six hours' work before it would
give decent protection from shrapnel. It was also
badly sited and only gave a field of fire of a few
yards. The men available for work on it were
few in number and very weary. There was
sufficient food and plenty of ammunition, but
water was very scarce, for those who possessed
sufficient self-control to refrain from drinking
during the weary climb, had been unable to
resist the entreaties of the wounded, and had
allowed them to empty their water-bottles.
The only road by which supplies of any kind
could be obtained was the Aghyl Dere, which
was swept by the enemy's fire. In addition, it
was also known that very few reinforcements
were obtainable. Finally, both flanks of the
position were '' in the air," the right being
already dominated by a hostile machine-gun,
which was placed so as to enfilade the line.
It was clear that if, after dark, the Turks were
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 117
to attack, the detachment would be in a hopeless
position, and were bound to be either captured
or destroyed. However, orders had been given
that the line was to be held, and there was
nothing to be done but obey them. The men
were, therefore, instructed to rest until darkness
made it possible for them to improve their
position, and all ranks lay down and awaited
the enemy's attack.
Before it developed, however, General Cayley
sent orders that the detachment was to with-
draw at dusk, bringing with it all the wounded
who were lying on the face of the hill. Major
Money, of *' B '' Company, who had now taken
over the command, at once detailed a party
under Lieutenant Blake to cover the withdrawal,
and as it was within an hour of sunset, began
to collect the wounded at once. These for the
most part belonged to the East Lancashire and
Wiltshire Regiments, with a few of the Royal
Irish Rifles. They had lain out from dawn
to dusk under the burning rays of the Mediter-
ranean sun without food, water, or attention,
and suffering agonies.
By the time they had been collected, the sun
was setting, and the pilgrimage of pain began.
There were no stretchers, nor were even water-
proof sheets available, so that each wounded
man had to be carried by his shoulders and legs.
The mountain was pathless, and in the growing
darkness the bearers made many a false step,
ii8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
which must have caused torture to the sufferers.
Some shrieked with pain, others showered
blessings on the heads of the men who were
saving them from an agonizing death by thirst,
and in the growing dusk, the load of misery
was slowly carried to the foot of the hill. To
the credit of the Turkish machine-gunners it
must be said that they made no attempt to fire
as soon as they perceived that wounded were
being removed.
On this, as on other occasions in Gallipoli,
we were glad to be able to respect the chivalry
of our foes. An attempt was made to bring
down some of the rifles and equipment that
were scattered over the face of the Chunuk
Bair, but there were hardly enough men to
carry them, and some had to be abandoned.
It was after 7 p.m. before the covering party
withdrew, being the last British troops to occupy
the Chunuk Bair. Among them was Captain
Massy, who, ignoring his wound, had insisted
on remaining till all the wounded had been
removed. For his gallantry on this occasion
he was awarded the Military Cross.
It was dark before the Aghyl Dere was reached,
and the Rangers were glad to find that the two
remaining companies of their battalion had
been employed in entrenching a line on each side
of the gully and making sand-bag traverses
on each side of it. All the wounded who had
fallen in the earlier fighting had been dressed
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 119
and removed. This was a feat requiring extra-
ordinary courage and endurance on the part of
the battahon stretcher-bearers. They had been
obhged to go into the exposed section of the
Agyhl Dere under a storm of bullets, in order
to bring out the wounded, and yet they not
only did so, but often dressed the man's
wounds under fire before they removed him.
Then after the Medical Officer had treated him
they had to bear their heavy burden all the
way to the beach, returning only to plunge
into the fire-swept zone again and rescue
another comrade.
There were no men in the force who did
their duty more strenuously and fearlessly than
the stretcher-bearers of the 5th Connaught
Rangers on the loth of August, 1915, and
officers who had grumbled at having to allot
some of their best and strongest men for
non-combatant duties realized how well it was
that they had done so. Nor must the part
played by the medical officer be forgotten.
Lieutenant J. I. O'Sullivan, Royal Army Medical
Corps, found himself confronted by the debris
of two brigades, but he rose to the occasion
magnificently. Unpacking his paniers under
a bush just behind the line, he not only worked
on till long after dark without a rest, but
remained cheerful and encouraging through it all.
Only those who passed through his hands know
what they owe to him.
120 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
So at sunset on August loth ended the Battle
of Sari Bair, which had begun on the night of
the 6th. It had been hard fighting, and Mr.
Ashmead Bartlett, the newspaper correspondent,
has described it as the hardest battle in which
British soldiers have been engaged since Inker-
man. Those who took part in it, however,
prefer to think of General Godley's restrained
but deeply significant testimony : —
*' I do not believe that any troops in the
world could have accomplished more. All
ranks vied with one another in the perform-
ance of gallant deeds, and more than worthily
upheld the best traditions of the British
Army.''
Note. — Since this chapter was written, Brigadier-General Cooper
has been awarded a C.B., and Colonel Bewsher of the Hampshires,
and Major Wilford, Indian Army (attached Royal Irish Rifles)
have received the D.S.O. for their services in this action.
CHAPTER V
SUVLA BAY AND CHOCOLATE HILL
" Death is nothing ; but to live vanquished and without
glory is to die every day." — Napoleon.
IF you sail up the western coast of the Gallipoli
Peninsula, soon after passing Anzac Cove, you
will notice that the hills which have fringed
the shore all the way from Cape Helles begin to
run further inland, and that a gradually widening
strip of level ground becomes visible between
the cliffs and the sea. The coast line, too,
which has hitherto pointed north and south,
turns in a north-westerly direction, and thus
increases the extent of plain until it culminates
at the end of four miles in a cape known as
Nibrunesi Point. Two miles north of Nibrunesi
is another promontory called Suvla Point, and
these are the two extremities of a semi-circular
bay, which had no name on the original maps
issued to the army, but which was soon to be
well known as Suvla Bay. It is a name which
has brought sorrow to many homes, and which
will be perpetually associated with failure,
'but there are many glorious memories associated
with it.
121
122 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
There are old and historic regiments that
think more proudly of Maiwand and Chillian-
wallah than of victories gained with less stern
fighting ; and it may well be, that in the
future the four Fusilier regiments from Ireland
and the Royal Irish Regiment will be glad to
remember that their service battalions fought
at Suvla. A year later, at Salonica, when the
gates of the Supply Depot were christened
after great battles of the war, the name of Suvla
was thought not unworthy to be associated
with those of Ypres and Verdun. Greater
glory no man could ask for, and none of the few
survivors of the loth Division could pass that
gate without a throb of pride.
Suvla was well suited to a landing, since the
beach shelved gently and offered a long slope
of sand on which lighters could run ashore.
West of Nibrunesi Point an isolated hill, known
as Lala Baba, rose to a height of a hundred
and fifty feet close to the shore, while behind
this was the curious feature known as the Salt
Lake. In August, this was dry and presented
a surface of white sticky mud nearly a mile
across gleaming brightly in the sun. North-
east of the Salt Lake the ground rose gently
till it culminated in Tekke Tepe, nine hundred
feet high and four miles inland. South of
Tekke Tepe and about three miles east of the
Salt Lake, was the village of Anafarta Sagir
in a cultivated valley. South of this again was
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 123
a lower ridge known as Scimitar Hill, and then
another valley containing the village of Biyuk
Anafarta. South of Biyuk Anafarta the ground
rose steeply to form the main chain of the
Sari Bair. Between the two Anafartas and the
Salt Lake was a cultivated plain, studded with
little cornfields and isolated olive trees, but
from this plain, nearly two miles inland, rose
two isolated hills, about two hundred feet high,
known as Yilghin Burnu (or Green Hill) and
Chocolate Hill.
The landscape was finally framed by a high
crest running inland in a north-easterly
direction from Suvla Point, falling steeply in
124 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
cliffs to the Gulf of Saros on the north, but
presenting a gentler slope to the southern
plain. This ridge reached a height of 400
feet near the sea and was there called the
Karakol Dagh, while further inland, where
it maintained an average height of 600 feet, it
was known as the Kiretch Tepe Sirt. From
its crest could be seen the whole of the plain
enclosed by Tekke Tepe, Sari Bair and Damak-
jelik Bair, on which the battle was destined to
be fought.
The Commander-in-Chief had planned that
the transports conveying the nth Division
from Imbros were to leave as soon as night fell
on the 6th, and effect their landing under cover
of darkness. The loth Division, having a
longer voyage (Mudros being 60 and Mitylene
120 miles away) were intended to reinforce
them on the following day. It was believed
that the Turks would be taken by surprise, and
that little or no resistance was to be anticipated.
Three landing places had been arranged for ;
one known as Beach A in Suvla Bay itself, the
others. Beach B and Beach C, on the shore
south of Nibrunesi Point. The three Brigades
of the nth Division landed simultaneously,
and met with slight resistance from a Turkish
picket entrenched on Lala Baba. The hill was,
however, taken with the bayonet, and the whole
of the beaches made good, while the nth
Manchester Regiment drove the enemy's out-
tl
< ^
< a
^1
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 125
posts on the Karakol Dagh back on to the
Kiretch Tepe Sirt. By the time this much had
been gained, day dawned and the first portion
of the lOth Division began to appear on the
scene.
This consisted of the 31st Brigade and the
two battalions of Royal Dublin Fusiliers, which
had been waiting at Mitylene, the whole force
being under the command of Brigadier-General
F. F. Hill. Early in the afternoon of the 6th,
the battalions had left the transports, on which
they had spent nearly a month, and transferred
themselves to trawlers and channel steamers.
At sunset they weighed anchor and steamed
northward, all, except a few on board, being
completely ignorant of their destination. The
lights on the shore told them that they had
passed Achi Baba, and as they steamed by
Anzac, the noise of battle at Lone Fine and on
Sari Bair reached them from afar. Just as the
pale morning light began to make it possible
to distinguish the difference between sea and
land, the ships anchored off Nibrunesi Point.
In the original plan of operations it was
designed that the nth Division should form
the right wing and the loth the left of the
advance, and with this scheme in view it had
been arranged to land the loth on Beach A,
inside Suvla Bay. The landing at Beach A
during the night had, however, been con-
siderably delayed owing to the fact that many
126 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of the lighters had run aground in the shallow
waters of the bay, and the Naval Authorities
had, therefore, decided to land General Hill's
force on Beach C below Nibrunesi Point. At
the same time. General Hill was directed to
reinforce the nth Division, placing himself
under the orders of Major-General Hammersley,
who commanded that unit.
The process of disembarkation began about
5.30 a.m., the first tw^o lighters taking to the
shore a company of the 6th Inniskillings and a
company of the 5th Royal Irish Fusiliers, as
well as General Hill and his staff.
It was at once clear to all that the Turks had
not been completely taken by surprise. The
scrub which covered the slopes of all the
surrounding hills, combined with the scattered
olive groves to make it impossible to detect the
numbers of the enemy, but it was obvious that
they were well supplied with artillery. Their
shrapnel was bursting fiercely over the men of
the nth Division as they moved forward, and as
soon as the lighters reached the beaches, an
effective barrage was at once established there.
Even the troops awaiting disembarkation were
under fire, and suffered the painful experience
of having to lie down, closely packed together,
and unable to retaliate. The lighters were
obvious and easy targets, and in one boat alone
the 7th Dublins lost an officer and seventeen
men. On the whole, however, the force was
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 127
lucky, and the casualties on landing were not
heavy. Little could be done to keep down the
hostile artillery fire, since the enemy's guns
were well concealed, and but few of our batteries
had landed. Two mountain guns on Lala Baba
kept up a constant fire, and the warships co-
operated, though lack of facilities for observa-
tion rendered their fire comparatively ineffective.
General Hill reached the landing place two
hundred yards south of Nibrunesi Point about
6.30 a.m. Leaving orders for units as they
landed to rendezvous on the seaward side of
Lala Baba, he went in search of General Hammer-
sley in order to ascertain his wishes. At this
time the Turkish detachments, which had been
watching the beaches, were retiring slowly
across the wooded plain which stretches between
the Salt Lake and Anafarta Saghir, pursued by
the nth Division. This pursuit, however, was
considerably impeded by the fact that two small
eminences, each about a hundred-and-sixty
feet high, about half-a-mile from the south-
eastern corner of the Salt Lake, were still in the
enemy's hands. These positions were after-
wards known as Chocolate Hill and Green Hill
respectively, the Turkish name for the range
being Yilghin Burnu. As long as the Turks
held these knolls, they were in a position to
bring enfilade artillery fire to bear on the
advance across the Anafarta plain ; and
accordingly General Hill was directed to co-
128 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
operate with two battalions of the nth Division
in their capture. This order had unfortunately
the result of making any future junction with
the portion of the Division under Sir Bryan
Mahon's command impossible, since that was
directed to guard the left flank of the advance,
while General Hill's force was to move to the
extreme right. Owing to this detachment of a
Brigade and a half, the work of the Staff tended
to become more difficult.
By the time that General Hill rejoined his
force with these orders, he found that the 6th
Inniskillings and 5th Royal Irish Fusiliers had
reached the rendezvous under Lala Baba.
Two companies of the 7th Dublins under Major
Lonsdale, the second-in-command, had also
arrived there, and the remainder of the battalion,
followed by the 6th Dublins and 6th Royal
Irish Fusiliers, were coming up. The latter
unit had been put ashore some way down the
beach, and had had to march a considerable
distance in order to reach Lala Baba.
The process of disembarkation and assembly
had naturally taken a considerable time, and it
was not till close on noon that the advance
began. In order to reach the northern shores
of the Salt Lake, and get in touch with the nth
Division, the units of General HilFs force had
to pass over a narrow neck of land between the
Salt Lake and the sea, on which the hostile
artillery had carefully registered. Every minute
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 129
it was swept by bursts of shrapnel, and the only
way in which it crossed was by a section at a
time rushing over it and trusting to luck. It
was a trying ordeal for young troops engaged in
their first action, but they faced it cheerfully.
The 7th Dublins in particular were much en-
couraged by the example of their Colonel. As
an old soldier, he knew that there were times
when an officer must be prepared to run what
would otherwise appear unnecessary risks ; so
while everyone else was dashing swiftly across
the neck, or keeping close under cover, it is
recorded that Colonel Downing — a man of
unusual height and girth — stood in the centre
of the bullet-swept zone, quietly twirling his
stick. The sight of his fearlessness must have
been an inspiration to his men.
As soon as each battalion had crossed the
neck, it formed up on the low ground north of
the Salt Lake, under the slight amount of cover
afforded by a low eminence known as Hill 10.
When all had got across, the advance eastward
began. The crossing of the neck had occupied
a good deal of time, and it was close on 3 p.m.
For more than four hours the sun had been
directly overhead, a blinding glare was reflected
from the shining surface of the Salt Lake, and
the heat was almost overpowering. Few of the
men had slept during the night, since excite-
ment and the discomfort caused by their
closely - packed quarters on board the fleet
130 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
sweepers had combined to keep them awake.
Except for a cup of tea about 3 a.m., and a
mouthful hastily swallowed before moving off,
they were fasting, and already many of the more
improvident had emptied their water-bottles.
In addition, these young soldiers who had never
seen war before, had been since four in the
morning exposed to shrapnel fire, with but little
chance either of taking cover or of retaliating.
They had seen their comrades fall stricken at
their sides without the consolation of knowing
that the enemy was suffering to an equal extent.
However, the prospect of action was encourag-
ing, and it was with confident faces that they
turned towards the foe. Their one desire was
to come to close quarters with the enemy on
their immediate front, but he was invisible.
From the low ground across which they were
moving little could be seen but the masses of
scrub backed by the semicircle of hills, and only
broken by the minarets of Anafarta. The three
leading battalions (6th Inniskilling Fusiliers,
5th Royal Irish Fusiliers and 7th Dublins)
crossed the dry bed of the Azmak Dere, and
began to turn southward towards Chocolate
Hill. Up to this point the left flank of the
movement had been protected by the troops
of the nth Division, who were advancing
in the direction of Anafarta, but every
yard gained to the southward tended to throw
this flank more and more into the air.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 131
Though invisible, the enemy was making his
presence felt. Round white balls of shrapnel
were continually forming overhead, and out of
the dense bushes rifle bullets came whizzing
past the men's heads. Now and then a Turkish
sniper was caught, sometimes festooned in
boughs to enable him to escape notice ; but the
casualties caused by snipers were not so serious
on the first day as they became later. The
heaviest losses were caused by the artillery, for
near the sea the scrub was thinner, and the long
lines of men slowly advancing were plainly
visible to the enemy's observers on the surround-
ing hills. Occasionally too, a Taube buzzed
overhead, making its observations with com-
parative impunity, since except on the ships,
there were no anti-aircraft guns.
Still the men pressed on, driving the Turks
through the scrub before them. It was
unpleasant work, particularly for officers,
since little or nothing was known, either of
the country or of the strength of dispositions
of the enemy, and at any moment a platoon
might have found itself confronted by a
heavy counter-attack launched from the depths
of the scrub, or enfiladed by hidden machine
guns. Also, it proved a good deal harder to
keep in touch with other units than it had in
training days at the Curragh or in the Phoenix
Park. The danger of pushing on too fast and
finding oneself isolated was no imaginary one,
132 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
but was alarmingly illustrated by the disaster
which befell the ist/5th Norfolks four days
later. Nor did the tropical heat, which wore
out and exhausted the men, help to quicken the
movement. All these considerations combined
with the pressure exercised by the enemy on
the left flank of the Royal Irish Fusiliers tended
to make the advance slow.
The dispositions of the force for the attack
were as follows : —
On the right '* A " and '' B " Companies
of the 6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers were in
the firing line, supported by '' C " and '* D '*
Companies of the same unit ; and by the 6th
Royal Irish Fusiliers who had been brought up
from the reserve. The 5th Royal Irish Fusiliers
were on the left, having ^' A " and ^' B "
Companies in the firing line and '' C " and '' D ''
in support. Owing to the fact that the left
flank was exposed, this battalion was gradually
being compelled to face in a south-easterly
direction, with the result that a gap began to
appear between it and the 6th Inniskiilings.
This gap was filled by '' A " Company of the 7th
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, closely supported by
" D " Company (*' The Pals '') of the same unit.
The 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who had been
the last to come ashore, were still in reserve,
and the 5th Inniskiilings had not yet landed.
Steadfastly the Fusiliers went forward, moving
on a line parallel to that which they had taken
BRIGADIER-GENERAL F. F. HILL, C.B., C.M.G.
COMMANDING 3IST BRIGADE
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 133
in the morning, but in the opposite direction.
As they passed the Salt Lake, the InniskilHngs,
who were on exposed ground, suffered severely,
as many of the men stuck in the swamp. Land-
mines, too, which exploded on contact, were
encountered and caused losses, while the shrapnel
burst overhead unceasingly. Nothing, however,
could have been more encouraging to the men
than the demeanour of their leader. Wherever
the danger was greatest General Hill was to be
found, calm and collected, trying to save the
men as much as possible. His fearlessness, his
complete disregard of personal danger, set an
inspiring example, and officers and men alike
went forward more cheerfully, thanks to the
lead given them by their General.
As the advance continued high explosive shells
were mingled with the shrapnel, and though
they did not claim so many victims, they were
infinitely more trying to the strained nerves
of the weary men in the ranks. By 5 p.m. they
had come within 300 yards of the hill, and were
under a heavy rifle fire. By this time the men
were very weary. They had had a long voyage
of 120 miles under most uncomfortable con-
ditions, they had been under unceasing artillery
fire for more than twelve hours, they had
marched more than five miles burdened by rifle
and ammunition through the noon of a tropical
day, and it was no wonder that they were ex-
hausted. Chocolate Hill, too, was a formidable
134 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
proposition : though only a hundred and sixty
feet high, it rose steeply from the plain, and it
was now obvious that it had been carefully
prepared as a defensive position, for its sides were
seamed by trenches. Though it was impossible
to ascertain how strongly those trenches were
held, yet it was clearly imperative that the men
should have a rest before making the assault.
While the fleet and the batteries that had now
been landed bombarded the position, the men of
General Hill's force lay down in their ranks on
the sun-baked ground, firing a shot from time to
time, but with abundant leisure to look about
them. On their right they could see the white
houses and tiled roofs of Anafarta Saghir, while
to the left they gazed across the shining white
surface of the Salt Lake, past Lala Baba, to the
bay crowded with warships and transports and
hurrying launches, and to the calm and splendid
peak of Samothrace. Many of *' D " Company
(" The Pals ") of the 7th Dublins were men who
had taken degrees at Trinity or the National
University, and they may well have recalled past
studies and thrilled to remember that the word
*' Samothrace " had always been associated with
Victory. Most of all, however, they watched
the hill in front of them and wondered what fate
might have in -tore for them there.
At last the bombardment ceased and the lines
rose. General Hill had ordered that at all costs
the position was to be taken before dark, and
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 135
reinforced by two battalions of the nth Division
at 7 p.m. the charge began. On one flank the
Inniskillings and on the other the Irish Fusiliers
pressed forward. *' A *' Company of the 7th
Dublins, led by Major Harrison, a splendid
soldier, closely supported by '* The Pals " under
Captain Poole Hickman (a barrister who had
served in the ranks of the Company which he now
commanded) made for the centre of the hill.
The gleaming line of bayonets recked little of
the Turkish fire, but rushed onward up the
slopes. The Turk, on the defensive always,
stands his ground well, and in more than one
place the bayonets crossed ; but the rush of the
Irish charge was not to be denied. Fatigue and
thirst were forgotten as the Fusiliers, exulting
in the force of their attack, dashed over trench
and communication trench until the crest of the
hill was gained.
As they reached it, the sun sank behind
Samothrace, and the impending darkness made
further pursuit fruitless. There was much
work to be done in the short Southern twilight,
for the hill was a maze of trenches and dug-outs,
with paths leading everywhere and nowhere, so
that it was hard to find one's way. Outposts
were hastily detailed and pushed forward over
the crest, and the battalions which were much
mixed, after a hurried reorganization, bivou-
acked on and around the hill that they had
taken. Their work, however, was by no means
136 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
at an end, for it was necessary to make arrange-
ments for bringing up food and water, to
replenish ammunition, to bury the dead, and to
collect the wounded. This last was by no means
a pleasant task, since they were scattered all
over the area across which the attack had taken
place, and in the darkness it was easy for an
unconscious man lying under a bush to escape
notice. Here, as everywhere, however, the
stretcher-bearers worked magnificently, and the
doctors who had marched with their units all
day, settled down to a night of strenuous
labour. It is impossible to exaggerate the
devotion to duty displayed by the regimental
Medical Officers : they utterly ignored their own
fatigue in order to ease the sufferings of their
comrades.
While they were working, the task of re-
plenishing supplies was going forward, though it
proved to be one of considerable difficulty. The
heaviest share of the burden fell on quarter-
masters of units and on the staff at the beach,
who were left to regulate this matter. The
night was pitch dark, and lighters were dis-
charging their loads at various points along two
miles of beach, so that it was by no means easy
to find the stores required, or when they were
found to entrust them to the representative
of the unit that required them. Fortunately,
however, a considerable surplus of rations and
ammunition had been brought on the fleet
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 137
sweepers from Mitylene, and this was divided
among quartermasters. It was then necessary
to have it sent up to Chocolate Hill, and since no
animals or transport of any kind were available,
this task became one of considerable difficulty.
However, the men of the 6th Dublins, who had
been in reserve during the day, were employed
on this service, and their fatigue parties toiled
throughout the night transporting the heavy
boxes over the two-and-a-half miles of broken
ground that intervened between the beach and
the hill.
The crux of the whole situation was water.
The single water-bottle that each man had
brought ashore had long been empty, and all
were parched with thirst. Though some water
lighters had run aground in the bay, others had
reached the shore, but there were no vessels of
any kind in which the priceless fluid could be
carried up to the firing line. In view of the
facts that the position had only been captured
at dusk, and had barely been consolidated, and
that it was reasonable to expect that the enemy
would counter-attack, it was felt that it was
impossible to send men down to the beach to
fill their water-bottles, and yet there appeared
no method by which the water could be conveyed
to the position. Petrol cans and biscuit-tins
were not forthcoming, and though Lieutenant
Byrne, the Quartermaster of the 6th Dublins,
tried the experiment of sending up water in
138 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
empty small-arm ammunition boxes, it was not
wholly successful. At last the camp-kettles
belonging to units came ashore, and by utilizing
these, a scanty supply of water was sent up into
the firing line. This work of organizing the
supply of water, food and ammunition occupied
the whole of the night of the 7th, and it was not
till late on the 8th that it was complete. The
main responsibility for it so far as General Hill's
force was concerned, rested on Capt. T. J. D.
Atkinson, the Staff Captain of the 31st Brigade.
He received invaluable assistance from
Lieutenant and Quartermaster R. Byrne of the
6th Dublins, who on this, as on many other
occasions, displayed such conspicuous ability
and energy as to gain him the Military Cross.
Meanwhile, units began to take stock of their
losses. Judged by the scale of later fighting in
the Peninsula the casualties were not very
heavy, though at first sight they appeared
formidable enough. However, having regard
to the fact that the troops had been under
constant shell fire for twelve hours and at the
end of it had taken an entrenched position by
assault, the force could consider itself fortunate
in not having suffered more severely. The bulk
of the wounds were caused by shrapnel, which
tended to confirm the impression that the
hostile infantry who held Chocolate Hill were not
very numerous. Had they been in equal
strength to our men and been well supplied with
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 139
machine guns, the losses sustained in the attack
must inevitably have been far greater. Never-
theless, the capture of the Chocolate Hill-Green
Hill position was a highly creditable performance
for young troops who were receiving their
baptism of fire. When it is remembered that
they had been on the move throughout the
greater part of the day in a temperature of well
over 100°, the dash and determination exhibited
by all the Irish regiments engaged augured well
for their future.
