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The New Zealanders
at Gallipoli
BY
MAJOR FRED WAITE, D.S.O., N.Z.E.
_Adjutant Divisional Engineers, N.Z. & A. Division, 1914-15_
_Chief Engineer Instructor, N.Z.E.F. Training Camps, 1916-18_
SECOND EDITION
[COPYRIGHT]
_Printed and Published under the Authority of the
New Zealand Government by_
WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS LIMITED
AUCKLAND, CHRISTCHURCH, DUNEDIN AND WELLINGTON
1921
To the Memory of Our Glorious Dead.
_They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe._
_They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them._
--_Laurence Binyon_
Contents.
The New Zealand Popular History Series, by Sir James Allen,
K.C.B. v.
The New Zealanders of Anzac, by General Sir Ian Hamilton vii.
To My Old Comrades, by General Sir Wm. Birdwood xv.
CHAPTER
I. The Concentration of the Expeditionary Force 1
II. The Voyage to Egypt 14
III. Training in Egypt 32
IV. The Defence of the Suez Canal 47
V. The Rendezvous at Mudros 64
VI. The Anzac Landing 74
VII. The First Week 86
VIII. At the Head of Monash Gully 102
IX. The Battle of Krithia 119
X. The Coming of the Mounteds 132
XI. Supplying the Needs of the Army 152
XII. Midsummer at Anzac 166
XIII. The Preparations in July 182
XIV. The Battle of Sari Bair 192
XV. The Battle of Kaiajik Aghala 245
XVI. Preparing for the End 259
XVII. The Evacuation 278
XVIII. The Return to Anzac 294
APPENDIX
I. The Main Body Transports 302
II. N.Z. and A. Division Transports 303
III. Main Body Establishments 304
IV. The Men of Anzac. Decorations and Mentioned in
Despatches 307
V. The Place-Names of Anzac 317
VI. A Gallipoli Diary 325
Trench Map of Anzac at end of Volume.
The New Zealand Popular
History Series.
These popular histories of New Zealand's share in the
Great War are designed to present to the people of New
Zealand the inspiring record of the work of our sons and
daughters overseas.
It was recognized that the Official History would
necessitate considerable research, would take a long time to
write, and then must be largely a study of strategy and
tactics; but something--that would be concise and interesting,
not expensive, and available at once--seemed desirable. It
was decided to avoid the style of an Official History and
select as writers soldiers who had themselves fought with
the N.Z.E.F. through the several campaigns; soldiers
recognized by their comrades as authorities on the campaigns
with which they deal; soldiers who themselves have
experienced the hopes and fears, the trials and the ultimate
triumph of the men in the ranks.
The volumes--of which this story of Anzac is the first
published--are four in number:
Vol. I. "The New Zealanders at Gallipoli," by Major Fred
Waite, D.S.O., N.Z.E., who served with the Main
Body and the N.Z. & A. Division as a Staff
Officer of Engineers.
Vol. II. "The New Zealanders in France," by Colonel Hugh
Stewart, C.M.G., D.S.O., M.C., who served through
the campaigns in Gallipoli and France with the
N.Z. Infantry.
Vol. III. "The New Zealanders in Palestine," by Lieut.-Colonel
C. Guy Powles, C.M.G., D.S.O., who as a
Staff Officer of the N.Z. Mounted Rifles served
through the campaigns in Gallipoli and Palestine.
The material for this volume was collected by
Major A. Wilkie, W.M.R.
Vol. IV. "The War Effort of New Zealand," will deal with:
(a) The minor campaigns in which New Zealanders
took part;
(b) Services which are not fully dealt with in the
campaign volumes;
(c) The story of the work at the Bases--the
efforts of our Women abroad and in New
Zealand, our Hospitals, the raising and the
training of the men.
Without rhetoric, without needless superlatives--for the
stories do not need them--these volumes are placed before
the people of New Zealand in the hope that a fuller realization
of the difficulties encountered and eventually triumphed over
will act as an inspiration to those of us who were not
privileged to fight for the cause of Freedom on the
battlefields of the World.
[Illustration: signature]
Minister of Defence.
Parliamentary Buildings,
Wellington,
1-12-19.
The New Zealanders of Anzac.
As I was on the point of starting to pay a long-promised visit to the
Commander-in-Chief of our Army of the Rhine, a cabled message from the
Government of New Zealand was put into my hands--a message asking me to
write a Preface to the Gallipoli volume of the History of New Zealand's
Share in the Great War. This preface was to be written and posted to
Wellington without loss of time, as the work had already gone to press.
When I set out for the Dardanelles on Friday, March 13, 1915, to
command an unknown army against an unknown enemy, in an unknown
country, that was an original undertaking. To write a preface to
an unknown book being printed in another hemisphere--to write it
from memory--in the train and in a hurry, that also is an original
undertaking, and it is necessary to begin by setting forth these facts
in order that my many omissions and shortcomings may have a better
chance of forgiveness.
