The Battle of Krithia.
Bitter as had been the struggle at Anzac, the fight at the southern
end of the peninsula was even more bloody. To the most honourable
traditions of the British Army and Navy was added a further lustre. The
story of the "River Clyde" and the "Lancashire Landing" are amongst the
most tragic and glorious in the history of the British race.
But the advance towards Achi Baba was held up some distance from the
village of Krithia, and General Sir Ian Hamilton made up his mind to
undertake one big final assault before the Turks could receive their
reinforcements.
On the night of Wednesday, May 5, the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and
the 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade, were assembled on the bullet-swept
Anzac beach, placed in destroyers and barges and landed just east of
Cape Helles early next morning. Here was the battered "River Clyde,"
and on the cliff to the right Sedd-el-Bahr fort, completely wrecked by
the naval guns.
[Illustration: NEARING "V" BEACH, CAPE HELLES.]
As the troops moved from the landing place, they saw deep Turkish
trenches and formidable barbed-wire entanglements. The landscape was
vastly different from the hungry hills of Anzac. This was fairly easy
rolling country, intersected with sod walls, through which gaps had
been worn by passing troops; most of the land was cultivated, and
dotted here and there with clumps of fir trees, from behind which the
French 75's and British 18-prs. threw their hail of shrapnel. Among the
18-prs. was the 3rd Battery of New Zealand Field Artillery that had
lain off Anzac, but was not disembarked until landed here at Helles on
May 4. This battery stayed at Helles until the middle of August.
[Illustration: MAP OF CAPE HELLES SECTOR.
This map shows the route taken by the New Zealand Infantry Brigade on
May 6-7.
On April 25, a landing at "Y2" or Gully Beach was not attempted.
The troops that landed at "Y" Beach were consequently isolated and
eventually withdrawn. The landing at "X" Beach was very successful
and is some times spoken of as the "Implacable Landing." "W" Beach,
afterwards called "Lancashire Landing," and "V" Beach, made famous by
the "River Clyde," were the two most costly landings. The landing at
"S" Beach in Morto Bay was successfully carried out by the 2nd South
Wales Borderers, covered by the "Cornwallis" and the "Lord Nelson."]
Having climbed the heights from the beach, the eye took in at once the
great hump of Achi Baba, the crest just five miles away. Two ridges,
like sprawling arms, ran down to the sea--one towards the Narrows, the
other to the Gulf of Saros. From Sedd-el-Bahr a road traverses the
centre of the Peninsula, running through the village of Krithia, which
is four miles from Sedd-el-Bahr; it skirts the lower slopes to the left
of Achi Baba, rounds the northern shoulder of the Kilid Bahr Plateau,
and so to Maidos, on the shores of the Narrows, thirteen miles in a
direct line from Sedd-el-Bahr. At Krithia, for which village most of
the subsequent desperate fighting took place, the Peninsula is about
three and a half miles across.
Let the reader take any railway guide and select two stations four
miles apart. It is hard to realize that troops like the French, the
29th Division, the Australians, the New Zealanders and the Indians
should be held in such narrow limits for so many months. But with the
sea on the flanks and the enemy holding the high ground, the defence of
a natural fortress like Achi Baba was comparatively easy.
Following on the landings of April 25, the British held the left of the
line, with the French (withdrawn from Kum Kale) on the right. Coming
from the cramped confines of Anzac, the New Zealanders marvelled to
see French officers in blue and red riding up and down the road, and
motor cyclists dashing about with signal messages. Poor Anzac could not
boast of a road on which to run even a bicycle. As a relief from our
inevitable khaki, the French Senegalese with their dark blue uniforms,
the Zouaves with their red baggy trousers, and the French Territorials
with their light blue, imparted quite a dash of colour to the scene. On
May 6, the French away on the right attacked all day, while the Royal
Naval Division moved a little down both sides of the Krithia Road.
In the reconstitution of the British forces for the renewed assault on
Krithia, a new composite division, to be used as a general reserve, was
formed of the 2nd Australian Brigade, the New Zealand Brigade, and a
Naval Brigade consisting of the Plymouth and Drake Battalions.
[Illustration:
[_British Official Photograph._
THE "RIVER CLYDE" ASHORE AT "V" BEACH.
This was a most daring enterprise. The old ship was specially fitted
to run ashore, when troops were to pour out of the big doors cut in
her sides and fill a string of lighters towed alongside, and so to
the shore to form a bridge. But the 1st Munster Fusiliers, the 2nd
Hampshires and a company of the Dublin Fusiliers were subjected to a
murderous fire and did not get ashore till darkness intervened. Their
endurance and gallantry was a fitting complement to the bravery and
devotion shown by the officers and men of the Royal Navy.]
The New Zealand Brigade in Reserve.
