A HOMERIC CONFLICT
Mudros Harbour was deserted as we sailed through it on our way out, for
all the warships and transports had already left. Just beyond the
harbour entrance we passed the _Anglo-Egyptian_, on the decks of which
the other half of the Zionists were crowded. We wondered what had
happened to detain her, for she was lying at anchor; but we saw nothing
amiss, and lusty cheers were given and received as we steamed past.
When we had rounded the land which guards the entrance to the harbour,
the _Dundrennon_ turned her bows northeastward and we steamed off
towards the land of our hopes and fears, through a calm sea, which
sparkled gaily in the sunshine. The soft zephyr which followed us from
the south, changed suddenly and came from the northeast, bringing with
it the sound of battle from afar. The dull boom of the guns could now be
plainly heard and told us that the great adventure had already begun.
How we all wished that the _Dundrennon_ were a greyhound of the seas
and could rush us speedily to the scene of such epoch-making events!
But, alas! she was only a slow old tramp, and going "all out" she could
do no more than twelve knots an hour; and it seemed an eternity before
we actually came close enough to see anything of the great drama which
was being enacted.
As we ploughed along the calm sea, to the slow beat of the engines, each
hour seemed a century, but at last we were able to distinguish the misty
outline of the Asiatic shore and, a little later on, we saw, coming to
meet us like an out-stretched arm and hand, a land fringed and
half-hidden by the fire and smoke which enveloped it as if some great
magician had summoned the powers of darkness to aid in its defence.
Soon battleships, cruisers and destroyers began to outline themselves,
and every few minutes we could see them enveloped in a sheet of flame
and smoke, as they poured their broadsides into the Turkish positions.
The roar of the _Queen Elizabeth's_ heavy guns dwarfed all other sounds,
as this leviathan launched her huge projectiles--surely mightier
thunderbolts than Jove ever hurled--against the foe. Every now and again
one of her shells would strike and burst on the very crest of Achi
Baba, which then, as it belched forth flame, smoke and great chunks of
the hill itself, vividly recalled to my mind Vesuvius in a rage.
The whole scene was a sight for the gods, and those of us mortals who
witnessed it and survived the day have forever stamped on our minds the
most wonderful spectacle that the world has ever seen. Half the nations
of the earth were gathered there in a titanic struggle. England, with
her children from Australia and New Zealand, and fellow subjects from
India; sons of France, with their fellow citizens from Algeria and
Senegal; Russian sailors and Russian soldiers; Turks and Germans--all
fighting within our vision, some in Europe and some in Asia.
Nor did the wonders end here, for, circling the heavens like soaring
eagles, were French and British aeroplanes, while, under the sea, lurked
the deadly submarine.
It was altogether in the fitness of things that this Homeric conflict
should have its setting within sight of the classic Plains of Troy.
Who will be the modern Homer to immortalise the deeds done this
day--deeds beside which those performed by Achilles, Hector and the
other heroes of Greece and Troy pale into utter insignificance?
Certainly a far greater feat of arms was enacted in Gallipoli on this
25th of April, 1915, than was ever performed by those ancient heroes on
the Plains of Ilium, which lay calm, green and smiling just across the
sparkling Hellespont.
Up the Dardanelles, as far as the Narrows, we could see our ships of
war, principally destroyers, blazing away merrily and indiscriminately
at the guns, both on the European and Asiatic shores. The sea was as
calm as a mill-pond round Cape Helles--the most southerly point of the
Peninsula; the only ripple to be seen was that made by the strong
current shot out through the Straits. All round the men-of-war Turkish
shells were dropping, sending up veritable waterspouts as they struck
the sea, for, luckily, very few of them hit the ships. It was altogether
the most imposing and awe-inspiring sight that I have ever seen or am
likely to see again.
We were under orders to disembark, when our turn came, at V Beach, a
little cove to the east of Cape Helles. As we approached near to our
landing-place, we could see through the haze, smoke and dust, the gleam
of bayonets, as men swayed and moved hither and thither in the course
of the fight, while the roar of cannon and the rattle of the
machine-guns and rifles were absolutely deafening. We could well imagine
what a veritable hell our brave fellows who were attacking this
formidable position must be facing, for, in addition to rifle and
machine-gun fire from the surrounding cliffs, they were also at times
under a deadly cannonade from the Turkish batteries established on the
Asiatic shore.
