The Preparations in July.
The decisive repulses in June made the Turk very chary of attacking.
On our side it was evident that the forces at the disposal of Sir Ian
Hamilton were not sufficient to win through. After months of desperate
attack and dogged defence the month of July saw the enemy still holding
the high ground at Helles and Anzac. At Anzac there was a cheery
optimism. Everyone was satisfied that with reasonable reinforcements we
would win through to the Narrows.
[Illustration: THE BARRICADE IN THE BIG SAP.]
By now the front-line trenches were secure and the units settled
down to the routine of trench warfare. Troops holding the line have
a good deal of time in which to talk and think. One of the most
dreadful phases of soldiering is the monotony. It is then that
the soldier becomes "fed up." Men at these times will growl and
argue about anything. Three debatable subjects never lost their
attractiveness--oysters, medals, and the horizon. The oyster question
raged furiously. Perhaps the Turkish shells suggested it; perhaps the
soldier was thinking of what he would eat when he got home again; but,
with an Aucklander present, it was never safe to say that Stewart
Island oysters were the finest in the sea. The medal question was a
perennial one. What medals would be struck for the war? Would there be
a different one for the different campaigns--France, West Africa,
Gallipoli, and all other theatres? Would the clasps be names of actions
or only dates? It was persistently rumoured that the new Sultan of
Egypt would give a medal to each of the troops who lined the Cairo
streets on his coronation day. The Sultan supplied the answer to this
by dying before his alleged promise could be fulfilled. The great line
of transports and warships stretching from Cape Suvla down to Tenedos
suggested the horizon. What was the horizon? There seemed to be no end
of definitions, all of which could be traversed by learned persons
present. Some ships would be hull down and some with only the masts and
smoke showing. This raised the question as to whether one could see
past the horizon, a suggestion scouted by the majority of the debating
society, but warmly applauded by an enthusiastic minority.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by F. H. Dawn_
SOLDIERS BATHING IN ANZAC COVE.]
[Illustration: SUNSET FROM ARI BURNU.]
Late in the afternoon, when the little groups assembled behind the
firing line to prepare the evening meal, men would talk of their
favourite foods, and speculate as to where the first big meal would be
eaten when the great work was complete. Smoking the ration cigarette
after tea, the New Zealander would watch the sun set behind the
rose-tinted peaks of Samothrace and would picture again the sunset in
his own beloved country, would hear the water tumbling and splashing
in the creek, would see the sheep and horses cropping the sweet green
grass of Maoriland--when "Whizz! crash!" would come the Turkish
gunners' evening hate. Back with a start would the soldier come to
the shells, the heat, the stench of chloride of lime, and the steadily
increasing rows of little crosses on the hillside.
Units not engaged in the front line were officially "resting" in
Rest Gully. Paradoxically, it was an accident if one got an hour's
respite there! In civil life, where labour is expensive and difficult
to obtain, all means of labour-saving devices are available to do
laborious work. Near the firing line there is no room or concealment
for these cumbrous instruments. On the other hand, labour is plentiful.
So it happens that a multiplicity of men, with primitive picks and
shovels, are available for any necessary work. On the Peninsula a spell
of "rest" inevitably meant being detailed for a working party.
The Amenities of Anzac.
The noise of battle frightened away all the little song birds that
had so charmed us in the spring. But there was always something of
interest. The common tortoise of Europe--with a hard shell about 12
inches long--loving a quiet place shaded from the sun, crept into our
dugouts during the night, so that in addition to having nocturnal
visitors who caused a certain amount of irritation and annoyance, we
had these larger "Pilgrims of the Night" to create a little amusement,
for there is something comical about these prehistoric, rubber-necked
shell-backs. The fact that a tortoise is something like a turtle also
appealed not a little to the company cook, who may be a lover of the
antique, but not to such a degree that the tortoise might notice it!
Out on the Suvla Flats, red foxes played in the sun with their cubs. On
the prickly scrub, the little praying mantis held up her supplicating
green hands and prayed as if we were all far past redemption.
[Illustration:
[_Photo lent by the Otago Women's Association_
OFFICERS OF THE OTAGO MOUNTED RIFLES.
The officer drinking from the mess tin is Lt.-Col. Grigor, D.S.O., who
commanded "C" parties of the N.Z.M.R. Brigade at the evacuation. Behind
him is Colonel Bauchop, C.M.G., the commander of the outposts. ]
During July the shelling seemed to increase in intensity. Perhaps it
was that the Turk had more information about our dispositions and
shifted his guns a little further round on the flanks to enfilade
the beach. Dugouts that had previously been considered safe now had
shrapnel coming in the front doors, which is disconcerting, to say
the least of it. But the New Zealander, ever adaptable, drove his
little dugout into the hillside at a safer angle and cheered the little
trawlers as they slipped their anchors and zigzagged out of range.
