The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde" Part 15

This I give no heed to, but to-day we have it on better authority, and it is said he is prepared to give up Belgium, Poland, and Alsace-Lorraine. He will have to give these up and a great deal more, nothing but unconditional surrender will be listened to, with part.i.tion of his fleet among the Allies. The Emperor of Austria is also said to have declared that he will not allow his people to endure another winter campaign.

7 p.m.--The bearers of our Ambulance have been ordered to proceed to the foot of a hill 3 miles off, beside the Salt Lake, and to take up their position before dawn. I for one will have to go too. I know the spot well in the distance, and know it is a favourite dumping ground for Turkish sh.e.l.ls. At present it is pitch dark at night, and we have no idea what we have to encounter on the way.

_August 21st._--Last night we were all busy preparing for our start at 3 a.m. We got off punctually at that hour, and marched in the dark for nearly 3 miles, by an unknown road, which was only a rough twisting track with many off-shoots. We were bound for "Chocolate Hill," east of the Salt Lake, but we have not got there yet. We floundered, and squabbled about what should be done so that daylight was on us before we pa.s.sed the bar between the bay and the lake, where the main Clearing Station is, also three or four Ambulances. One of these took pity on us, and gave us breakfast, and the use of their ground until we should hear from the A.D.M.S. to whom we have sent a message for instructions. The A.D.M.S. Lt.-Col. J.G. Bell, appeared about 10, and we were planted by him in the middle of the bar, facing the bay, where we can get no shelter from the sun or sh.e.l.ls, the bank behind us rising after much digging to less than 5 feet. Our orders are to form an Aid Post here, catching all the wounded that come our way.

We have an attack at 3 p.m., and apparently a very big one is expected, and we are waiting for its commencement. I have explored the bar which is about a mile long, and 300 yards wide, and have studied its flora. There is a large lily with a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers, not unlike the Madonna lily, but the flower is more notched and less of a funnel. It has enormous bulbs, some of which I sc.r.a.ped out of pure sand at a depth of 2 feet. Other bulbous plants are common, and huge downy reeds.

It is now 2 p.m. I am sitting in a juniper bush in the middle of the bar, scribbling, all the country in a scorching haze, the sh.e.l.ls from the s.h.i.+ps screeching over our heads, searching all the ridges and hollows in front of us. The Turks' guns have been silent for the last hour, no doubt in antic.i.p.ation of giving us something warm; our bearers are off and have just pa.s.sed in twos and threes across the north side of the lake, which at this period of the year is dry, except in the middle. On our side all is ready to give the Turk a good hiding, but every time at h.e.l.les we were just as prepared and the result always a practical failure. Now for the battle, and little chance of concluding my notes to-day.

6.50 p.m.--Ever since the appointed hour a very big fight has been in progress. To me the most exciting part was the advance of the 11th Division from the south side of Lala Baba, over a mile of absolutely unprotected country, where our men could not fire a shot in return to the perfect hail of shrapnel to which they were subjected, sh.e.l.ls coming in fours and fives at a time right in their midst. There was the breadth of the lake between us, but with our gla.s.ses we had a good view of the whole proceedings. The number bowled over seemed small, considering that the last half-mile had to be crossed at the double, in a dense cloud of smoke from bursting sh.e.l.ls. Whenever the cloud cleared off we saw distinctly that many dead and wounded lay about the field.

What I admired most was the plucky way the bearers did their work, all round the north and east side of the lake, while all the time they were subjected to fire, and towards the end of the day, when the Turk, apparently desperate, sent sh.e.l.l after sh.e.l.l among the bearers and ambulance wagons, at a time when there were no other troops near.

We have tried to dig ourselves into the banks of soft sea sand for the night, but the constant stream of fine sand fills up our excavations as fast as we dig. Four s.h.i.+ps still keep firing--"Lord Nelson,"

"Swiftsure," "Agamemnon" (?) and "Euryalus"--and every shot brings down more sand.

Being off the direct track from the battlefield we have missed the wounded we expected. In spite of our tramping about all night in the dark we feel very fresh, and disappointed at having nothing to do, although in good spirits over our victory--for such we take it to be.

This is the first occasion on which we can find fault with the Turks'

method of fighting, but to-day they have fired on all and sundry--bearers, ambulance wagons, Red Cross flags, and the C.C.S.