Crossing the German frontier, with the edict of the New Zealand
Government still in my pocket, I got out to stretch my legs at the
first stop. The name of that railway station was Düren. Hardly had
I alighted when my eyes fell upon the letters, "N.Z.M.R.," quite
unmistakably affixed to the shoulder-strap of an officer also standing
on that platform. Since the year 1915, this particular combination of
capital letters has exercised upon me a certain fascination--I have to
go right there. So I went, and asked the wearer of the shoulder-strap
if he had been at the Dardanelles.
"I have, indeed," he said. "I am Lieut.-Colonel John Studholme.
I served in the Dardanelles under you, and now I am the last New
Zealander in Germany."
"You speak figuratively," said I. "You mean you are one of the last."
"Not so," he replied. "I am not one of the last; I am the last one."
Now here, thought I to myself, is a queer thing! I am told to write a
preface to a history of an Army, and I meet the last item of that Army
which did so much to win the Rhineland, in Rhineland; the last man
of that superb band who were raised from a population of one million
and lost fifteen thousand killed; whereas, to take other standards,
the Belgians, justly famous as having fought so long and so valiantly
for the freedom of Europe, lost thirteen thousand killed out of a
population of seven millions. Once again, too, there came to me the
thought of their losses at the Dardanelles:--
Total strength landed 8,556 all ranks
Casualties in killed and wounded
(excluding sickness) 7,447
These thoughts and the coincidence of meeting Colonel Studholme, gave
me courage. I had been thinking I could not do justice to my theme, and
that I must regretfully decline. Now I resolved to take my courage in
both hands and go ahead; so here, with the help of my personal diary, I
revive memories of my meeting with the first New Zealander.
On March 29, 1915, I motored across from Mena Camp (where I had been
reviewing the Australians) to Heliopolis. There was a big dust storm
blowing. Godley commanded. I wrote down on the spot, "These fellows
made a real good show; superb physique. Numbers of old friends,
especially amongst the New Zealanders."
Next day, March 30, I wrote to Lord Kitchener, "The physique of the
rank and file could not be improved upon." Also: "They are all as keen
as possible, and will, I am certain, render a very good account of
themselves if the conditions encountered give them a fair chance."
Now, the force that I had seen and admired on March 29, 1915, had
sailed from far-away New Zealand early in October, 1914, so each
private soldier had already travelled over land and sea further than
Ulysses during his ten years' Odyssey, and further than Christopher
Columbus during his discovery of America; and they had voyaged thus,
not for gold or glory, but to help the Old Country and to succour the
weak and the oppressed.
When to-day we look round upon our wrecked and devastated world, we
can see that neither the War, nor the Peace has added to the moral
structure of Governments. The one great, enduring asset is this: that
the rank and file of mankind, and especially the rank and file of New
Zealand, let no private interest stand between them and their eagerness
to strike a blow for the Right.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by Guy_]
LIEUT.-COLONEL A. BAUCHOP, C.M.G.
Otago Mounted Rifles.
(_Died from wounds_).]
So the New Zealanders sailed away from their own safe islands, towards
danger and death, and first cast anchor at Albany, Western Australia, a
pleasant, old-fashioned spot. The little force consisted of one brigade
of Mounted Rifles, a Brigade of Infantry, and one Brigade of Artillery;
and there, at the south-western point of the neighbouring continent,
they joined the 1st Australian Division and headed, under convoy, for
Egypt, arriving at Alexandria early in December.
On the formation of Birdwood's Corps, a brigade of Australian Light
Horse and a brigade of Australian Infantry were incorporated with them
to form what was known as the New Zealand and Australian Division.
This formation was trained under General Godley at Zeitoun till April,
1915, during which time a small portion of the New Zealand Brigade
took part in the repulse of the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal in
February. Both Sir John Maxwell and General Godley assured me, at
the time of my inspection in March, that the behaviour of the New
Zealanders during this trying period of straining at the leash was in
every way excellent.
Soon after my inspection, the last stage of the journey was begun, and
leaving the mounted troops behind them, the infantry and artillery
took ship and set sail for Mudros. There, for the short time remaining
to them, they worked very hard at rowing, embarking, disembarking,
&c., until they were almost as handy as bluejackets in the boats.
Much of the success of the landing was due to this period of special
preparation.
On April 25, 1915, a date regarded in the Near East as the most
memorable of the Great War, the New Zealand Brigade landed early in
the day and fought valiantly on the northern or Suvla side of the Bay.
Everything was strange and astonishing to these boys from the green,
well-watered islands of the South--the enemy, the precipices, the
thirst, the wounds and death around them; but no veterans have ever
done better than they did during those first few hours. Then it was
that they carried, occupied and held, under steadily-increasing shell
and machine-gun fire, what was afterwards known as Plugge's Plateau
(from Lieut.-Colonel Plugge, commanding the Auckland Battalion), and
Walker's Ridge (from Brigadier-General Walker, General Birdwood's
Chief-of-Staff, who commanded the New Zealand Infantry Brigade at the
Landing in the absence of Brigadier-General Earl Johnston, sick). These
are the prosaic facts of a feat of arms which will endure as long as
heroic poetry and history are written or read.