The warships were slowly moving up and down the coast blazing away
fiercely at the Turkish strongholds, battering such of them as were left
into unrecognisable ruins.
We in the transports lay off the shore in four parallel lines, each
successive line going forward methodically and disembarking the units on
board as the ground was made good by the landing parties.
We watched the fight from our position in the line for the whole of that
day, and never was excitement so intense and long-sustained as during
those hours; nor was it lessened when night fell upon us, for the roll
of battle still continued--made all the grander by the vivid flashes
from the guns which, every few moments, shot forth great spurts of
flame, brilliantly illuminating the inky darkness. Sedd-el-Bahr Castle
and the village nestling behind it were fiercely ablaze, and cast a
ruddy glare on the sky.
The next day, from a position much closer inshore, we watched again the
terrible struggle of the landing-parties to obtain a grip on the coast.
We were one and all feverish with anxiety to land and do something--no
matter how little--to help the gallant fellows who were striving so
heroically to drive the Turk from the strong positions which he had
carefully fortified and strengthened in every possible way.
A most bloody battle was taking place, staged in a perfect natural
amphitheatre, but never had Imperial Rome, even in the days of Nero
himself, gazed upon such a corpse-strewn, blood-drenched arena.
This arena was formed partly by the sea, which has here taken a
semicircular bite out of the rocky coast, and partly by a narrow strip
of beach which extended back for about a dozen yards to a low rampart
formed of sand, some three or four feet high, which ran round the bay.
Behind this rampart the ground rose steeply upwards, in tier after tier
of grassy slopes, to a height of about 100 feet, where it was crowned by
some ruined Turkish barracks. On the right, this natural theatre was
flanked by the old castle of Sedd-el-Bahr, whose battlements and towers
were even then crumbling down from the effects of the recent bombardment
by the Fleet. To the left of the arena, high cliffs rose sheer from the
sea, crowned by a modern redoubt. Barbed wire zig-zagged and
criss-crossed through arena and amphitheatre--and such barbed wire! It
was twice as thick, strong and formidable as any I had ever seen.
The cliffs and galleries were trenched and full of riflemen, as were
also the barracks, the ruined fort, and Sedd-el-Behr Castle.
Machine-guns and pom-poms were everywhere, all ready to pour a withering
fire on any one approaching or attempting to land on the beach.
It is small wonder, therefore, that so few escaped from that terrible
arena of death. Indeed, the wonder is that any one survived that awful
ordeal.
The little cove was peaceable enough on the morning of the 25th, when
the Transport _River Clyde_ steamed in. It was part of the scheme to run
her ashore at this beach and, as it was known that the venture would be
a desperate one, what was more fitting than that she should be filled
with Irish soldiers (the Dublins and Munsters)--regiments with great
fighting records? With them was also half a battalion of the Hampshire
Regiment. Special preparations had been made to disembark the troops as
quickly as possible. Great holes had been cut in the iron sides of the
_River Clyde_, and from these gangways made of planking, which were of
course lashed to the ship, sloped down in tiers to the water's edge.
From the ends of these gangways a string of lighters stretched to the
shore to enable the men to rush quickly to land.
In addition to those on the _River Clyde_, three companies of the Dublin
Fusiliers were towed to the beach in open boats and barges by little
steam pinnaces. It had been intended that these should steal in during
the dark hours just before dawn, but, owing to miscalculations of the
speed of the current, or some other cause, the boats did not arrive in
time and only reached the shore at the same moment that Commander Unwin,
R. N., of the _River Clyde_, according to the prearranged plan, coolly
ran his vessel aground. This manoeuvre must have greatly astonished the
Turks, but not a sound or move did they make, and it seemed at first as
if the landing would not be opposed. As soon, however, as the Munsters
began to pour from her sides, a perfect hail of lead opened on the
unfortunate soldiers, who were shot down in scores as they raced down
the gangway. Some who were struck in the leg stumbled and fell into the
water, where, owing to the weight of their packs and ammunition, they
went to the bottom and were drowned. For days afterwards these
unfortunate men could be seen through the clear water, many of them
still grasping their rifles.
