A THORN IN THE FLESH
The failure of the attempt to drive the Australasians into the sea
was followed by two months of desultory fighting that resembled
nothing so much as the deadlock between the Allies and the Germans
in the North of France. The operations, of course, were on a scale
infinitely smaller, and the Anzacs held the advantage of occupying
the position of invaders. They were, indeed, a thorn in the flesh
of the Turkish army, for they held a position with infinite
possibilities.
The object of the whole land expedition in Gallipoli was to obtain
command of that part of the straits of the Dardanelles known as the
Narrows, where Europe and Asia are only separated by a mile of sea
water. Here are the strongest of the forts built by the Turks to
protect the passage of the Dardanelles. Before this narrow passage
lies a minefield so thick that it defied the attempt of the fleet
of the Allied Powers to force a passage through the Dardanelles to
Constantinople. An attempt to dredge the minefield with trawlers was
defeated by hidden batteries on the very heights for which the Anzacs
were fighting, and also by the guns of the forts at the Narrows.
At the southern point of the peninsula the main force of the Allies
was attempting to cut a way through to a tableland known as the
Plateau of Kilid Bahr, which dominates the European coast of the
Dardanelles from the entrance as far as the Narrows themselves. The
spot occupied by the Anzacs on the Gulf of Saros was opposite the
town of Maidos on the straits, and therefore above the Narrows. This
much must be grasped in order to understand the possibilities arising
from the existence of an Australasian force in that spot, and the
precautions forced upon the Turks because they remained there.
The main body of the Turkish army was concerned with the defence
of the fort of Achi Baba and all the strong positions centring in
that height. All supplies for this defence force must come from
the base at Constantinople, by sea to Gallipoli, and thence by
road through Maidos, the town threatened by the Australasians.
Moreover, all reinforcements must pass by the same way; and the heavy
losses inflicted upon the Turks by the Allied forces in Gallipoli
necessitated many reinforcements.
[Illustration: COPYRIGHT GEOGRAPHIA L^{TD} 55 FLEET STREET LONDON E.C.]
Therefore the presence of the Australasians around the hill of
Sari Bair, even while they remained passive, forced the Turks to
maintain a force of from 25,000 to 30,000 men at this point, merely
to keep them in check. For two months the slightest sign of any
diminution of that force was the signal for a demonstration by the
Anzacs, which at least had the effect of bringing the Turks back to
the trenches they are so anxious to vacate.
But the full importance of the Anzac position did not end there. Sir
Ian Hamilton, finding that his attempt to force the great mountain
stronghold of Achi Baba was doomed to failure without a strengthening
of his forces which could not be granted him, decided on a new plan
for cutting through to the Dardanelles. This, in his own words, was
by a reinforcement of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps,
combined with a landing in Suvla Bay. Then with one strong push to
capture Hill 971, and, working from that dominating point, to grip
the waist of the Peninsula.
The objects to be attained were three--
1. To break out with a rush from Anzac and cut off the bulk of the
Turkish army from land communication with Constantinople.
2. To gain such a command for my artillery as to cut off the bulk of
the Turkish army from sea traffic, whether with Constantinople or
with Asia.
3. Incidentally, to secure Suvla Bay as a winter base for Anzac and
all the troops operating in the northern theatre.
These operations were not begun until early in August. But during the
latter part of May, and through the months of June and July, they
were forced to mark time steadily, and jealously to conserve the
little patch of ground they had won with such incredible audacity on
the cliffs of Sari Bair. The extent of that holding may be gauged
when it is stated that the beachline was a little over a mile long,
and that the furthest point inland of the Anzac line was not more
than a mile from the sea, as a crow flies. Thus the Australasians
were clinging on to less than a square mile of the Gallipoli
peninsula; and for two months never lost an inch of it, but steadily
consolidated their holding.
Mining and sapping went on all day and all night, and the Turks have
proved themselves masters at this underground warfare. The Anzacs
replied in kind, and the outcome of some of these adventures was
lively hand-to-hand fighting. On May 29 the Turks got a sap close up
to the Anzac line, and occupied two shell craters within four yards
of the trenches. They soon turned them into bombproof shelters, and
were established there before they were discovered.
Three men of the 15th Infantry Battalion of the Australasian Force,
Sergeant Kidd, Corporal Stronach and Private Birch, have written the
following account of what followed, and placed it at the disposal of
the writer. All three men were wounded in the fighting of that May
29. Their account runs:
"Everything was quiet on the morning of May 29. At the hour of 3
a.m. a few rifles rang out from time to time, but for Quinn's Post
this was comparative silence. Suddenly a bright glare shot skywards,
followed by intense darkness, and a deep reverberating roar--the
Turks had blown our trenches up. Almost simultaneously with the sound
of the explosion an uproar of rifle and machine gun fire burst from
the enemy's trenches, and was answered from ours, making a din in
which it was impossible to hear an order, unless shouted in one's
very ear.