An extract from my diary, dated April 25, H.M.S. "Queen Elizabeth":
"They are not charging up into this Sari Bair Ridge for money,
or by compulsion. There they are--all the way from the Southern
Cross--earning Victoria Crosses, every one of them."
An extract from my diary dated April 26, H.M.S. "Queen Elizabeth":
"Passed on the news to Birdwood: I doubt the Turks coming on
again--but, in case, the 29th Division's feat of arms will be a tonic."
"I was wrong. At 3 p.m., the enemy made another effort, this time on
the left of our line. We shook them badly, and were rewarded by seeing
a New Zealand charge. Two battalions racing due north along the coast
and foothills with levelled bayonets. Then the tumult died away."
On May 5 I brought the New Zealand Infantry down to Helles. They had
been fighting hard at Anzac, making sorties against the Turks, but I
could not do without them in the attack I was about to make--a three
days' and nights' battle it turned out to be--on Achi Baba. In my diary
is this entry:--
"May 7, 1915--At 4.30 I ordered a general assault: the 88th Brigade
to be thrown in on the top of the 87th; the New Zealand Brigade in
support; the French to conform. Our gunners were to pave the way for
the infantry with what they thought they could afford."
In the deadly struggle which ensued, in the night-long conflict, in the
supreme effort of the next day, the New Zealanders gained great glory,
as was gratefully acknowledged by me to General Godley at the time.
That same month, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was called
in to the Dardanelles. We wanted every New Zealander we could
get. The brigade, destined to become so famous, was commanded by
Brigadier-General Russell, now Major-General Sir Andrew Russell,
K.C.B., K.C.M.G. They came dismounted, torn in two betwixt grief at
parting with their horses and a longing to play their part on the
Peninsula. They turned up, as is their way, in the nick of time, and
were put into the trenches at once.
On one of the first days of July, the Maoris appeared upon the
Peninsula. General Godley had informed me that all ranks were anxious
to have them, so I cabled to Lord Kitchener, and I have always been
thankful that he permitted them to come along. They were received with
open arms by their compatriots, and I may say here at once that they
proved themselves worthy descendants of the chivalrous warriors of the
olden days, and remembered, in the fiercest battles, the last words of
Hongi Hika: "Be brave that you may live."
[Illustration: LIEUT.-COLONEL W. G. MALONE
Wellington Infantry Battalion
(_Killed in action._)]
No doubt the history to which these words are a preface will tell the
tale of the trench warfare of June and July; here I will only remark
that the New Zealanders helped themselves to a liberal allowance of all
that was going in the way of bombs, onslaughts, and generally, hard
knocks.
On August 6, took place the great attack on Sari Bair. To the New
Zealand Mounted Rifles (Brigadier-General Russell) fell the honour
of covering the assault, and the New Zealand Infantry Brigade
(Brigadier-General Earl Johnston) formed the right assaulting column.
During the four days' desperate fighting, which included night marches
through the worst country imaginable, steep, scrub-covered spurs, sheer
cliffs and narrow winding ravines, these two brigades and the Maoris
wrested from a brave and numerous enemy the footing on the Ridge which
they held till the bitter end.
Brilliant leadership was shown by Lieut.-Colonel A. Bauchop, commanding
the Otago Mounted Rifles, and Lieut.-Colonel W. G. Malone, Wellington
Battalion, during this battle, wherein Corporal Bassett, of the
Divisional Signal Company, won a well-earned V.C. I lay a very special
stress on the deeds of Bauchop and Malone. These two heroes were killed
whilst leading their men with absolute contempt of danger--Bauchop
after having captured what was afterwards known as Bauchop's Hill,
and Malone on the very summit of Chunuk Bair. Both Bauchop and Malone
were soldiers of great mark and, above all, fearless leaders of men.
Where so many, living longer, have achieved distinction, it is quite
necessary that New Zealand should bear the names of these two gallant
soldiers in tender remembrance.
Of the New Zealanders who survived, Russell was beyond doubt the
outstanding personality on the Peninsula. Steady as a rock, with a
clear head and a firm character, he belongs to the type of soldier who
will shoulder responsibility and never leave either his men or his
commander in the lurch.
Chaytor, who was Assistant-Adjutant-General, did excellently well also,
though, through being wounded, he did not have full time to develop
merits which afterwards became so conspicuous in Palestine.
