THE LANDING AT SUVLA BAY, AUGUST 6-7
The strictest secrecy was maintained with regard to the new landing in
Gallipoli, thus preventing anything but the vaguest rumours leaking
out as to the point chosen for disembarkation. It was presumed that
the Turks must have taken every possible protective measure to guard
against surprise. I was very fortunate in being attached to the ship
which the Admiral conducting operations had chosen as his temporary
flagship.
It is difficult to give any idea of the strange feelings that possessed
us as we crept through the darkness on the night of August 6, knowing
that big events loomed ahead. Would it be a surprise to the enemy? Had
they any information of our movements? A single bright light showing
on the northerly end of Imbros looked suspiciously like a signal to
the Turks, a simple matter when one realised that our bases in these
islands were held entirely on sufferance and we had practically no
jurisdiction over spies. Our occupation of the various islands
was somewhat Gilbertian; after the war between Turkey and Greece
both parties claimed the islands in the Ægean, neither being in a
position to hold them successfully. Consequently, when the Dardanelles
operations commenced, we naturally decided to regard the islands
as "No Man's Land," although the Greeks knew that, in the event of
a successful campaign, we should probably hand them over to their
keeping. It is certain that without them we could never have carried on
the operations in this theatre of war.
We left the anchorage of Kephalo with every light obscured and silence
enjoined, even white clothes and cigarettes being forbidden on deck. It
was fortunately a dark night even for these parts. At slow speed with
a picket-boat close on our quarter we crept across the twelve miles
separating us from Suvla Bay, which by now was generally presumed to
be the place chosen for what we hoped would be a surprise landing.
Two cruisers, the _Theseus_ and _Endymion_, carrying large numbers
of men, and specially fitted with gangways over their sterns to
allow the troops to walk down into motor-lighters, were sent on with
destroyers towing motor-lighters full of troops to be at the point
of disembarkation at about 11.30 p.m. We on the flagship steered a
slightly more northerly course, in order not to interfere with these
vessels in the darkness, and arrived in Suvla Bay at about 12.30 a.m.
The fact that the landing had already begun was shown by desultory
rifle-fire from the shore, but of so spasmodic a character that a
feeling of hope arose that the surprise was complete. Impatience now
became general for the first gleam of daylight. After an apparently
endless wait the dawn began to make in the eastern sky, and there was
enough light to get some idea of the general state of affairs.
On C beach the troops had landed from the cruisers and destroyers in
the darkness with practically no opposition. A beautiful sandy shore,
sloping at sufficiently steep an angle to allow the motor-lighters to
beach without difficulty, facilitated the landing. The troops, dashing
forward, were able to penetrate inland and drive the small bodies of
Turks out of their trenches. They then advanced over the now dry salt
lake some considerable distance.
On A beach things were not so successful. Here, a shallow ridge
of sand, running parallel to the shore, held up three of the
motor-lighters carrying some 1500 men at a point where wading was
impossible, owing to the deeper water inside the ridge. Here the men
were subjected to considerable rifle-fire from bodies of Turkish troops
and suffered a number of casualties. Picket-boats, however, succeeded
in taking them off and landing them on the beach.
By this time it was possible to see more plainly what was taking place.
Two batteries of Turkish field-guns opened fire with shrapnel and high
explosives on the landing-parties and on the three lighters which were
firmly fixed on the sand reef. The lighters specially claimed the
attention of the enemy's guns, doubtless under the impression that they
still contained troops. Beyond the lighters large numbers of men could
be seen filing along the beach, or forming up, and amongst these, large
columns of sand and dust showed where the shells pitched, causing many
casualties.
At about five o'clock an enemy aeroplane was sighted, but so occupied
was everyone with the work in hand that practically no attention was
paid to her; and shortly after, four large bombs were dropped in quick
succession in the harbour, causing huge columns of discoloured water to
rise, but doing no damage to the shipping, which by now had grown in
numbers. Five fleet sweepers arrived bringing large numbers of men,
who were landed rapidly to support those already ashore, and as quickly
disappeared into the scrub beyond the beach. The _Talbot_ and _Chatham_
were now busy with their 6-inch guns driving back those Turks who still
endeavoured to oppose our landing. The _Talbot_ by a few well-placed
shots entirely disposed of a battery which had considerably annoyed us
during the early part of the operations. It was impossible now to see
exactly what was taking place, as the low-lying land, over which the
troops were advancing, was hidden by sand dunes from the harbour.
By now large transports were arriving with more troops and stores,
and a battery of field artillery was landed and quickly galloped into
a position on Lalla Baba, where they could give good support to the
advance.
