FILLING THE GAPS
From Blackboy to Mena, from Mena to where
They drew the first blood with the bayonet,
They hoisted the heathen foe out of his lair
Who'd the Germanized courage to stay in it.
From Suez they scattered the truculent Turk,
To far Teheran and to Tripoli;
And at last they beheld British Jackies at work
On the gun-bristled hills of Gallipoli:
On the gun-bristled hills of Gallipoli,
A minute of wading in bullet-splashed waves,
The Cooees of Motherland thrilling 'em.
But those minutes cut holes in that brown line of braves
And--What about filling 'em?
So wrote one of Australia's bards when the first news of the battle
of Brighton Beach reached the Commonwealth. The practical patriotism
of Australia at once grasped the fact that there must be wide gaps
in the ranks, and that the best reward the Commonwealth could make
to those who had upheld the honour of Australasia so nobly was to
support them with all the additional men and money required for the
completion of the task so nobly begun.
It has already been stated that the original Expeditionary Force
from Australasia totalled 28,000 men in all; but even before they
had left Southern waters, arrangements for further contingents were
well advanced. As a matter of fact, the second contingent, which
was 10,000 strong, had arrived in Egypt in time to take part in the
training at Mena, and was part of the landing force of April. With
the New Zealanders the infantry of this contingent served under
General Sir A. J. Godley as the 4th Brigade, and reference has
already been made to their gallant defence of the central position at
the battle of Quinn's Post, where Sanders Pasha led the Turks to an
irretrievable disaster.
Their General expressed his personal opinion of the services of the
gallant 4th at Anzac on June 2, when he gathered the men together and
delivered to them the following inspiriting address:--
[Illustration: General Sir A. J. Godley, commanding the New
Zealanders and the 4th Brigade, Australian Infantry.]
"Colonel Monash, officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the
Fourth Australian Infantry Brigade:--I have come here to-day to tell
you all with what great pride and satisfaction I have watched your
performances for the past five weeks, and to tell you also that not
only your comrades in this division, but also those of the whole
Australasian Army Corps, have looked on with the greatest admiration
at your gallant doings, from the moment that you landed in the
Gallipoli Peninsula. You have been for five weeks continuously in
the front trenches, fighting particularly hard the whole of that
time. Never have troops been subjected to such heavy shell and rifle
fire, not to speak of bombs and hand grenades; you have lived and
fought in a din and turmoil which would have sorely tried most men.
You began your fighting immediately on landing, pitchforked, I might
say, into the middle of the battle, with the whole brigade scattered
in small fragments in different parts of the firing line, as the
several units landed. You were in the firing line continuously for
seven days with nothing but what you carried on you. It took days of
hard work for the brigadier and his staff to collect the battalions
together and to consolidate the section of defence allotted to
this brigade. During this time many deeds of heroism, many acts of
gallantry were performed, which will remain unknown and will go
unrewarded, and many of your comrades were killed and wounded. Again,
on May 2 and 3, this brigade undertook a sortie from its lines which
was very far-reaching in its results, and which shattered the enemy's
plans for a combined assault most effectually. Again, on May 9, this
brigade made another highly successful sortie, and only a few days
ago, during the greater part of May 18 and 19, you bore the brunt of
the very severe Turkish attack by which the enemy hoped to drive this
army corps into the sea.
"Yours is a fine record, and one of which you yourselves, and
the whole of the people of Australia, have the fullest reason to
be proud. You have made, and are making, the military history of
Australia--a history equal to that of any other brigade or body of
troops in the Empire, or in the world--and you have performed deeds,
and achieved successes, of which the Commonwealth will surely be
proud. Pope's Hill position is named after the gallant commander
of the 16th Battalion, which held it so long against such odds;
Courtney's Post will for ever be associated with the 14th Battalion,
which has defended it against all attacks for the whole period; the
most difficult post of all--Quinn's Post, named after Major Quinn,
who bravely died at this post in the service of his country, and who,
I am sure, would have preferred no more glorious death--this post
will be for ever associated with the name of Lieut.-Colonel Cannon,
and the 15th Battalion. Nor will be forgotten the gallant behaviour
of the 13th Battalion, under Lieut.-Colonel Burnage, who, among many
other fine performances, held on for a night and a day in a difficult
advanced position, which they had stormed, and from which they did
not withdraw until ordered to do so in view of the subsequent course
of the operations.
"Among so many whose names are worthy of record and distinction, it
has been very hard to single out individuals, but as commander of
this division, I have had the honour of sending on the names of some
twenty officers and men, from that of your brigadier downwards, for
special and honourable mention in despatches for most meritorious
service and conspicuous gallantry.
"It has pleased his Majesty the King to confer upon this brigade
eleven honours, comprising two Distinguished Service Orders, two
Military Crosses, and seven Distinguished Conduct medals. These
rewards, earned between the landing of the brigade on April 25 and
May 5, are surely a rare and enviable distinction.