The losses incurred by the brigades from this terrible and prolonged
fighting for the key to the Narrows of the Dardanelles, were cruel. On
September 21 and 22, Russell had further victorious fighting when he
and General Cox took Kaiajik Aghala; soon afterwards the brigades were
sent down to Mudros to rest and to recruit. Reinforcements arrived in
due course, and, in a shorter time than would have seemed possible, the
formations were ready again and keen as ever to go on. But meanwhile,
in October, events had occurred which put an end to the forward
fighting and extinguished the Dardanelles enterprise. The first was the
sending of two of our Peninsula Divisions to Salonika. The second was
an order from Home that nothing serious in the way of fighting should
be undertaken. The third was the advent of a new Commander-in-Chief
who was opposed to the whole of the Dardanelles idea. From that date,
therefore, until the evacuation, there was no further attack. When the
tragic end came, the New Zealanders, steadfast as ever, held the post
of honour, and General Russell and his rearguard were the very last to
leave the Northern theatre of our operations.
Owing to the conditions under which my preface is being written, it
will be understood that any attempt to make a list of distinguished
names would be hopeless. I have just put down the half-dozen best
remembered in full confidence that the historian will make good my
failure in the body of the book. But there is one more officer I
must mention, for although he is not a New Zealander born, he had
the advantage of living there and getting to know both islands long
before the War. I refer, I need hardly say, to Sir Alexander Godley,
who commanded the New Zealand and Australian Division during the
Dardanelles campaign. He has devoted some of the best years of his life
to New Zealand, and with all his courtesy and charm of manner, has
never had any traffic with indiscipline or inefficiency. If he wants
his monument, let him look round at the glories won by the division in
the laying of whose foundations he played a leading part.
One last word: the New Zealanders have been feared by the enemy; in
quarters they have made themselves beloved. Wherever they have been
billeted, all the civilians say: "We want to have them again."
[Illustration: signature]
General
Lieutenant of the Tower of London
G.H.Q., Army of the Rhine,
17/8/'19.
To My Old Comrades.
I have been asked to write a foreword to "THE NEW ZEALANDERS AT
GALLIPOLI," and it gives me the greatest pleasure to do so,
providing, as it does, an opportunity of recording the affection
and admiration I have, and shall always have, for those who were my
comrades on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
It was as a comparatively small force that we started our soldiering
in Egypt towards the end of 1914. And I am sure that no soldier was
ever prouder of his command than I was when, on the orders of Lord
Kitchener, I took over the command of the Australian and New Zealand
troops who were then arriving from their homes.
Not a moment of the time spent in Egypt was wasted, for all ranks
instinctively realized what was before us, and put their best work into
the necessary training. I doubt if any but those who were present can
conceive all that this training meant to us, and in what wonderfully
good stead it stood us when the time of trial came at Gallipoli. When
that time arrived, we felt that we were a really formed military body,
and not merely a collection of units hastily thrown together and
without any military cohesion. During that period, a strong feeling of
esprit de corps was engendered throughout the force, and perhaps most
important of all, a spirit of discipline, the necessity of which was
realized, was inculcated in all ranks.
I so well remember on that early morning of April 25, 1915, the intense
keenness and anxiety on the part of all to get ashore and capture
the Turkish positions without a moment's delay; and it was, I know,
a source of great regret to the New Zealanders that it was to the
1st Australian Division that the honour of the first landing fell.
Transports, however, followed each other rapidly, and the day had not
worn long when the New Zealand infantry were ashore and attacking
what afterwards became known as Russell's Top, on the left of the
Australians. There and thereabouts it was destined to continue this
fighting through thick scrub for many a long day, and to prove to the
Turks how impossible it was to throw such men back into the sea, as
they had confidently anticipated doing.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by Bartlett & Andrew_
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR A. J. GODLEY, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.]
A short foreword like this is no place for a history of the doings of
the force, to which I know full credit will be done in this and other
volumes depicting New Zealand's share in the Great War. I will only
say here what complete confidence I always had--without one moment of
hesitation--throughout the campaign in the bravery, the steadfastness
and the efficiency of the New Zealand troops. Their discipline was
admirable, while never have I seen troops more willing or determined.
I would that I could here mention by name even half of those who were
such real comrades to me, such as General Godley, Colonels Russell,
Napier Johnston, F. E. Johnston, Chaytor; Colonel McBean Stewart, of
the Canterbury Battalion, who, to my great regret, was killed on the
day of the landing; and Colonels Findlay, Mackesy, and Meldrum, of the
Canterbury, Auckland, and Wellington Mounted Rifles respectively.
There are two others who gave their lives on the Peninsula, and whom I
would especially record.
[Illustration: BRIGADIER-GENERAL SIR A. H. RUSSELL., K.C.B.]
One of the most difficult points which we had to hold was known as
Quinn's Post. The Turkish trenches there were certainly not more than
ten yards from our own, and it can easily be imagined how the battle
raged furiously between the two systems. The gallant Quinn, after whom
the post was named, had been killed, and, later on, the Australians
were replaced in their turn by the Wellington Battalion under Colonel
Malone. This officer at once set himself the task of making his post
as perfect and impregnable as he could, and in this task he fully
succeeded. I shall never forget the real pleasure it gave me when
visiting the post from time to time to realize the keenness and energy
which Colonel Malone put into his work, and on every visit I found
myself leaving it with greater confidence that, come what may, Quinn's
Post could never be taken by an enemy, however strong. Shortly after
this, Colonel Malone was, to my deep regret, and to that, I know, of
his many comrades, killed while leading his battalion most gallantly in
the main attack on Sari Bair on August 8. A thorough and keen soldier,
his loss was great to the whole force, and I personally felt I had lost
not only an excellent officer, but a really true friend.