Early in the morning two big shells came over in pairs and dropped
out to sea among the shipping. Rumour had it that they came from the
"Goeben," anchored in the Straits. They certainly caused magnificent
twin geysers as they plopped into the Ægean, but never once did any
damage materialize. Because of their early morning regularity these
guns were christened "Christians Awake." The shells really came from
an old battleship, the "Hairredin Barbarossa," anchored in the Narrows
between Maidos and Chanak. She had three pairs of 11in. guns, with
which she carried out her early morning bombardments. Built by the
Germans, she was sold to the Turks in 1910, and finally was submarined
by a British submarine on August 8, the day the New Zealand Infantry
Brigade dashed up to the crest of Chunuk Bair. The most deadly gun was
one (or a battery of them) fired from the Olive Groves away inland from
Gaba Tepe. As this gun enfiladed the beach, it became widely known as
"Beachy Bill." He it was who interfered mostly with the landing of
stores, and worse still, the bathing. A long range gun firing from the
other flank and emplaced in the "W" Hills, was known as "Anafarta
Annie." Not many of our guns had names, but the mounted regiments on
Walker's Ridge appropriately dubbed an Indian mountain gun "Rumbling
Rufus."
During daylight the beach at Anzac Cove was practically deserted.
"Beachy Bill" and his helpers attended to that. But when night came
the hive buzzed and hummed. Picket boats brought in their barges,
and the beach parties attacked the cargoes of stores and transferred
them to the A.S.C. depots close at hand. Long convoys of pack mules
and the little two-wheeled mule carts pulled in to the stores and the
water-tanks, and started their adventurous journeys to the right and
left flanks, and up the tortuous way to Monash Gully. The Turk had
the range to a nicety, and knew quite well that if he dropped a few
shells along the beach and on the communications some damage must be
done. The marvel is he did not fire more. While the firing lasted the
place was like Inferno, for in the darkness the shells could be seen
red-hot overhead. The flash of the explosions would light up the busy
scene--Indian drivers and their terrified mules inextricably mixed up
with the piles of stores and water tins; mules braying and squealing,
with the patient drivers striving to quieten them; the shells shrieking
through the air; while the thunderous detonations punctuated the
rhythmic lapping of the waves upon the beach, the moans of the wounded,
and the insistent cries of "Stretcher bearer."
Reinforcements Promised.
After the unsuccessful attack on Krithia early in May, Sir Ian Hamilton
cabled Home for two more Army Corps, pointing out that apparently we
were to be left to our own resources in the campaign; the Greeks had
decided not to move at all, and the Russians had been so punished
by the Austro-Germans as to give up all hope of moving against
Constantinople from the Black Sea. The General, in his Third Despatch
to the Secretary of State for War, goes on to say:--"During June your
Lordship became persuaded of the bearing of these facts, and I was
promised three regular divisions, plus the infantry of two territorial
divisions. The advance guard of these troops was due to reach Mudros
by July 10; by August 10 their concentration was to be complete."
Now let us see what troops are available for a new trial of strength
with the Turk. The following troops were already on the Peninsula:--
AT HELLES:
{1st Division
The French Army Corps {2nd Division
{29th Division (Regular Army)
{42nd (East Lanes.) Division
The 8th Army Corps {(Territorials)
{52nd (Lowland) Division
{(Territorials)
General Headquarters Troops {Royal Naval Division
AT ANZAC:
{1st Australian Division
The A. & N.Z. Army Corps {N.Z. & Australian Division
NEW TROOPS PROMISED FOR AN OFFENSIVE:
{10th (Irish) Division
The 9th Army Corps {11th (Northern) Division
{13th (Western) Division
{53rd (Welsh) Division
The Infantry Brigade only of {54th (East Anglian) Division
All of the troops--owing to the demands of the French front--were
woefully deficient in artillery. The 9th Army Corps were part of the
New Army--generally known as Kitchener's Army--and, of course, had not
seen service. The infantry of the 53rd and 54th Divisions were of the
Territorial Force, and likewise were inexperienced in war. These were
the troops it was determined to lead against seasoned soldiers--inured
to hardship and fighting for their native soil--the veterans of the
Turkish Regular Army.
But when and where should these reinforcements be used?
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Sergt. P. Tite, N.Z.B._
HEADQUARTERS SIGNAL OFFICE.