A slight description of the country in which this attempt to straddle
the peninsula was taking place may be of interest, as seen from the
sea. On our left Suvla Point, with Nebruniessi Point to the right,
formed a small bay known as Suvla Bay some mile and a half across. To
the right of Nebruniessi Point a long gently curving sandy beach some
four or five miles in extent terminated where the Australian position
at Anzac rose steeply to the Sari Bair range. Inside and immediately
in front of us was a large flat sandy plain covered with scrub, while
the dry salt lake showed dazzlingly white in the hot morning sun.
Immediately beyond was Chocolate Hill, and behind this again lay the
village of Anafarta some four miles from the shore. As a background,
the Anafarta ridge ran from the village practically parallel with
the sea until it took a sharp turn due west to Suvla Point, where it
gradually sloped down to the coast. Beyond the plain in front of us a
number of stunted oaks, gradually becoming more dense further inland,
formed excellent cover for the enemy's snipers—a mode of warfare at
which the Turk has become an adept.
By climbing into the foretop of the vessel, it was possible to watch
the living cinema of battle. Glasses were necessary to distinguish the
light khaki of our men against the scrub and sand. The troops marching
in open order across the salt lake formed a most stirring picture as
they crossed the unbroken surface of silver-white. Overhead shrapnel
burst unceasingly, leaving small crumpled forms on the ground, one or
more of which would slowly rise and walk shorewards, while others lay
where they fell. Beyond this open space it became almost impossible
to follow the movements of the battle, but the continual rattle of
musketry showed where the advance was proceeding into the more thickly
wooded plain. Our hopes that the surrounding ridges would be taken
before nightfall were unfortunately not realised. The enemy, though not
in great strength to commence with, were continually reinforced, while
the broken nature of the ground made anything like perfect cohesion
amongst our various units extremely difficult. To make matters still
worse, the enemy's shells caused dense bush fires, which, driven by the
wind, burst into sheets of flame. Great difficulty was experienced in
dealing with snipers. Officers and men were continually shot down, not
only by rifle fire from advanced posts of the enemy, but by men and
even women behind our own firing-line. The particular kind of tree in
this part, a stunted oak, lends itself peculiarly to concealment, being
short with dense foliage. Here, a sniper would lurk with face painted
green and so well hidden as to defy detection. Others would crouch in
the dense brushwood, where anyone passing could be shot with ease. When
discovered, these snipers had in their possession enough food and water
for a considerable period as well as an ample supply of ammunition.
Although this seems a murderous kind of warfare, there is no question
as to the pluck of the sniper, of whatever nationality, for he has
little chance of getting back to his comrades and small likelihood of
quarter if caught.
Water, or rather the want of it, was a serious bar to our progress in
the initial stages. Those who formed the first landing-parties carried
provisions and water for forty-eight hours; but in a country of this
nature and under a boiling sun it is naturally impossible to convince
the young soldier fighting in a temperature he has never experienced
before, of the necessity of husbanding his water supply. So it proved
in this instance. The advanced troops were completely exhausted by
thirst. Could this have been remedied at once it is certain a different
tale would have been told.
The question which now arose amongst those who were conducting the
naval side of the operations was, how long would the Turkish guns
allow the shipping to remain in the harbour (it became a harbour,
theoretically, as soon as the steamer detailed for the work had laid
submarine defence nets).
The bay was now thickly crowded with shipping, including such tempting
bait as big transports full of troops, store-ships, and every kind
of vessel which goes to the support of an army. Yet, fortunately, we
were only subjected to intermittent shell-fire, the Turks probably
experiencing some difficulty in getting guns into position in addition
to those required against the troops.
It was not until the 12th August that any serious action was taken by
the enemy against the ships in harbour. On that day the vessels inside
the defence net consisted of a large monitor lying close in shore,
several smaller monitors at intervals off the beach, the _Cornwall_,
_Chatham_, and _Swiftsure_, and a number of transports and storeships.
The _Swiftsure_ was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Christian, who
conducted the naval side of the operations.
Shortly after midday the Turks opened fire on the monitor _Havelock_.
The range was good, but the first shells were ineffective, though they
fell close round her. As she was lying at anchor, and things were
becoming rather uncomfortable, she weighed and was just moving when
a shell burst on the upper deck behind the funnel, without, however,
doing serious damage. The enemy's gunners realising now that their
chances of hitting the _Havelock_ were small, turned their attention
to the _Swiftsure_. The latter, surrounded as she was by picket-boats
and lighters, found it difficult to get under weigh quickly. Several of
us were standing on the quarter-deck of the flagship when the shells
began to come in our direction. The first shell pitched some fifty
yards short; the next passed overhead, falling fairly close to our
port side. They had our range to a nicety. The probability that the
third would hit us caused a hurried exodus below deck, where, although
the protection afforded was not great, one felt a sense of security
which was perhaps more theoretical than practical. Almost immediately
the heavy thud of a projectile outside the ward-room told us that our
judgment was not far wrong. Fortunately this failed to explode, and was
afterwards picked up on the net shelf. Another entered the ship's side
close to the padre's cabin, and, going through three steel partitions,
brought up in the petty officers' pantry, where a peaceful domestic was
engaged in washing-up. Fortunately for him this also failed to explode.