"We stood to arms and in five minutes we rushed up the hill in the
faintly gathering dawn. The enemy's artillery had the range, and
their shells burst continuously overhead, lighting up the rugged
sides of the great ravine like a terrific thunder-storm. The
detonation of the guns, fired incessantly, reverberated through the
hills and gullies and increased the likeness to some titanic tempest,
while the sight of the ever-increasing stream of wounded we met
coming down hill, all covered with blood and maimed and crippled,
added to the terror of the moment.
"When we reached the hill-top we found the worst had happened: the
Turks had got possession of three lines of trenches. The duty of
turning them out fell to our battalion, the Fighting Fifteenth. As
the faint light broadened to day we lined up and awaited the word
to charge. If any one says that at such a moment he felt no anxiety
or terror, let him be branded as a liar and empty braggart. No man
should face death without some tremor, let alone the hail of bombs
which the victorious Turks threw over from the conquered trenches,
and which seem to hold a terror in themselves that is even worse than
death.
"Yet it was through this screen of horror that we had to dash, and
by sheer force drive the enemy out of their newly-acquired position.
Clear above all other noises shrilled a whistle; and with a yell each
man dashed forward. There was a confused glimpse of men falling, and
of others staggering back through the smoke, all streaming with blood
and with limbs shattered by the hideous bombs. But in thirty seconds
the communication trench was clear.
"From the support trench, which was full of Turks, there poured a
hail of bullets and grenades, causing us to reel and fall back for
a breathing space. Then our own bomb throwers stepped forward and
hurled bombs into the trench, whence fragments of shattered humanity
leaped up into the air. The desperate men sprang from the trench
and bravely charged, but ten yards was as far as they got; under our
deadly rifle and machine-gun fire they went down like wheat before
the scythe.
"We counter-charged in the next moment and scores of our fellows went
over the parapet into the trench, where the stabbing blows of the
bayonet could be heard for a good three minutes. Then the firing line
was ours again.
"But the support trench in the centre still held out. Owing to the
bombproof shelter there was no possible way of shifting the stubborn
defenders. Bravely they fought for their footing but the use of bombs
convinced them of the hopelessness of the position they occupied.
Finally they surrendered; and came out covered with blood and dust,
eighteen limping heathen heroes. We hope we showed them due respect,
the respect we felt for their brave fight.
"Then came the task of clearing the trench of the dead, a gruesome
work. Poor shattered fragments of humanity, without any likeness
to the human form remaining had to be gathered up in sandbags and
carried away. No words can paint the hideous thoroughness with which
the grenades do their devilish work. So ended the fight of May 29."
The craters were also taken by a body of Light Horse who, after
throwing a large number of bombs into the craters, boldly leaped in,
with their bayonets fixed. They cleared the holes of Turks, though
all of the attacking force were wounded but two, and the greater part
of them were isolated in the craters for a night. But they held the
craters until relief could be sent them.
This necessitated some brisk work by an Australian machine-gun
section, in the course of which one young gunner distinguished
himself by bravery and devotion of the highest order. He was engaged
against two Turkish machine guns, and continued to work his own
gun, though they were cutting away his parapet of sandbags, and
must eventually expose him to a stream of bullets. The maintenance
of his fire was of the utmost importance, since it covered a series
of operations by a considerable force of men. At last he fell back
wounded, but not until he had saved the situation by his devoted
bravery.
With a little experience, the Anzacs became in their turn first-class
sappers.
"I am a voluntary sapper now," writes one of them, "digging a tunnel
to some new trenches we have dug just behind a ridge about 100 yards
in front of the Turks' trenches. We went out one night to dig them
in moonlight, and they opened a pretty brisk fire for a bit, but we
were practically safe behind the ridge; all the same, we were ready
for them. Three of the evening party got hit, but most of the damage
was done by fellows bumping their picks into one another, tearing the
seats of their trousers out, etc. Some of our saps go through dead
Turks buried during the armistice before we came. We wash ourselves
and clothes in the sea, as fresh water is too scarce for anything but
drinking purposes just yet."
A diversion from this trench warfare was occasioned on June 28 by an
attempt on the part of the Turks to withdraw part of their forces for
use in the more southerly part of the peninsula. The Australasians
replied with a strong attack. It opened in the regular way by the
ships bombarding the hillsides. Then the 2nd Brigade of Australian
Light Horse and the 3rd Brigade of Australian Infantry advanced 700
yards, and gave the Turks something to think about. This produced a
counter-attack, which was repulsed by the Australasians with heavy
loss to the enemy. Then, having fulfilled their mission, the Anzacs
retired in good order within their lines.
They are now thoroughly familiar with the strange rough country of
Gallipoli, of which one of them writes:--
"The world seems to have been built up on end, and the high cliffs
are accessible only by the spurs and valleys. The place is very
different now--roads have been cut and built, and steep as they
are, mules can reach the top fairly easily. It is very exasperating
to look out on the peaceful flat country just a few miles away with
peaceful homesteads in places. Our chief pastime in life is smashing
Turkish periscopes, of which they don't possess very many. It is good
target practice, and helps to prevent them from being too perky. At
present we are just marking time, and things are rather quiet."
Things were quiet by the deliberate plan of Sir Ian Hamilton. Having
decided that his next attempt was to be made from Anzac, his hope was
to divert the attention of the enemy, as far as might be, from that
particular theatre of operations. The Anzacs were therefore confined
to trench warfare and to those underground operations which made of
their holding a warren of saps and tunnels.