After leaving the congested beach the New Zealand Brigade pushed
across country. The men were much interested in the first sight of
the French 75's. Coming to rest in some fairly level fields, rough
shelter trenches were dug in the moist earth. Shells flew backwards
and forwards all that night, and very few men could sleep owing to the
wet trenches. Everybody was a little hurt because the Australians were
served with Machonochies, whereas the New Zealanders got the usual
bully beef; but a few gay spirits refused to be depressed, and lustily
sang "There's something in the seaside air," which was unfortunately
true.
On the morning of the 7th, extra ammunition and entrenching tools were
issued, and the brigade started on a long trek in a north-westerly
direction, eventually coming down to Gully Beach on the Gulf of Saros.
After a short rest, the march was resumed. The leading files struck
back again up the hill and met many Lancashires coming back wounded.
Everywhere equipment was scattered. Many of our men secured sun
helmets, which later were the envy of Anzac. When word came to rest for
the night and dig in, the brigade pulled off the track to the sides
of the valley, posted outpost groups, and endeavoured to rest for the
night. But there was a good deal of confusion and noise, Ghurkas and
other troops were moving up and down, and presently word came to move
further up the gully. On the weary men stumbled, past a trench held by
the King's Own Scottish Borderers, and eventually arrived near a small
stone farmhouse on the right-hand side of the gully. On both sides
of the road were some old Turkish trenches, in a filthy condition.
Sticking up in the parapet was a dead man's hand, like a stop sign,
seeming to indicate "this far and no farther." Backwards and forwards,
this way and that, men wandered in the search for a comfortable resting
place. Here the brigade passed the night, acting as a reserve to the
87th and 88th Brigades of the 29th Division, but the morning came
without our men being called on.
The shelter of a ruined building was seized upon for a dressing
station. Near by was a large fig tree, which later served as a
landmark for the last resting-place of many New Zealand soldiers. From
this dressing station the wounded were carried by the stretcher-bearers
some distance to the rear to the Pink Farm, whence the mule ambulances
carried the suffering men over the well-worn roads to the beaches.
[Illustration:
[_British Official Photograph._
LANCASHIRE LANDING AT "W" BEACH.
Here the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers added fresh glory to their
illustrious record. The barbed wire was placed down to the water's edge
and in the water. But the gallant Lancashires were not to be denied and
performed prodigies of valour. The picture shows the steamers sunk to
make a breakwater.]
On the morning of May 8, the New Zealand Brigade was ordered to the
support of the 29th Division. We were to go through the 88th Brigade,
and with the 87th Brigade on our left, renew the attack on Krithia
at 10.30 a.m. The advance was made in a succession of waves; the
Wellingtons were on the left, the Aucklands in the centre, and the
Canterburys on the right; the Otago Battalion was in reserve. After an
intense bombardment by our ship's guns and field artillery, the brigade
advanced from the reserve trenches at 10.30 a.m. The ground was broken,
and this hindered the pace. Many were lost who might have been saved
if this advance had been made before daylight. The troops pressed on
despite the casualties. When the officers ordered a breather, the tired
men fell down flat right out in the open. Past the Hants' trenches and
the Essex trench they went steadily forward until they came to the big
front-line trench held by the 29th Division. From here it was about
800 yards to the enemy main line trench, but scattered in front of his
line, in every depression and behind every clump of bush, were machine
guns and hosts of enemy snipers.
The Daisy Patch.
From this front-line trench the Regulars had advanced the day before,
but had been driven back. Presently the word was passed along that
the New Zealanders would prepare to charge. When some Munsters and
Essex saw the preparations, they shouted, "You're not going to charge
across the daisy patch, are you?" "Of course we are," the Aucklanders
answered. "God help you," they said, and watched with admiration as the
New Zealanders flung themselves over the top.
The converging machine-gun fire from the clumps of fir trees swept the
ground like a hose. This famous "daisy patch" was situated just to the
left of a dry creek-bed running from near the village of Krithia down
the centre of the Peninsula towards the Cape--a piece of ground about
100 yards across, absolutely devoid of cover; apparently it had once
been sown with some crop, but was now overgrown with the common red
poppy of the field and countless long-stemmed daisies comparable to the
dog daisy of England and New Zealand. The bank of the creek afforded
good cover, and the Turkish snipers took full toll of our men.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Sergt. P. Tite, N.Z.E._
THE NEW ZEALAND INFANTRY BRIGADE STAFF.
Taken just before the "Daisy Patch" attack. The officer standing is
Colonel E. F. Johnston. Major Temperly (to whom much credit is due for
the good work of the Brigade) is sitting on a box, facing this way.]
The troops had hardly got a quarter of the way across the patch when
there burst a further terrific storm of machine-gun and rifle fire.
Heavily laden with entrenching tools and equipment, the troops were
exhausted and could go no farther. By 3 p.m. the thin line was digging
itself in.
Canterbury had advanced about 250 yards, Auckland had two companies
about the same distance, but the right company had fallen back owing
to heavy cross machine-gun fire from a clump of fir trees. Wellington
had made good about 300 yards, but were under very heavy fire from a
Turkish trench on our left front. Two companies of the Otago Regiment
were sent in to help Auckland, who had lost heavily and were somewhat
shaken.