Unfortunately, several senior officers had
fallen. The 7th Dublins lost Major Tippett,
who had served for years in the old Dublin City
Militia, and had left the security of a political
agent's post in an English country constituency
to die in his old regiment. Lieutenant Julian
of the same battalion, who died of his wounds,
was a young officer of great promise, whose
death was deeply mourned. The 5th Royal
Irish Fusiliers, who had suffered severely from
the enemy on their left flank, lost Major Garstin
killed ; and their Adjutant and nearly a dozen
more officers wounded. In traversing the open
ground by the Salt Lake and in the assault on
the hill, the 6th Inniskillings had also sustained
many casualties. Colonel Cliff e (destined to die
later in France) was wounded, and so was Major
Musgrave, his second-in-command ; while half-
a-dozen more officers were hoys de combat. One
of these was the Quartermaster, Lieutenant
140 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Dooley, who was struck by shrapnel while
superintending the unloading of ammunition
from a lighter on the beach.
While Chocolate Hill was being attacked, the
remainder of the Division was hotly engaged to
the northward.
When Sir Bryan Mahon arrived from Mudros
with the 6th and 7th Royal Munster Fusiliers
and the 5th Royal Irish Regiment, he found that
the force under General Hill had already landed,
and was in action. Nothing remained of the
Division which he had raised and trained for
nearly a year, but the three battalions which he
had brought with him and the 5th Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers, which had not begun to
disembark. It was an extraordinary position
for an officer who was a Lieutenant-General of
three years' standing, and had commanded a
division for more than six years, to find himself
entering into an action with only four battalions
under his command, the whole of the rest of his
command having been diverted elsewhere. How-
ever, he made the best of the situation and
proceeded so far as the force at his disposal
would permit, to carry out the task which had
been allotted to the Division, namely advancing
on the left of the nth Division and securing the
Kir etch Tepe Sirt.
Beach *' A '' had been found unsuitable for
use, as the water near it was so shallow that the
lighters ran aground at a considerable distance
BRIG
iADIER-GENERAL L. L. NICOL, C.B., COMMANDING 3OTH BRIGADE
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 141
from the shore. The Navy had by this time
found a better landing place on the north shore
of Suvla Bay, slightly to the east of an isolated
peak called Ghazi Baba, which rises from the
shore. To this new landing place the two
Munster battalions of the 30th Brigade with
Brigadier-General L. L. Nicol and their Brigade
Headquarters and the Divisional Pioneer
Battalion were directed. It proved by no means
ideal, since many of the lighters ran aground a
considerable distance from the shore, and
officers and men had to plunge into the water,
which was waist deep, and wade to the land.
Fortunately, wet clothes were soon dried by the
Gallipoli sun, but the stranded boats afforded
excellent targets to the Turkish artillery. On
reaching the shore a little before noon, the 6th
Munsters who landed first found that the enemy
had sown the beach with land mines which
exploded on contact. Sveral men were injured
by these, while the Adjutant of the 6th Munsters
was knocked down, but not hurt.
The orders given to the two battalions of
Munsters and the Royal Irish who acted as
support, were to climb the Kiretch Tepe Sirt
Ridge at its western end and push forward
along the crest as fast as possible. A certain
amount of ground had been made good in the
course of the night by the nth Manchester
Regiment, but it was desirable that the whole
ridge should be secured as quickly as possible
142 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
in order to safeguard the left flank of the advance
across the Anafarta plain. The Munsters accord-
ingly struggled up the steep bushy slope under
the burning rays of the midday sun, and
deployed for advance about 1.30 p.m. The
6th Munsters were on the left and the 7th on
the right. They then pushed forward, but it
was at once obvious that the country was one
which offered many advantages to an enemy
who wished to fight a delaying action.
Although from a distance the Kiretch Tepe Sirt
appeared to be a long whale-backed hill six
hundred feet high, yet its sides were seamed with
gullies and tiny peaks almost invisible from
below, which detached themselves from the main
contour of the crest line. Moreover, it was
covered with dense oak and holly scrub, which
entirely concealed the numbers of the enemy
and made it impossible to ascertain whether
a unit was being opposed by a handful of
snipers or a battalion. As they pushed through
this dense thicket, the Munsters passed many
indications of this fight waged by the iith
Manchesters, and soon the sight of fly-infested
corpses ceased to cause a shudder. Soon they
came in contact with the battalion itself, or
rather what was left of it, since it had suffered
heavily. Its Colonel was wounded, his second-
in-command killed, and nearly half its strength
were out of action. Those who remained were
exhausted and very thirsty, and were unable
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 143
to advance further. The Turks were holding
a rocky mound which commanded the crest
of the ridge for about six hundred yards to the
west of it. From this point of vantage they
were pouring a considerable volume of rifle
fire on any troops who attempted to advance.
Having taken in the situation, the Munsters
went forward to attack the position, and had
succeeded in getting within about a hundred
3^ards of it when darkness fell.
In this engagement, fought in an unknown
country against an enemy who knew every
track and gully, and was able to leave snipers
in the bushes behind him as he retired, the
Munsters suffered severely, but were ready to
advance again at dawn. A night attack was
considered impracticable, since the country
was absolutely unknown to the troops and
very intricate. On the following day (the 8th)
the Turkish position was attacked and finally
stormed. The party of the 6th Munsters who
took the culminating point, were led by the
second-in-command of their battalion. Major
Jephson, and the knoll was christened after
him, Jephson's Post. Further advance proved
impossible, the enemy being in possession of
a strongly entrenched position, extending right
across the ridge, and steps were taken to dig
in on the line held.
In this brisk engagement the two battalions
of Munsters, supported by the Royal Irish
144 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Regiment, and on the 8th by the 5th Royal
Inniskilling FusiHers, had had to contend with
an enemy possibly weaker in numbers, but
possessing an intimate knowledge of the country
and favoured by the lie of the ground. It was
believed at Headquarters that the Turkish
force on the Kiretch Tepe Sirt consisted of
close on 700 Gendarmeries, who had been for
months patrolling the Suvla district, and had
the advantage of having already prepared
entrenchments on the ridge. Against such a
foe it was no mean achievement for a newly
landed force to have advanced over two miles
in a puzzling and intricate country and to have
expelled the enemy from a well-fortified position,
the whole being accomplished within twenty-
four hours of landing.
Naturally, there were numerous casualties.
The 7th Munsters suffered most severely,
having Captain Cullinan, Lieutenant Harper,
Lieutenant Travers and 2nd-Lieutenant Bennett
killed, and Major Hendricks, Captain Cooper-
Key, Captain Henn and half-a-dozen sub-
alterns wounded. In the 6th Munsters,
Lieutenant J. B. Lee, a Dublin barrister,
was killed on the 7th, and Major Conw^ay,
a Regular officer of the Munster Fusiliers,
fell in the assault on Jephson^s Post on
the 6th. Several subalterns were wounded,
and there were numerous casualties among
the rank and file. It was, however, fortunate
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 145
that the enemy had no machine guns, and that
the thick scrub made it hard to direct their
artillery fire with accuracy, or the losses would
have been far heavier.
For a week the battalions held the line that
they had captured, being reinforced by the
5th InniskilHngs, who took over the trenches
on the northern slope of the ridge looking down
on to the Gulf of Saros. This flank was guarded
by a destroyer, wliich did invaluable service
by giving notice of enemy movements, by
searchlight work at night, and by rendering
artillery support when necessary.
The period spent in these trenches was by
no means an enjoyable one, for water was
very short and had to be fetched from a con-
siderable distance away. Shade there was none,
since the sun pierced vertically downwards,
and the prickly scrub gave but little cover
from above. The trenches had been hastily
constructed In a sandy soil that crumbled and
fell in at the first opportunity and required
constant work at them. By day the Turkish
snipers made this impossible, so the men lay,
too hot and thirsty and tormented by flies to
sleep, and by night they were stirred up to work
again. To add to the horror of the position,
the unburied bodies of those who had fallen
in the previous fighting, lying in inaccessible
gullies or in the midst of the scrub, began to
spread around the foul, sweet, sickly odour of
146 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
decay. Once smelt, this cannot be forgotten,
for it clings to the nostrils, and many a man
recalled how true an insight Shakespeare had
into the soldier's mind when he made Coriolanus
use as his expression of supreme contempt the
words :
*' Whose love I prize
As the dead carcases of un buried men
That do corrupt the air."
This, however, was only an aggravation of
the situation ; the real trouble was thirst.
Men lied to get water, honest men stole it,
some even went mad for want of it ; but it
was cruelly hard to obtain. Owing to some
error, an insufficient supply of vessels for
carrying it had arrived from Mudros, and it
became necessary to send down a platoon from
each company with the company's water-bottles
to the beach to fill them. It was a long and
trying walk in the dark, and even when the
beach was reached, water was by no means
easy to obtain, since thirsty soldiers had cut
holes in the hoses that filled the tanks on shore
from the water-boats, and consequently much
was wasted.
It had been hoped to utilise the resources
of the country, but the Turks had foreseen
our difficulties, and when the Engineers
examined a well near Ghazi Baba, they found it
surrounded by a circle of land-mines. Other
wells further inland were well watched by
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 147
snipers. Nor even when sufficient water was
obtainable, was it easy to convey it back to
the battaHon. Some water-bottles leaked ;
others had been only half filled, or carelessly
corked, while occasionally a thirsty soldier
took advantage of the darkness to refresh
himself from one of the bottles which he was
carrying. As a result, when the bottles were
distributed, there were bitter complaints from
the men who found themselves presented with
only a few spoonfuls of water as a supply for
twenty-four hours. Tea-making, too, became
difficult, since it was almost out of the question
to obtain the water required in equal quantities
from each man.
It soon became clear that the system of
regulating the whole water supply of the
unit by the water-bottle of the individual
soldier was not a sound one, since the impro-
vident consumed their day's supply at once,
and the fool who lost his water-bottle was in a
hopeless position. Commanding officers and
company commanders first began by pooling
all water-bottles, and issuing their contents in
mess-tins from time to time ; while gradually
they collected petrol and biscuit tins in which
to store a reserve fund. Thanks to these
measures, and to the experience gained by the
men, matters gradually improved.
Two events that occurred during this period
gave some fillip to the spirits of the men on
348 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
"the ridge. The first of these was the arrival
of a mail which brought not only letters and
papers, but also parcels, and some of these
parcels contained cake. Cake was a priceless
boon in Gallipoli. Home-made and home-
packed ones sometimes met with disaster and
arrived in the form of crumbs, but those made
by an expert, and sealed in an air-tight tin
arrived safely, and were more welcome than
anyone unacquainted with the ration biscuit
can imagine. The ration biscuit takes various
forms, some of which are small and palatable,
but the type most frequently met with in
Gallipoli was large and square, possessing the
appearance of a dog biscuit and the consistency
of a rock. It was no doubt of excellent nutritive
quality, but, unfortunately, no ordinary pair
of teeth was able to cope with it. Some spread
jam upon it, and then licked the surface, thereby
absorbing a few crumbs ; others soaked it in
tea (when there was any) ; while a few pounded
it between two stones, and found that the result
did not make bad porridge. After a week of
this regimen, it is easily imagined how glad
men were to put their teeth into something
soft again.
The second encouragement was the arrival
of the first reinforcements from Mudros. The
worn and jaded men who had spent a week on
the ridge, and had lost the glamour and excite-
ment caused by the first experience of action^
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 149
were surprised to find how glad their comrades
were to rejoin them. The tawny scrub and
fresher air of GaUipoU seemed dehghtful
to them after Mudros, and their pleasure was
so infectious that many of the older hands
came to the conclusion that the Peninsula was
not such a bad place after all.
During the first two or three days spent in
holding the ridge position, the attention of
officers was given more to the details of water
supply than to the movements of the enemy.
The latter had, however, been reinforced, and
were becoming more aggressive. The Kiretch
Tepe Sirt was of considerable tactical value
to them, as if they were able to regain their
ground, they would be able to enfilade our troops
on the Anafarta plain, as well as being able to
watch all movements on the beaches. Not only
therefore did they push forward snipers, who
picked off individual officers and men — among
them Lieutenant Burrows, Machine-gun Officer of
the 6th Munsters ; but more organised attempts
at lodgments were made, and patrol fights
were not uncommon. One of these may be
described as typical. The 6th Munsters, who
were holding Jephson's Post, discovered that
the Turks were digging in close to their immedi-
ate front, and Colonel Worship gave orders
that a party under Captain Oldnall were to
attack them at dawn and drive them out.
Lieutenant Waller, R.E., accompanied the party
in charge of the bombers.
150 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Just before daylight the attack was made,
and after a strenuous struggle, in which
Captain Oldnall was seriously and Lieutenant
Gaffney mortally, wounded, the post was
seized. Lieutenant Waller displayed the
most conspicuous courage in going out
three times under very heavy fire to rescue
Lieutenant Gaffney and two other wounded
men. It is the custom of the corps of Royal
Engineers to disregard all danger in the per-
formance of their duty, and Sapper Officers
have many splendid achievements to their
credit. But no sapper officer can ever have
shown greater courage and self-sacrifice than
Lieutenant Waller did on this occasion. His
action was worthy of the best traditions of his
Corps.
The post captured turned out to be the end
of a Turkish communication trench leading
down to the south-east end of the ridge. It
was blocked with sand-bags, and the portion
nearest the Munsters' trench retained as an
advanced post. The garrison holding this were
somewhat surprised when later in the afternoon
an enormous Turk came wandering up the
trench alone with an armful of bombs, but he
was promptly made prisoner by Lieutenant
J. L. Fashom, of the Munsters, who disputed
with Lieutenant Burke, of the Connaught
Rangers, the claim to be the smallest officer in
the loth Division.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 151
Incidents like this enlivened the general
monotony, but on the whole the time spent in
these trenches was a dreary, thirsty one, and
all ranks were pleased when it became evident
that the remainder of the Division was beginning
to rejoin them, and that there was some prospect
of an advance.
CHAPTER VI
KIRETCH TEPE SIRT.
AUGUST I5TH-16TH, I915.
" If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone.
And BO hold on when there is nothing in you.
Except the will that says to them ' Hold on.' "
— Kipling.
BEFORE dealing with the battle of Kiretch
Tepe Sirt, it is necessary to give some
account of the doings of General HilFs
force after the capture of Chocolate Hill on the
7th. Dawn on the 8th found them bivouacking
on the position they had taken on the previous
evening and during the day, a defensive trench
system, including both Chocolate Hill and Green
Hill (Hill 50), 500 yards to the eastward of it.
By this time the line taken up by our troops
ran from the sea at Beach '' B " to the two hills
held by the 31st Brigade and thence northward
across the Anafarta Plain at an average distance
of three miles from the sea.
Throughout the 8th no advance was made
from this line, since the Corps Commander
was of opinion that the troops were very
exhausted, and that there was insufficient
152
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 153
artillery support at his disposal to justify
him in making an attack on an enemy of
unknown strength possessing the advantages
of a superior position and knowledge of the
ground. Unquestionably there was a con-
siderable amount to be said in favour of this
contention. On the previous day the enemy's
barrage fire had taken a heavy toll of casualties,
and but little effective reply had been made to
it. This was in part due to difficulties of
observation, but also to the fact that up to
the 8th, only three batteries had been landed,
two of which, being mountain batteries, pos-
sessed only guns of small calibre. There were
also the guns of the ships, but it was not always
easy to communicate with the fleet in time to
achieve the desired object, and it must also be
borne in mind that space in a warship is limited,
and that once its magazine is empty it cannot
quickly be replenished. Added to these con-
siderations the fact that the men were suffering
terribly from want of water, that no transport
of any kind was available, and that in conse-
quence every unit found itself compelled to
detach about a quarter of its men for the purpose
of carrying up rations and ammunition, made
it not unnatural for a commander to exercise
caution.
On the whole, the 8th was a quiet day for the
troops, though the sun shone as fiercely as ever
and there was plenty of work to be done in
154 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
burying the dead and getting up supplies.
There was not much shelling, but hostile snipers
were ubiquitous and much in evidence. These
crawled up through the scrub or climbed trees
in such manner that they commanded the
greater part of our line, and made it dangerous
to move about.
On Monday, the 9th, the Corps Commander
had decided to attack the high ground behind
Anafarta Saghir with the nth Division and
part of the newly -landed 53rd (Territorial)
Division. For the purpose of this attack.
General Hill was ordered to place two battalions
under the orders of the General Officer Com-
manding the 32nd Brigade (nth Division).
The 6th Royal Irish Fusiliers and the 6th Royal
Dublin Fusiliers, neither of which had sustained
very heavy losses in the previous fighting, were
detailed for this duty and co-operated in the
attack. The objective allotted to them was a
height known as Hill 70, the culminating ridge
of a spur which ran out to the north-east of
Chocolate Hill between the hill and Anafarta
Saghir about a mile and a half south-west of that
village.
As soon as the advance began, it became
evident, both from the increase in the
volume of musketry and from the growing
intensity of the hostile artillery fire, that the
Turks had been heavily reinforced, but in spite
of their losses, the Fusiliers effected a lodgment
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 155
on the ridge. For a time they clung to it
though the enemy were deHvering repeated
counter-attacks, and a series of bush fires
caused by their shells made the position almost
untenable, and threatened the wounded with the
most terrible of deaths. Further to the left,
however, the 32nd Brigade found that they were
unable to hold the ground that they had won
in their first advance, and were compelled by
attacks on their flanks to withdraw to their
original alignment.
The Fusiliers, who had suffered heavily under
the violent Turkish attacks, conformed to their
movements and returned to their first position.
Captain Johnston, the Adjutant of the 6th Royal
Irish Fusiliers, was killed and so was Lieutenant
MacDermot of the same regiment, which also
lost eight officers wounded: the Dublins also
lost heavily. In the course of this action, a
curious incident is said to have occurred. The
Medical Officer of the 6th Dublins had followed
his battalion in its forward movement, and had
established his advanced dressing station under
a tree in the newly-captured territory. After a
time he noticed that several of the wounded,
who were brought back by the stretcher bearers,
were hit a second time as they lay waiting to
have their wounds attended to. A search was
made for snipers in the surrounding bushes
without result, but eventually a Turk was
discovered perched in the tree itself.
156 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
While these operations were in progress, the
remainder of General Hill's force had been
employed in support. While fulfilling this role,
they suffered both from the ubiquitous snipers
and from the enemy's shrapnel fire, which had
become far heavier than it was two days earlier.
The casualties, however, were not very heavy,
except in the two attacking battalions. Another
sphere of usefulness was also found for portions
of the supporting units.
The prolonged fire fight waged by the nth
Division had exhausted their ammunition, and
officers and men from General Hill's force were
detailed to carry up fresh supplies. It is not
particularly pleasant work, carrying up
thousands of rounds of ball cartridge in a
tropical country through bushes infested with
snipers, but the men did it splendidly.
Lieutenant J. F. Hunter, of the 6th Inniskilling
Fusiliers, was afterwards awarded the Military
Cross for the courage and disregard of danger
exhibited by him on this occasion. Often, too,
the ammunition carriers when they had delivered
their loads attached themselves to the nearest
unit and joined the firing line. Captain Tobin
and a party of the 7th Dublins fought side by
side with an English regiment in this manner
throughout the day. There was little wrong
with the morale of the troops when men volun-
tarily thrust themselves into the positions of
greatest danger.
y
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 157
On the following day, August loth, the day
on which the struggle on Sari Bair reached its
height, another unsuccessful attack was made on
the Anafarta ridge, but in this General HilFs
force took no part. They were now, and for the
rest of the week occupied in holding the line that
they had captured on the 7th through Green
Hill. This position was heavily shelled by the
enemy and some units lost heavily.
Throughout this period, however, the troops
suffered most for want of water. Though by this
time a certain number of petrol cans and other
receptacles for carrying water had been obtained
yet these were quite insufficient to satisfy the
men's consuming thirst. It is hard to find
words to convey the true state of affairs. No
doubt it would be too much to say that at home
thirst is unknown, but at any rate the passionate
craving for water felt in Gallipoli is seldom ex-
perienced. When the water came up, the most
careful supervision was needed in order to see
that the much-needed liquid was used to fill the
water-bottles and not consumed at once. When
the bottles were filled, or rather had received their
share, since there was not water enough to fill
them, it was necessary to watch them vigilantly
in order to make the supply last as long as
possible.
Some men became hardly responsible for
their actions ; the heat was intense, the
biscuit was dry and the bully beef very salt.
158 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
while many men were suffering from dysentery
or enteritis and were parched with fever
though they were unwilHng to report sick in the
face of the enemy. In such times surface
civiHzation vanishes, and man becomes a
primitive savage. A few men crept away to
look for water by themselves, others stole bottles
from their neighbours and emptied them, but on
the whole the discipline of the force stood the
strain remarkably well. It was a severe trial
for young unacclimatized soldiers who had less
than a year's service, but the months of training
had not been in vain. The men knew and
trusted their officers, and felt that they would
do their best for them. Perhaps the officer's
position was hardest of all. Thirsty himself,
rationing himself by spoonfuls in order to make
the contents of his water-bottle last longer, he
was compelled to watch his men suffering from
pangs which he could not relieve, and at the
same time to try and keep their spirits up by
laughing and joking with them. There had
always been friendship between the officers and
men of the loth Division, but a bond not easily
to be broken was cemented in those scorching
suffering days.
By this time it had become evident to the
Higher Command that no further progress
could be made at Suvla without reinforcements,
and steps were taken to obtain them from
Egypt and from the Cape Helles area. In the
o ^
H "Sx
a "is
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 159
meanwhile it was decided that the loth Division
should be reunited, and accordingly, one by
one, the battalions of General Hill's force
were relieved from their posts on Chocolate Hill
and Green Hill and marched down to the beach
to rest.
The battalions as they tramped back to the
shore again were very different in appearance
from those that had marched up from it less
than a week before. Officers and men alike
were dirty and unshaven, for water had been
precious, and the sweat dried on the face, and the
five days' growth of stubble told plainly of the
hardships they had been through. Even more
clearly did the eyes tell it, and the worn cheeks
and leanness of limb. Clothes and boots had
not been taken off since landing, and both were
soiled with sweat and blood. There were
many gaps in the ranks : death, wounds and
sickness had taken their toll, and nearly every
man had to mourn for a lost comrade, yet for
all the sorrow and the weariness there was
something in the men's bearing that was not
there before. When they landed they were
full of high hopes and eager to justify splendid
traditions, but they were untried. Now they
had proved themselves, and faced the future
filled with confidence gained from their own
deeds. The move began on the loth and was
completed when the 7th Dublins marched down
on the 13th;
i6o THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
On the beach, though the comfort of the rest-
camp was nothing to boast of, men were at
least able to wash and shave, though the
amount of fresh water available for this purpose
was limited, and the man who got a mugful
was lucky. Even so, most hurried to remove
the long stubble that covered their chins, for a
five days' old beard is not only unsightly, but
uncomfortable, pricking and tickling the skin
at every movement, and harbouring any
quantity of dust and sand. Fortunately too,
though fresh water was scarce, the sea was at
hand, and it was possible to bathe. Some poet
should sing of the delight of bathing in Gallipoli.
Not even Mr. Masefield has done it justice.
In the water one could for the first time be cool
and free from care, though not from danger.
By day the water sparkled in the sunshine :
at night the form of the swimmer was outlined in
phosphorescence and great bubbles of glowing
light broke round him as he moved, and by day
and night alike the bather could free himself
from the burden of responsibility which weighed
him down on shore. As Antaeus renewed his
strength whenever he touched the earth, so the
Island people gained fresh stores of endurance
from a dip in the sea. In the water, too, all
men were equal, and rank could be laid aside.
After resting for a day or so on the beach, and
receiving the first reinforcement which had just
arrived from Mudros, the loth Division (less
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION i6i
29th Brigade) concentrated on the Kiretch
Tepe Sirt, General Hill's force once more coming
under the command of Divisional Headquarters.
As General Birdwood had reported that Anzac
was not yet in a position to co-operate in an
attack on Ismail Oglu Tepe, it was decided to
occupy the Turks by attacking along the crest
of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt, and thus rendering it
impossible for them to bring an enfilade fire
to bear against our operations on the Anafarta
plain. This attack was to be made on August
15th, and the loth Division was ordered to
undertake it. They were to be assisted on their
left by the guns of two destroyers in the Gulf of
Saros, and on their right by the 162nd Brigade
of the 54th Territorial Division. Artillery sup-
port was also, of course, arranged for. The task
before the Division was one of considerable
difficulty since the enemy occupied a strongly
entrenched position, and was known to have
received large reinforcements. However, wait-
ing would only make him stronger, and everyone
was pleased at the prospect of action.
The 15th of August was not only a Sunday,
but also the day known in Ireland as '' Lady
Day in Harvest,'' a great Church festival, and
the chaplains had endeavoured to arrange
services for their battalions. These had to be
hurried through or attended only by the few
who could be spared, but nevertheless Canon
McLean was able to adminster Holy Communion
M
i62 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
to some of the officers and men of the Dublins,
and Father Murphy visited each battalion of
the 30th Brigade and gave the men absolution.