The men in the boats suffered equally heavily and had even less chance
of escape. Many were mown down by rifle fire and sometimes a shell cut a
boat in two and the unfortunate soldiers went to the bottom, carried
down by the weight of their equipment.
The sailors who were detailed to assist in the landing performed some
heroic deeds. Theirs was the task of fixing the lighters from the
gangways of the _River Clyde_ to the shore. Even in ordinary times it
would be a very difficult task, owing to the strong current which sweeps
round from the Dardanelles, but to do it practically at the muzzle of
the enemy's rifles demanded men with the hearts of lions. Scores were
shot down as they tugged and hauled to get the lighters into position.
Scores more were ready to jump into their places. More than once the
lighters broke loose and the whole perilous work had to be done over
again, but our gallant seamen never failed. They just "carried on."
Commander (now Captain) Unwin was awarded the Victoria Cross for
fearlessly risking his life on more than one occasion in endeavouring to
keep the lighters in position under the pitiless hail of lead.
Those naval men whose duty it was to bring the Dublins ashore in small
boats were shot down to a man, for there was no escape for them from
that terrible fire. Both boats and crew were destroyed, either on the
beach, or before they reached it.
In spite of the rain of death some of the Dublins and Munsters succeeded
in effecting a landing and making a dash for shelter from the tornado of
fire under the little ridge of sand which, as I have already mentioned,
ran round the beach. Had the Turks taken the precaution of levelling
this bank of sand, not a soul could have lived in that fire-swept zone.
More than half of the landing-party were killed before they could reach
its friendly shelter and many others were left writhing in agony on that
narrow strip of beach. Brigadier-General Napier and his Brigade Major,
Captain Costeker, were killed, as was also Lieut.-Colonel Carrington
Smith, commanding the Hampshires; the Adjutants of the Hampshires and of
the Munsters were wounded and, indeed, the great majority of the senior
officers were either wounded or killed.
Many anxious eyes were peering out over the protected bulwarks of the
_River Clyde_, and among them was Father Finn, the Roman Catholic
Chaplain of the Dublins. The sight of some five hundred of his brave
boys lying dead or dying on that terrible strip of beach was too much
for him, so, heedless of all risk, he plunged down the gangway and made
for the shore. On the way, his wrist was shattered by a bullet, but he
went on, and although lead was spattering all round him like hailstones,
he administered consolation to the wounded and dying, who, alas! were so
thickly strewn around. For a time he seemed to have had some miraculous
form of Divine protection, for he went from one to another through shot
and shell without receiving any further injury. At last a bullet struck
him near the hip, and, on seeing this, some of the Dublins rushed out
from the protection of the sandbank and brought him into its shelter.
When, however, he had somewhat recovered from his wound, nothing would
induce him to remain in safety while his poor boys were being done to
death in the open, so out he crawled again to administer comfort to a
poor fellow who was moaning piteously a little way off; and as he was in
the act of giving consolation to the stricken man, this heroic Chaplain
was struck dead by a merciful bullet.
Father Finn has, so far, been granted no V.C., but if there is such a
thing in heaven, I am sure he is wearing it, and His Holiness Benedict
XV might do worse than canonise this heroic priest, for surely no saint
ever died more nobly: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man
lay down his life for his friends."
The Turkish position was so strong and they were able to pour down such
a concentrated fire from pit, box, dress-circle, and gallery of their
natural theatre, that every man of these gallant Irish regiments who
showed himself in the open was instantly struck down. So hot and
accurate was this close range Turkish fire that the disembarkation from
the _River Clyde_ had to be discontinued.
The little body of men who had escaped death and ensconced themselves
under the sandbank kept up a lively fire on the Turks as long as their
ammunition lasted, but there they had to remain for the best part of
thirty-six hours, more or less at the mercy of the enemy. An attempt to
dislodge them was, however, easily repelled by fire from the warships,
as well as from the machine-guns on the decks of the _River Clyde_.
It was not until after nightfall that the remainder of the Irishmen
could disembark, and then all the units had to be reorganised to enable
them to make an attack on the formidable Turkish trenches on the
following morning.