"On behalf of the Imperial Government, because of the great services
you have rendered to the glory of the Empire--greater services than
you probably yourselves realize--I thank you, Colonel Monash, your
staff, your commanding officers, and all your personnel from the
highest to the lowest, for the work you have done during the past
five weeks."
This second contingent, which distinguished itself so remarkably from
the time of its landing, was followed by yet a third, also of 10,000
men, led by Colonels Spencer Browne, C.B., V.D.; W. Holmes, D.S.O.,
V.D.; and Linton. They were of physique equal in every respect to
their forerunners, and may be trusted to render an equally good
account of themselves.
These supplementary contingents are to be regarded as additions to
the first Expeditionary force, for the Australian method of filling
the gaps is to send monthly reinforcements, sufficient to replace
all men lost in battle. The original estimate was for 3,000 a month,
but when the Australian Government grasped the serious nature of the
operations in which their men were engaged, and the extent of the
casualty lists, they increased this number to 4,000 monthly. These
steps were taken before the full accounts of the Gallipoli fighting
had reached Australia; they provided merely for what was thought a
serious operation bearing a prospect of success at no remote date in
the future.
But the full grandeur of Australian patriotism was only to be
realized when it was gathered that the whole Turkish army was
mustered in defence of the Straits of the Dardanelles, and that
Australasia was called upon to bear a very considerable share of a
separate war, waged against the full strength of a desperate warrior
nation. Then Australasia became one vast recruiting ground; and
military enthusiasm reached a pitch which has not yet been realized
in the Mother Country.
It would be a salutary lesson to that section of the London Press
which persisted in a sour pessimistic view of the whole of the
Dardanelles adventure to be made to reprint a few columns of the sane
but ardent patriotism with which the Australians were spurred by
their worthy Press to shoulder the load apportioned to them. There
were none of those hints of possible failure which so appalled the
unsophisticated Briton during the summer months of 1915. A nation of
5,000,000 people that prepares to put 250,000 men down on the spot,
and back them with its last shilling, cherishes no such unworthy
doubts. A more splendid answer to croakers than that given by
Australasia could hardly have been devised.
Perhaps, though, the spirit of calm and unshaken resignation
with which Australia and New Zealand accepted the tidings of the
evacuation of Anzac was even a better answer still. The assurances
of the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth and the Dominion that the
reverse would but nerve those countries to still greater effort rang
through the Empire like a clarion call. Australia decided to increase
its quota of 250,000 men to 300,000, and New Zealand made a similar
increase, in proportion to population. And throughout the width and
breadth of those great Dominions went the call for more men still.
Only cabled accounts of that wave of recruiting energy, which
converted Australia into a great armed camp, have yet reached this
country. But they make the heart swell with pride at the indomitable
courage with which the Southern Nations are preparing to tackle the
problem of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The cost was laid before Parliament and, after consideration,
approved without question. An expenditure of £40,000,000 was faced
without a murmur. "In three months' time," said a responsible
minister, "Australia would be paying more per head for the war than
the people in England." The statement was received with cheers.
The suggestion of a war tax met with no opposition in the House of
Parliament; nor from the mass of the Australian people. The money is
to be found without any grumbling.
As for the men, they sprang to the call. The State of Victoria showed
the way with a great recruiting campaign, with the avowed object of
getting a thousand men per day. At the end of a fortnight the record
was 18,970 applications, of which 13,810 were accepted. On the same
scale of recruiting, the United Kingdom would yield nearly 500,000
soldiers in a fortnight. The figures, in proportion to population,
seem almost incredible, but they are accurate.
The Mother State of New South Wales followed with a similar campaign.
One city of less than 100,000 people--the city of Newcastle--provided
363 applicants in one day. On the same lines recruiting was organized
all over Australia; as these words are written it is going on with
such enthusiasm that there can be no doubt of the result. The farmers
and stock-raisers were facing the best season the country had ever
seen. They left their bumper harvest to ripen and be gathered by the
women and boys; it is for them to see this business through "on the
gun-bristled hills of Gallipoli."
The spirit of Australia can best be gauged by reading an extract
from a letter written to the Australian wounded by a young lady who
is a teacher at the High School in Ballarat, and which was cabled
all over the world, since it echoes truly the pride of Australia in
its heroes, and the determination of the Commonwealth that all shall
be worthy of their devotion and grand patriotism. The letter was
received at the hospital at Malta, and runs as follows:--
"_May 12._
"DEAR AUSTRALIAN BOYS,--Every Australian woman's heart this
week is thrilling with pride, with exultation, and while her
eyes fill with tears she springs up as I did when the story in
Saturday's _Argus_ was finished and says, 'Thank God, I am an
Australian.' Boys, you have honoured our land; you, the novices,
the untrained, the untaught in war's grim school, have done the
deeds of veterans. Oh, how we honour you; how we glory in your
matchless bravery, in your yet more wonderful fortitude, which
the war correspondent says was shown so marvellously as your
boatloads of wounded cheered and waved amid their pain as you
were rowed back to the vessels!