Then at peace with God they turned their
faces again towards the enemy.
The dispositions adopted for the attack were
as follows : The 30th Brigade (Dublins and
Munsters) were to form the left wing of the
advance, with the extreme left of the 7th
Munsters resting on the Gulf of Saros. They
thus covered the whole of the northern and part
of the southern slope of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt.
To their right two battalions of the 31st Brigade
were to advance through the southern foothills
of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt and across the open
plain to attack a spur known as Kidney Hill,
which jutted out southward from the main
chain of the ridge. The 5th and 6th Royal
Irish Fusiliers and the 7th Royal Dublin
Fusiliers were in reserve.
Soon after noon the attack commenced, and
it was at once evident that the Turks were
holding their position in strength, the volume
of fire which they were bringing to bear on our
men being infinitely greater than that which
had greeted us at the first landing. A captured
Turkish officer afterwards declared that they
had in their firing line six fresh battalions,
each possessing twelve machine-guns. The rattle
of these seventy-two guns was painfully pro-
minent, and made it clear that the advance
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 163
would be a costly one. The actual crest of the
hill was a bare rocky ridge covered with great
scattered boulders running for about a mile-
and-a-half at a height of six hundred feet above
sea level. Part of the ridge rose about fifty
feet higher than this, and from this central
portion three small eminences stood out. The
central one of these was known as the " Pimple/'
and was marked by a cairn of stones.
The Division had gained a footing on the
western end of the ridge on August 8th by captur-
ing the position afterwards known as Jephson's
Post, and now the Turkish trenches ran across
the hill between that point and the '' Pimple."
On the northern face the slope fell steeply away
from the crest, so steeply as to be almost pre-
cipitous until it reached a height of three hun-
dred feet above sea-level, from which contour
the descent to the sea was more gradual though
the ground was intersected by numerous gullies.
On the southern face the hill also fell away
rapidly for about three hundred feet, after
which the descent became more easy, and various
knolls and foot-hills detached themselves from
the main range. Both slopes of the hill were
covered with thick dry scrub, which had in
a few places been set on fire either by matches
or shells, and consequently had become black-
ened. This prickly scrub was a great impedi-
ment to movement of any kind and rendered
all operations painfully slow.
i64 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
For more than two hours after the commence-
ment of the action, but little ground was gained.
The enemy's rifle and machine-gun fire was well
sustained, and efficiently supported by artillery,
and it was considered rash to advance until
a fire fight had done somewhat to silence the
Turks. During this stage of the action. Major
Jephson, of the 6th Munsters, was mortally
wounded on the peak that, a week earlier, had
received his name, and several other casualties
occurred among officers and men. At last,
General Nicol, seeing that the Turkish fire
showed no signs of slackening, and that darkness
would soon make further operations impossible,
directed that an attempt to advance should be
made along the northern slope of the ridge. The
order was at once complied with. Two com-
panies of the 6th Munsters and two of the 6th
Dublins pressed forward accordingly, and
succeeded, thanks to a piece of dead ground,
in traversing about half of the five hundred
yards that lay between Jephson's Post and the
Turkish line of defence.
There for a while they rested, and then
about 6 p.m. with the setting sun at their
backs they charged the Turkish positions.
Crags' and scrub and cliff were as nothing
to them, nor did they regard the hostile fire but
rushed on with gleaming bayonets in the force
of an irresistible attack. Few of the Turks
stayed to meet them, and those that did were
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 165
in no mood to receive the charge, but held up
their hands and surrendered. Then as the
Dublins and Munsters, Major Tynte of the 6th
Munsters at their head, gained the enemy's
position, they gave a rousing cheer. It was
taken up by the troops in support and by all
who watched the magnificent charge until from
the Gulf of Saros to the Salt Lake the air
resounded with the shouts of victory. There
had not been much cause for cheering at Suvla,
and the sight of the dashing attack and the sound
of the Irish triumph cry, thrilled the hearts
of many who had previously been despondent,
and awakened hope once more in their breasts.
Most surprising of all was its effect on the Turks.
They had been heavily bombarded by the
destroyers, they had seen a position that they
believed impregnable taken with the bayonet,
and now with the magic of the cries of the
infidels ringing in their ears, they abandoned
their trenches and retired in haste.
The Dublins and Munsters pursued and drove
them before them until the whole of the northern
slope of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt as far as and even
beyond the '' Pimple " was cleared. The men
were disappointed that more of the enemy did
not stay to face them. One soldier was heard
to cry to a stout Turk who fled before him :
" I don't want to stick ye behind. Turn round
now and I'll stick ye in the belly dacent."
Then, as night was falling and nearly a mile
i66 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of ground had been gained, a halt was called
so that the captured position might be con-
solidated.
On the right, meanwhile, the attack had
unfortunately been less successful. The main
attack on Kidney Hill had been entrusted to
the 5th Inniskilling Fusiliers, who, owing to
the fact that they had not disembarked till
evening of the 7th, had sustained fewer casualties
than the rest of the Division ; it was to be
supported by the 6th Battahon of the same
regiment. The Inniskillings had probably the
most difficult task of any unit before them.
On the seaward side of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt
the guns of the destroyers were of tremendous
assistance to the attack, but they were unable
to fire over the ridge. The remainder of our
artillery, especially the mountain batteries, did
their best to keep down the enemy's fire, but they
were shooting at a venture since the exact
position of the enemy's trenches was not
accurately known. In consequence of this
comparatively little had been done to prevent
the Turks on Kidney Hill from bringing their
full rifle and machine-gun fire to bear on our
advance. The nature of the ground, too, lent
little help to the attackers. Though the scrub
was thick and prickly enough to break up the
advancing lines into small groups, and to
render it impossible for an officer to influence
any more than the four or five men who hap-
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 167
pened to be in sight of him, yet on the plain it
grew in scattered clumps. Between these
clumps were patches of sand or withered grass,
on which the enemy were able to concentrate
their rifle and machine-gun fire. Added to
this, the fact that from the surrounding hills
the Turkish gunners could see every detail
of the advance over the plain (khaki drill shows
up clearly in the Gallipoli scrub) and could
spray it with shrapnel and high explosive,
made the operation three times as difficult.
Nor was there any distraction elsewhere in
the Suvla area. The hostile artillery was able
to concentrate its whole force on the Innis-
killings.
At noon the battalion began its advance,
" A *' and " D '* Companies leading. There
lay before them a gradual ascent dotted with
scrub for about two hundred yards, and then
half-a-mile of flat ground, from which Kidney
Hill rose abruptly.
The Turkish trenches were invisible and
consequently there was little attempt to subdue
the enemy by a fire fight. The platoons went
straight forward, racing over the exposed
patches, losing officers and men at every step.
The fire grew hotter and hotter and men fell
more and more quickly, but still the front line
pressed only to be swept out of existence.
The distance was too far to cover in a single
rush, and no troops in the world could cross
i68 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
the five hundred yards in front of the enemy's
trenches at a walk and live. The supports
came up and another attempt was made, but
again the lines melted away. The task was
one impossible of achievement, for it is now
known that against modern weapons in the
hands of an undemoralised enemy, a frontal
attack by daylight on an entrenched position
a thousand yards away is certain to fail. Yet
even when they had failed, the 5th Inniskillings
did not fall back. Nearly all the officers were
down, but little groups of men still clustered
in the bushes waiting for orders. They could
not advance ; they would not retire until they
were told to. Lieutenant G. B. Lyndon, of
the 6th Inniskillings, went out after sunset
and collected many of these little parties and
brought them in. For this he received the
Military Cross. Invaluable service, too, was
done by the stretcher-bearers of the battalions
and field ambulances, who here, as everywhere,
showed themselves fearless and tireless in the
performance of their duties.
The casualty list was a terribly heavy one.
Colonel Vanrenen, of the 5th Inniskillings, was
killed, and so were Captain Robinson, Captain
Vernon, Lieutenant McCormack, Lieutenant
Nelis, and Lieutenant Grubb of the same unit.
Both its Majors were wounded, together with
two captains and nearly a dozen subalterns.
The losses among the rank and file were in
1^
< .%
y t
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 169
proportion, and the whole organisation of the
regiment was temporarily shattered. The 6th
Inniskillings, who were in support, had been
heavily shelled, but had been lucky in escaping
severe loss.
The result of the failure of the right attack was
that while we held the northern slope of the
Kiretch Tepe Sirt up to and even beyond the
Pimple, yet on the Southern face of the hill we
had been unable to advance our line much
beyond the trenches which we held when opera-
tions on the 15th began. As a consequence,
the line held by the Division somewhat re-
sembled a Z. The upper horizontal was repre-
sented by a line of trench running from the
Gulf of Saros to the most advanced point on
the crest of the ridge that was reached by the
charge of the 6th Munsters and ^ 6th Dublins.
This trench was exposed to fire not only from
the hills which continued the line of the Kiretch
Tepe Sirt eastward, but also from a spur known
as 103, which ran northwards into the sea.
The diagonal joining the two horizontals of
the Z was represented by a line running
along the northern or seaward slope of Kiretch
Tepe Sirt just below the crest. The crest
itself, since it was liable to be swept by shrapnel
and machine-gun fire, and since its rocky
nature made it difficult to entrench, was not
held except at the lower horizontal, which
represented the trench running past Jephson's
170 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Post, from which the attack had begun. The
position thus created was clearly far harder to
hold than if it had been merely a trench running
across the ridge from North to South, and
would obviously require far more men. The
two battalions from the Reserve were, therefore,
called up without delay.
The 7th Dublins had begun to move forward
already, and were advancing under circum-
stances of some difficulty. The enemy's artil-
lery were shelling the line behind our position
with considerable vigour, and in addition snipers
were more than usually active. One of these
pests, who was ensconced in a bush, succeeded
in shooting Colonel Downing in the foot, and
though the Colonel promptly retaliated with
his revolver, and insisted that the wound was
trivial, he found himself unable to walk and
was compelled to leave his beloved battalion.
Major Harrison took over command of the
Unit.
After the reserves came up, the dispositions
made for the defence of the line running just
below the crest of the Kiretch Tepe Sirt were
as follows : — The extreme end to the eastward
was held by the 6th Royal Irish Fusiliers ;
next to them came the 6th Munsters, and
beyond them '' D/' " A " and " C " Companies
of the 7th Dublins. " B '' Company of the
last-named regiment had been sent down the
hill on the seaward side to dig a trench covering
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 171
Hill 103. The 6th Dublins, who had sustained
heavy losses in the charge, were withdrawn to
rest. These dispositions were adopted just
before nightfall. The soil of the ridge was too
stony to admit of much entrenching, and in
most cases the men lay down on their arms
just behind the crest on the seaward side,
though in one or two spots stone sangars were
constructed. They were given but little time
to work before they were attacked. The know-
ledge that no advance had been made on any
part of the plain below made it possible for the
enemy to employ a large proportion of his
reserves in the recovery of the ground lost on
the Kiretch Tepe Sirt, while the fact that the
Southern slope of the hill was still in his posses-
sion enabled him to push men along it to attack
any portion of our long, thinly-held line at
close quarters.
The first of the hostile counter-attacks began
about 10 p.m., when a wave of Turks who had
crept along the landward slope and up to the
crest in silence, burst over it with a yell and
fell upon the British line. Fortunately, our
men were not taken by surprise ; a roar of
musketry at close range received the enemy,
and when it came to bayonet work our morale
proved more than sufficient to dispose of the
foe. After a stiff fight, the attackers dis-
appeared over the crest leaving a good propor-
tion of their numbers behind them on the
172 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
ground. Listening posts were then sent out
to the further side of the ridge in order to
preclude the possibiHty of a surprise attack
succeeding, and the remainder of the tired men
lay down again, rifle in hand to secure as much
rest as possible.
Little sleep was allowed them. Before the
first light of the early summer dawn began to
appear in the sky, the listening posts were
driven in, and a fresh Turkish attack was made.
On this occasion the assault was led by bomb-
throwers, and although those who crossed the
crest and came to close quarters were disposed
of by the Irish with rifle and bayonet, yet a
considerable force of the enemy, well-furnished
with grenades, succeeded in establishing them-
selves on the southern slope of the Kiretch
Tepe Sirt. From this position they proceeded
to bomb the whole length of our line incessantly,
throwing the grenades over the crest of the
ridge so that they burst in the midst of our
ranks with deadly effect. Had the Fusiliers
been in possession of enough bombs they could
have retaliated in kind, but the few that they
had were quickly used, and no more were
forthcoming. Even if they had been, the con-
test would scarcely have been a fair one, since
the grenade employed by the Turks in Gallipoli
was infinitely superior to that issued to the
British. The latter was an extemporised pro-
duction, consisting of a detonator inserted
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 173
in a jam tin and furnished with a fuse, which
had to be lighted with a match.
The Turkish bomb, which was shaped like a
cricket-ball, was both more accurately fused and
easier to throw. However, could they have been
obtained, the Dublins and Munsters and Irish
Fusiliers would have been glad even of jam-tins,
since they would have enabled them to make
some reply to the enemy. Rifles and bayonets
were useless against an invisible foe, on the
other side of a rocky ridge. The two forces
were, to use a homely comparison, in the
position of men sitting in the gutters of a house
and fighting across the roof. Under these
circumstances grenades were obviously the most
effective weapon, and the side that lacked
them suffered from an appalling handicap.
As day broke, officers were able to take stock
of the situation, though the sight that met
their eyes was not encouraging. On every side
men had fallen, and the strain on the survivors
was appalling, for the rain of bombs still
continued. Here and there individual officers
organised attempts to drive the enemy back
at the point of the bayonet, but without success.
A description of one of these efforts will serve
to make clear the fate with which they met.
Major Harrison, of the 7th Dublins, finding that
his line was becoming dangerously thin, deter-
mined to try the effect of a charge. He selected
for this purpose a party of ** D *' Company,
174 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
*' The Pals/' under the command of Captain
Poole Hickman.
The men were only too delighted at the
prospect of action, and charged fearlessly
up the hill. As they appeared on the crest,
however, they were met by a storm of con-
centrated rifle and machine-gun fire. Captain
Poole Hickman fell mortally wounded, but
Major Harrison rushed forward bareheaded and
took his place, leading his men on till they
reached the Turkish line. There he was struck
by a grenade thrown at close quarters, and of
all the gallant spirits who had followed him so
pluckily only four made their way back over the
crest to their battalions. Similar charges
made elsewhere met with similar results ; in
some cases a whole platoon disappeared and
was never seen again. Among the officers
who were lost in this way were Captain Grant,
6th Munsters, and Lieutenant Crichton, 7th
Dublins. It was obvious that to cross the
crest by daylight meant death, since the Turks
had been able to instal machine-guns in positions
that enfiladed it.
Since advance was impossible, the troops were
compelled to remain on their position, exposed
to a perpetual fire of grenades, to which they
had no means of replying. The sun rose higher
in the sky and reached the zenith and still the
bombing went on without intermission, and the
men of the loth Division continued to suffer
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 175
and endure. The faces of dead comrades,
lying at their sides, stiffened and grew rigid,
and the flies gathered in clouds to feast on their
blood, while from the ridge in front came the
groans of the wounded, whom it was impossible
to succour. The men lying behind the crest
knew that at any moment a similar fate might
come to any of them, and they might fall a
shattered corpse, or be carried back moaning,
but still they held on. The unceasing noise
of the bursting grenades, the smell of death,
the sight of suffering, wore their nerves to
tatters, but worst of all was the feeling that they
were helpless, unable to strike a blow to ward
off death and revenge their comrades.
It is by no means easy to realise what the
men felt during this ordeal. Perhaps the
strongest emotion was not the sense of duty,
the prompting of pride, or even the fear of
imminent death, but blind, helpless rage. In
a charge or an advance a soldier rarely feels
anger. His whole soul is concentrated on
reaching a definite objective, and though he
is prepared to kill anyone who stands in his
way, he does so without passion. The exulta-
tion born from rapid movement, the thrill
produced by the sense of achievement, banish
all personal feelings. But lying on the ridge
under the pitiless bombing, watching the
mangled bodies of the dead, men had time
to think, and the fruit of their thoughts and
176 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of their impotence was black and bitter
hatred of the enemy. They were ready to
run any risk in order to do something to hurt
him.
Some tried to catch the Turkish bombs as
they were faUing and throw them back into
the enemy's lines before they exploded. Five
times Private Wilkin, of the 7th Dublins,
performed this feat, but at the sixth attempt
he was blown to pieces. Elsewhere men,
sooner than lie impotent, took up stones and
hurled them at the foe. Everywhere the few
remaining officers moved about among their
men, calming the over-eager, encouraging the
weary, giving an example of calmness and
leadership, of which the land that bore them
may well be proud. In doing this they made
themselves a mark for the inevitable snipers,
who by now had ensconced themselves in
coigns of vantage on the crest of the ridge,
and many died there. Thus fell Capt. Tobin,
of the 7th Dublins, a man greatly beloved.
Here, too, fell Lieut. Fitzgibbon and Lieut.
Weatherill, of the same regiment. Fitzgibbon,
a son of the Nationalist M.P. for South Mayo,
who, in the black days of Ireland's past had
had many a dispute with the forces of the law,
and had now sent his son to die gloriously
in the King's uniform ; Weatherill, a boy who
had made himself conspicuous in a very gallant
battalion for courage. Here, too, many other
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 177
heroic souls laid down their lives, but still
the line held on.
The sun reached the west and began to sink ;
the ranks were thin, the men were weary, and
many mangled bodies lay along the fatal
ridge. The 6th Royal Irish Fusiliers, exposed
both in front and in flank, had been practically
annihilated. Their 5th Battalion came up to
reinforce them and shared their fate. Three
officers of this regiment. Captains Panton and
Kidd, and 2nd-Lieut. Heuston, earned the
Military Cross by the inspiring example they
gave on this occasion. The last-named was
reported as '' wounded and missing,'' and was
probably killed in this fight. Nearly all the
officers of the Irish Fusiliers had fallen, and the
other regiments were in nearly as bad a case ;
but still the line held on. Tired and hungry and
thirsty as they were, unable to strike a blow
in their own defence, yet still the men of the
loth Division were resolved not to retire a step
until the order to do so came. They were but
young soldiers, who had had less than a year's
training, and had received their baptism of
fire only a week earlier ; but they were de-
termined that however stern the ordeal they
would not disgrace their regiments.
In old days, in the thick of a hard-contested
struggle, men rallied round the colours — ^the
visible symbol of the regimental honour. There
were no colours to rally round on the slope of
N
178 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
the Kiretch Tepe Sirt, but the regimental name
was a talisman that held the battered ranks
to their ground. Their regiments had in the
past won great glory, but neither the men of
the 87th who cleared the pine woods of Barrosa
with the cry of " Faugh a Ballagh ! " nor the
Dublins and Munsters who leapt from the bows
of the '' River Clyde " into certain death, need
blush to own comradeship with their newly-
raised Service Battalions, who died on the
Kiretch Tepe Sirt.
Darkness at last fell, and the sorely-tried
men hoped for relief. This was indeed at hand,
though it did not take the form of fresh troops.
None were available, so the units of the division
who had suffered heavily in the charge of the
previous day, and who had had less than
twenty-four hours' rest, were called up again.
The 6th Dublins, and with them the 5th Royal
Irish (Pioneers), took over the line of the ridge
from the battalions who had held it so stoutly.
Nor were their sufferings less, for throughout
the night the bombing continued, and our men
were still unable to make any effective retalia-
tion. Many officers and men fell, but the re-
mainder set their teeth and held their ground,
until at last they received the order to withdraw
from the untenable position. Not a man
moved until he received the order, and then
slowly, deliberately, almost reluctantly, they
retired. Bullets fell thickly among them, and
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 179
took a heavy toll, one of those killed
being 2nd-Lieut. W. Nesbitt, a young officer of
the 6th Dublins, who, though junior in rank,
had made a tremendous impression by his
character, and had earned the name of " the
Soul of the Battalion." Before he was hit,
the 6th Dublins had had Major Preston and their
Adjutant, Capt. Richards, killed, and in the
course of these operations three subalterns,
2nd-Lieut. Clery, 2nd-Lieut. Stanton, and 2nd-
Lieut. McGarry, were reported missing. Pro-
bably they died in some unseen struggle, and
their bones now lie in a nameless, but honoured
grave on the field where their regiment won
such fame.
Gradually the shattered units withdrew to
their original line, but when the roll was called
there were many names unanswered. The
charge on the 15th had cost many lives, the
holding of the captured position very many
more, and yet all the effort and all the suffering
seemed to have been futile. The loth Division
had been shattered, the work of a year had been
destroyed in a week, and nothing material
had been gained. Yet all was not in vain. It
is no new thing for the sons of Ireland to perish
in a forlorn hope and a fruitless struggle ;
they go forth to battle only to fall, yet there
springs from their graves a glorious memory
for the example of future generations. Kiretch
Tepe Sirt was a little-known fight in an unlucky
i8o THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
campaign, but if the young soldiers of the loth
Division who died there added a single leaf
to Ireland's crown of cypress and laurel, their
death was not in vain.
CHAPTER VII
KABA KUYU AND HILL 6o
" Oh, bad the march, the weary march, beneath these aUen skies.
But good the night, the friendly night, that soothes our tired eyes ;
And bad the war, the weary war, that keeps us waiting here.
But good the hour, the friendly hour, that brings the battle near.'*
— Emily Lawless.
AFTER the close of the battle of Sari Bair,
the 29th Brigade of the loth Division
was in urgent need of re-organisation.
The Brigade Staff had ceased to exist, and the
Hampshires and Rifles were in almost as bad
a case, since almost every officer was killed or
wounded. The Leinsters, though they had
sustained serious losses, had still a fair number
of senior officers left, and the Connaught
Rangers had suffered less severely, having up
to the nth only lost five officers. The latter
unit was therefore retained in the front line,
while the other battalions were withdrawn to
refit.
Throughout the nth the Rangers held the
line, which had been entrenched by two of
their companies on the loth, between the foot
of Rhododendron Ridge and the north-eastern
extremity of the Damakjelik Bair. This line,
181
i82 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
based on two natural ravines, was a strong one,
but General Cayley considered that it was too
far in rear, and accordingly after sunset on the
nth the Battalion advanced to an underfeature
at the foot of the Chunuk Bair, and commenced
to dig in there. The advance was by no means
an easy one, since it had been impossible to
make a detailed reconnaissance of the ground
over which it had to take place, as by day it
was exposed to the enemy's fire from the Chunuk.
In consequence of this the left flank unexpected-
ly found themselves descending a slope so steep
that it was almost a precipice. Fortunately,
there were bushes at the bottom to break the
fall of those whose feet slipped, and if the bushes
happened to be prickly ones, well, it was no
good complaining about trifles in Gallipoli.
The position when reached was not an ideal
one. Though protected to a certain extent from
bullets from the Chunuk, it did not afford a
very good field of fire, and lack of shelter from
the sun, shortage of water, and the smell
proceeding from a gully full of corpses, combined
to make the position of those holding it un-
pleasant. The greatest disadvantage, however,
was the fact that the only avenue of approach
to the trench line was the Aghyl Dere, which
was swept by a hostile machine-gun. Supplies
and ammunition had to be carried up under
cover of darkness, and everyone who went up
or down by daylight was obliged to run the
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 183
gauntlet for about three hundred yards. Several
casualties were caused while doing this, among
the sufferers being the senior Captain of the
Rangers, Captain Hog, who received the wound
from which he died in this manner. He was
a man of forty-five years of age, who had served
in the ist Battalion of the Rangers in South
Africa, and had rejoined from the Reserve of
Officers at the beginning of the war. Though
double the age of some of his comrades, he had
set them a magnificent example by the way in
which he accepted hardships, and the loyalty
with which he submitted to the commands of
men younger than himself.
The hardships were by this time considerable,
since officers and men alike were reduced to
bully beef and biscuits. It had been impossible
to bring any mess stores to the Peninsula, and
though each officer had stuffed a tin of sardines,
or some potted meat into his haversack, these
did not last long, and the rather reduced ration
of a tin of bully beef and four biscuits per dum
was all that was obtainable by anyone. Cooking
was practically impossible, though occasionally
one got a cup of tea, and men ate at odd
moments, seldom sitting down to a regular
meal. It was noticeable that on the whole
the single men stood this discomfort better
than those who were married. In part, no
doubt, this was due to the fact that they were
younger, but some of the oldest men proved
i84 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
to be the toughest. One old sergeant, who
had marched to Kandahar with Lord Roberts
in 1879, went through the whole Gallipoli
campaign with the Division, and also through
the operations in Serbia in December without
once going sick. The married men were more
used to being looked after, to having their
comfort considered, and to decent cooking,
and to regular meals, and the semi-barbaric
existence upset them. Those who stood it
best were the tinkers, members of that strange
nomad tribe who in Ireland take the place of
the English gipsies. It was no new thing
for them to eat sparingly, and sleep under the
stars, and their previous life made it easy for
them to adapt themselves to circumstances.