Signallers, telephonists, and linesmen risk their lives day and night
sending and carrying messages and repairing wires. Snipers watch the
wire and pick off the linesmen. It is significant that the only New
Zealand V.C. awarded during the campaign went to a signaller.]
The time was easily settled. In war, as in many other things, there
is no time like the present. The summer was well advanced; the scored
hillsides gave every indication of torrential autumn and winter rains;
the naval staff knew that winter storms would seriously hamper their
work. But the last troops could not arrive until early in August. As
darkness was essential to any surprise attack, it was necessary to
carefully study the phases of the moon. It was decided that as soon as
the 53rd and 54th Divisions reached the scene of operations they would
be kept on their ships as a general reserve. The weather, the moon, and
the anticipated arrival of these reinforcements determined August 6 as
the latest date for the commencement of the operations, for by the end
of the second week the moon would be unfavourable
So far, we knew what troops were available, when they would arrive,
and the most desirable time to use them. Next, we must examine the
proposals as to where they should be used to gain the greatest
advantage.
Where should the Troops be Used?
In his classical Third Despatch, General Sir Ian Hamilton has clearly
shown the different suggestions for employing the new troops. They were
resolved into four practicable schemes, which may be summarized as
follows:--
(1) Every man to be thrown on to the Helles sector to force a way
forward to the Narrows. This was rejected because it was difficult to
deploy a large body of troops in such a confined area. Further, the
whole of Krithia and Achi Baba had been specially prepared against such
a frontal attack.
(2) Embarkation on the Asiatic side of the Straits, followed by a march
on Chanak. The number of troops available was not considered sufficient
to press this to a victorious conclusion.
(3) A landing at Enos or Ibriji for the purpose of seizing the Isthmus
of Bulair. Against this project it was known that the Turkish lines of
communication were not only by way of Bulair and down the Narrows, but
also by way of the Asiatic coast across from Chanak to Kilid Bahr. The
naval objections to Bulair were overwhelming: the beaches were bad,
and, worse still, the strain on sea transport would be tremendous. We
know how difficult it was at Anzac, but a new base at Bulair would add
another fifty miles to the sea communications, already threatened by
enemy submarines.
(4) Reinforcement of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps combined
with a new landing at Suvla Bay. There was a reasonable chance of
success in first winning Hill 971, then across the low ground to
Maidos. From thence both the Turkish land and sea communication might
be cut. This plan was also acceptable to the naval authorities. The
distance to Suvla Bay was approximately the same as to Anzac. There was
also a tolerably good harbour that might be made submarine proof. The
water supply would be difficult, but it was reasoned that efficient
organization would mitigate this evil; in any case, it was known that
this area was not so heavily entrenched as the other three suggested
landing places.
The total allied force was known to be inferior to the enemy, but it
was thought that with skilful generalship this superiority might be
nullified. The aim of strategy is to concentrate a superior force at
the decisive point. The advantage is always with the attacker, as the
side attacked must be in sufficient strength all along the line and
must keep sufficient reserves in hand until the enemy's real attack
definitely materializes. Wherever Turkish troops were stationed in
large numbers it was necessary to arrange feint attacks--away on the
flanks opposite Mitylene on the Asiatic coast, and away up at Bulair.
Holding attacks to keep the enemy pinned down in their areas were to be
carried out at Helles and at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 Defence Sections
at Anzac. Having induced the enemy to become committed all along the
general line, it was intended to burst out from the left flank of
Anzac, at the same time land new troops at Suvla--the whole to push on
towards Chunuk Bair, Hill Q, and Hill 971. These heights in our hands
the fall of Maidos, Gaba Tepe, and eventually Kilid Bahr was only a
matter of time.
The strategical and tactical situation may be easier grasped
diagrammatically:--
[Illustration: _TURKISH RESERVES_]
The general idea was that at Bulair and Mitylene enemy forces would be
immobilized, and that the Turkish reserves on the Peninsula would flow
towards Helles and the right of Anzac. As soon as these reserves were
committed the troops of Anzac and Suvla would press towards Hill 971
and turn the Turkish flank.
In anticipation of this advance, a party of selected officers and
scouts lived day and night out on the Suvla Flats and in the Turkish
territory on the Sari Bair. These were the men who were selected to
guide the troops over the new ground to be attacked.
Two other important works were put in hand at once in the Anzac area;
the first, to widen the long communication trench from Anzac to the
outposts; the second, to make a road available for wheeled traffic
along the beach. In order not to make the enemy suspicious, this had to
be done after dark, as the entire area was under the observation and
rifle fire of the enemy on the heights.
Making the Beach Road.