"What gave you the courage for that heroic dash to the ridge,
boys? British grit, Australians' nerve and determination to do
or die, a bit of the primeval man's love of a big fight against
heavy odds. God's help, too, surely.
"Dear boys, I'm sure you will feel a little rewarded for your
deeds of prowess if you know how the whole Commonwealth, nay, the
whole Empire, is stirred by them. Every Sunday now we are singing
the following lines after 'God save the King' in church and
Sunday school. They appeared in the _Argus Extraordinary_ with
the first Honour Roll in it:
God save our splendid men!
Send them safe home again!
Keep them victorious,
Patient and chivalrous,
They are so dear to us:
God save our men.
"What can I say further? With God the ultimate issue rests.
Good-night, boys. God have you living or dying in His keeping.
If any one of you would like to send me a pencilled note or card
I'll answer it to him by return.--Your countrywoman,
"JEANIE DOBSON."
[Illustration: Farewell to the Troops in Melbourne.]
That Australian purses were opened with Australian hearts is
proved by the remarkable total of gifts in money and kind made by
Australia to various funds on behalf of sufferers by the war. In
the first ten months the Commonwealth contributed in cash the sum
of £2,329,259 to the various funds arising out of the war, apart
from immense gifts in kind, the value of which is not estimatable.
The State contributions are totalled as follows:--New South Wales,
£980,889; Victoria, £850,000; Queensland, £200,825; South Australia,
£127,540; Tasmania, £36,750; and Western Australia, £133,255. Total,
£2,329,259.
The Australian care for the wounded is the subject of a testimony
from Sir Frederick Treves, which may be included here to show the
appreciation with which this care has been met by the most eminent
surgeon in the Empire:--
"The generosity with which Australia has provided motor ambulances
for the whole country, and Red Cross stores for every one, British or
French, who has been in want of the same, is beyond all words. I only
hope that the people of Australia will come to know of the admirable
manner in which their wounded have been cared for, and of the noble
and generous work which that great colony has done under the banner
of the Red Cross."
New Zealand is no whit behind Australia; indeed, in proportion to
population, the Dominion supplied more men during the first ten
months of the war than even the Commonwealth. The troops actually
sent on active service by this community of a little more than a
million people were:--
First Samoan Force 2,000
Main Body 8,000
First Reinforcements 800
Second Reinforcements 2,000
Third Reinforcements 1,800
Samoan Relief Force 500
Fourth Reinforcements 2,200
Fifth Reinforcements 2,000
Sixth Reinforcements 2,000
Extra Force 2,500
Seventh Reinforcements 2,000
------
Total in 10 months 25,800
Throughout this period the Dominion held a valuable reserve in hand,
for the minimum age had been kept at twenty years. This excluded a
fine body of young men between the age of eighteen and twenty, all
of them well trained under the compulsory system; as grand a body of
young soldiers as the world can show. Their number is estimated at
22,000, and over 90 per cent. of them have volunteered for service
abroad. At the time of writing the question of lowering the age limit
to eighteen was being considered in New Zealand, though the number of
recruits of the standard age was still so satisfactory that the step
was not necessary. New Zealand is preparing, like Australia, to
send out five per cent. of its whole population to fight the battles
of the Empire abroad; that is a force of 50,000 men. The whole number
of men of military age in the Dominion is less than 200,000.
[Illustration: The Canterbury Section of the New Zealand
Expeditionary Force.]
Those who remain for the defence of the Southern nation are now busy
in preparing munitions for the Great War. The factories of the young
nations have already been converted into arsenals under the control
of Munitions Boards, and hosts of volunteers are working long hours
to supply the men of Australasia with every requisite for victory.
Lastly, Australasia has not forgotten that the duty of providing the
Empire's food is one of the most important within her province. The
year of the outbreak of war saw her producing industries hampered by
a disastrous drought, so that the harvest failed and less than twenty
per cent of the anticipated wheat supply was garnered. The year 1915
saw quite a different state of affairs; bountiful rains prepared the
way for huge crops, and the farmers had sown lavishly, so that full
advantage might be taken of this favourable state of affairs.
The wheat crop of 1915-16 nearly doubled the previous record for
an Australian harvest. It was garnered by boys and old men and
women. Over 200,000 tons of this precious wheat was placed at the
disposal of the Allied nations, its freighting and sale being made
a national affair. Thus Australia was able to supply 200,000 tons
of wheat as one contribution to the fighting forces of the Allies,
and was a price as obtained never before approached in the history
of Australian agriculture, the Commonwealth was the better able to
bear the burden of warfare the Australians had so generously taken on
themselves.
Thus Australasia keeps a watchful eye on the gaps wherever they
occur, and sets about filling them with a single-minded devotion to
the great object which has obliterated all other consideration in
the minds of those young nations of the peaceful lands beneath the
Southern Cross.
THE ARMIES OF AUSTRALASIA