For three days the Rangers held this position,
and during this period the re-organisation of
the Brigade proceeded. The only Battalion
Commander left unhurt was Lieutenant-Colonel
Jourdain, of the Connaught Rangers, who took
over command as a temporary measure, but
on the 13th he was succeeded by Lieutenant-
Colonel G. K. Agnew, M.V.O., D.S.O., Royal
Scots Fusiliers. Captain R. V. Pollok, 15th
Hussars, was appointed Brigade Major, and on
August 20th, Captain R. J. H. Shaw, 5th
Connaught Rangers, took up the post of Staff
Captain. The officers and men of the first
reinforcement who had been left at Mudros
rejoined their units on the nth, and were very
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 185
welcome. In two cases officers arriving with
this draft found themselves in command of
their battalions, since Major Morley, of the
Hampshires, and Captain R. de R. Rose, of
the Rifles, were senior to any of the few sur-
viving officers of their units. The task before
them was by no means a light one, for the whole
company organisation had been destroyed, and
nearly all the officers and senior N.C.O/s were
hors de combat. However, they buckled to it
with a will, and every suitable man received
temporary promotion.
On August 13th, the Connaught Rangers
were withdrawn from the line they were holding
and given four days' rest, which was, of course,
broken by numerous demands for fatigues.
It is the universal experience of soldiers that
in this war one never works so hard as when
one is supposed to be resting. On the 17th
they relieved the 6th South Lancashire and
6th East Lancashire Regiments in trenches,
which they held for three days, and considerably
strengthened. On the 20th they were with-
drawn from these trenches, and ordered to
hold themselves in readiness to join General
Cox's Brigade and take part in an attack on
the following day.
This attack had been planned in order to
co-operate with the movements at Suvla. Re-
inforcements in the shape of the 29th Division
from Cape Helles, and the 2nd Mounted Division
i86 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
(without their horses) from Egypt, had arrived
there, and an attack on Ismail Oglu Tepe had
been planned. This steep, thickly-wooded hill
acted as buttress to Koja Chemen Tepe, and
as it overlooked the whole of the Suvla Plain,
afforded a valuable observation post to the
enemy's artillery. With it in our hands we
should not only be able to interrupt communi-
cation between the two Anafartas, but would
have gained a valuable point d'appui for any
further attack.
Communication between the Anzac and Suvla
forces had been obtained on the 13th at Susuk
Kuyu, north of the Asmak Dere, but it hung
by a narrow thread. It was therefore decided
that simultaneously with the attack on Ismail
Oglu Tepe, General Birdwood should attack
the Turkish trenches north of him, and en-
deavour to win enough ground to safeguard
inter-communication. The execution of this
operation was entrusted to Major-General Cox,
who was allotted the whole of his own Indian
Brigade, two battalions of New Zealand
Mounted Rifles, the 4th South Wales Borderers
from the nth Division, and the 5th Connaught
Rangers and loth Hampshires from the 29th
Brigade. All these units had suffered heavily
in the fighting a fortnight before, and the
Indian Brigade in particular was terribly handi-
capped by the fact that it had lost almost all
its British officers.
r
m
2 s
.8
< s
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 187
The objective of this attack was contained
in the saHent enclosed by the sea on the
west, and the DamakjeHk Bair on the south.
A thin Hne of outposts close to the sea
connected Anzac and Suvla, but the low
ground which they held was commanded
by a hill known as Kaiajik Aghala, or Hill 60.
At the point where this eminence began to rise
in a gentle slope from the plain, about four
hundred yards north of the Damakjelik, stood
two wells called Kaba Kuyu. These wells
were extremely valuable to the Turks, since
they, too, were short of water, and it was
against them that the first stages of the attack
were to be directed. There was, indeed, no
object for which any man in the rank and file
would more willingly fight in Gallipoli in
August than a well. At the same time the
wells, which the Turks were known to have
entrenched, were not the sole objective. The
capture of Hill 60 was extremely desirable,
since not only did it menace inter-communica-
tion between Suvla and Anzac, but with it
in our hands we should be in a position to
enfilade a considerable portion of the Turkish
forces, which were opposing the attack from
Suvla. General Cox disposed of his forces as
follows. On the extreme left the 5th Ghurkas
were to sweep across the low ground near the
sea and get in touch with the right flank of
the Suvla force. In the centre, the 5th Con-
i88 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
naught Rangers were to deploy in a gully of
the Damakjelik Bair, known as South Wales
Borderers' Gully, and charge across three hun-
dred yards of open ground to capture the wells.
On the right, the two battalions of New Zea-
landers, under Brigadier-General Russell, form-
ing up behind the trenches on Damakjelik
Bair were to make an attack on Hill 60 direct.
Still further to the right a feint attack, intended
to draw off the Turkish reserves, was to be
executed by the loth Hampshire Regiment.
The remainder of the force was in reserve.
The Connaught Rangers reached South Wales
Borderers* Gully after dark on the 20th and
bivouacked there for the night. As the attack
was not to be launched till 3 p.m. on the 21st,
they had a long wait before them, but there was
plenty to be done. Officers spent the morning
in visiting the trenches held by the South
Wales Borderers on Damakjelik Bair and in-
specting their objective through a periscope,
for the enemy snipers were too active to permit
of any direct observation. The Turks had
constructed a trench in front of the wells to
guard them, which was connected with their
main position by a communication trench
improvised from a deep water course which
ran eastward. To the northward a sunken
road led from the wells in the direction of
Anafarta. No barbed wire appeared to have
been erected, but it was obvious that the crest
of Hill 60 was strongly entrenched and held.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 189
After this reconnaissance, orders were issued
for the attack, and while they were being pre-
pared, officers and men alike were receiving
the consolations of religion. For the Church
of England men, the Rev. J. W. Crozier cele-
brated Holy Communion ; and Father O'Connor
gave absolution to his flock. The bullets of
snipers were whistling overhead, and ploughed
furrows through the ground as the men knelt
in prayer and listened to the message of peace
and comfort delivered by the tall khaki-clad
figure. In a few hours they were to plunge
into a hand-to-hand struggle with the old
enemy of Christendom, and their pulses throbbed
with the spirit of Tancred and Godfrey de
Bouillon, as they fitted themselves to take
their places in the last of the Crusades.
Nor was encouragement from their Generals
lacking. Two hours before the advance was
due to begin, Major-General Godley visited the
gully and addressed as many of the men as
could be collected. His speech was not a long
one, but he told them what he expected them
to do. One regiment had already failed to
capture the wells ; now the Rangers were to
do it with the cold steel. The men were not
permitted to cheer, but their faces showed
their feelings. General Godley, himself an
Irishman, showed an intimate knowledge of
the Irish character by delivering this address.
The knowledge that the credit of their regiment
igo THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
was at stake and that the eyes of their leaders
were on them, was sufficient to nerve every
man to do his utmost. As a matter of fact,
the spirit of the men was excellent ; though
dysentery and enteric were raging not a man
reported sick that morning for fear of missing
the fight.
At 2 p.m. the men paraded and worked
slowly forward to the old Turkish trench
running across the mouth of the gully from
which the attack was to be launched. There
was only sufficient frontage for a platoon at a
time to extend, so the advance was to be made
by successive waves of platoons, " C '' Company
leading, followed by " D," whilst "A" and
'* B '' Companies were kept in support. Though
every precaution was taken to avoid making
dust and so attracting the attention of the
Turks, yet bullets were continually falling
among the men, and two officers were wounded
before the hour to advance arrived. This was
prefaced b}^ a violent bombardment of the
enemy's position, conducted not onty by the
batteries at Anzac, but also by the monitors
in the Gulf of Saros, which were in a position
that enabled them to enfilade the enemy's
line. The noise and dust were terrific, but most
of the Turks were well under cover and did not
suffer seriously.
Meanwhile, the men waited. A hundred
years earlier an officer of the Connaught
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 191
Rangers had described the appearance and
feeUng of his battaHon as they stood awaiting
the signal that was to call them to the assault
of the great breach of Ciudad Rodrigo, and
his description might have been fitted to their
descendants in Gallipoli. Here and there a
man murmured a prayer or put up a hand to
grasp his rosary, but for the most part they
waited silent and motionless till the order to
advance was given. At last, at 3.40, the
bombardment ceased, the word came, and the
leading platoon dashed forw^ard with a yell like
hounds breaking covert. They were met with
a roar of rifle fire, coming not only from the
trench attacked, but also from Hill 60, and
from snipers concealed in the scattered bushes.
Not a man stopped to return it ; all dashed on
with levelled bayonets across the four hundred
yards of open country, each man striving to be
the first into the enemy's trench. That honour
fell to the platoon commander, Second-Lieuten-
ant T. W. G. Johnson, who had gained Amateur
International Colours for Ireland at Association
Football, and was a bad man to beat across
country. Rifle and bayonet in hand, he made
such good use of his lead that before his platoon
caught him up he had bayoneted six Turks and
shot two more. For these and other gallant
deeds he was awarded the Military Cross.
The Turks stood their ground well, but suc-
cumbed to superior numbers, for soon the
192 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
supporting platoons came up, while '' D '*
Company moving more to the left was pro-
longing the line in that direction. The whole
of the trenches guarding the wells, together
with the wells themselves, were now in the
hands of the Rangers, while the communication
trench leading to Hill 60 was cleared and
blocked, and the two companies in support
were moved forward.
Meanwhile the New Zealanders' attack on
Hill 60 was not making quite such satisfactory
progress. The hill was both fortified with care
and held in strength by the enemy, and though
General Russell had succeeded in making a
lodgment at its foot, he was unable to get
further. The Rangers had been ordered, after
seizing the wells, to do their utmost to assist
his attack, and accordingly '' A *' Company
was detailed to advance and attack the western
slopes of the hill. By this time companies
had become very mixed, and the charge was
composed of a crowd of men belonging to all
the companies, mad with the lust for battle.
Their officers did little to restrain them, for
their Irish blood was aflame, and they were
as eager as the men. The line surged up the
bare exposed glacis, only to encounter tre-
mendously heavy rifle and machine-gun fire from
the crest. At the same moment the enemy's
guns opened, displaying marvellous accuracy in
ranging, and the attack was annihilated.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 193
In spite of this the men went on as long as
they were able to stand, and fell still facing
the foe. From the wells below their bodies
could be seen, lying in ordered ranks on the
hillside, with their bayonets pointing to the
front.
It was clear that further advance was im-
possible, and it only remained for the survivors
to consolidate the captured position, which
was now being heavily shelled. At 5.15 p.m.
the 5th Ghurkas, who had been unable to
advance earlier in the afternoon, came up and
took over the left flank, including the sunken
road running towards Anafarta. The Rangers
were then concentrated near the wells, which
they protected by a sandbag barricade, while
steps were taken to get in touch with General
Russell's New Zealanders, who were digging
themselves in at the foot of Hill 60, a little
further to the east. A portion of the gap
between them and the Rangers was bridged by
the captured Turkish communication trench,
and a sap to cover the remainder was begun
at once.
Contrary to anticipation, the enemy did
not launch a counter-attack to endeavour to
recapture the wells, but their artillery was
taking a heavy toll of the conquerors, and
officers and men were falling fast. The Ad-
jutant of the Rangers, Captain Maling, an
officer to whose judgment and courage the
194 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
battalion owed an incalculable debt, was severely
wounded here, and the Sergeant-Major, who
had joined in the charge, had already been
carried off with a wound in his leg. *' D "
Company had only one officer left, and its
sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant had
fallen, while '' C '* Company had had all its
officers hit, two of them fatally. Nevertheless,
the men worked hard to put their position in
a good state of defence, and before nightfall
their object was achieved. At 7 p.m. communi-
cation with the New Zealanders was obtained,
and two platoons under Lieutenant Blake
effected a junction with them.
All through the afternoon the devoted
stretcher-bearers were transporting their burdens
to the dressing-station in South Wales Borderers'
Gully, where the doctor and the priest waited
to render devoted service. The labour imposed
upon them may be imagined from the fact that
over a hundred and fifty cases passed through
this dressing-station alone. Now, nightfall made
it possible to get up supplies and ammunition.
By this time the lesson of the battle of Sari
Bair had been learnt, and everything had been
carefully pre-arranged. The staff of the 29th
Brigade were indefatigable in getting up food
and water, and though the Brigade-Major,
Captain PoUok, was wounded by a stray shot,
his place was well filled by the Staff-Captain.
By daylight the whole position was in a thor-
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 195
oughly defensible state, being well-stocked with
food, water and ammunition.
During the night, however, the New Zea-
landers had had a bad time, and in this the
two platoons of Connaught Rangers which had
joined them shared. Their position at the foot
of Hill 60 was near enough to the Turkish
trenches at the top to enable the enemy to
throw down bombs, and this they did all night.
At intervals, too, they charged down with the
bayonet in large numbers only to be repulsed.
Heavy casualties were caused in this fight,
and among the killed was Lieutenant Blake.
His place was taken by Sergeant Nealon, an
old soldier, who had taken his discharge long
before the war and started business in Ballina.
When war broke out he was among the first
to re-enlist, and so inspiring was his example
that Ballina disputes with Belfast the credit
for having the largest number of recruits in
proportion to population of any town in
Ireland. No man ever looked less martial,
but his stout, comfortable figure concealed the
spirit of a hero. When his officer fell he took
over the command, led back a mixed group of
Rangers and New Zealanders to a sector of
trench that had been adandgned owing to the
violent bombing that it was suffering, and held
it until he was relieved. Another N.C.O. of
the Rangers who distinguished himself here
was Sergeant John O'Connell, an Irish American,
196 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
who went out under heavy fire to bring in a
wounded New Zealander who was endeavouring
to get back under cover. For this and for
unvarying courage he was awarded the D.C.M.
On the morning of the 22nd, the newly-landed
1 8th Australian Battalion arrived on the scene,
and attacked the crest of the hill, in company
with the New Zealanders. For a time one
trench was captured, but the captors were
unable to maintain themselves in it, and were
driven out by bombing. The Rangers did not
take part in this attack, and on the evening
of the 22nd were relieved, and returned to
their bivouac in South Wales Borderers' Gully.
This engagement has been described in greater
detail than its intrinsic importance perhaps
deserves, because hitherto the capture of Kaba
Kuyu Wells has not been officially attributed
to an Irish regiment at all.
The Rangers had not to complain of any
lack of immediate recognition, since on the day
following their withdrawal Lieutenant-General
Sir W. Birdwood, accompanied by Sir A.
Godley and General Cox, visited their bivouac.
He congratulated them on their gallantry, and
promised them four days' rest, after which he
intended to call on them for another attack.
Sir A. Godley and General Cox were also warm
in their congratulations.
Nor was the applause of their comrades
lacking, since the Australians and New Zea-
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 197
landers were loud in their praises of the dash
and courage of the battalion. This memory
long continued with them. More than three
months later, Mr. John Redmond, M.P., was
showing a party of Australian convalescents
over the House of Commons, and asked them
if they had seen anything of the loth (Irish)
Division. They replied that they had, and
in their opinion the charge made by the Con-
naught Rangers at Kaba Kuyu was the finest
thing they had seen in the War. This praise
was worth having, since no men on earth are
better able to appreciate courage and are less
prone to be imposed upon than the Australians.
They have no use for paper reputations ; they
judge only by what they have seen with their
own eyes. Tried by this exacting standard, the
Rangers were none the less able to abide it.
While the attack on Kaba Kuyu and Hill 60
was being executed the loth Hampshires were
carrying out their feint. They achieved their
object in distracting the enemy's attention,
but, unfortunately, incurred heavy losses. Major
Morley, the Commanding Officer, was wounded,
and Captain Hellyer, the only officer of the
battalion who had come through the stiff
fighting on Sari Bair on the loth unhurt, was
killed. The casualties among the rank and file
amounted to close on a hundred and fifty.
Nor had the Connaught Rangers come off
lightly, having lost twelve officers and over two
igS THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
hundred and fifty men. It is interesting to
note how much more severely units suffer in
modern war than a hundred years ago. Under
WelHngton in Spain and Portugal, the Con-
naught Rangers played a distinguished part
in many great battles and sieges. At Busaco,
in company with half a battalion of the 45th
Foot, they charged and routed the eleven
battalions of Merle's French Division. They
attacked the great breach at Ciudad Rodrigo,
and stormed the Castle of Badajoz. At Sala-
manca, in company with the other two battalions
of Wallace's Brigade, they crossed bayonets
with Thomieres' Division and drove eight
battalions off the field in disorder. All these
were famous engagements, and in them the
88th deservedly won great glory, yet in
none of them were their losses as heavy as
those incurred by their newly-formed service
battalion in the little-known engagement at
Kaba Kuyu.*
Elsewhere the issue of the fighting had not
been propitious to our arms, since in spite of
* The exact figures are : —
Killed Wounded Missing
r\aif.^,.a Other r»*fio-«. Other /-.««<>«= Other
Officers. j.^^j^g Officers. ^^^^ Officers. ^^^^^^
Busaco ... ... 1 30 8 94 — —
Ciudad Rodrigo ... — 7 4 23 — —
Badajoz ... ... 3 28 7 106 — —
Salamanca ... 2 11 4 110 — 8
Kaba Kuyu ... 3 43 9 169 -— 47
Nearly all
killed.
The Pciinsular figures are taken from Oman's Peninsular War,
Volumes III and V.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 199
the never-failing courage of the 29th Division
and the magnificent gallantry displayed by the
Yeomen, the attacks made from Suvla had
failed. The losses were terribly heavy, a very
brave Irish Brigadier- General, the Earl of
Longford, K.P., having fallen in the forefront
of the battle. In consequence of these heavy
casualties it was impossible to conduct further
offensive operations at Suvla until reinforce-
ments should arrive. It was, however, eminent-
ly desirable to effect the capture of Hill 60, since
it constituted a perpetual menace to the
Suvla-Anzac line of communication. So long
as the Turks were able to maintain their position
on its crest, not only were they able to enfilade
the trenches at Suvla, but also they possessed
the power of massing troops behind it and
launching them suddenly against our line.
They were fully aware of the advantage which
this gave them, and had made the defence
of the hill extremely strong.
It was determined to make an assault on
this position at 5 p.m. on August the 27th.
Brigadier-General Russell was placed in com-
mand of the assaulting parties, which consisted
of 350 Australians who formed the right attack,
300 New Zealanders and 100 Australians, who
composed the attack on the centre, and 250
Connaught Rangers, who formed the left attack.
By this time units at Anzac were so reduced by
casualties and sickness that instead of merely
200 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
detailing units the numbers required were also
specified. At the time the orders were
issued the Rangers could only muster seven
officers, three hundred men, and of these more
than half the officers, and a large proportion
of the men were suffering from dysentery or
enteritis.
The Australians were to attack the trenches
running to the base of the hill in a south-
easterly direction. The New Zealanders had as
their objective the summit of Hill 60 itself,
while the Rangers were given as their objective
the system of trenches running from the crest
northwards towards Anafarta. At 3 p.m. the
assaulting parties of the Rangers filed down the
sap, which had been dug to connect Kaba
Kuyu with South Wales Borderers* Gully, and
into the trenches round the well which they had
captured a week earlier. They were narrow
and were manned by the Indian Brigade so that
progress was slow, but by 4 p.m. the storming
party of fifty men had reached the point from
which the left assault was to commence.
At four the bombardment began. Ships,
howitzers, mountain-guns, all combined to
create a babel which if less intense than that of
the previous week, was nevertheless sufficiently
formidable. The trenches were so close to one
another that our troops waiting to advance
were covered with dust from the high explosives,
but no injury was done. At last, at five, the
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 201
bombardment ceased and the stormers, led by
Lieutenant S. H. Lewis, went over the top.
They were into the Turkish trenches almost
before the enemy were aware of their coming
and forced their way along them with bayonet
and bomb. The supporting parties, however,
were not so fortunate. The range to the
parapet from whence they started was
accurately known to the enemy, and from every
part of the trench which was not actually under
assault violent machine-gun and rifle fire opened.
Man after man as he climbed over the parapet
fell back into the trench dead, yet the next
man calmly stepped forward to take his place.
One old soldier, a company cook. Private Glavey,
of Athlone, as his turn came, said : ** I have
three sons fighting in France and one of them has
got the D.C.M. Let's see if the old father
can't get it now," and advanced to meet the
common fate.
Now, too, the enemy's artillery opened, and
as, unmenaced elsewhere, they were able to
concentrate all their forces on the defence
of Hill 60, their fire was terrific. Incessant
salvoes of shrapnel burst overhead, while
the parapet of the trench from which the
advance was taking place was blown in by high
explosive. Yet, still, the men went on over the
parapet and gradually a few succeeded in
struggling through the barrage, and in rein-
forcing their comrades in the captured trench.
202 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
There a stern struggle was taking place, but by
dint of hard hand-to-hand bayonet fighting
the Turks were driven out, and at six p.m.
the Rangers had carried the whole of their
objective.
The Australians on the right had encountered
concentrated machine-gun fire and had been
unable to make any progress, but the New
Zealanders had carried the trenches on the
southern side of the crest and a few of them had
worked along and joined up with the Rangers.
When night fell the whole of the southern face
of the hill was in British hands, but the Turks
were not disposed to acquiesce in this decision.
As there was no indication of any attack else-
where, they were free to use the bulk of their
reserves at Hill 60, and wave after wave of
assailants hurled itself on the position. There
was a half moon which enabled the outlines of
the charges to be seen as the mass of Turks
surged forward preluding their onset with a
shower of bombs. The Rangers suffered par-
ticularly badly in this respect, since parallel
to the trench they held ran two newly-dug
Turkish communication trenches which were
within bombing distance. There were not
enough men available to assault these trenches
or to hold them if they were taken, for the losses
in the attack had been heavy. It was true that
the remainder of the Connaught Rangers had
been sent up as a reinforcement, but this only
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 203
amounted to forty-four men, most of whom were
weakened by dysentery.
Again and again, the Turks attacked, mad
with fanaticism, shrieking at the top of their
voices and caUing on Allah. The Irish, however,
were not impressed. As one Connaught Ranger
put it, '' they came on shouting and calling for a
man named Allen, and there was no man of that
name in the trench at all.'' Still, however, the
merciless bombing continued and the trenches
slowly became encumbered with dead. It was a
soldiers' battle : every officer but one on the
Rangers' position was wounded, and in any case
the trench was so blocked with debris from the
bombardment and Turkish and Irish corpses,
that it became almost impossible to move from
point to point. Lieutenant Lewis who had led
the charge, was wounded in two places. He had
himself lifted on to the parapet in the hope of
being able to make his way down to the dressing-
station, but was never seen again.
At last about 10.30 p.m., after the fight had
lasted five hours, a crowd of Turks succeeded in
entering the ;Rangers' trench near its northern
extremity. This northern end was held by a small
party of men who died where they stood. The
remainder of the trench was, however, blocked
and further progress by the enemy arrested. Still
the fight raged and bombs and ammunition
were running short, while the losses became so
heavy that it was growing harder and harder
204 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
to procure. Major Money, who was in command
of the advanced position, sent for reinforce-
ments, but found that they were unobtainable.
Fresh Turkish attacks kept coming on, and for
every assailant that was struck down, two more
sprang up in his place. It was clear that soon
the defenders would be swept away by force of
numbers, and they were compelled at midnight
to fall back to the southern end of the captured
trench. This point they blocked with a sandbag
barricade and held until at last they were
relieved at 8.30 a.m. on the 28th. Five hours
earlier the 9th Australian Light Horse had
attempted to recover the trench from which the
Rangers had been driven, but found that the
Turks were too strong. It was not until the
29th that a combined attack launched from the
position which the New Zealanders had taken
and had been able to hold, finally established
our line on the northern slopes of Hill 60.
The Turkish losses were enormous and were
nearly all inflicted in fighting at close quarters.
The captures from them included three machine-
guns, three trench mortars and 60,000 rounds of
small arm ammunition, while Sir Ian Hamilton
estimated that 5,000 Turks had been killed and
wounded. When it is remembered that the
total strength of our attacking columns was
under a thousand, and that the reinforcements
received in the course of the fight barely reached
that figure, it will be realized that each of our
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 205
men must have disposed of at least two of his
opponents. Unfortunately, our losses were by
no means small : of 250 Connaught Rangers who
charged over the parapet on the 27th, less than a
hundred returned un wounded.
The battalion had, however, no reason on
this occasion to complain of lack of official
recognition, since Sir Ian Hamilton in his
official despatch paid an eloquent tribute to the
deeds of the Connaught Rangers. His words
may be quoted :
" On the left the 250 men of the 6th Connaught Rangers
excited the admiration of all beholders by the swiftness and
cohesion of their charge. In five minutes they had carried
their objective, the northern Turkish communications, when they
at once set to and began a lively bomb fight along the trenches
against strong parties which came hurrying up from the enemy
supports and afterwards from their reserves. At midnight
fresh troops were to have strengthened our grip on the hill, but
before that hour the Irishmen had been out-bombed."
That the battalion acquitted itself so well was
in the main due to the manner in which it had
been trained by its Commanding Officer, Lieut.-
Colonel Jourdain. He thoroughly understood
the men with whom he had to deal, and had
instilled into all ranks a rigid but sympathetic
discipline which proved invaluable in time of
trial. He was unwearied in working for the
comfort of his men, and was repaid not only by
their respect and affection, but by a well-
earned C.M.G.
CHAPTER VIII
ROUTINE
" Scars given and taken without spite or shame, for
the Turk be it said is always at his best at that game."
— G. K. Chesterton.
BEFORE continuing to describe the doings
of the 30th and 31st Brigades after their
withdrawal from the Kiretch Tepe Sirt, a
word must be said about the units which were
attached to them, the Pioneer BattaUon, the
Royal Engineers and the Field Ambulances.