The other officer to whom I cannot refrain from making especial
reference, was Colonel Bauchop, of the Otago Mounted Rifles: a more
gallant and cheerier gentleman never lived. Always full of high spirits
and courage--ready to undertake any enterprise, and refusing to
acknowledge difficulties, he was just the type of man wanted to ensure
the maintenance of high morale in such a campaign as we were carrying
out at Gallipoli. For a very long time Colonel Bauchop held command of
our extreme semi-detached outposts, and I know how proud he was of the
great game of war in which he played so prominent a part. Perfectly
fearless, he came through the fighting unscratched until August 8, when
he was killed at the head of his regiment, leading it in a gallant
charge on the extreme left of our old position. Surely it would be
impossible for any commander not to be devoted to such men as these!
What seemed to me as one of the best features of our fighting at
Gallipoli was the mutual confidence and esteem which it engendered
between the New Zealand and the Australian soldiers. Before this,
they had had little opportunities of knowing each other. Going
round, as I did, the trenches of all, it was to me a constant source
of satisfaction and delight to find New Zealanders and Australians
confiding in me the highly favourable opinion which, apparently to
their surprise, they had formed of each other! May such a feeling
continue for all time, to the great advantage of the British race in
the Southern Seas.
I am sure that the New Zealand troops would not wish me to conclude
this foreword without mentioning the British Navy, to whom we all owe
so much, and memories of whom will remain for ever with all those who
served alongside of them.
On our return from Gallipoli to Egypt, in 1916, the arrival of the New
Zealand Rifles Brigade and the large reinforcements which had been
sent from New Zealand enabled us to expand the original New Zealand
Expeditionary Force into a complete division--than which, I can say
with confidence, no finer or better organized division served in
France. I had the honour to take this division with me to the Western
Front in April, 1916. But, alas! I was not to have the honour of
retaining it long under my command, for on the reconstitution of the
Australian and New Zealand divisions, it was decided that the latter
should leave my army corps: I need scarcely say it was a matter of the
deepest personal regret to me.
I sincerely wish all my old comrades happiness and success. None of us
are ever likely to forget the times we spent together on Gallipoli. We
sincerely mourn for those who so willingly gave their lives for the
great cause in which we were fighting; but we know they have not died
in vain, for they have ensured freedom and right for our children and
our children's children. New Zealand may well be--as I am sure she
is--justly proud of her magnificent sons, who so bravely upheld her
flag and fought for her honour on the shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula.
[Illustration: signature]
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE "SPHINX": GRAVES OF MEN KILLED AT THE ANZAC
LANDING.
"The valiant dead that gazed upon the skies,
And slept in great battalions by the shore."--_Leon Gellert._
]
The New Zealanders at Gallipoli
CHAPTER I.
The Concentration of the Expeditionary Force.
The pioneer settlers of New Zealand left the Mother Country for many
reasons, but primarily because they wished for a freer existence. They
certainly did not choose an easy path for themselves. They could have
settled in English-speaking countries comparatively near, but they
deliberately left England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for a land
thirteen thousand miles away--a land covered with virgin forest and
inhabited by a proud and warlike native race.
In communities that governed themselves according to their own
advanced ideas, away from the baneful influence of large cities and
the trammelling tendencies of hoary tradition, they wrestled with the
giants of the bush, literally hewing out their homes in the wilderness.
Not sparing themselves, they created a desirable and a healthy
environment for their sons and daughters. Many had given up comfortable
homes in the old lands so that their children and their children's
children might have that freedom of life and thought and speech for
which they themselves had been willing to make so many sacrifices.
Would it be natural, then, when Autocracy and Greed again threatened
the free peoples of Europe, that a young nation born of the early
settlers of New Zealand should stand aloof? A few weeks after the
dreadful tragedy of Serajevo, realizing that the freedom of the world
was again challenged, and recognizing to the full the gravity of the
step, New Zealand placed all her resources at the disposal of the
Mother Land.
The martial instincts of Maori and Pakeha were at once aroused. In the
town enthusiasm was infectious; newspaper offices were besieged, and
eager volunteers thronged the headquarters of each territorial unit;
every shop, office and factory sent its representatives, and before
the services of the Expeditionary Force were accepted by the Imperial
Government the lists were full to overflowing.
From the country men crowded in. The musterer and station owner alike
forsook their flocks; the bushman put away his crosscut and axe; the
flaxmill hand left swamp and mill and hurried to the nearest railway
station. Quiet men up on the hillside watched the train coming across
country with the eagerly awaited newspapers. The strain of waiting was
unendurable. With the call of Old England throbbing in their ears, they
left their stock unattended in the paddocks and swelled the procession
to the railway station. Here eager crowds discussed the situation. It
was instinctively recognized that Britain must stand by France and
Belgium, and when the news of that momentous decision did come the
great wave of enthusiasm swept anew over the country side.