Immediately afterwards three high explosive shells came inboard on the
upper deck, and bursting there killed 7 men and wounded 16. Curiosity
in this case had overcome a sense of prudence, for they had been
watching the enemy's attempt to drive us out of the harbour.
The numerous picket-boats, lighters, etc., had now left us, so we
were able to get weigh on the ship. We slowly steamed in a circle
without going outside the defence net, in case a submarine might be
lying in wait as part of a preconceived plan. The fact that we had
moved from our former billet was sufficient to stop the enemy's fire,
as practically all his guns were field artillery, making it almost
impossible to follow a moving object with the accuracy of a naval gun.
It is not my intention to attempt any elaborate description of the
land operations, as it was very difficult to obtain really reliable
news. Moreover, after the first few days, the Turks had succeeded in
bringing up a number of fresh troops and artillery, and were strongly
entrenched. It was increasingly evident, therefore, that, unless a
very large body of men could be brought up the advance had virtually
ceased and resolved itself into a digging-in competition. Up till now
the Turks had made no concerted effort to drive us out; but one night,
at about eight o'clock, a heavy bombardment suddenly commenced on the
left flank, which lasted about an hour and a half. The sky was lit
by hundreds of bursting shrapnel, high explosives and star shells:
the prelude, presumably, to an attack in force. From our position in
the bay it certainly looked as if a big fight were in progress, and a
great deal of speculation was rife on the ships in harbour as to the
outcome. About 9.30 a signal arrived from the Headquarters 9th Army
Corps, saying "Situation well in hand." It appeared, for some reason
unknown to us, that the enemy had entirely failed to follow up the
bombardment and attack. Indeed, as far as could be ascertained, not
a single Turk had left the trenches, and we afterwards learned from
deserters that even flogging and threats had failed to move them.
After this, day succeeded day with a desultory artillery duel morning
and evening, the afternoons being presumably spent by the Turks in
a siesta. Little was accomplished by the artillery fire, beyond the
annoyance caused by shells falling amongst the stores and dug-outs at
the bases. It was astonishing to see high explosive shells bursting
in what appeared to be crowded areas and to learn afterwards from the
soldiers that comparatively few casualties had resulted. Certainly, at
times, a shell would cause considerable damage, especially if it fell
on rock or hard earth: one of these killed and wounded upwards of 100
mules, and another, which I saw, killed 9 men and wounded 7; but these
were exceptions. The Red Cross dressing stations had been shelled in
the early days of the landing, as, owing possibly to the restricted
area held by us, or more probably to carelessness and want of thought,
large quantities of stores and ammunition were landed close to the
dressing stations. These suffered considerably in consequence from
shell-fire. This was not a deliberate act, as no nation could possibly
have conducted warfare in a more above-board and clean-handed manner
than the Turks. The fact that such qualities could be attributed to
the Turk was a surprise to me, though naval officers generally have
long regarded him as the gentleman of the Eastern Mediterranean. This
is further borne out by his reported refusal to use poisonous gas when
attacking.
On the afternoon of the landing the Turks sent in an emissary to
say that the Red Cross stations would be respected provided no
stores were landed in the vicinity. Also at a later date the Turkish
Headquarters made a helio to the effect that they had seen tows of
boats communicating between warships and the dressing stations. This
they very naturally resented, and said it must cease or they would feel
compelled to open fire. In another case a surgeon told me that the
enemy had actually sent to apologise to him for the accidental shooting
of one of his stretcher-bearers. All this is, of course, only what one
would expect from a chivalrous enemy. So brutally, however, have many
of the theoretical usages of war been violated that the action of the
Turk stands out in bright contrast, and shows that this much-maligned
race retains a sense of honour which seems to be lacking in others who
claim the right to lead the world in this direction.
The Turkish prisoners taken by us were few in number. Many were farmers
whose one wish appeared to be to see the end of the war. After all,
when one remembers that the Turk has always been friendly to the
British, it is not surprising that in fighting against us he should
still retain a good deal of his old feeling. At the same time he is
fighting in defence of his own country, and is regarded by all who
know him as never so effective as when on the defensive. All one hears
and reads of dissension amongst the Turkish and German officers may
be true, as no doubt the German officer has taken a high hand in his
dealings with the Turkish Army. At the same time the Turk is not so
blind but that he realises, to the full, the value of the German as a
teacher of the latest methods and devices of warfare.