Details of the movements of these units are
hard to obtain, but it would not be fair to over-
look them.
The Pioneer Battalion, the 5th Royal Irish
Regiment, was trained as an infantry unit but
also received instruction in engineering work,
especially in road-making. The majority of its
men were miners or artificers and its function
was to do the odd jobs of the Division and also
to provide a guard for Divisional Headquarters.
On the Peninsula, however, these duties soon
fell into abeyance, since it was called on to fill
up gaps in the line, and did so eagerly. It was
an exceptionally fine battalion, formed by
206
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 207
Lord Granard, whose ancestor, Sir Arthur
Forbes, had first raised the i8th (Royal Irish)
two hundred and thirty years before, and
possessed an unusually large proportion of
Regular officers. Fighting under difficult con-
ditions, usually by detached companies, it did
well wherever it was engaged, losing Lieutenants
Costello and MacAndrew killed, and Major
Fulda, Captain Morel, and half a dozen sub-
alterns wounded.
The Engineers at Suvla, as everywhere, fully
justified the splendid reputation of their corps.
Few braver actions were noted in the Division
than Lieutenant Waller's rescue of three wounded
men on the Kiretch Tepe Sirt, and throughout
the campaign the Sappers defied danger and
did their duty.
The 30th Field Ambulance, which disem-
barked at Suvla without its bearer section on the
afternoon of the 7th, was, for the first ten days
of the campaign, working single-handed. Then
the 31st and 32nd arrived and the pressure
became less, but all the ambulances were
working under great difficulties. There was
little room for them, they had been unable to
bring all their stores with them, and, as will be
told later, medical comforts were conspicuous
by their absence. In spite of these handicaps,
they had to deal, not only with a very large
number of wounded, but with a never ceasing
flow of sick. The doctors, however, did admir-
2o8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
able work and everyone was loud in praise of the
Ambulance stretcher-bearers who used regularly
to go out under heavy fire across the plain to
bring in the wounded.
After the close of the fighting on August 17th,
what was left of the 30th and 31st Brigades was
withdrawn to the rest camp on the beach at
Suvla. The fighting had reduced their strength
terribly and nearly three-quarters of the officers
and half the men who had landed ten days
earlier, had fallen or been invalided. Worst of
all, was the fact that, owing to so many senior
N.C.O.'s having been hit, the internal organiza-
tion of units had been practically destroyed.
An extemporized Company Quartermaster-Ser-
geant, who possesses no previous knowledge of
his work, will rarely be successful in promoting
the comfort and efficiency of his men, however
hard he may try. Matters were made even more
serious by the continued sickness, which became
worse and worse when units were withdrawn
from the front line. Many who had been able to
force their will power to keep them going on,
while actually opposed to the enemy, now
succumbed, and among them an ofiicer, whose
departure inflicted a serious loss on the Division
as a whole and on the 31st Brigade in particular.
On August 22nd, General Hill, who had been in
bad health ever since landing in Gallipoli, was
invalided, suffering from acute dysentery. His
departure was deeply regretted by his Brigade,
BKICADIER-GENERAL
G, KING-KING, P.S.O,
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 209
who had learnt to admire his coolness and
courage, and to appreciate his constant attention
to their comfort. Though the Staff Captain
of the Brigade, Captain T. J. D. Atkinson, had
been wounded on the i6th, fortunately the
Brigade-Major, Captain Cooke Collis, still
remained, and as the command was taken over
by Colonel King-King the General Staff Of&cer
(i) of the Division, officers and men did not feel
that they had to deal with a stranger.
It was marvellous how many men who were
in bad health, resisted the temptation to go
sick and be sent on board the white hospital
ships, where there was shade and ice and plenty
to drink. No man was invalided who was not
sick, but there were very few people doing duty
in Gallipoli who did not from time to time
possess a temperature, and none whose stomachs
were not periodically out of order. The doctors
did their utmost to retain men with thier units,
but all medical comforts were difficult to obtain,
even condensed milk being precious, and to feed
men sickening for dysentery on tinned meat, is
to ask for trouble. Rice was a great stand-by,
though the men did not much appreciate it
unless it was boiled in milk. It was therefore
inevitable that men reporting sick should be
sent to the field ambulances, and since these
were little better off than the regimental
M.O.'s so far as provision for special diet was
concerned, and since their resources were over-
p
210 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
taxed, it followed that it was almost invariably
necessary to send invalids away overseas.
Though all ranks belonging to them showed the
utmost devotion to duty, and worked till they
were worn out, a field ambulance at Suvla was
not a place in which a quick recovery could be
made. True, it had tents, and it is hard to
appreciate the amount of solid comfort offered
by a tent to one who has spent weeks in the open
under a tropical sun. There were also a certain
number of beds, and it was very pleasant to
find doctors and orderlies taking an interest in
you, and doing their best to make you com-
fortable.
There were, however, discomforts which they
were powerless to remove. One was the
swarm of flies which made sleep by day
impossible, and another was the shortage of
water. The worst, however, was the enemy
fire : for although the Turk respected the Red
Cross flag, yet the hospitals were close to the
beach, and not far from some of our batteries,
which naturally drew the enemy's artillery.
The sound of the shells rushing through the air,
and the shock of their explosion were plainly
heard and felt by the patients in hospital, and
threw an additional strain on nerves that were
already worn out. It could not be helped ;
there was no room on the peninsula to put
hospitals at a distance from fighting troops, but
it was very hard on the sick and wounded.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 211
Gradually, however, things grew better.
Medical comforts began to be forthcoming ;
fresh bread was baked at Imbros and sent
across, milk was less scarce, and a few eggs were
issued not only to hospitals, but in some cases
to medical officers of battalions. They also
obtained a compound known as tinned fowl,
which appeared to consist entirely of bones.
Fly whisks and veils were provided by the
British Red Cross, an organization to which the
soldier owes more than he will ever be able to
say. By the flexibility of its management, and
its freedom from red tape, it has done wonders
to secure the speedier recovery of our wounded.
The rest-camp to which the residue of the
nine battalions came, was somewhat of a jest.
It was situated on the beach, and consisted of a
collection of shallow dug-outs burrowed into
the yielding sand. As it was close to some of
the extemporized piers at which the lighters
bearing the rations and ammunition were un-
loaded, and was in the neighbourhood of the
A.S.C. and Ordnance Depots, it naturally
attracted a good share of the shells which the
Turks directed at those points, and casualties
were by no means infrequent. However, the
men were able to take off the clothes which they
had worn for nearly a fortnight, and wash.
Some shaved, but others thought it waste of
time and also of the more precious water.
Bathing was possible, for the sea was close by,
212 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
and the delight of plunging into the warm spark-
ling sea was hardly diminished by the thought
that a Turkish shell might possibly find you out
as you did so.
The period in the rest-camp gave an op-
portunity of writing home, and describing,
as far as the censorship permitted, the events
of the previous week. It was clear that
the first attempt at Suvla had not been
successful, but reinforcements were arriving
nightly, a new General (Major-General H. B. de
Lisle) had taken over command of the 9th
Corps, and everyone was hoping for eventual
success. In this they were much assisted by
rumour, which produced scores of encouraging
'* shaves.'' Occasionally one heard that General
Botha with a large force of Boers, had landed at
Helles, but the favourite and apparently best-
authenticated report, was that an army of
150,000 Italians had landed at Bulair and were
taking the Turks in reverse. It did not seem to
occur to any of those who circulated this report
that their guns must have been heard at Suvla
if they were really doing so. By this time,
however, most sensible people had discovered
that nothing is ever so thoroughly well-auth-
enticated as a thoroughly baseless rumour, and
believed nothing that they were told. At any
rate the " canards '' gave a subject for con-
versation, and helped to pass the time.
On August 2ist, General de Lisle proposed
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 213
to take the offensive again, having been rein-
forced from Egypt and HeUes. Although the
Turks had by now brought up ample reinforce-
ments, and carefully entrenched their whole
line, it was thought that it might be possible
to capture Ismail Oglu Tepe, a wooded hill,
which buttressed the Khoja Chemen Tepe.
This attack General de Lisle entrusted to the
nth and 29th Divisions, the latter being on
the left. The 53rd and 54th Territorial Divi-
sions were to hold the remainder of the line
northwards to the Gulf of Saros, including the
trenches on the Kir etch Tepe Sirt. The newly-
landed 2nd Mounted Division (Yeomanry) and
the two brigades of the loth Division, which
had suffered so heavily in the previous fighting
as to be almost unfit for further aggressive
action, were placed in Corps Reserve. At the
same time the co-operation of the Anzac troops,
which took the form of the attack on Kaba Kuyu
and Hill 60, and was described in the previous
chapter, was arranged for.
The loth Division was disposed as follows : —
The 31st Brigade, which was allotted as
reserve to the 29th Division, formed up behind
Hill 10 on the northern shores of the Salt Lake.
There was very little cover, and the 6th Innis-
killing Fusiliers, who found themselves in rear
of one of our batteries, suffered severely from
the shell fire with which the Turks retaliated on
it. The 30th Brigade were at Lala Baba at
214 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
the south-western angle of the Lake. At
3 p.m. the attack was launched, and the front
line of Turkish trenches were occupied. Atmos-
pheric conditions, however, were unfavourable,
and further progress was only made with great
difficulty, the nth Division, which had been
much weakened by previous fighting, finding
it almost impossible to get on. The reserves
were then called up, and the Yeomen went
forward across the bare shell-swept plain.
The long extended lines suffered heavily
as they moved forward to a position in rear of
Chocolate Hill, but though they were young
troops who had never been in action before,
there was no wavering, and the formation was
preserved throughout. About the same time
the 30th Brigade received orders to advance
and occupy the Turkish trenches, which had
been captured at the commencement of opera-
tions. As they moved forward to do this
they, too, came under a heavy fire of shrapnel
and sustained numerous casualties, among
them being Lieut.-Col. Worship, of the 6th
Munster Fusiliers, who was wounded in the
foot. The most active part in these operations,
however, so far as the loth Division was con-
cerned, was taken by the stretcher-bearers of
the three Field Ambulances, who had just
arrived. Again and again they went out over
the shell-swept plain, picking up the wounded
of the nth and 29th Divisions, and bringing
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 215
them back to the hospitals on the beach. The
work was not only hot and heavy, but dangerous,
since although the Turk proved a fair fighter on
the whole and respected the Red Cross, yet his
shrapnel could not discriminate between fighters
and non-combatants. Good and plucky work
done on this occasion earned the D.C.M. for
Staff-Sergeant Hughes and Corporal Fitch, of
the 30th Field Ambulance.
On the following day, the two brigades
moved southward, and took over the front line
trenches, the two Inniskilling battalions being
just north of Chocolate Hill, with the Royal
Irish Fusiliers on their right, and the 30th
Brigade prolonging the line to the southward.
At the same time. Divisional Headquarters
were transferred from the Kiretch Tepe Sirt
to Lala Baba. While the Division was holding
this southern sector, it very nearly came in
touch with part of its detached Brigade operat-
ing to the north of Anzac ; and the 6th Dublin
Fusiliers from their trenches were able to watch
the charge of the 5th Connaught Rangers on
August 27th. The 29th Brigade, however,
remained under the orders of the Anzac Com-
mand.
After the fight of the 27th-28th of August,
described in the last chapter, this Brigade also
became incapable of further aggressive action.
Every battalion had lost about three-quarters
of its strength, while the casualties in the
2i6 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
commissioned ranks had been exceptionally
heavy. Sickness was bad here, as elsewhere,
and early in September three out of the four
units composing the Brigade had only two
officers apiece left. The 6th Leinsters were in
better case ; but even with them, sickness was
taking its toll — Major Currey, the CO., being
one of the victims. He was succeeded by
Major Colquhoun. The battalion remained with
the New Zealand and Australian Division,
doing duty in the trenches at '' Russell's Top "
until August 26th, when it withdrew to Anzac
and joined the Royal Irish Rifles in '' Reserve
Gully."
The Rifles and Hampshires, which suffered
terribly in the Sari Bair fighting, were retained
behind the Aghyl Dere line for about a week
after the loth August. Then the Rifles re-
turned to Anzac, where it took up its quarters
in Reserve Gully. After the feint attack on
August 2ist, in which they suffered so heavily,
the loth Hampshires were also withdrawn to
the beach, bivouacking near No. 2 Post. The
Brigade was completed by the arrival of the
5th Connaught Rangers, who, after the assault
on Hill 60 on the 27th August, remained in
reserve for a week and then moved back to a
bivouac on Bauchop's Hill.
Though two companies of the Royal Irish
Rifles were lent to General Walker, of the
Australians, and did duty for him for three
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 217
weeks, the bulk of the Brigade were employed
on fatigue duties. These included road-making,
unloading ration boats, and guarding Turkish
prisoners. The work was hard, the sun still
hot, and the enemy's shells did not spare the
fatigue parties, but casualties were not heavy.
During this period the 29th Brigade received
a new commander. Colonel Agnew returned to
Mudros on September 9th, and on the 22nd
September Brigadier-General R. S. Vandeleur,
C.M.G., who had come from the Seaforth
Highlanders in France, took over command.
Major T. G. Anderson, R.F.A., had previously
been appointed Brigade-Major.
While in many respects fighting in Gallipoli
was more unpleasant than in France or Flanders,
yet its trench warfare had certain advantages
over that engaged in there. Though the heat
by day and the cold by night were trying, yet
there was but little rain, and it was easy to
keep the trenches dry. Except on the Kiretch
Tepe Sirt and close to the sea, the soil was firm,
so that the sides of trenches did not require
much revetment, and repairs were not con-
stantly called for. Above all, the character
of the enemy gave the defender an easier time.
The Turk is inflexibly stubborn in defence,
and when stirred up to make a mass attack, he
appears fearless of death : but he is not an
enterprising foe. Except at one or two points —
notably at Apex and at Quinn's Post in the
2i8 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Anzac area, where the opposing trench lines
were close together, and trench mortars and
bomb-throwers raged perpetually — he was con-
tent to leave the enemy to the attention of his
snipers. These, of course, were persistent and
ingenious, and any point in a trench which
could be overlooked, either from a tree or from
high ground in the enemy's lines, required to
be specially defended. Otherwise, however,
the Turk was not much disposed to institute
aggressive enterprises, and his bombardments,
though intensely annoying, and causing a good
many casualties, were not to be compared in
intensity with those employed by the Germans
in Flanders.
Trench-life, however much its details may
be mitigated, is none the less painfully mono-
tonous, and in the Peninsula there were none
of the distractions sometimes experienced on
the Western Front. There were only two
breaks in the tedium : the arrival of the mail
and a visit from a chaplain. The latter should
perhaps have precedence, both out of respect
for his cloth and because it happened more
frequently. Walking about at Anzac and Suvla
was neither pleasant nor safe ; but the chap-
lains were quite indefatigable, and would walk
any distance and brave any danger in order
to visit the units to which they were attached.
By dint of untiring endeavour, the Church of
England and Roman Catholic chaplains used,
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 219
as a rule, to hold a service for each of the bat-
talions in their charge on Sunday, and one
during the week as well. Sometimes these
services took place right up in the firing line,
the celebrant moving along the trench to each
communicant in turn. It was in this manner
Canon McLean celebrated Holy Communion
for the 6th and 7th Dublins an hour before the
advance on the 15th of August. Often, too,
the priests were able to give absolution to their
flock before they went into action. Besides
doing this, the Roman Catholic chaplains heard
confessions regularly, and all denominations
were indefatigable in ministering to the sick.
Apart, however, from the spiritual side of
the question, the mere presence of the " Padre '*
himself was stimulating. The Division had
been exceptionally fortunate in its chaplains.
The robust cheerfulness of Father Murphy,
the recondite knowledge of Father Stafford,
Father OTarrell's boyish keenness, and the
straightforward charm that made Father O'Con-
nor such a good sportsman and such a good
friend, were coupled with a fearlessness and
devotion to duty common to all, that made
them beloved by their own flock and liked and
respected by those of other creeds. There
was but little colour in Gallipoli ; grey olives,
bleached scrub and parched sand combined to
make a picture in monotone, and, even to the
Protestant eye it was grateful to see, as the one
220 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
gleam of colour in a dreary landscape, the shining
golden chasuble of the priest as he celebrated
Mass. Few who beheld those services will ever
forget them ; the circle of kneeling worshippers,
the robed figure in the centre, the long shadows
cast by the newly-risen sun, and the drone of
the shells passing through the air overhead,
made an ineffaceable impression on the mind.
Nor were the Protestant chaplains behind
their Roman Catholic colleagues in zeal and
cheerfulness. The Reverend S. Hutchinson in
the 31st Brigade, and the Reverend J. W.
Crozier (a son of the Primate of All Ireland)
in the 29th, worked untiringly and devotedly
for the good of the men who belonged to the
Church of England. Nor should the Reverend
F. J. Roche, who was Church of England
Chaplain to the Divisional Troops, be forgotten.
Originally, he was sent to Cairo with the Artil-
lery of the Division ; but he had seen service
in South Africa in the Imperial Yeomanry,
and was mad to get into the firing line once
more. By dint of many entreaties and much
ingenuity, he finally succeeded in reaching
Suvla on August 29th, and laboured unceasingly
with the Pioneers and Royal Engineers. He
was a man of exceptionally high character, and
all who knew him were grieved when two days
before the Division left the Peninsula he was
invalided with dysentery. Unfortunately, the
attack was a severe one, and after rallying
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 221
slightly he died in hospital at Alexandria.
The Presbyterian and Methodist chaplains, too,
did excellent work, though since their flock was
so widely scattered they had less opportunity
of becoming personally known to those outside
it.
The jewel of the Protestant chaplains, how-
ever, was Canon McLean. Although he must
have been nearly sixty years of age, and was
probably the oldest man in the Division, he
had the heart of a boy and the courage of a lion.
No dangers or hardships were too great for him
to endure, and his one regret was that his cloth
did not permit him to lead his Brigade in a
charge. He had, too, the more valuable form
of courage — the power of patient endurance,
for though seriously ill with dysentery, he
absolutely refused to go sick and leave his men.
There were many brave fellows in the Division,
but none gained a greater reputation for courage
than Canon McLean.
The second great alleviation of the monotony
of trench life was the arrival of the mail. In
France, this happens daily, and is taken as a
matter of course ; but in Gallipoli it rarely
arrived more often than once a week, and great
joy was felt in the battalions when Brigade
headquarters telephoned that a mail was coming
up. Expectation grew, until at last the Indian
drabis led up their grunting mules, and deposited
the mail-bags at the door of the Headquarters
222 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
dug-out. Orderly sergeants of the companies
were at once summoned, and the slow process
of sorting began — a process made even slower
by the fact that in many cases the writers had
not indicated anything more than the name of
the addressee, and that it took a considerable
time in an Irish regiment to ascertain which
Private Kelly was meant.
*' The postmark's Glasgow. Is either of your
Kelly's a Scotsman, Sergeant McGrath ? " the
Adjutant would say.
*' They are not, sorr. One's a Mayo man
and the other's from Dublin. Try ' B ' Com-
pany, sorr."
The Orderly Sergeant of *' B " also disclaims
any Scotch Kelly, but is reminded by the
signalling sergeant of a Glasgow man of that
name who went sick from Mudros. Repeated
ad infinitum this process takes time, and it was
long before the officer who had undertaken the
sorting could turn to his own correspondence.
Then followed the painful task of returning the
letters that could not be delivered. These were
sent back from companies to the orderly-room
and were there sorted into three piles : —
Dead,
Missing, and
Hospital.
The officer then endorsed each, writing the word
in an indelible pencil, always dreading that by
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 223
some accident this might be the first intimation
of the casualty that the sender of the letter
had received. The '' Hospital '* letters, of
course, were not returned to the writer, but
were sent in pursuit of the addressee round
Mudros, Malta, and Alexandria, usually return-
ing to the Battalion after he had rejoined it.
Nor did one's own mail consist entirely of
personal letters, for the officers who survived
found themselves in September receiving many
letters from the relatives of their comrades who
had fallen begging for details of how they died.
These letters were not easy to answer, since
details were often lacking, and the writer was
always afraid of inadvertently opening the
wound again ; but it was a labour of love to
reply to them. More amusing semi-official
letters were also received, such as the demands
of railway companies for sums of three-and-
sixpence due by men who had travelled without
tickets four months earlier. As even supposing
the men in question had not been killed or
wounded, they had certainly received no pay
for more than a month, and were unlikely to
receive any for an indefinite period, so the
prospect that the Company Officer would be
able to recover the debts before being killed
or wounded himself did not seem large.
With the mail came newspapers and some-
times parcels. The latter were specially wel-
come, since they served to fill up the nakedness
224 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
of the officers' mess, and as a rule they arrived
safely when sent by parcels post. Complaints
of non-arrival of parcels were indeed frequent,
but in most cases this was caused either by
inaccurate addressing, or by careless packing.
Very seldom was a parcels mail-bag opened for
sorting at the battalion without the bottom
being found to be filled with broken cigarettes,
crumbs of crushed cake, and a mass of card-
board, brown paper and string. It must be
remembered that the mails had to stand a
good deal of rough handling. The bags were
sent by ship to Alexandria, then thrown on
to a lorry and jolted over the stony streets to
the Base Post Office, there sorted, sent on
shipboard again, conveyed to Mudros, tran-
shipped to Suvla, Anzac, or Helles, thrown
overboard on to a lighter, dumped on the beach,
and finally carried up to their destination on
the back of a pack mule. It was not astonishing
that a parcel was occasionally crushed, or even
that a bag sometimes fell into the sea. Under
normal conditions, however, parcels usually
arrived safely.
The arrival of parcels meant a welcome
addition to mess stores, for although the A.S.C.
had recovered from the natural confusion
caused by the operations at the beginning
of August, and rations were regular and plenti-
ful, yet the diet became painfull}^ dull. It must
be remembered that in GalHpoli, unlike the
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 225
Western Front, there was absolutely no pos-
sibility of using the resources of the country.
In France, it is often possible to buy eggs,
butter, and perhaps a chicken, not to speak
of wine or beer ; but on the Peninsula there
was literally nothing obtainable. From Suvla
the distant houses of the Anafarta's mocked the
eye with the sight of human habitations ; but
Anzac was literally a desert. The map, it
is true, marked a spot as '' Fisherman's Hut,*'
but both fishermen and their nets had departed,
and the huts had fallen into ruin. Nor did
Nature supply anything — except where the
trampled stubble told of a ruined cornfield,
all was barren, dry scrub, and prickly holly
and bare, thankless sand. With such destitu-
tion all round, it was no wonder that the post
was eagerly looked for.
The most welcome gift of all was tinned
fruit, since these and the syrup that came with
them quenched thirst. Lemonade tablets, too,
were welcome, and sauces and curry-powders
to disguise the taste of the eternal bully-beef,
were much appreciated. Some things failed
to stand the climate ; chocolate usually arrived
in a liquid condition, while a parcel of butter
became a greasy rag. (It must be borne in
mind while reading this description of life in
Gallipoli that the Expeditionary Force Canteens
were not established there till after the loth
Division had left the Peninsula. They did
226 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
a great deal to fill the want, though it was almost
impossible to keep them properly stocked.)
Although life in September was distinctly
less trying than it was in August, yet it had its
disadvantages. Among them was the fact
that wherever a battalion occupied an old
Turkish bivouac, it found that the enemy had
left behind a peculiarly ferocious breed of
flea. There were other minor annoyances in
washing ; but the main disadvantage of Gallipoli
unquestionably was the uncertainty of life.
The whole Peninsula was exposed to shell fire,
and much of it to snipers as well, and though
some places were less dangerous than others,
it was impossible ever to feel that one was safe.
Every day almost one heard of a fresh casualty.
Now an orderly was hit as he brought a message ;
now a cook fell as he bent over his fire ; another
day the storeman looking after kits on the
beach was killed ; or a shell made havoc among
a party drawing rations or water.
Drawing rations was one of the most dangerous
occupations on the Peninsula, especially at
Anzac, and was usually performed at the double.
The beaches, where the supply depots were
situated, were among the enemy's favourite
targets, as they knew that there were always
people moving there, and they shelled th^m
persistently. In France, the A.S.C. are said
to have safe and '' cushy " jobs ; but this
was certainly not the case in Gallipoli. Their
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 227
work, in addition to being dangerous, was not
exciting, which made things worse ; for though
Death is the same wherever he comes, it is
easier to encounter him in a charge than when
cutting up bacon. The memory of the courage
of their representatives at Suvla and Anzac
should always be a proud one with the A.S.C.
But though the beaches were particularly
nasty spots, there was no escaping from Death
anywhere. If one took a walk one was almost
certain to pass a festering and fly-blown mule,
or a heap of equipment that showed where a
man had been wounded. At one point a
barricade of sandbags suggested that it was
wise to keep in close to them, at another a deep
sap had been dug to allow secure passage through
an area commanded by the Chunuk Bair. The
blind impartiality of shrapnel spared no one :
the doctor of one battalion sent a man to
hospital who was suffering from bronchitis,
and was surprised to discover afterwards that
when admitted he was suffering from a wound
in the right arm which he had acquired on the
way down. Even if one remained in one's own
bivouac or trench, there was no assurance of
safety. It was always possible that a sudden
shell might catch one outside one's dug-out
and finish one. Several fell in this way, among
them one of the finest officers in the Division,
Major N. C. K. Money of the Connaught Rangers.