The Mobilization.
In those early days of August, the naval position in the Pacific was
shrouded in mystery. Rumour was alarmingly busy. It was possible that
the German Pacific fleet of heavily armed cruisers might appear at any
moment off the New Zealand coast. Their only superior in these waters
at the outbreak of war was the battle cruiser "Australia," the "New
Zealand," of course, being in the North Sea. On August 6, a message
from the Secretary of State for War was received by His Excellency the
Governor: "If your Ministers desire and feel themselves able to seize
the German wireless station at Samoa, we should feel that this was a
great and urgent Imperial service...." A force of 1,413 men immediately
volunteered from territorial units in Auckland and Wellington, and
sailed for their unknown destination on August 15, convoyed by three
obsolescent "P" class cruisers--"Philomel," "Psyche," and "Pyramus";
joined by H.M.A.S. "Australia," H.M.A.S. "Melbourne," and the French
cruiser "Montcalm" at New Caledonia, the expedition proceeded on its
way, occupying German Samoa on August 29 without firing a shot. Thus
early in the Great War were New Zealand soldiers, supported by the
allied navies, the first to take possession of German territory in the
name of King George V.
[Illustration:
[_From the collection of Sergt. C. B. Gibbs, N.Z.A.O.D._
BADGES OF NEW ZEALAND MOUNTED RIFLES AND DIVISIONAL UNITS THAT SERVED
AT SAMOA AND GALLIPOLI.
1st Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry M.R.
6th Manawatu M.R.
11th North Auckland M.R.
Railway Battalions, N.Z.E.
2nd Wellington West Coast M.R.
7th Southland M.R.
12th Otago M.R.
Post and Telegraph Corps, N.Z.E.
3rd Auckland M.R.
N.Z. Army Nursing Service.
8th South Canterbury M.R.
N.Z. Field Artillery
N.Z. Staff Corps.
N.Z. Permanent Staff
4th Waikato M.R.
9th Wellington East Coast M.R.
Field Engineers, N.Z.E.
N.Z. Veterinary Corps.
5th Otago Hussars M.R.
10th Nelson M.R.
Signal Service, N.Z.E.
N.Z. Chaplains Dept.]
On August 7, 1914, the New Zealand Government cabled to the Imperial
authorities offering the services of an Expeditionary Force. On August
12 the offer was accepted, and preparations were made to have the force
ready to embark for Europe on August 28. More and more men offered
their services. Those declared unfit by the doctor in Auckland caught
the train to Wellington, and if not successful there, went on and on
until they found a loophole. Family men of fifty-five shaved their
faces clean and enlisted with an "apparent age" of thirty-five. One
man, with an artificial eye and minus two fingers, struggled into the
N.Z.M.C.; while two gallant souls--veterans of previous wars--enlisted
and were accepted as quartermasters, even though they had but one arm
apiece.
A partial mobilization had already taken place at each regimental
headquarters. The drafts, consisting mostly of men who had served in
the Territorial Force and in previous wars, were sent to district
concentration camps. The Auckland Mounted Rifles, Auckland Infantry
Battalion, and the No. 1 Field Ambulance of the New Zealand Medical
Corps were quartered in Alexandra Park, Auckland. The Wellington
Mounted Rifles and the Wellington Infantry Battalion camped at the
Awapuni Racecourse, near Palmerston North; here, also, were organized
the N.Z. Field Artillery, the Field and Signal Troops of New Zealand
Engineers, the company of Divisional Signallers, and the Mounted Field
Ambulance, the men for these units being drawn in proportion from the
territorial troops of the four Military Districts. Addington Park,
Christchurch, was the rendezvous for the troops of the Canterbury
Military District--the Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment and the
Canterbury Infantry Battalion. The Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment and
the Otago Infantry Battalion concentrated in Tahuna Park, near the
Ocean Beach, Dunedin.
[Illustration:
[_From the collection of Sergt. C. B. Gibbs, N.Z.A.O.D._
BADGES OF INFANTRY REGIMENTS THAT SERVED AT SAMOA AND GALLIPOLI.
1st Canterbury Regiment.
6th Hauraki Regiment.
11th Taranaki Rifles Regiment.
16th Waikato Regiment.
2nd South Canterbury Regiment.
7th Wellington West Coast
Regiment.
12th Nelson Regiment.
17th Ruahine Regiment.
3rd Auckland Regiment.
8th Southland Regiment.
13th North Canterbury and Westland
Regiment.
N.Z. Maori Contingent.
4th Otago Regiment.
9th Hawkes Bay Regiment.
14th South Otago Regiment.
N.Z. Army Service Corps.
5th Wellington Regiment.
10th North Otago Regiment.