Night after night the troops who were "resting" crept with their
picks and shovels along the beach, to make the necessary road. This
after-dark activity is most trying--each man working as silently as
possible with his rifle at his elbow. Any noise is a magnet certain to
attract machine-gun fire. Even in daylight it takes careful management
to collect working parties and the necessary transport at the right
spot, but in the darkness and in a region where enemy scouts and
snipers roamed as soon as daylight failed, the difficulties were
increased a hundredfold.
Sand makes a poor road. To get a reasonable result it was necessary to
collect the big stones of the seashore and carry them to the shore edge
of the beach and place them as a foundation; on the top of this, clay
was deposited--carted from the hillside near by in the mule carts of
the Indian transport service; the whole was top-dressed by the sand of
the beach, and finally, the hard-worked soldiers carried petrol tins of
water from the sea and poured it over the surface to make the material
set. So, harassed by the splutter of machine guns night after night,
and weakened by the heat of the day, the faithful souls of the working
parties steadily carried the road from Anzac Cove along North Beach
towards the Suvla Flats.
[Illustration:
[_Photo by the Author_
THE "BIG SAP" NEAR FISHERMEN'S HUT.
This view is looking back towards Walker's Ridge and was taken before
the sap was widened to 5 feet.]
Working on the Big Sap.
To get troops quickly and secretly from Anzac to the outposts and to
the foot of the deres up which the assaulting columns must approach
the Turk, it was necessary to widen the communication trench known
as the "Big Sap." This trench had been evolved as the outposts were
established, and at many places could be enfiladed by the enemy on the
heights; and nowhere was it wide enough to take troops two abreast.
The pack mules used it by day, and though the soldier cared little for
Turkish shells, he lived in fear of the donkey's steel-shod hoofs; it
was no uncommon sight to see the soldier, disbelieving the warning "No
kick! No kick!" of the Indian muleteer, climb out of the trench and
risk a bullet rather than encounter a transport mule.
Partly the way was through the sandhills--here the necessary width
of 5 feet was easy to attain; but in the harder clay, the pioneer
working parties had been content to make a narrow slit, leaving the
hardest work still to do. All through July the men of No. 4 Defence
Section toiled at their herculean task--the Australian Infantry of the
4th Brigade, the N.Z. Mounted Rifles and Australian Light Horse from
Walker's Ridge, and best workers of all, the Maori Contingent from No.
1 Post.
[Illustration: THE MAORI AT ANZAC.
A convential figure carved in the clay wall of the Big Sap. The
telegraph linesmen of the Signal Troop have condescended to drop their
wire a little to avoid the figure.]
Man is naturally a lazy animal. When men work hard, there is always
some incentive. The Maori soldier, picked man that he was, wished to
justify before the world that his claim to be a front-line soldier
was not an idle one. Many a proud rangitira served his country in the
ranks, an example to some of his Pakeha brothers. Their discipline was
superb and when their turn came for working party, the long-handled
shovels swung without ceasing until, just before the dawn, the signal
came to pack up and get home.
Where the trench was liable to enfilade fire, its direction was
altered, and here and there overhead protection was built with some of
the precious timber and sandbags. At every few hundred yards a recess
was cut to enable troops to stand aside while mule trains or passing
troops moved up or down. Leaving nothing to chance, infantry parties,
two abreast, marched through the trench from end to end to ensure that
nowhere would there be a check.
[Illustration:
[_Lent by Rev. Wainohu, C.F._
WITH THE MAORIS AT NO. 1 POST.]
Now these communications were complete, and July came and went, and
still there was no big attack. But vast quantities of ammunition,
and piles of peculiar foodstuffs that signified Indian troops to the
initiated, showed that something was in the offing. With August, the
transfer of the new English troops from the neighbouring islands
commenced.
Before this could happen the soldiers of Anzac were called on to do
one more big digging task--dugouts and shelters had to be made, and
terraces formed on the already crowded hillsides, in order that the
large bodies of new troops might be hidden from the enemy aeroplane
observers. For the first nights of August our men worked feverishly
at the terraces. Hope ran high, for here at hand was the help so long
and earnestly prayed for. During the nights of August 3, 4, and 5, the
beach masters and military landing officers disembarked the New Army
troops intended for Anzac. After the tiresome monotony of three months'
dogged holding on, months of incessant picking and shovelling, months
of weakening dysentery, plagues of flies, and a burning sun, the men of
the New Armies and of India were arriving, and a great blow would be
struck. Sick men refused to attend sick parade in the mornings, and in
the hospitals, and on the Red Cross barges, proud men wept because they
were too weak to strike a blow.