He was a magnificent soldier, always cool and
228 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
resourceful, and had made his mark on every
occasion on which his battaHon was engaged.
After coming untouched through three stiff
fights, and being awarded the D.S.O. for his
courage and capacity, he was mortally wounded
in bivouac by an unexpected burst of shrapnel.
It was a miserable end for one who had done so
much, and was destined, had he lived, to do so
much more.
After a few weeks on the Peninsula one grew
into a fatalistic mood. Most of one's friends
had already been knocked out, and it seemed
impossible that in the long run anyone could
escape. Sooner or later the shrapnel was
bound to get you, unless dysentery or enteric
got you first. If you were unlucky, you would
be killed ; if lucky, you would get a wound
that would send you either home, or at any rate
to Malta or Alexandria, or some other civilized
place. Only one thing seemed out of the ques-
tion, and that was that one should see the end
of the campaign. Certainly very few of us did.
CHAPTER IX
LAST DAYS
" It is better not to begin than never to finish.*
— Serbian Proverb.
AT the beginning of September a portion of
the Divisional Artillery arrived in the
Peninsula. The three brigades (54th,
55th and 56th) which sailed from England with
the Division, had been landed at Alexandria and
sent into camp near Cairo. Rumour had
assured the remainder of the Division that they
were ultimately destined for Aden, but in this
as in almost every other instance, rumour lied.
After about three weeks in Egypt, where a
certain number of horses died as the result of
eating sand which caused colic, the 55th and
56th Brigades were transferred to Mudros and
thence without their horses to the Peninsula.
The 55th Brigade went to Cape Helles, where it
took up a position near the Great Gully with its
sixteen guns crowded closely together, and
suffered a good deal in that congested area from
the enemy's shell-fire. This brigade was
definitely removed from the Division and had no
further dealings with it. The 56th Brigade,
229
230 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
on the other hand, came to the Suvla area, though
it did not actually rejoin the Division. Gun
positions were not very easy to discover, but
the '' A '' and '' B '' Batteries of the Brigade
came into action below Lala Baba. " C ^'
Battery was out on the plain in a low-lying spot,
which was flooded out by the November bhzzard,
while '' D " Battery moved southward into the
Anzac area. Here they took up a position on
the Damakjelik Bair near the South Wales
Borderers' Gully facing northward, which enabled
them to enfilade the Turkish trenches on
Scimitar Hill, and did excellent work. The
whole Brigade remained in its positions when
the rest of the Division left the Peninsula, and
did not depart till the final evacuation of
Suvla and Anzac. They consequently definitely
severed their connection with the loth Division.
Throughout September the days passed with
monotonous regularity. The routine of trench
work, and the telling off and supervision of
fatigue parties did not do much to occupy the
imagination, and plenty of time was spent
gazing out over the sea to Imbros and Samo-
thrace and wondering what was going to happen
next. There did not seem much prospect of an
advance but it was never easy for junior officers
and men to tell what was brewing.
It was somewhat trying to the nerves to know
that one was never certain that one would not be
required at a moment's notice. Even when
r. ^
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 231
nominally resting behind the line units were
frequently obliged to stand to in consequence
of an alarm of some kind. By this time,
blankets and officers' valises had been retrieved,
but one felt that one was tempting Providence
if one undressed or even took off one's boots at
night, for one was always liable to be roused
suddenly. The Turks, during this period, were
not in at all an aggressive mood, but they too,
were subject to nerves, and used occasionally to
open fire all along the line for no particular
reason. Except for these spasms of nervous-
ness, however, they confined their attention
to sniping, intermittent shelling, and where the
trenches were very close together, to trench
mortar work and bombing.
Two minor distractions were the swallows
and the " Peninsula Press.'' In August Anzac
was a singularly birdless place ; in fact except
for one cornfield the area had no sign of life of
any kind in it. About the middle of September,
however, it was invaded by troops of swallows
on their way southward, and every gully was
full of diving, swooping birds. They brought
back many memories of home and of warm
Spring evenings and long twilights, and it was a
pleasure to watch them circling past the dug-
outs. They did not seem to mind the shell-fire,
and there was much discussion as to whether
they would winter in Gallipoli, but we did not
remain in the Peninsula long enough to make sure.
232 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
The other alleviation of the dulness was a half-
sheet of news issued by the Authority and
entitled '' The Peninsula Press/' The perusal
of this piece of foolscap, which was printed at
Army Headquarters and sent to units with more
or less regularity, was sufficient to fill one with
admiration for the art and mystery of journalism.
It was surprising how different the string of
communiques and bulletins served up raw
without amplification or comment was from the
newspaper that one had been accustomed to.
For the first time one realized the enormous
importance of sub-editing. Nor were the com-
muniques very informing, since for the most part
they dealt with Polish towns whose names had
never been heard of before by any of us. An
atlas was a possession extremely rare in Gallipoli,
so we were compelled to take the bulk of the
news on trust and hope for the best.
Another minor inconvenience was lack of
exercise. In the early days of August there
had been no reason to complain on this score,
but by the time that we had settled down to
routine work in September, many found it hard
to keep in condition. Unless you went out with
a fatigue party ration-carrying or road-making,
your work was confined to a comparatively
small area. Walks for the sake of exercise only
were discouraged by those in authority, partly
because officers were few and could not easily
be spared from the possible call of duty that
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 233
might come at any time, and partly because
walking, unless you confined your movements
to saps, was not a particularly safe amusement.
It was extremely easy to go out for a stroll and
come home on a stretcher. Added to this was
the possibility, that if you went outside the area
in which you were known that you might be
taken for a spy. Lurid stories were told of
unknown officers who had walked the whole
length of Anzac Beach asking questions and then
disappeared, and though like most rumours
these were probably quite unfounded, yet there
was always a chance that some over-zealous
and suspicious individual might give you an
unpleasant half-hour. All these considerations
tended to make walking for pleasure an amuse-
ment to be indulged in with moderation.
Fairly soon, however, officers began to work
at training again, for early in September steps
were taken to fill up the depleted ranks of the
Division. The first reinforcements had been
quickly absorbed on their arrival from Mudros,
and by the end of August every unit was much
below strength. Since under normal condi-
tions the voyage from England to Mudros
usually occupied from ten days to a fortnight it
naturally took some time before the gaps in the
units were filled. At the end of the first week
in September, however, news was received that
the first drafts from home had arrived. The
men who composed these drafts were for the most
234 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
part drawn from the reserve battalions of Irish
regiments and were excellent material, many of
them being men of the old Regular Army who
had been wounded in France.
The summer of 1915 in Flanders had been a
comparatively quiet one, since there had been a
lull in the fighting after the second battle of Ypres.
The Regular Battalions of the Irish Regiments
serving there had made comparatively small
demands on their Reserve Battalions for re-
inforcements, and consequently large and good
drafts were sent out to the loth Division. This
consideration, however, did not apply to the
Inniskilling, Munster and Dublin Fusiliers, whose
1st Battalions were serving in Gallipoli with the
29th Division and had sustained terrible losses.
Unfortunately, the officers who accompanied
the first drafts were not those who had been
trained with the units of the division, and had
been left behind as surplus to establishment,
but were drawn, as a general rule, from Scotch
regiments. They were excellent fellows and
showed no lack of keenness or courage, but
officers who had had some previous knowledge
of the units in which they were serving would
have been more useful, and in addition, from the
sentimental point of view, it was felt that an
influx of trews and glengarries tended to
remove the Irish character of the Division.
However, with the later drafts received, a
number of Irish officers did arrive.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 235
It was not entirely an easy matter to
assimilate these reinforcements. As a rule, a
draft is a comparatively small body of men
which easily adopts the character of the unit in
which it is merged. In Gallipoli, however,
units had been so much reduced in strength
that in some cases the draft was stronger than
the battalion that it joined, while it almost
invariably increased the strength of what was
left of the original unit by half as much again.
As a result after two or three drafts had arrived,
the old battalion had been swamped. For many
reasons this was unfortunate. It took a con-
siderable time for the officers and N.C.O.'s
even to learn the names of the newcomers, still
more to acquire that insight into their characters
necessary for the smooth working of a company
or platoon. The shortage of good and ex-
perienced N.C.O.'s, too, had the result of throw-
ing rather too much influence into the hands of
bad characters. In every large body of soldiers
there are bound to be men who dislike danger
and do their best to avoid it. As a rule these
undesirables are known and are unable to do
much harm ; but among an influx of young
soldiers a few men of this stamp, posing as
experienced veterans, may do a considerable
amount of mischief, till they are discovered and
dealt with.
It was unfortunately impossible to adopt the
most favourable method of assimilating the new '
236 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
men. To teach men to act together, to recognise
and obey the voice of their officer or sergeant
there is nothing Uke drill, and particularly drill
in close order. Only from drill can be obtained
the surrender of individuality in order to achieve
a common purpose which is the foundation of
military discipline. It is on the barrack square
that a platoon or company first '' gets together "
and realises its corporate entity ; it is ** on the
square " that an officer first begins to dis-
tinguish his men and to discriminate between
their characters, and it is '' on the square " that
men first begin to know their officer. Barrack
square drill is not, as it was in the Eighteenth
Century, the end-all and be-all of military
training, but it is an indispensable foundation
for it, and no effective substitute has ever yet
been found to take its place.
Unfortunately, in Gallipoli, drill was out
of the question. When on the move, men
straggled along in single file without thought
of step, while the duties of trench-manning,
road making, or onion carrying, did not en-
courage smartness. While off duty the men
were scattered round a rabbit warren of dug-
outs, and any gathering for parade purposes
was at once dispersed by hostile shrapnel. All
that could be done was to practise bombing in
disused Turkish trenches and carry out the usual
inspections of rifles, ammunition and iron
rations. The severity of the handicap thus
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 237
imposed upon battalions will be best appreciated
by those who have served in France. There
units periodically go behind the line to rest, and
during the rest-period are able b}^ drill and
discipline to learn to know and assimilate their
new men.
Among other matters that had to be faced
was the training of specialists. Most battalions
had lost the bulk of their machine-gunners and
signallers and it was extraordinarily rare to
find a unit in which both the signalling and
machine-gun officer survived. If the^^ did the
Adjutant probably did not, and one of them had
been promoted to fill his place. In any case,
fresh officers and men had to be trained for the
duty. It proved to be unfortunate that very
few of the officers who joined with drafts had
had any training in either of these branches.
A reserve battalion, if well-organized, should be
a kind of military university in which an
energetic officer can pick up some knowledge of
every branch of infantry work since he can never
tell what he may not be required to do when
posted to a battalion on active service. The
power to command a platoon is only the founda-
tion, not the climax, of a subaltern/s training.
Fortunately, in addition to the second-lieutenants
who accompanied drafts, a certain number of
officers and men rejoined from hospital. These
had mostly been wounded or gone sick during
the fighting at the beginning of August, and
238 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
they formed a very welcome reinforcement,
since they were both experienced and seasoned
to the climate.
Unfortunately, as much could not be said for
the new drafts, who suffered very badly from
dysentery. It was a common experience for a
company commander to congratulate himself on
having discovered a good sergeant-major or
platoon-sergeant only to hear on the following
day that he had been invalided. The men who
had been wounded in France seemed to be
peculiarly liable to dysentery.
While steps were being taken to reorganize
the shattered units, rumours began to spread
that the Division was to leave the Peninsula to
rest. By this time most people had begun to
discredit all rumours, but it appeared possible
that there might be something in this. It was
known that both the 29th Division and what
was left of the original Australians had been
removed to Mudros for a change of ten days or
so, and from a military point of view it was
eminently desirable to give the Division a chance
of training its new drafts in a spot free from
shell-fire.
It was, however, very uncertain when and
where we were to go. The place varied between
Mudros and Imbros, while the time suggested
was always '' next week.'' Finally, the 29th
Brigade received orders on September 28th to
prepare to move on the following evening, not to
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 239
either of the places anticipated but to Suvla.
For a moment people thought that an attack
was in prospect since a day or two earlier '' The
Peninsula Press *' had announced great victories
in France. Since units of the Division had been
paraded at Mudros in July and ordered to cheer
for the impending fall of Bagdad, most people
were a little distrustful of official bulletins, but
if it really was true, and the German line was
broken both at Loos and in Champagne, then,
of course, we should push the enemy as hard as
possible wherever we could. All these specula-
tions were shattered, however, early on the 29th,
by the cancellation of the orders to proceed to
Suvla, and the receipt of instructions to embark
at Anzac for Mudros on the same evening.
Somehow one was not as glad to be leaving
Gallipoli as one had anticipated. To be sure
it was all to the good to be out of the shelling
for a time and the Turks took steps to intensify
the pleasure caused by this prospect by firing
on the bivouacs of the 29th Brigade on their
last day with unusual vigour. One shell fell
immediately outside the guard room of the
Connaught Rangers, but fortunately failed to
explode. Another burst in the camp of the
Royal Irish Rifles and wounded Lieutenant
Elliot. This officer was the last survivor except
for the Quartermaster and Doctor, of the
officers of the battalion who had landed at
Anzac on August 6th, and was unlucky in being
240 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
hit on the last day. Even the prospect of
immunity from bombardment could not how-
ever disguise the fact that one was sorry to leave.
As the 29th Brigade filed down the long
sap to Anzac in the darkness, as the 30th and
31st Brigades retraced their steps past Lala
Baba and over the beaches at Suvla, it was
impossible to avoid retrospect. We had passed
that way less than two months before, but going
in the opposite direction full of high hopes. Now
we were leaving the Peninsula again, our work
unfinished and the Turks still in possession of
the Narrows. Nor was it possible to help
thinking of the friends lying in narrow graves
on the scrub-covered hillside or covered by the
debris of fiUed-in trenches, whom we seemed to
be abandoning. Yet though there was sorrow
at departing there was no despondency. We
had the memory of strenuous effort and achieve-
ment to inspire us, and the bond of friendship
among the few officers who survived had been
knit closer than it had ever been before. The
men, too, felt a new spirit towards their officers,
and the hard times they had shared together had
cemented the feeling of comradeship which had
always existed. They knew now that whatever
the danger might be their officers would be the
first to face it, and the officers had proved that
their men would follow them anywhere. Once
that sentiment exists in a battalion it is im-
possible to break its spirit.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 241
The 29th Brigade reached Mudros at dawn on
September 30th and went under canvas in the
Mudros East area, which was on the opposite
side of the harbour to the bivouac they had
previously occupied. The remainder of the
Division followed them thither in the course of
the week. There was unfortunately not many
of the original Division left.
Though the Divisional Staff had not greatly
changed, only one brigadier still held his
original command. This was Brigadier-General
Nicol, who had won the admiration and affection
of the 30th Brigade by his unfailing courage and
tenacity. He was not a young man, but in
spite of the sickness which afflicted everyone in
Gallipoli he resolutely refused to go to hospital,
and by his example encouraged many younger
officers to ** stick it out." Of the original
Brigade Staffs only one Brigade-Major, Captain
Cooke CoUis, and one Staff Captain, Captain
Goodland, survived, and sickness and wounds
had so thinned the ranks of the commanding
officers that only Lieutenant-Colonel Jourdain
of the Connaught Rangers, Lieutenant-Colonel
Cox of the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Pike of the 5th Royal Irish
Fusiliers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Granard
of the Royal Irish Regiment, were still with their
units. One Lieutenant-Colonel, Vanrenen, of
the 5th Inniskillings, had fallen, and the other
eight were wounded or sick. The battalions.
242 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
too, had suffered terribly, and it was an excep-
tional unit that possessed more than half-a-dozen
of its original officers and 200 of the men who had
gone with it to the Peninsula at the beginning
of August. Even of these a fair proportion had
spent part of the time in hospital and rejoined ;
those who had seen the campaign through from
start to finish were rare.
There was, however, little time to think of
these matters. The concentration of the
Division was not completed till October 3rd
and on October 4th its first two battalions sailed
for another theatre of war.
CHAPTER X
RETROSPECT
" So awakened in their hearts the strongest of all fellow-
ships, the fellowship of the sword." — W. B. Yeats.
WHAT does one recollect most clearly when
one looks back at Gallipoli ?
A multitude of memories cluster to-
gether : dry, sand-floored gullies, thirsty men
crowded round a well, Indians grooming their
mules, lithe, half-naked Australians, parched,
sun-dried scrub, but above and beyond all these
one remembers the graves. Not a man came
back from the Peninsula without leaving some
friend behind there, and it is bitter to think
that the last resting-place of those we loved
is in the hands of our enemy. Not all the dead
of Gallipoli lie in the Peninsula itself. There
are crowded cemeteries at Malta and Alexandria,
and many a brave body has been lowered over
the side of a hospital ship into the Aegean to
mingle his bones with those of Argonauts and
Crusaders and all the heroes of a bygone age.
Nevertheless, when one thinks of Gallipoli one
thinks first of graves.
You could not walk far in the Peninsula
*43
244 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
without seeing them, sometimes thickly crowded
together outside a field-ambulance, sometimes
a solitary cross marking the spot where a
sniper's victim had been buried. Each of these
tombs had at its head a little wooden cross
bearing the man's name, regiment, and rank,
and the date of his death, and in some cases his
comrades had done a little more. Here
Australian gunners had made a pattern with
fuse caps on the earth that covered their friend,
and there a lid of a biscuit-tin had been beaten
into a plaque, bearing a crucifix. Death had
made strange bedfellows : in one little cemetery
high up at the Chailak Dere behind Rhododen-
dron Ridge there lay side by side Private John
Jones, Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Sergeant
Rotahiru of the Maoris. From the two ends
of the earth Christian and Buddhist and Sikh
had come to fight in the same cause, and in
death they lay together. It was my lot in the
last days of September to endeavour to compile
a register of where the men of my Battalion had
been interred, and as I went from grave to grave
writing down the name of one Irishman after
another I was irresistibly reminded of Davis's
lines :
" But on far foreign fields from Dunkirk to Belgrade
Lie the heroes and chiefs of the Irish Brigade."
Now the age-long quarrel with the Turk had
carried Irishmen even further afield and the
'* Wild Geese " who fought on the Danube under
<=5
< 3
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 245
Prince Eugene found their successors in those of
the loth Division who lay under the Cross of
Christ in the barren waste of GalHpoU.
Not indeed that every grave was marked with
a cross. Some had fallen within the enemy's
lines and others were hastily buried under the
parados of a captured trench without even
a stone to mark where they lay. In the heat
of battle, it was impossible to delay for forms and
ceremonies, and often even the names of the
fallen were not noted. Only those who died in
hospital were buried with proper rites, but it
mattered little where the bodies of the heroes
rested. The whole land is one shrine, made
sacred by the memory of devotion to duty and
self-sacrifice, and no man could wish to lie else-
where than in the ground he had won from the
enemy.
Yet it seemed a pity that it should be knocked
to pieces so soon. Much labour spread over
many weary months had gone to form it and to
make it worthy of the name of Irish, and it was
tragic that it should practically be annihilated
with so little tangible result achieved. It is not
perhaps altogether easy for the civilian to
understand how sorrowful it seems unless he
realises that a unit trained to arms has a
spiritual as well as a material being. A bat-
talion of infantry is not merely a collection of a
thousand men armed with rifles ; it is, or at any
rate, it should be, a community, possessing
246 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
mutual hopes, mutual fears, and mutual
affection. Officers and men have learnt to
know one another and to rely on one another, and
if they are worth their salt, the spiritual bond
uniting them is far stronger and more effectual
for good than the power conferred by rank and
authority. In the loth Division the bonds
uniting all ranks were unusually strong. In the
first place came love of Ireland shared in equal
degree by officers and men. Second to this, and
only second, was pride of regiment, happiness
at forming part of a unit which had had so many
glorious deeds recorded of it and resolution to be
worthy of its fame. The names of the battalion,
Dublins, Munsters, Inniskillings, Connaught
Rangers, spoke not only of home, but also of
splendid achievements performed in the past,
and nerved us to courage and endurance in the
future.
Above and beyond these feelings, common to
all Irish soldiers, the loth Division had a
peculiar intimacy gained from the circum-
stances of its formation. It was the first Irish
Division to take the field in war. Irish
Brigades there had often been ; they had
fought under the fleur-de-lys and the tricolour
of France and under the Stars and Stripes as
well as they had done under the Union Jack.
But never before in Ireland's history had she
sent forth a whole division (but for one battalion)
of her sons to the battle-field.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 247
The old battalions of the Regular Army had
done magnificently, but they had necessarily been
brigaded with English, Scotch and Welsh units.
The loth Division was the first Division almost
entirely composed of Irish battalions to face
the enemy. Officers and men alike knew this
and were proud of their destiny. As the
battalions marched through the quiet English
countryside, the drums and fifes shrilled out
" St. Patrick's Day '' or ''Brian Boru's March,"
and the dark streets of Basingstoke echoed the
voices that chanted " God Save Ireland *' as
the units marched down to entrain. Nor did
we lack '' the green." One unit sewed sham-
rocks on to its sleeves, another wore them as
helmet badges . Almost every company cherished
somewhere an entirely unofficial green flag, as
dear to the men as if they were the regimental
colours themselves. These constituted an out-
ward and visible sign that the honour of Ireland
was in the Division's keeping, and the men did
not forget it.
There was singularly little jealousy in the
Division. Naturally, where there were two
battalions of one regiment in the same brigade,
each one of them cherished the belief that they
and they alone were the true representatives
of the old regiment, but this was only wholesome
emulation. Where this cause for rivalry did
not exist units were on very good terms, and
at Basingstoke, where the different messes
248 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
first really got to know one another, there was
any amount of friendship and good fellowship.
Every battalion, of course, beheved that it was
the finest Service Battalion in the Army, but
it was also convinced that the remainder of
the Division, though inferior to itself, reached
a very much higher standard than any other
unit in K.i.
Having regard to this sentiment it was with
great regret that officers and men found that
the Division was not destined to take the field
as a whole. The first shock was the loss of
the artillery, and the realisation that we should
be compelled to rely on the support of strange
gunners when we took the field. Next came the
fact that the 29th Brigade was detached and
sent to Anzac, where in turn it met with yet
further sub-division, its battalions going into
action as isolated units.
Finally, the mischance that sent the 5th
Inniskillings, the two battalions of Munster
Fusiliers, and the Pioneer battalion into action
on the Kiretch Tepe, while the remainder of
the 30th and 31st Brigades were fighting under
General Hill at the other end of the Suvla
area, destroyed the last chance that the Division
as a whole might place some distinct achievement
to its credit.
Of the dash and eagerness of the men there
was no doubt. All they needed was to be told
what they were to do, and they would carry it
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 249
out whatever the cost. They showed, too, on
the i6th August, that in addition to eagerness
in the charge, a quality never lacking in Irish
soldiers, they possessed the rarer and finer
military quality of dogged tenacity. Whoever
may be blamed for the small success achieved
in Gallipoli, no discredit rests on the rank and
file of the loth Division.
The circumstances attending the formation
of absolutely new units had brought officers and
men into a somewhat unusual relationship.
In the old Regular Army, except for a few
N.C.O.'s and old soldiers who have wives and
families in married quarters, and an occasional
indiscreet youth who marries off the strength,
the family life of the soldier never comes under
the officers' notice at all. In the New Army
things were very different. The rapid expan-
sion of our military forces that took place in
August and September, 1914, had placed a
tremendous strain on the resources of Pay-
masters and Record Officers. The confusion
and delay inevitably caused by this often
meant considerable hardship to the soldier's
family, and he had no one to turn to for help
but his officer.
First came the question of men whose
employers were prepared to increase their pay
to the level of their previous wages provided
they could prove that they had enlisted. As
a rule, the official papers were long in coming,
250 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
and in consequence company-commanders made
out certificates that the men were serving,
which, though unofficial, proved effective.
Next came the question of allowance ; separa-
tion allowance and allowance to dependants,
which involved an enormous amount of work
and entailed a close acquaintanceship with
the details of each man's family history.
Finally came the work of stamping and keeping
up-to-date the National Insurance cards, which
formed the last remaining bond that linked the
soldier to his civilian life.
Meanwhile, officer and man had been gaining
insight into each other's character. The Com-
pany Commander had watched his men change
from a mob in civilian clothes to a disciplined
body in khaki. He had been busy picking
out the intelligent, encouraging the backward,
stimulating the lazy, and checking the first
steps of a few towards drunkenness and vice.
In all this he had had the invaluable assistance
of his company sergeant-major, and an intimacy
had grown up between them of no ordinary
kind. When it was severed, as it too often was,
on the field of battle, the survivor felt that he
had been maimed and deprived of an invaluable m
support.
On a smaller scale a similar relationship
arose between the subaltern and his platoon-
sergeant, while among the specialists, signallers
and machine-gunners, the bond between officer
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 251
and men was even closer as became those who
shared a common mystery. The whole unit had
grown up together ; the men in the ranks had
watched the subaltern who had joined ignorant of
the rudiments of drill acquire knowledge and self-
confidence, and in the process had learned to trust
him themselves. The officers had seen with
pleasure a boy selected for a lance-corporal's
stripe because he showed signs of intelligence,
gradually gaining experience and the power
to command men, until sometimes he graduated
into an excellent sergeant. There were many
common memories ; wet days on the Curragh,
long treks in the Hampshire dust, scuffles in
the hedgerows during a field-day, bivouacs
in a twilight meadow, all combined to cement
the feeling of friendship between officer and
men. Sometimes these memories went back
to a period before the War. Nearly all the
officers were Irish, and most of them were
serving in their Territorial units, with the result
that they often found privates who were their
near neighbours and knew the woods, and the
bogs, and the wet winding roads of home.