15th North Auckland Regiment.
N.Z. British Section.
N.Z. Medical Corps.]
The territorial system of compulsory training was still in its infancy,
but it was considered advisable to retain the territorial distinctions.
Each of the four Military Districts was asked to supply one regiment of
mounted rifles and one battalion of infantry. Each territorial regiment
and battalion supplied to the Expeditionary Force a squadron and a
company respectively, and these units retained their badges and the
customs of their parent organizations.
The organization of the Expeditionary Force was that of the
headquarters of a division, divisional troops, a mounted rifles
brigade, and an infantry brigade. The Auckland, Wellington, and
Canterbury Mounted Rifles Regiment made, with the Field and Signal
Troops and Mounted Field Ambulance, a complete mounted brigade. The
Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment became divisional cavalry, and did not
form part of the brigade. The four infantry battalions--Auckland,
Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago--made a complete infantry brigade.
The characteristic slouch hat, with the brim down all round, was
adopted by the whole force; but the Otago Mounted Rifles, the New
Zealand Field Artillery, and the Wellington Infantry Battalion wore
their hats peaked and with four dents. After the evacuation of the
Gallipoli Peninsula the entire New Zealand Division wore peaked hats,
but the New Zealand Mounted Rifles remained faithful to the old style.
A further distinguishing mark was the different coloured puggaree for
each branch of the service. The troopers of the Mounted Rifles wore
khaki and green; the gunners, red and blue; the sappers, khaki and
blue; the infantry, khaki and red; the Army Service Corps, khaki and
white; and the men of the Field Ambulance, khaki and maroon.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by Guy_
OTAGO INFANTRY ENTRAINING AT TAHUNA PARK, DUNEDIN.]
Equipping the Force.
The equipment of the force was no easy matter, though valuable material
was obtained from the Territorial Force, which was being fitted out
at the time. Most of the mounted riflemen brought their own horses to
the place of concentration. If the animals were suitable, they were
paid for, and became the property of the Government, but each man
was allowed to ride the horse that he had brought. The saddles and
equipment were mostly made in the Dominion. Day by day more material
came to hand, and the men became more accustomed to manoeuvring in
troops and squadrons; gradually but surely the mounted regiments
evolved from very keen individual horsemen and shots to efficient
military units. With the traditions of the South African campaign and
the enthusiasm of the New Zealander for a good horse, the excellence of
the mounted rifles was not at all surprising.
The field artillery were fortunate in that they had the nucleus
of batteries in the officers and men of the Royal New Zealand
Artillery--professional soldiers, who, in time of peace, trained
the territorial batteries and garrisoned the artillery provided for
coast defence. Thanks to the energy and foresight of the dominion
artillerists, the old 15-pounders had been replaced by modern
18-pounders, and more fortunate still, New Zealand had, in 1914, some
of the newest 4.5 howitzers, which guns above all others were to prove
their worth in the closing days of April, 1915. The horses for the gun
teams were procured mostly in the Wellington District--some were well
broken, others were broken to chains in the plough, a number had hardly
been handled at all; but the drivers set to with a will, and soon the
roads of Palmerston North were enlivened with spirited six-horse teams
jingling along with their businesslike guns and limbers.
The sappers of the field troop were drawn in equal proportions from the
territorial field companies. There were no divisional field engineers,
only a mounted brigade troop. In order to keep up with the cavalry,
light collapsible boats were substituted for the heavy pontoons of
the ordinary field company. No boats were available in New Zealand,
the intention being to pick them up in England when the Expeditionary
Force landed there. The signal troop and divisional signallers were all
territorials, most of the operators being highly skilled men from the
Post and Telegraph Department.
Owing to the large numbers available for selection, the infantry were
a magnificent body of men. Born of freedom-loving parents in a free
country, nurtured in a land of plenty with a climate unsurpassed on
earth, it is not surprising that the trained New Zealander is modelled
like a Greek statue. To see a battalion of infantry bathing in the
Manawatu River was a wonderful sight. The clean blue sky, the waving
toi-toi on the fringe of native bush, the river rippling and sprawling
over its gravelly bed, the thousand beautiful athletes splashing in
the sun-kissed water, made an ineffaceable impression. The New Zealand
infantry soldier trained at Alexandra Park, Awapuni, Addington, and
Tahuna Park has long since proved his courage and steadfastness to be
equal to his undeniable physique and fitness.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Capt. Boxer, N.Z.M.O._
LOADING HORSES ON THE "STAR OF INDIA" AT AUCKLAND.]
The matter of transport was a difficult one. As yet the New Zealand
Army Service Corps of the Territorial Force was not organized. Men and
horses were forthcoming, but suitable waggons were hard to procure.
Eventually a number of waggons--some suitable and some otherwise--were
purchased. Many were only a quarter-lock, and the angry drivers were
sometimes heard to murmur that no place but the wide deserts of Egypt
would have been sufficient to turn--much less manoeuvre--in!