A squadron of armoured cars advanced in fine style up the Krithia Road,
but a few Turkish trenches dug across the road damped their ardour, and
they disconsolately returned to the rear.
All that afternoon our men hung on under a withering fire. The wounded
lying out in the open were hit again and again. Away on the right, the
French could be seen pressing vigorously forward towards the crest,
but were ever beaten back. Times without number they surged forward,
but could not hold the ground so hardly won. Again and again that
awful afternoon did the British, French, Indian, and Colonial soldiers
hurl themselves forward towards the Turk. But the enemy machine guns
were not to be denied; from end to end of the line the attack was
undoubtedly held up.
It was resolved to make one final effort before nightfall. The
remaining two companies of the Otago Battalion were pushed up to
support Wellington's right and Auckland's left, and a newly arrived
draft of New Zealand Reinforcements was moved up into reserve. At 5
p.m., every available gun ashore and afloat opened on the Turkish
lines. Never before had the troops heard such an awesome uproar--the
spiteful French 75's vied with the 15-in. monsters of the Queen
Elizabeth in heaping metal on the Turk. Half an hour later the whole
line advanced against the Turkish lines, but it was more than flesh
and blood could do to make a permanent advance. Everywhere ground was
gained, but at a tremendous price. The thinned-out ranks were not
strong enough to hold what had been gained.
This effort had spent itself before 7 p.m. The Canterburys had gone
forward some 400 yards. The Aucklands went well ahead, but lost very
heavily in officers. They fell back almost to their original line.
Wellington made a substantial advance, but were held up by the enemy
machine guns, which before had proved troublesome. These guns were
difficult to get at, as a deep nullah lay between these guns and the
New Zealanders, and could only be assaulted by the 87th Brigade.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Capt. Farr, D.S.O., M.C._
A GUN OF THE 3RD BATTERY, N.Z.F.A. AT CAPE HELLES.
After our experience of cover in France, the sheet of galvanized iron
and row of sandbags is almost ludicrous. Notice the typical Gallipoli
hair-cut and the absence of many garments.]
Away on the left a fire broke out among the gorse and scrub. The Sikh
wounded fared very badly in the flames.
After dark it was found that the Canterburys were in direct touch with
the 2nd Australian Brigade on the right. Canterbury's left was not in
touch with anyone, but a second line some distance to the rear filled
the gap. Our line from Wellington's right was also not in touch, but
was protected by trenches of the 87th Brigade echeloned in rear.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Sergt. P. Tite, N.Z.E._
FRENCH TERRITORIALS BEFORE THE ADVANCE.]
During the night the position gained was consolidated. The Auckland
Battalion was much disorganized and split up, so was withdrawn to the
reserve trenches. The casualties had been very heavy. Large numbers of
wounded had to spend the night on the battlefield, as their evacuation
was difficult.
At 3.53 p.m. on May 9, an order was received to take over the section
from our left to the Krithia Nullah. The 87th Brigade was to go
into support, the line being held by the Wellingtons, Otagos, and
Canterburys. Part of the 88th Brigade was also retired. The marksmen of
the Canterburys took the enemy snipers by surprise, and established a
moral superiority over them.
The Relief of our Brigade.
[Illustration: TROOPS GATHERING FIREWOOD AT SEDD-EL-BAHR.]
During the next few days the weather was good, but the nights were very
cold. The Turks attacked intermittently, but were definitely held.
On the night of May 11, the New Zealanders were relieved by units
of the East Lancashire Division, recently arrived from Egypt. This
was achieved by 3 a.m. on May 12, without much confusion, whereupon
the brigade moved back to its bivouac near the stone bridge on the
Krithia road. Just after arriving there was a heavy fall of rain, which
converted the surroundings into an absolute quagmire. The following
days, however, were beautifully fine, and the men had a much-needed
rest. In the reorganization it was found that the brigade had suffered
a total of 771 casualties at Helles, but all ranks were greatly cheered
by the appreciative comments passed by the Regular Army officers, and
especially by Sir Ian Hamilton's official message: "May I, speaking out
of a full heart, be permitted to say how gloriously the Australians and
New Zealanders have upheld the finest traditions of our race during
this struggle still in progress; at first with audacity and dash,
since then with sleepless valour and untiring resource. They have
already created for their countries an imperishable record of military
virtue."
Several days of welcome relief from the front line ensued. Men
wandered through the battered forts of Sedd-el-Bahr, and marvelled
at the dismantled guns and twisted ironwork. Others strolled around
the fertile countryside, which was smothered with a profusion of red
poppies, white daisies and blue larkspurs, as if to honour the French
and British occupation.
After dark on the evening of May 19, the brigade again embarked from V
Beach to return to Anzac Cove, where they arrived at dawn next morning.
During the disembarkation a very sad incident occurred in the Auckland
Battalion, which lost another officer, he being the twenty-seventh
officer incapacitated out of the original twenty-nine combatants.