All this was good ; it gave the Division a char-
acter that it could not otherwise have obtained,
but it had its black side when men began to
fall. It was not merely Number So-and-so
Private Kelly who was killed, it was little
Kelly, who had cooked (very badly) for the mess
at Basingstoke, or Kelly who had begged so
252 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
eagerly not to be left behind with the first
reinforcements, or Kelly, the only son of a
widowed mother, who lived on the Churchtown
Road, three miles from home.
To the staff and the High Command, men
must necessarily be no more than cyphers on a
casualty list, but to the regimental officer it is
very much otherwise, and every man who falls
causes a fresh pang to his commander's heart.
Few things are more distressing to an officer than
to hear the roll of his unit called after an
engagement, to look in vain among the thinned
ranks for many familiar faces, to hear no answer
given to name after name of the men with
whom his life has been bound up for months.
This and not any extreme of physical suffering
is the hardest ordeal that a soldier has to face.
Nor was this loss of friends and comrades
the only cause of sorrow. The same feelings
have been felt in every unit of the New Army
after a strenuous engagement, but the loth
Division had a special reason for regret since the
loth Division was a thing unique in itself.
Ireland is a land of long and bitter memories,
and those memories make it extremely difficult
for Irishmen to unite for any common purpose.
Many have believed it impossible, and would
have prophesied that the attempt to create
an Irish Division composed of men of every
class, creed and political opinion would be
foredoomed to failure. And yet it succeeded.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 253
The old quarrels, the inherited animosities were
forgotten, and men who would have scowled
at one another without speaking became com-
rades and friends. Only those who know
Ireland can realise how difficult this was.
The Division was not composed of profes-
sional soldiers ; many of the officers and men
had played, or, at least, had relatives who had
played, an active part in the agrarian and
political struggles that have raged in Ireland
for the last forty years. Yet all this went for
nothing ; the bond of common service and
common sacrifice proved so strong and enduring
that Catholic and Protestant, Unionist and
Nationalist, lived and fought and died side by
side like brothers. Little was spoken concerning
the points on which we differed, and once we had
tacitly agreed to let the past be buried we found
thousands of points on which we agreed. To
an Englishman this no doubt appears natural,
for beneath all superficial disagreements the
English do possess a nature in common and
look on things from the same point of view,
but in Ireland up to the present things have
been very different. It is only to be hoped
that the willingness to forget old wrongs and
injustices, and to combine for a common
purpose, that existed in the loth Division, may
be a good augury for the future.
No doubt the experience of the two other
Irish Divisions of the New Army has been the
i54 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
same. Both of them have since won abundant
glory in France. When the War is over, all
these combats shared together, and dangers
faced side-by-side, should count for something
in the making of the new Ireland.
No doubt it may seem to the outsider that
all this is founded on an unstable foundation,
and that the loth Division did not do so much
after all. Measured by the scale of material
results he may seem correct. At Suvla, indeed,
they claim to have taken Chocolate Hill and
to have gained ground along the Kiretch Tepe
Sirt, part of which they were unable to hold.
At Anzac two battalions seized part of the
Chunuk Bair and held it until they were driven
off, a third succeeded in maintaining its position
on Rhododendron Ridge, while the fourth
captured the wells of Kabak Kuyu and gained
a footing for a time on Hill 60. All these were
but incidents in what was itself an unsuccessful
campaign, yet officers and men did all that was
required of them. They died. There was no
fear or faltering, there was no retirement
without orders.
The loth Division, young soldiers without
knowledge or experience of war, were plunged into
one of the hardest and fiercest campaigns ever
waged by the British Army, and acquitted
themselves with credit. They make no claim to
exclusive glory, to have done more than it was
their duty to do, but they have no cause to be
r
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 255
ashamed. Their shattered ranks, their enor-
mous list of casualties, show clearly enough
what they endured, and the words used by Sir
Ian Hamilton of one brigade are true of the
whole Division. He wrote : —
" The old German notion that no unit would stand a loss
of more than 25 per cent, had been completely falsified. The
13th Division and the 29th Brigade of the 10th (Irish) Division
had lost more than twice that proportion, and in spirit were
game for as much more fighting as might be required."
This may reasonably be applied to the 30th
and 31st Brigades as well as to the 29th, for the
best proof of the enduring spirit of the Division
may be found in the fact that when after
having lost nearly 75 per cent, of its original
strength, it was hastily filled up with drafts
and sent under-officered and barely rested to
fight a new and arduous campaign single-handed,
it did creditably.
In some quarters, particularly in Ireland,
which is a sensitive and suspicious country, it
has been suggested that the services of the
Division have not been adequately recognized.
Little is to be gained by engaging in a controversy
on this point. No doubt if on the grounds that
the Gallipoli campaign was unsuccessful, the
men who fought there are refused a clasp to
their medals, and the regiments who took part
in it are not permitted to add its name to the
battle honours on their colours, much resent-
ment will be aroused, but it is hardly likely that
this will occur. If precedents are needed.
256 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Talavera and Busaco, both of which figure as
British victories, were followed by retirements
and by no definite result other than the ex-
haustion of the enemy's forces. Corunna, too,
which was merely a repulse of a pursuing enemy,
followed by embarkation and evacuation, is
considered a victory, and while these names are
emblazoned among the battle-honours of
regiments there is little reason for excluding
Gallipoli, where men suffered as much and
fought as bravely.
But, after all, these considerations, though
sentiment endears them to the soldier, are
minor matters. The soldier's true reward is the
gratitude of his fellow-countrymen, and that
we have in full measure obtained. Ireland will
not easily forget the deeds of the loth Division.
APPENDIX A
ON AUTHORITIES
IN writing this Book I have in the main been
guided by my own memory and by
information obtained from other officers,
but I have also read almost every book dealing
with Gallipoli that has been published up to the
present (February, 1917). Three of these have
been of great value to me, since their authors
served with the Division. The first (At Suvla
Bay by John Hargrave. Constable) was written
by a sergeant in the 32nd Field Ambulance and
describes in graphic language the experiences
of a stretcher-bearer. It is illustrated by a
number of sketches from the author's hand.
The second book {Suvla Bay and After, by
Juvenis. H odder and Stoughton) is also a record
of individual experiences. Though the author
is anonymous and is very reticent in giving
detailed information of any kind, yet he appears
from internal evidence to have been an officer in
the 5th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. His
narrative describes life on the Peninsula from the
Sth to the 15th, on which date he was wounded.
3 257
258 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
It also gives a vivid account of hospital life at
Mudros.
Both these works are first-hand evidence of
the doings of individuals, but the third is of
greater value to the historian. It is a record of
the services of the 5th (Service) Battalion of the
Connaught Rangers between the 19th of August,
1914, and the 17th of January, 1917, compiled
by its commanding officer and printed for private
circulation by Frederick Hall at the Oxford
University Press. This work not only provides
a clear and vivid narrative of the movements of
the battalion, but also gives invaluable informa-
tion as to orders, strength and casualties. If a
similar work were compiled for each unit, the
task of the historian would be easy.
I regret that the book dealing with the
history of D Company of the 7th Royal Dublin
Fusiliers, which has been written by Mr. H.
Hanna, K.C., was not published in time to
allow me to read it before writing this work.
Mr. Hanna has, however, been kind enough to
allow me to read part of his proof-sheets, and
the information which I obtained from him has
been of great assistance to me.
I have also studied the letters from officers
and men which appeared in the Irish Press in
the Autumn of 1915, but I have not as a rule
considered their statements as unimpeachable
unless they were confirmed by some independent
authority.
APPENDIX B
CASUALTIES TO OFFICERS
(staff and infantry only)
STAFF :
Killed :
Capt. G. W. Nugent, Staff Capt.,
29th Brigade.
Wounded :
Brig.-Gen. R. J. Cooper, G.V.O.,
29th Brigade.
Major D. J. C. K. Bernard,
G.S.O. III.
Capt. A. H. McCleverty, Brigade-
Major, 29th Brigade.
Capt. T. J. D. Atkinson, Staff
Capt., 31st Brigade.
6th Royal Irish Regiment
(Pioneers).
Killed :
Lieut. R. MacAndrew.
2nd Lieut. J. P. Costello.
Wounded :
Major J. L. Fulda.
Capt. E. C. Morel.
Capt. J. R. Penrose Welsted.
Lieut. E. C. Beard.
Lieut. J. N. More.
2nd Lieut. C. Bewicke.
2nd Lieut. L. M. Lefroy.
Missing :
Lieut. J. R. Duggan.
5th Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers.
Killed :
Lieut.-Col. A. S. Vanrenen.
Capt. R. W. Robinson.
Capt. C. E G Vernon.
Lieut. H. H. McCormack.
Lieut. J. E. T. Nelis.
2nd Lieut. D. J. Grubb.
Died of Wounds :
Lieut. J. R. Whitsitt.
Wounded :
Major T. A. D. Best.
Major C. S. Owen.
Capt. W. C. G. Bolitho.
Capt. V. H. Scott.
Lieut. F. C. Stigant.
Lieut. T. T. H. Verschoyle.
Lieut. T. E. Hastings.
Lieut. F. M. McCormac.
Lieut. O. G. E. MacWiUiam.
2nd Lieut. G. C. Ballentine.
2nd Lieut. R. R. A. Darling.
2nd Lieut. L. F. Falls.
2nd Lieut. M. W. F. Hall.
2nd Lieut. I. A. Kirkpatrick.
6th Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers.
Killed :
2nd Lieut. W. S. CoUen.
2nd Lieut. I. J. Smyth.
Wounded :
Lieut.-Col. H. M. Cliffe.
Major G. C. B. Musgrave.
Lieut, and Qrmr. J. J. Dooley.
Lieut. S. T. Martin.
Lieut. A. B. Douglas.
2nd Lieut. J. F. Hunter.
2nd Lieut. W. Porter.
10th Hampshire Regiment.
Killed :
Capt. C. C. R. Black Hawkins.
Capt. W. H. Savage.
Lieut. G. L. Cheeseman.
Lieut. P. C. Williams.
2nd Lieut. S. A. Smith.
2nd Lieut. O. S. Whaley.
259
26o THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Died of Wounds :
Capt. G. E. HeUyer.
Wounded :
Lieut.-Col. W. D. Bewsher.
Major L. C. Morley.
Capt. T. A. Shone.
Capt. C. C. Waddington.
Capt. F. M. Hicks.
Lieut. L. Whittome.
Lieut. J. H. Tanner.
Lieut. C. C. Griffith.
Lieut. J. Clement.
2nd Lieut. I. H. German.
2nd Lieut. J. Morse.
2nd Lieut. C. Grelher.
2nd Lieut. G. S. H. De Gaury.
Wounded and Missing :
Major A, L. Pilleau.
Capt. C. B. Hayes.
Lieut. P. L. Bell.
6th Royal Irish Rifles.
Killed :
Major and Adjt. W. Eastwood.
2nd Lieut. J. H. B. Lewis.
2nd Lieut. A. W. Richardson.
Died of Wounds :
Capt. J. F. Martyr.
Wounded :
Lieut.-Col. E. C. Bradford.
Major A. L. Wilford.
Major H. J. Morphy.
Capt. P. D. Green Armytage.
Capt. F. E. Eastwood.
Capt. R. H. Lorie.
Capt. R. O. Mansergh.
Lieut. N. McGavin.
Lieut. T. W. E. Brogden.
Lieut. D. Campbell.
Lieut. J. H. Pollock.
2nd Lieut. A. F. Harvey.
2nd Lieut. G. B. J. Smyth.
2nd Lieut. J. Murphy.
2nd Lieut. J. G. Martry.
2nd Lieut. W. G. Ryan.
6th Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Killed :
Major W. F. C. Garstin.
Capt. W. J. Hartley.
2nd Lieut. C. Crossly.
Died of Wounds :
Capt. G. G. Duggan.
Capt. A. W. Scott-Skirving.
Wounded :
Major F. W. E. Johnson.
Capt. E. M. Mcllwain.
Capt. and Adjt. P. E Kelly
Capt J. A. D. Dempsey.
Capt. H. G. Whyte.
Lieut. J. B. Atkinson.
Lieut. W. A. Beattie.
Lieut. C. F. N. Harris.
Lieut. C. A. Murray.
Lieut. R. V. Murray.
Lieut. J. A. Blood.
2nd Lieut. J. L. Chalmers.
2nd Lieut. P. H. D. Dempsey.
2nd Lieut. E. A. Evanson.
2nd Lieut. F. A. No well.
2nd Lieut. L. C. Fitzgerald.
2nd Lieut. J. L. Bennett.
6th Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Killed :
Major H. M. Taylor.
Capt. and Adjt. J. C. Johnston.
Capt. B. V. Falle.
Lieut. L. Tolerton.
Lieut. J. S. Schute.
2nd Lieut. H. M. MacDermot.
2nd Lieut. G. F. Dobbin.
2nd Lieut. P. S. Snell.
2nd Lieut. W. A. Birmingham.
Wounded :
Lieut. -Colonel F. A Greer.
Capt. W. A. Woods.
Capt. F. G. M. Wigley.
Capt. H. F. BeUi Biver.
Capt. F. R. M. Crozier.
Capt. F. Jackson. .
Lieut. G. H. Gallogly.
Lieut. F. H. Ledgerwood.
Lieut. A. L. Gregg.
Lieut. P. C. Tudor Craig.
2nd Lieut. J. C. McCutcheon.
2nd Lieut. C. F. Kennedy.
2nd Lieut. R. S. Trimble.
2nd Lieut. W. R. Egar.
2nd Lieut. C. E. T. Lewis.
Missing {believed killed) ;
2nd Lieut. C. M. A. Barker.
2nd Lieut. J. J. Beasley.
2nd Lieut. F. G. Heuston.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 261
5th Conn aught Rangers.
Killed :
Lieut. A. J. W. Blake.
2nd Lieut. J. E. Burke.
2nd Lieut. G. R. Bennett.
Bied of Wounds :
Major N. C. K. Money.
Capt. A. S. Hog.
Wounded :
Major H. J. Nolan Ferrall.
Capt. and Adjt. H. W. B. Maling.
Capt. A. Webber.
Capt. F. C. Burke.
Capt. G. J. B. E. Massy.
Capt. B. W. Bond.
Lieut. J. W. Cartmell Robinson.
Lieut. T. S. P. Martin.
Lieut. F. J. Charlton.
Lieut. O. M. Tweedy.
2nd Lieut. A. D. Mulligan.
2nd Lieut. J. Wallace.
2nd Lieut. T. W. G. Johnson.
2nd Lieut. E. J. G. Kelly.
2nd Lieut. A. St. J. Mahony.
Wounded and Missing :
Lieut. S. T. H. Lewis.
6th Leinster Regiment.
Killed :
Lieut. N. J. Figgis.
Lieut. G. W. B. Gough.
2nd Lieut, A. R. Toomey.
2nd Lieut. W. S. C. Griffith.
2nd Lieut. H. G. Hickson.
2nd Lieut. J. V. Y. Willington.
Wounded :
Lieut.-Col. J. C. Craske, D.S.O.
Major T. R. Stannus.
Lieut. A. J. Jennings.
2nd Lieut. H. D. Little.
Missing {believed killed) :
Capt. C. C. D'Arcy Irvine.
6th Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Killed :
Major E. P. Conway.
Lieut. J. B. Lee.
Lieut. G. W. Burrowes.
Died of Wounds :
Major J. N. Jephson.
2nd Lieut. L. A. Gaffney.
Wounded :
Lieut.-Col. V. T. Worship.D.S.O.
Capt. H. G. Oldnall.
Capt. H. G. Livingston.
Capt. C. Y. Baldwin.
Lieut. G. W. N. N. Haynes.
Lieut. A. T. Lee.
Lieut. E. A. Thornton.
2nd Lieut. H. M. Chambers.
2nd Lieut. T. E. Heam.
2nd Lieut. J. I. Comerford.
2nd Lieut. J. W. L. Rathbone.
2nd Lieut. S. C. Webb.
Missing :
Capt. J. B. T. Grant.
7th Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Killed :
Capt. R. H. CuUinan.
Capt. J. V. Dunn.
Lieut. K. E. O'Duffy.
Lieut. S. R. V. Travers.
2nd Lieut. E. M. Harper.
2nd Lieut. F. E. Bennett.
2nd Lieut. W. H. Good.
Wounded :
Major C. L. Hendricks.
Capt. A. L. Cooper Key.
Capt. W. F. Henr.
Capt. M. Wace,
Capt. H. Aplin.
Lieut. W. E. McClelland.
Lieut. H. G. Montagu.
Lieut. T. D. Hallinan.
Lieut. C. E. Longfield.
Lieut. R. E. Lawler.
2nd Lieut. V. J. Magnier.
2nd Lieut. F. S. L. Stokes.
2nd Lieut. J. L. Fitzmaurice.
6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Killed :
Capt. A. J. D. Preston.
Capt. and Adjt. W. R. Richards.
Lieut. J. J. Doyle.
2nd Lieut. W. C. Nesbitt.
2nd Lieut. F. B. O'CarroU.
2nd Lieut. W. F. C. McGarry.
262 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Died oj Wounds :
2nd Lieut. W. L. G. Mortimer.
Wounded :
Capt. W. H. Whyte
Capt P. T. L. Thompson.
Capt. R. B. C. Kennedy.
Capt. J. Luke.
Capt. J. J. T. Carroll.
Capt. W. S. Lennon.
Lieut. C. A. Martin.
2nd Lieut. R. W. Carter.
2nd Lieut. C. F, Healy.
2nd Lieut. M. Moloney.
Wounded and Missing :
Major J. G. Jennings.
Lieut. D. R. Clery.
2nd Lieut. R. Stanton.
[All these are believed to have
been killed,]
7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers,
Killed :
Major C. H. Tippet.
Major R. S. M. Harrison.
Capt. P. H. Hickman.
Capt. G. Pige Leschallas.
Capt. R. P. Tobin.
Lieut. M. J. Fitzgibbon.
Lieut. A. J. Russell.
2ud Lieut. E. T. Weatherill.
Died of Wounds :
Lieut. E. L. Julian.
Wounded :
Lieut. -Col. G. Downing.
Capt. L. S. N. Palmer,
Lieut, C, B, Girvin.
Lieut, A, W. MacDermott.
2nd Lieut. C, D. Harvey.
2nd Lieut. H. L. Clover.
2nd Lieut. G, Hicks.
Lieut. A. M. Eynaud (Royal
Malta Regiment of Militia
attached.)
Missing :
2nd Lieut. A. G. Crichton.
I regret that I have been un-
able to compile a full list of
casualties in the Royal Artillery,
Royal Engineers, Army Service
Corps and Royal Army Medical
Corps. Among those who were
killed and wounded were : —
Killed :
Capt. H. J. Sudell, Army Service
Corps.
Wounded and Missing {probably
killed) :
2nd Lieut. M. W. Prettyman
Royal Engineers.
Wounded :
Capt. C. R. Satterthwaite, Royal
Engineers.
Lieut. C. Patteson, Royal Eng-
ineers.
Lieut. L. Cassidy, Royal Army
Medical Corps.
APPENDIX C
NAMES OF OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED
OFFICERS, AND MEN MENTIONED IN
GENERAL SIR IAN HAMILTON'S DESPATCHES
JANUARY AND MARCH, 1916
STAFF :
Lieut. -General Sir B. T. Mahon,
K.C.V.O.. C.B., D.S.O.
Colonel (temporary Brigadier-
General) F. F. Hill, C.B.,
D.S.O.
Lieut. -Col, (temporary Briga-
dier-General) J. G. King King,
D.S.O., Res. of Officers.
Major M. J. N. Cooke CoUis.
Royal Irish Rifles.
Capt. A. H. McCleverty, 2nd
Rajput Light Infantry.
Royal Engineers.
Lieut.-Col. F. K. Fair.
Temporary Lieut. C. Patteson.
Temporary Lieut. J. H. de W.
Waller.
Royal Irish Regiment.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. Rt. Hon.
B. A. W. P., Earl of Granard.
K.P., G.C.V.O.
Temporary Major V. M. B.
Scully.
No. 5,615, C.S.M. R. Gallagher.
No. 223, C.S.M. M. McGrath.
No. 2,797, Lance-Corporal A.
Laughlin.
No. 2,821, Lance-Corporal W.
Grant.
No. 1,261. Private J. C. Keefe.
Royal Innis killing Fusiliers
No. 12,519, Corporal J. Matchett.
No. 12,515, Private A. Mason.
No. 13,272, Private R. Bannon,
No. 13.981, Private J. Cox.
Temporary Lieut.-Colonel H. M.
Cliff.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. M. P. B.
Frazer.
Temporary Major G. C. B.
Musgrave.
Temporary Capt. R. H. Scott.
Temporary Lieut. C. G. Barton.
Temporary Second-Lieut. G. B.
Lyndon.
No. 7,817, Sgt. M. Garrett.
No. 17.986, Lance-Corporal W.
Wynne.
No. 11,792, Lance-Corporal J.
Maple.
No. 19,955. Private P. O'Kane.
No. 11.832. Private J. Lamont.
No, 12,720, Private T. Millar.
Hampshire Regiment.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. W. D.
Bewsher.
Temporary Capt. F. M. Hicks.
Temporary Capt. P. H. Hudson.
Quartermaster and Hon. Lieut.
W. J. Saunders.
No. 4,410. Temporary Sergeant-
Ma jor J. Smith.
No. 42.196, Company Sergt.-
Major W. T. Groves.
263
264 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
No. 4,645, Sergeant T. Sturges.
No. 10,205. Private F. Biddi-
combe.
No. 9.871, Private J. C. R.
Moxham.
No. 14.938, Private F. Dyer.
No. 14,295. Private E. P. Shawe.
Royal Irish Rifles.
Lieut.-Colonel E. C. Bradford.
Temporary Major W. Eastwood.
Temporary Major H. L. Wilford,
Regimental Sergeant-Major P.
Mulholland.
Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Temporarv Lieut.-Col. M. J. W.
Pike.
Major F. W. E. Johnson.
Capt. P. E. Kelly.
Temporary Capt. H. S. C. Panton
2nd Lieut. C. Crossley.
Temporary Capt. G. M. Kidd.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. F. A.
Greer.
Temporary Major M. J. Thomp-
son.
Temporary Capt. P. C. Tudor
Craig.
Temporary Lieut. A. L. Gregg.
Quartermaster and Hon. Lieut.
S. L. Cleall.
Temporary 2nd Lieut. F. G.
Heuston.
No. 12,169. Sergeant J. Donohoe.
No. 12,166, Sergeant G. O'Neill.
No. 11,892, Sergeant G. Thir-
kettle.
No. 1,991. Lance-Corporal G.
Cassells.
No. 16,641. Private C. Kipps.
No. 13.703, Private C. Lees.
CONNAUGHT RANGERS.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. H. F. N.
Jourdain.
Temporary Major N. C. K.
Money.
Temporary Major B. R. Cooper.
Capt. H. B. W. Maling (Adjt.)
Capt. G. J. B. E. Massy.
Temporary Lieut. A. J. W.
Blake.
Lieut. S. H. Lewis.
No. 3,010, Temporary Sergeant-
Major J. Hudson.
No. 319, Acting C.Q.M. Sergeant
M. Nealon.
No. 652. Sergeant J. O'Connell.
No. 6,757, Sergeant J. Mcllwaine.
No. 824. Acting Corporal J.
Doyle.
No. 83, Private J. Geehan.
No. 3.831, Private J. Sweeney.
No. 629. Private M. Kilroy.
Leinster Regiment.
Lieut.-Col. J. Craske, D.S.O.
Temporary Capt. C. Lyster.
Temporary Capt. C. W. D'Arcy
Irvine.
Capt. H. W. Andrews (Adjt.)
Temporary 2nd Lieut. H. G.
Hickson.
No. 8,120, Company Sergeant-
Major H. H. Anderson.
No. 833, Sergeant J. Henry.
No. 1,201, Sergeant E. W. Bruce.
No. 3.134. Private J. Carolan.
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. M. A.
Tynte.
Major J. N. Jephson.
Temporary Capt. B. R. French.
No. 260. Company Sergeant-
Major J. Murphy.
No. 26, Sergeant J. Ring.
No. 176, Sergeant W. Connors.
No. 645, Corporal R. Saunders.
Temporary Major G. Drag*.
Temporary Major H. ApUn.
Temporary Lieut. H. Fitz-
maurice.
Temporary Lieut. E. M. Harper.
Temporary Capt. G. H. Davis.
Temporary Lieut. S. R. V.
Travers.
Temporary 2nd Lieut. F. T. S.
Powell.
Qr. Master and Hon. Lieut. C.
Lindsay.
No. 10,397, Sergeant-Major M.
Stacey.
No. 2,364, Company Sergeant-
Major R. Mason.
No. 2,501. Private W. Bellamy.
No. 2,621, Private H. Carbult.
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 265
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
Temporary Lieut.-Col. P. G. A.
Cox.
Temporary Major W. H. Whyte.
Capt. A. J. D. Preston.
Capt. P. T. L. Thompson.
Capt. W. R. Richards.
Qr. Master and Hon. Lieut. R.