The personnel of the New Zealand Medical Corps was from the outset
most efficient. The senior officers had mostly seen service in former
campaigns; the men were enthusiastic territorials and keen young
medical students who had forsaken their classes when the call came.
In all branches of the service discipline was very strict. Men realized
that if they transgressed they would cease to be members of the Main
Body. There was no crime. All ranks understood they were chosen to
represent New Zealand in the eyes of the world.
Passed by the doctor, the recruit was fitted out with that wonderful
receptacle, the soldier's kit bag. This was soon filled to overflowing
by the combined efforts of a paternal Government and committees of
enthusiastic ladies. All the uniforms and purely military kit came from
the ordnance stores, but the woollen stuff--socks, underclothing and
woollen caps--were the handiwork and gift of the women of New Zealand.
Surely never before in history had an army so many socks and shirts!
It must be admitted that in the first flush of enthusiasm some good
folks showed more energy than skill in the matter of shirt making. The
soldier is nothing if not adaptable, so he cut off the superfluous
portion of sleeve. One was not surprised that the sergeant-major,
wanting the men for physical drill, daily shouted "Fall in the kimonos."
Waiting for the Escort.
Through August and the first weeks of September the training
and equipping went on. Four transports were lying alongside the
Wellington wharves, and two ships at each of the other three ports
of embarkation--Auckland, Lyttelton and Port Chalmers. Day and night
carpenters laboured fitting up the troop and horse decks.
On September 24, the people of Wellington assembled at Newtown Park to
witness the farewell parade of the divisional troops, the Wellington
Mounted Rifles Regiment, and the Wellington Infantry Battalion. After
an inspection by His Excellency the Governor, the Prime Minister and
the Minister of Defence, the troops marched through cheering crowds
to the transports, and at half-past five that evening all but the
"Maunganui" pulled out into the stream, ready to sail early next
morning to join the Auckland ships at sea. During the evening of
the 24th the four ships from Lyttelton and Port Chalmers joined the
Wellington quota in the harbour. All night anxious relatives made
endeavours to get aboard the vessels in the stream to say a last
farewell or deliver a parting gift, while the people of Wellington went
betimes to bed to awaken early and see the fleet steam out.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by F. W. Randall_
SORTING KIT-BAGS ALONGSIDE THE "ATHENIC," LYTTELTON.]
But early next morning a wireless message recalled H.M.S. "Philomel,"
the "Waimana," and the "Star of India," which had left Auckland the
night before. In Wellington the seven transports in the harbour
rejoined the "Maunganui" alongside the wharves. The mounted units and
horses were disembarked and scattered to camps round Wellington, there
to remain until a more powerful naval escort was available.
For three weeks the troops, chafing at the delay, were exercised in
musketry and route marching. At nights they crowded into Wellington
for a little amusement. The women of Wellington rose splendidly to
the occasion. Concert parties entertained the men every night in "U"
shed on the wharf. At this time the well-known Sydney Street Soldiers'
Club was started. The soldier realizes that he may never come back,
and that sacrifice he is prepared to make willingly. He sings and is
happy because he feels--though often in an indefinite way--that he did
the right thing in enlisting. But the times of waiting--whether at the
base or in the front-line trench--are most irritating. Being a healthy
animal, he must be doing something. It is here that soldiers' clubs,
managed by understanding, sympathetic women, prove of inestimable
value. For their untiring efforts the women of Wellington are entitled
to the thanks of all the mothers of men concentrated in Wellington
throughout the four long years of war.
On October 14, the troops exercising their horses in the surf at Lyall
Bay were delighted to see a big grey four-funnelled cruiser, flying
the white ensign, closely followed by a huge black three-funnelled
monster with the rising sun displayed. Past Somes Island and Evans Bay
they steamed and dropped anchor, proving to be H.M.S. "Minotaur" and
H.I.J.M.S. "Ibuki," the escort which the army was anxiously expecting.
Next day the "Star of India" and "Waimana," escorted by the "Philomel,"
arrived in Wellington from Auckland, and proceeded to water and coal.
The ten transports were now assembled, and the four cruisers made ready
to convoy the precious freight on the first stage of its long journey.
Many are the valuable cargoes that have left these shores, but for the
first time in the history of New Zealand were nine thousand gallant
souls--the flower of the young nation's manhood--going down to the sea
in ships.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by F. W. Randall_
THE "IBUKI" AND "MINOTAUR" IN WELLINGTON HARBOUR.]
By half-past three on the afternoon of Thursday, October 15, the
mounted units were again embarked. The last good-byes were exchanged
with relatives ashore, and night fell on Wellington Harbour with its
fleet of fourteen historic ships. The morning broke beautifully fine.
The fleet weighed anchor at 6 o'clock. Crowds of early risers saw the
ships go out, preceded by the "Minotaur" and the "Ibuki." The first
division of ships was led by the cruiser "Psyche" and the second
division by the "Philomel." So the watchers on Mount Victoria saw the
long grey line slip silently down the Straits.