Practically every officer of the Dublins and Munsters was either killed
or wounded, very few escaped scot free. The Dublins were particularly
unfortunate, for at another landing-place, Camber Beach, close by
Sedd-el-Bahr village, out of 125 men landed, only 25 were left at
midday. Nevertheless, the fragments of the two battalions were pulled
together by Lieut.-Colonel Doughty-Wylie and Lieut.-Colonel Williams,
assisted by Captain Walford, R. A., Brigade Major. It will be readily
understood what an arduous task it was to reorganise men who for over
twenty-four hours had been subjected to the most murderous and incessant
fire that ever troops had had to face; but nothing is impossible when
really determined men make up their minds that it must be done, and
early morning of the 26th April found the Dublins and Munsters and some
of the Hampshires, led by Doughty-Wylie and Walford, dashing at the
Turkish trenches, which they carried at the point of the bayonet. They
rushed position after position, and by noon Sedd-el-Bahr village was in
our hands, and here the gallant Walford was killed. Sedd-el-Bahr Castle
yet remained to be taken, and it was while leading the final attack on
the keep of this stronghold that the heroic Colonel Doughty-Wylie fell,
mortally wounded, at the moment of victory. The posthumous honour of the
Victoria Cross was granted to these two officers to commemorate their
glorious deeds.
At the other landing-places the fighting had also been very fierce. At W
Beach the Lancashire Fusiliers had a terribly difficult task in storming
an almost impregnable position, which had been carefully prepared
beforehand by the Turks. The high ground overlooking the beach had been
strongly fortified with trenches; land mines and sea mines had been
laid; wire entanglements extended round the shore and a barbed network
had also been placed in the shallow water. Like V Beach it was a
veritable death trap, but the brave Lancashires, after suffering
terrible losses, succeeded in making good the landing and drove the
Turks out of their trenches. In commemoration of their gallantry this
Beach was afterwards known as Lancashire Landing.
The 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers under Colonel Casson were able
to land at S Beach, Morto Bay, and seize the high ground near De Tott's
Battery, to which they tenaciously held on until the main body had
driven the Turks back, when they joined hands with the troops from V
Beach and continued the advance.
X Beach was stormed by the 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers and part of the
Anson Battalion Royal Naval Division, who drove before them such Turks
as they found on the cliffs. They were reinforced by two more Battalions
of the 87th Brigade, and after some heavy slogging they eventually got
into touch with the Lancashire Fusiliers and Worcesters and so eased the
pressure on V Beach by threatening the Turkish flank.
The landing on Y Beach was effected by the King's Own Scottish Borderers
and the Plymouth Battalion of the Royal Marines. These splendid fellows
forced their way into Krithia village, but want of ammunition and
reinforcements obliged them to fall back to the beach, where they were
almost overwhelmed by the enemy and lost more than half their numbers;
eventually they were compelled to re-embark, but not before they had
done immense damage to the Turks and considerably helped the troops who
were forcing the other landings.
Meanwhile the two Australian-New Zealand Divisions were engaged in the
perilous enterprise of forcing a landing in the face of a large Turkish
force at a place now known as Anzac (this word being formed from the
initial letters of Australian-New Zealand Army Corps). In the dark hour
before the dawn some four thousand of these splendid fighters were towed
in silence towards the shore, and here again it seemed as if they would
meet with no opposition; but not so--the Turk was not to be caught
napping, and, while the boats were still some way from land, thousands
of Turkish soldiers rushed along the strip of beach to intercept the
boats, and the heavy fire which they opened caused very severe
casualties in the ranks; nothing, however, could daunt Colonel Maclagan
and the men of the 3rd Australian Brigade; the moment the boats touched
the shore these dare-devils leaped into the water and with irresistible
fury drove the Turks before them at the point of the bayonet. Nothing
could stand up against their onslaught, and by noon, having been
reinforced, they had "hacked" their way some miles inland, put several
Krupp guns out of action, and if they had been supported by even one
more Division, the road to the Narrows would undoubtedly have been won.
As it was, owing to lack of sufficient men to hold what they had made
good, they were compelled to retire to the ridges overlooking the sea,
and there for eight months they held the Turks at bay and hurled back,
with frightful losses, every assault made on their position. Oh, if only
the 29th Division had also been landed here, what a sweeping victory we
would have won!