Byrne.
No. 13,507, Temporary Sergeant-
Ma jor J. Campbell,
No. 17,141, Sergeant J. West.
No. 13,197, Corporal E. Bryan.
Lieut.-Col. G. Downing.
Major R. S. M. Harrison.
Major M. P. L. Lonsdale.
Temporary Major C. B. R. Hoey.
Temporary Capt. R. P. Tobin.
Temporary Capt. L. S. N.
Palmer.
Temporary Capt. G. N. William-
son.
No. 14,163, Regimental Sergeant-
Major A. Guest.
No. 14,133, Company Sergeant-
Major W. Kee.
No. 14,972, Company Sergeant-
Major T. Haig.
No. 14,275, Company Sergeant-
Major H. Robinson.
No. 14,150, Sergeant A. E.
Burro wes.
No. 14,645, Sergeant E. C. Millar.
No. 13,852. Private A. E. Wilkin.
No. 25,563, Company Sergeant-
Major C. Lynch.
Chaplain's Department.
Rev. R. A. McClean.
APPENDIX D
HONOURS AWARDED TO OFFICERS
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE TENTH DIVISION
C.B.
Col. (temp. Brig.-Gen.) R. J.
Cooper, C.V.O.. Res. of Off.
C.M.G.
Col. (temp. Brig.-Gen.) F. F.
Hill. C.B., D.S.O.
Lt. Col. J. Craske, D.S.O..
Leinster Regt.
Major (temp. Lt.-Col.) H. F. N.
Jourdain, The Connaught
Rangers.
D.S.O.
Major (temp. Lt.-Col.) W. D.
Bewsher, Res. of Off.
Capt. (temp. Major) N. C. K.
Money, Indian Army (att.
Connaught Rangers).
Capt. (temp. Major) A. L.
Wilford, Indian Army (att.
Royal Irish Rifles).
To he Brevet Colonel in the Reserve
of Officers.
Lt.-Col. (temp. Brig.-Gen.) J. G.
King-King, Res. of Off.
MILITARY CROSS.
Temp. Capt. G. M. Kidd, Royal
Irish Fusiliers.
Temp. Capt. C. C. J. Lyster,
Leinster Regt.
Capt. G. J. B. E. Massy, The
Connaught Rangers.
Temp. Capt. H. S. Panton, Royal
Irish Fusiliers.
Temp. Lt. J. F. Hunter, Royal
Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Temp. Lt. C. Patteson, Royal
Engineers,
Qr.-Master and Hon. Lt. W. J.
Saunders, Hampshire Regt.
Qr.-Master and Hon. Lt. R.
Byrne, Royal Dublin FusiUers.
Temp. Sec. Lt. F. G. Henston,
Royal Irish Fusiliers.
Temp, Sec. Lt. G. B. Lyndon,
Royal Inniikilling Fusiliers.
D.C.M.
No. 8120 Sergt. H. Anderson,
6th Leinster Regt.
No. 2501, Pte. W. Bellamy, 6th
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
No. 1470, Pte. F. Biddlecombe,
10th Hampshire Regiment.
No. 10205, L.-Sgt. S. Bowers,
10th Hampshire Regt,
No. 41627, Pioneer T. L. Camp-
bell, Royal Engineers.
No. 3134, Pte. J. Carolan, 6th
Leinster Regt.
No. 177, Sergt. W. Connors, 6th
Royal Munster Fusiliers.
No. 12169, Sergt. J. Donohoe,
6th Royal Irish Fusiliers.
No. 33452, Corpl. S. A. Fitch,
30th Field Ambulance.
No. 83, Pte. J. Geehan, 6th
Connaught Rangers.
266
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 267
No. 14153, Acting Sergt.-Major
A. Guest, 7th Royal Dublin
Fusiliers.
No. 32611, Sergt. G. Hughes, 30th
Field Ambulance.
No. 15641, Pte. C. Kipps, 6th
Royal Irish FusiUers.
No. 11832, Pte. J. Lamont, 6th
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
No. 11782. C. - Sergt.-Major C.
Lynch, 5th Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers.
No. 12516, Pte. A. Mason, 5th
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
No. 2464, Acting C. - Sergt. -
Major R. Mason, 7th Royal
Munster Fusiliers.
No. 17792, Lance -Corpl. J.
Meckle, 6th Royal Inniskilling.
Fusiliers.
No. 250, C. - Sergt. - Major J
Murphy, 6th Royal Munster
Fusiliers.
No. 642, Sergt J O 'Conn ell,
5th Connaught Rangers
No 1251, Pte J O'Keefe, 6th
Royal Irish Regiment.
No. 4545, Acting C. -Sergt -Major
T. Sturges, 10th Hampshire
Regiment.
No 17986, L.-Corpl. St. C. P.
Wynne, 6th Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers.
Clasp to D.C.M.
No. 3010, Sergt.-Major J.
Hudson, 5th Connaught Ran-
gers, was awarded a clasp to
the D.C.M. won by him in
South Africa when serving
with the Irish Guards.
INDEX
Abdy, Brig. -Gen., 6
Achi Baba, 55, 68
Adam, Lt., 106
Aghyl Dere, 76, 92, 93, 97. io5.
no. III, 113, 116, 118, 119,
182
Agnew, Lt.-Col., 184, 217
Aldershot, 23, 24
Alexander, Major, 36
Alexandria, 40, 49, 220, 229
Anafarta (Saghir), 122, 130,
154, 186
Anafarta (Bijoik), 123, 186
Anderson, Major, 217
Anzac, 56, 58, 59, 63, 94. ^o^,
186, 187, 215, 216, 232, 233
Anzac, Sap, The,?94, 9^, 108, 240
Apex, The, 217
A.S.C., 3, 16, 20, 226
Artillery, loth Divisional, 3,
16, 37, 49. 229, 230
Ashmead Bartlett, Mr,, 120
Asmak Dere, 92, 93, 99, 186
Atkinson, Capt., 37, 138, 209
Australians, 23, 56, 58, 72, 93,
96, 197, 199, 202, 239
Australians, i8th Battalion, 196
Australians, 9th Light Horse, 204
Baldwin, Brig.-Gen., 96-103
Barnwell, Lt., 87
Barron, Capt., 37
Basingstoke, 3, 23, 33
Bauchop's Hill, no, 216
Beaumont, Capt. Sir G., 37
Bennett, 2nd Lt., 144
Bernard, Capt., 35
Bewsher, Lt.-Col., 36, 104, 105,
120
Birdwood, Lt.-Gen., Sir W.,
56, 58, 80, 109, 186, 196
Birr, 16
Blake, Lt., 117, 194, 195
Bordon, 24
Bradford, Lt.-Col., 36, 103
British Red Cross Society, 211
Browning, Mr. F. H., 15
Brown's Dip, 77, 107
Burke, 2nd Lt., 150
BurfO'Ws, Lt., 149
Byrne, Lt. and Qr.-Mr. 137, 138
Cadell, Lt.-Col., 37
Cairo, 220, 229
Carlo w, 17
Cayley, Brig.-Gen., 110-117, 182
Chailak Dere, 76, 92, 93, 95, 96,
97, no
Chaplains, 63, 161, 162, 189,
218-221
Chocolate Hill, 123, 127-135,
152, 154. 159. 214. 215
Chunuk Bair, 82, 83, 92, no,
III, 112, 113, 118, 182
Clery, 2nd Lt., 179
Cliffe, Lt.-Col., 37 139
Colquhoun, Major, 80, 216
Connaught Rangers, 5th Batt.,
2, 36, 40, 65, 68, 70, 75, 77,
181-186, 215, 216, 239 ; at
Sari Bair, 10 7-1 19; at Kaba
Kuyu, 187-198 ; at Hill 60,
199-205.
Conway, Major, 144
Cooke CoUis, Capt., 37, 209, 241
Cooper, Brig.-Gen., 6, 36, 77,
98, 103, 120
Cooper-Key, Capt., 144
Costello, Lt., 207
Courtney's Post, 80
Cox, Maj.-Gen., 96, 99, 104, 109,
185-187, 196
Cox, Lt.-Col., 36, 241
Craske, Lt.-Col., 36, 81, 84, 85, 89
Crichton, 2nd Lt., 174
Crozier, Rev. J. W., C.F., 63,
186, 220
Cullinan, Capt., 144
Curragh, The, 16, 20, 21
Currey, Major, 85, 216
Cyclist Company, loth Division-
al, 3, 20, 21, 38, 50
Damakjelik Bair, 93, 99, 104,
no. III, 181, 187, 188,^230
D'Arcy-Irvine, Capt., 89
de Lisle, Major-Gen., 212
Delbruck, Professor, 52
Dooley, Lt. and Qr.-Mr., 140
Dowling, Lt. and Qr.-Mr., 106
Downing, Lt.-Col., 36, 129, 170
Dublin, 16, 20, 21
Dublin Fusiliers, Royal, 6th
269
270 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
Batt., 2, 36, 53, 125, 128, 132,
137. 154. 155. 213, 214. 215 ;
at Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 162-180
Dublin Fusiliers, Royal, 7th
Batt., 2, 20, 36, 53, 125, 126,
128, 129, 130, 156, 159,
213-215 ; at Chocolate Hill,
132-135 ; at Kiretch Tepe Sirt,
162-180
Dublin Fusiliers, Royal, 7th
Batt., D Company, 15, 134,173
Dufifus, Brig.-Gen., 6, 37
Dug-outs, 78
Dundalk, 16
East Lancashire Regt., 6th Batt.,
96, 97. 103. 185
Eastwood, Major, 103
nth Division, 58, 59, 124-135,
154. 213
Elliot, Lt., 239
Engineers, loth Divisional, 3,
16, 37, 50. 207
Enos, 53
Fair, Lt.-Col., 37
Farm, The, 93, 94, 98, 111-114
Fashom, Lt., 150
Fatigues at Mudros, 44, 45
Fermoy, 16
52nd (Lowland) Division, 55
53rd (Welsh) Division, 58,154,213
54th (East Anglian) Division, 58,
161, 213
Fitch, Corporal, 215
Fitzclarence, Brig.-Gen., 6
Fitzgibbon, Lt., 176
43rd (East Lancashire) Division,
55
French (Corps Expeditionnaire
d'Orient), 55
Fulda, Major, 207
Gaba Tepe, 23, 56, 108
Gaffney, Lt., 150
Garstin, Major, 139
Ghazi Baba, 141, 146
Ghurkhas, 97, 103, no, 189, 193
Glavey, Pte., 201
Godley, Major-Gen. Sir A., 58,
89. 93. 95. 109. 120, 189, 196
Goodland, Capt., 36, 241
Gore, Lt.-Col., 36
Granard, Lt.-Col. the Earl of, 37,
207, 241
Grant, Capt., 174
Greer, Lt.-Col., 37
Grubb, Lt., 168
Hamilton, Gen. Sir I., 54, 55,
57, 204, 205
Hammersley, Major-Gen., 126
Hampshire, Regt., loth Batt.,
2, 16, 65, 70, 75, 181, 186, 188,
216 ; at Sari Bair, 94-107
Harrison, Major, 8, 135, 170, 173
Harper, Capt., 144
Headfort, Capt. the Marquis of,
35
Helles, Cape, 23, 55, 229
Hellyer, Capt., 106, 197
Hendricks, Major, 144
Henn, Capt., 144
Heuston, 2nd Lt., 177
Hill, Brig.-Gen., 6, 37, 125, 128,
133. 134. 152, 154. 159, 208
Hill Q, 92, 96, 97, loi
Hill 10, 129, 213
Hill 60 (Kaiajik Aghala), 187,
191-196, 199-204, 213
Hill 70, 154
Hog, Capt., 183
Holden, Major, 35
Hollins, Major, 35
Homer, 52
Hughes, Staff -Sgt., 215
Hunter, Lt., 156
Hutchinson, Rev. S., C.F., 220
Imbros, 58, 67, 230, 238
Inniskilling Fusiliers, Royal, 5th
Batt., 2, 37, 125, 132, 140,
144, 215 ; at Kiretch Tepe
Sirt, 162-169
InniskiUing Fusiliers, Royal 6th
Batt., 2, 37, 126, 128, 130,
156, 213, 215 ; at Chocolate
Hill, 132-135 ; at Kiretch
Tepe Sirt, 162-169
Inspection of loth Division by
H.M. the King, 26; by
F.-M. Lord Kitchener, 26-29 ;
by Sir B. Mahon, 21
Ismail Oglu Tepe, 161, 186, 213
James, Capt., 38
Jephson, Major, 143, 164
Johnson, 2nd Lt., 191
Johnston, Maj.-Gen., 96
Johnston, Capt., 155
THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION 271
Jourdain, Lt.-Co^, 36, 109, in,
184, 205, 241
Julian, Lt., 139
Kaba Kuyu Wells, 187-197, 200,
213
Kaiajik Aghala (see Hill 60)
Karakol Dagh, 124, 125
Kidd, Capt., 177
Kidney Hill, 162, 166, 167
Kildare, 16
Kilid Bahr, 55
Kilworth, 16
King, H.M. the, Inspection by,
26 ; Order of, 29
King, Major, 35
King- King, Lt. Col. (later Brig.-
Gen.), 35, 209
Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 124, 125,
140-151, 152, 161-180, 206, 207
Kitchener, F.-M. Earl, Inspec-
tion by, 26-29
Koja Chemen Tepe, 92-94, 1 86,21 3
Lala Baba, 122, 124, 127, 213, 230
Lauder, Lt.-Col., 38
Lee, Lt., 144
Leinster Regt., 6th Batt., 2, 16,
36, 40, 65, 68, 70, 75, 76, 100,
181, 216 ; at Rhododendron
Ridge, 76-90
Leman, Major, 35
Lemnos, 41, 43, 67
Lewis, Lt., 201, 203
Limerick, 17
Lone Pine, 59, 73
Longford, 16
Longford, Brig.-Gen. the Earl
of, 199
Lonsdale, Major, 128
Loyal North Lancashire Regt.,
6th Batt., 83, 84, 100
Lyndon, Lt., 168
Lyster, Capt., 89
Mac Andrew, Lt., 207
McCleverty Capt., 36, 103
McCormack, Lt., 168
MacDermot, Lt., 155
McGarry, 2nd Lt., 179
MacKessack, Lt.-Col., 38
McLean, Rev. Canon, C. F., 161
219, 221
Mahon, Lt.-Gen. Sir B., 4, 5, 21,
35, 129, 140
Maidos, 55
Mails, 148, 221-224
Maling, Capt., 193
Malta, 40
Manchester Regt., nth Batt.,
124, 141, 142
Maoris, 103
Martyr, Lt., 95
Massy, Capt., 115, 118
Mayne, Lt., 73
Mitylene, 51, 58, 59, 124, 125
Money, Major, 8, 117, 204, 227
Morley, Major, 185, 197
Morel, Capt., 207
Morphy, Major, 103
Mudros, 40-59, 140, 148, 160,
217, 229, 233, 238, 239, 241
MuUingar, 16
Munster Fusiliers, Royal, 6th
Batt., 2, 36, 40, 140-151 ; at
Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 162-180
Munster Fusiliers, Royal, 7th
Batt., 2, 36, 40, 65, 140-151 ;
at Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 162-180
Murphy, Rev. Father, C.F., 162,
219
Musgrave, Major, 139
Naval Division, Royal, 55
Nealon, Sergt., 195
Nelis, Lt., 168
Nesbitt, 2nd Lt., 179
Newbridge, 16
New Zealanders, 23, 56, 82, 93,
96, 98, 100, 186, 188, 192-196,
199, 202, 204
Nibrunesi Point, 121, 124, 125
Nicol, Brig.-Gen., 6, 36, 141, 164,
241
Norfolk Regt., i /5th Batt., 132
No. 2 Post, 94, 95, 108, 109, 216
Nugent, Capt., 36, 104
O'Connell, Sergt., 195
O'Connor, Rev. Father, C.F.,
63, 189 219
O'Farrell Rev. Father, C.F., 219
O'SuUivan, Lt., 119
Oldnall, Capt., 149, 150
Oman, Professor (quoted), 13,
198
Panton, Capt., 177 '
Parke, Capt., 85
Peck, Lt.-Col., 37
272 THE TENTH (IRISH) DIVISION
" Peninsula Press," The, 231,
Pike, Lt.-Col., 37, 281
Pilleau, Major, 163, 165
Polio k, Capt., 184, 195
Poole Hickman, Capt., 135, 174
Powerscourt, Lt. Viscount, 35
Preston, Major, 179
Quinn's Post, 80, 217
R.A.M.C, 3, 16, 17, 38, 50,
207-211
Redmond, Mr. J. E., 197
Reorganisation, 233-238
Reserve Gully, 216
Rest Gully, 94
Rhododendron Ridge, 82-90, 92,
94, loi, i8i
Richards, Capt., 179
Rifles, Royal Irish, 6th Batt.,
2, 36, 65, 70, 75, 181, 216,
239 ; at Sari Bair, 94-107
Robinson, Capt., 168
Roche, Rev. F. J., C.F., 220
Rose, Capt., 185
Rowan, Lt.-Col., 35
Royal Irish Regt., 5th Batt.,
2, 16, 37, 40, 141, 206 ; at
Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 178-179
Royal Irish Fusiliers, 5th Batt.,
2, 37, 125, 126, 128, 130, 215 ;
at Chocolate Hill, 132-135 ;
at Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 162-180
Royal Irish Fusiliers, 6th Batt.,
2, 37, 125, 128, 154, 155, 215 ;
at Chocolate Hill, 132-135 ;
at Kiretch Tepe Sirt, 162-180
Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 8th Batt.,
83
Royston-Pigott, Major, 35
Russell, Brig.-Gen., 188, 192,
193. 199
Russell's Top, 216
Salt Lake, The, 122, 128, 129,
133. 213
Samothrace, 134, 230
Sapte, Col., 35
Sari Bair, 57, 91-120
Saunders, Lt. and Qr.-Mr., 107
Sazli Beit Dere, 92
Scimitar Hill, 123, 230
and Mounted Division, 185, 213,
214
Shanahan, Lt.-Col., 38
Shaw, Capt., 184
Shrapnel Gully, 70, 73, 94
Signal Coy., loth Divisional, 3,
16, 38, 50
Sikhs, III
1 6th (Irish) Division, 16, 32
Smithers, Capt., 38
Smyrna, 53
South Irish Horse, 3, 33
South Lancashire Regt,, 6th
Batt., 97, 185
South Wales Borderers, 4th
Batt., 186, 194
South Wales Borderers' Gully,
188, 200, 230
Stafford, Rev. Father, G.F., 219
Stannus, Major, 80, 88
Stanton, 2nd Lt., 179
Stopford, Lt.-Gen. Sir F., 53, 59
Street, Capt., 105
Susuk Kuyu, 186
Suvla Bay, 57, 59, 103, 109, 210
Suvla Point, 121
Tekke Tepe, 122
13th Division, 58, 59, 94, 96
Tippet, Major, 139
Tobin, Capt., 156, 176
Transport (Regimental), 31, 33
Travers, Lt., 144
Troy, 51
29th Division, 23, 42, 55, 185,
199, 213, 238
29th Indian Brigade, 55, 58, 93,
94, 96, 187
Tynte, Major, 165
Vandeleur, Brig.-Gen., 217
Vanrenen, Lt.-Col., 37, 168, 241
Vernon, Capt., 168
Victoria Gully, 78
Waller, Lt., 149, 150, 207
Warwickshire Regt., Royal, 9th
Batt., 102, 105
Weatherill, 2nd Lt., 176
Wilford, Major, 103, 120
Wilkin, Pte., 176
Willington, Lt., 89
Wiltshire Regt., 5th Batt., 84,
96, 100, 102, 105,
Worship, Lt.-Col., 36, 149, 214
Yilghin Burnu (Green Hill), 123,
127-135. 152. 159
II
40.000 COPIES IN 13 WEEKS
MR. HERBERT JENKINS' NOVEL
BINDLE
SOME CHAPTERS IN THE
LIFE OF JOSEPH BINDLE
By Herbert Jenkins, author of " The Life of George
Borrow." Crown 8vo. Four-colour Jacket. 5/- net.
Second Edition, 10,000 copies. Completing 40.000
copies in 13 weeks.
THE CRITICS' WELCOME TO BINDLE
Bystander
Scotsman
Sunday Times
Clarion
Outlook
Daily Express
Everyman
Punch
Daily News
Pall Mall Gazette
Land and Water
Sportsman
Sporting Life
Observer
Bindle is delicious.
A Cockney Mr. Dooley.
A humorist of humorists.
You must read " Bindle."
Bindle is a great creation.
A new character in fiction.
One's heart goes out to Bindle.
Mr. Herbert Jenkins is a humorist.
Pickwickian... Bindle should "go."
The immortal mirth-provoking
Bindle.
A character who will give joy to
many.
We bespeak a hearty welcome for
Bindle.
Bindle is simply great ... a classic
of its kind.
One of the most " knowing " books
ever written . There should be a
verb " to bindle."
THE NIGHT CLUB
The New Bindle Book by Herbert Jenkins. First
Edition, 20,000 copies. Crown 8vo. 5/- net.
HERBERT JENKINS LTD., YORK STREET, ST. JAMES'S, S.W.I
RUSSIAN
COURT MEMOIRS I9I4-6
Never was a book so opportune. It tells of Court,
Political, and Social life in Petrograd during the years of
the war, of the private and official life of Nicholas II and
his family, of German influence and intrigue.
The importance of the book may be gathered from the
fact that a representative of the publishers journeyed to
Petrograd and conferred with the anonymous author, and
the manuscript was sent to this country by special courier.
WHY HAS RUSSIA REVOLTED ?
WHY HAS THE CZAR ABDICATED ?
WHY HAS GERMAN INFLUENCE FAILED ?
To know these things you must read the above book
of the hour.
SOME PRESS OPINIONS :
Everyman " The book is absolutely opportune."
Weekly Despatch " Secrets of the Russian Revolution."
Times " Seldom has a book been so remarkably
opportune."
Bystander " Its appearance in the very month of the
Revolution is something of a little
miracle."
Gentlewoman " ' Russian Court Memoirs ' comes at a
singularly opportune moment . .
Attractive enough to ensure the volume
an immense reading public."
Graphic " If you want to be thoroughly well in-
formed on the personal side of the
Revolution in Russia you must keep
' Russian Court Memoirs ' at your elbow."
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appeared of late years."
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promptly to the instant than ' Russian
Court Memoirs.' "
HERBERT JENKINS LTD., YORK STREET. ST. JAMES'S, S.W.I
A SOLDIER'S MEMORIES
Recollections of People, Places, and Things. By
MAJOR-GEN. SIR GEORGE YOUNGHUSBAND,
K.C.M.G., F.R.G.S., author of " The Relief of Chitral,"
" The Story of the Guides," etc. With 14 Illustrations.
Demy 8vo. 12/6 net. Inland Postage 6d. extra.
Second Printing.
Sir George Younghusband's new book is full of good stories
and amusing experiences in four continents. He has en-
countered many famous men and women and has interesting
things to say or anecdotes to tell about them. Among the
long list are King Edward VII. Kmg George V and Queen
Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Duke of
Cambridge, Admiral Dewey (of Manila fame), Lord Roberts,
Lord Kitchener. Lord Methuen. Lord William Beresford,
Sir William Robertson. Sir Douglas Haig, Sir Robert Baden-
Powell. Sir Edward Chichester and the ubiquitous Kaiser, who
once wept because he was not an Englishman ! Sir George
also tells many interesting things about native ways and
customs, dogs and horses, in short of the thousand and one
things that come the way ot a very observant man who has
lived a life full of incident and adventure, and who is also gifted
with a clever pen.
MEMORIES DISCREET
AND INDISCREET
By A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE. With
Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12/6 net. Inland.
Postage 6d, extra. Third Printing.
Among others who appear in this volume are : —
King Edward VII De Lesseps
Queen Mary Sir Charles Dilke
The Duchess of Teck Garibaldi
The Duke of Clarence Sir William Harcourt
The late Empress of Austria Lord Kitchener
Sir Ian Hamilton Cardinal Manning
Baker Pasha Lord Londonderry (the 5th
Mr. A. J. Balfour Marquess)
Col. Fred. Bumaby Cecil Rhodes
Lord Cromer Lord Roberts
.
HERBERT JENKINS LTD., YORK STREET, ST. JAMES'S, S.W.I
J
RUSSIA
IN
REVOLUTION
By an Eye -Witness (Stinton Jones)
A remarkable book produced in a remarkable manner.
It was written, printed (5,000 copies), blocks made
{16 full page); bound in cloth and distributed to the
booksellers in TWENTY DAYS.
It is written by an Englishman who has lived for 12
years in Russia, married a Russian, and during the whole
FIVE DAYS of Revolution was in the streets of
Petrograd with the mobs.
It is the only consecutive story of what took place,
for what the writer did not see, he was told by his friends
among the Revolutionary leaders and Members of the
Duma. Just published. 5 /-net. ^
FIRST REVIEWS
Truth " Of extraordinary value."
Daily Graphic " A notable bit of history."
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Illus. London News " An absorbing and valuable book."
Morning Post " A picturesque account of the critical days
at Petrograd."
Daily Telegraph " His book is absorbingly interesting and
extremely valuable."
OuTLOor " Undoubtedly the best story of what has
happened in Petrograd."
Bystander " Some of it reads like a romance. The
book is no small achievement."
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