They could watch the Turks entrenching busily all around them,
until they were confronted with a series of defence works that were
practically impregnable. North-east of them, where the mountain spurs
of Sari Bair ran up from the coast to the dominating height of Koja
Chemen (Hill 971), every rise had its network of trenches. Opposite
Quinn's Post a net of trenches was dug so intricate that it was
given the name of The Chessboard. Not a day passed but the Turks,
working on higher ground, made their holding as secure as digging and
earthwork could make it.
Also they posted guns on well-chosen positions, and the Anzacs had
to endure a bombardment that recurred every day. On Battleship Hill
there was a battery that had the whole of the southern posts ranged,
and dropped shells on them with unceasing regularity and remarkable
accuracy. In the mangroves south of Gaba Tepe there was hidden a
quick-firing gun known to the Anzacs as Beachy Bill. He had the Anzac
beaches ranged, and did enormous damage with his sudden bursts of
shrapnel.
This monster, and a twin gun on an elevation to the north, somewhere
behind Anafarta village and known as Anafarta Anne, made the old
amusement of beach bathing a deadly peril. Long before the final
abandonment of the Anzac position a camp statistician had reckoned
that the score of casualties due to the activities of Beachy Bill
exceeded the total of 1,500, and on one bad day he accounts for
sixty-four men. Many attempts were made by the warships to silence
these guns and blow away their emplacements. Sometimes they were so
damaged that they had to remain quiescent for a day or two, but just
when hope was growing in the Anzac ranks that they had heard the
last of Beachy Bill, a bathing party would be reminded by a spray of
shrapnel that he was very much in being.
The sufferings endured by the troops holding the southern part of the
Anzac line, from Quinn's Post down to The Pimple, arising out of the
shelling of their trenches with high explosive, will never be told.
The remnants of the Second Brigade, which were posted at Steel's Post
and Johnston's Jolly, endured this for weeks, especially toward the
end of July.
One experience related to me by a young officer of the 7th will ever
stick in my memory. His company had maintained a ceaseless vigil for
days and nights, men falling asleep where they stood under arms. When
things appeared at their worst, he was delighted at the appearance
of a small party of reinforcements, fifteen in number. He gave a
relieved glance at the new-comers, and conducted them to a deep
trench that had been made a few yards behind the firing line where
the men used to retire to rest in comparative safety.
He left them there while he selected from his band of overwrought
warriors those who needed rest most of all where every one was in
vital need of a spell. No sooner had he left this rest trench than a
great "Jack Johnson" came, burying the reinforcements under many feet
of earth. Their comrades sprang to their assistance, digging away the
earth like possessed beings. One by one the dead and dying men were
discovered, and tenderly borne back to the beach from which they had
just come. Finally all had been removed but one, and of him no trace
could be found.
"I urged the men to dig on," said my informant, and as I spoke I
felt something move under my feet. I was standing on the hip of the
buried man. We worked with our hands to clear his face, and I removed
as well as I could the dirt from his mouth and nostrils. He was black
in the face, and, I feared, beyond recovery.
"But, as we worked to clear him, I saw his face resume its natural
colour, and he opened his mouth and spoke, 'Ah, Edith,' he muttered;
then he opened his eyes and saw me bending over him. He struggled to
his feet and saluted, with the remark, 'I'm all right, Sir.' I told
him to go back to the beach, but he would have none of it. He said he
was all right bar a bruise or two, and wanted to take his place in
the firing line. Of course I would not hear of that, so sent him back
for medical treatment. And that was all we got of our reinforcements."
Multiply this instance by hundreds, and you will get some idea of the
stern endurance required of these men during those weeks of waiting,
and the spirit in which they endured. With the hot weather came
dysentery, and their sufferings were terrible. But they knew that
a big move was shortly expected, and many of them concealed their
complaint and carried on in silence, determined not to miss the great
attack to which they were all looking so eagerly forward. When the
word was finally given for the advance, many of these heroes charged
the enemy, weakened as they were by many days' concealed suffering
from this last scourge of Gallipoli.
The anticipated movement was heralded by the resumption of the
offensive on the extreme right of the Anzac line on July 31. This
operation can best be described in the words of Sir Ian Hamilton's
dispatch:--
"On the extreme right of Anzac the flank of a work called Tasmania
Post was threatened by the extension of a Turkish trench. The task of
capturing this trench was entrusted to the 3rd Australian Brigade.
After an artillery bombardment, mines were to be fired, whereupon
four columns of fifty men each were to assault and occupy specified
lengths of the trench. The regiment supplying the assaulting columns
was the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion.
"At 10.15 p.m. on July 31 the bombardment was opened. Ten minutes
later and the mines were duly fired. The four assaulting parties
dashed forward at once, crossed our own barbed wire on planks, and
were into the craters before the whole of the débris had fallen.
Total casualties: 11 killed and 74 wounded; Turkish killed, 100."
And now English troops began to land on Anzac Beach, and the final
dispositions for the great attack were put in train.
THE SOUL OF ANZAC