_August 23rd._--I ended my notes two days ago by remarking that we were all in good spirits over what seemed to us to be a victory. Soon after that some of us had to change our tune. Two officers were ordered up to Chocolate Hill, so Aga.s.siz and I went across the north side of the Salt Lake which we found dry and caked hard. Towards the far end, as we neared the terrible hill, bullets were flying in hundreds--one struck the ground practically under my left foot, another pa.s.sed between Aga.s.siz and myself when we certainly were not a foot apart. A few more hundred yards, at the double, took us to that absolute inferno, Hill 53. (The hills were named according to their height, 53 meaning 53 metres high.) We got to the top through dead and dying men lined out everywhere. We at once looked up the A.D.M.S. who, along with the heads of the 29th Division, was in a deep and strongly protected dug-out. Now came the terrible and most unexpected news--the Staff were in a state of hysterics--Hill 72, which is separated from Hill 53 by a small dip, had been fought for all day and captured at immense cost, and was now about to be given up, it was impossible for us to hold it. The 11th Division had sent word that they were at a certain point which was their objective, but they were actually some distance behind that, and never did reach that point.

But this piece of information, which the line had been eagerly waiting for, now allowed our centre to advance, thinking they had the 11th Division protecting their flank. They soon got too far forward and were at once enfiladed. This was the beginning of what was a catastrophe and which will cost us thousands of lives to rectify. "We are to give up Hill 72," said the A.D.M.S., "and if the Turks make a night attack, as they always do after an engagement, we'll be pushed off this Hill (53) into the valley, and it is hard to say where it will end. In that case we want every stretcher-bearer we can lay our hands on to work with might and main to get the wounded back from the trenches, or they will fall into the hands of the Turks." This sounded terrible, but we had to face it, so we sent back for all our men who could be spared, and many regimental men had to help to carry the wounded back, which was a most difficult piece of work.

In making communication trenches along which the wounded have to be carried from the firing trench, the carrying of stretchers is never considered. Traverses must be made certainly, and the narrower the trenches the better while fighting, but they should be made wide enough to let stretchers along, and the corners of the traverses should be rounded. As it was the stretchers could only be carried along the straight parts with the stretcher traverses "kicked in," and even then the backs of all the men's hands were peeled to the bone.

Being impossible to get round the corners the stretchers had to be raised above the top of the trench, and as a rule the bearers soon tired of doing this at every few yards, and got right over the parapets and carried in the open.

We had a terrible night, and next morning as soon as the day began to break, although we were on the opposite side of the Hill from the enemy, they knew the range so thoroughly that they dropped their sh.e.l.ls at the exact angle of the Hill, which was but a gentle slope, and raked it from top to bottom time after time.

Those of us who escaped were lucky, but it was a bit trying to one's nerves. The Turks had made great preparations for this battle, which of course had to come off, and they fired as much ammunition as we did, and everything was to their advantage. Their snipers, often armed with machine-guns, played the very devil with our men. By good luck the Turks had had enough and did not attack at night, and we were glad when daylight came, although with it came again the terrible, raking fire.

Through the day our troops deliberately and slowly evacuated part of Hill 72, but most of it we unexpectedly managed to hold, and are likely now to stick to. Had we thoroughly defeated the Turks, as we should have done had there been no bungling, the end of this part of the campaign might have been in sight, but now we are held up, and how we are to get out of the fix will sadly baffle our Staff.

The men of the 89th F.A. behaved with admirable pluck, and worked hard, and up to evening we had eight men more or less badly wounded--one at least fatally, poor Adams. The 21st and 22nd were spent practically without food, and hardly a drop of water was to be had, and all suffered badly from thirst--more bungling.

In the afternoon of the second day it was rumoured that the whole of our Division was to be withdrawn to the reserve lines, and that our 86th Brigade, to which we had been again attached, were to march off as soon as it was dark, and we were to follow and take up our position behind the Infantry. Good news indeed! The G.O.C. in C. had done a wise thing in bringing two Brigades of the 29th Division round from h.e.l.les to stiffen Kitchener's Army. Our Royal Fusiliers were in reserve all the time, and although they never fired a shot were in such a position that they were badly exposed to sh.e.l.l fire, and were within view of snipers, and lost no fewer than 150 men.

In the dark we set off over the N.W. corner of the lake making for a certain point at the foot of a ridge. It was difficult to strike the exact spot, the night being dark, but we got wonderfully near it, and after spending a bitterly cold and cheerless night at the back of a low stone wall, across which bullets whistled all night we rectified our position before the sun rose. As we came across the lake three more of our men were hit, bullets flying about for the first mile or so. To-day, after reaching our destination, and while in a shelter, a bullet hit another in the thigh, bringing our casualty list for this fight up to sixteen. All are agreed that it has been a very b.l.o.o.d.y affair, and the difficulty of seeing a way out of our present position has made all despondent, and a number of those in high positions are being torn to shreds. Our men are not grumbling, and look as if they could go through it again, but it was a very trying two days and nights.

Fires broke out in the thick scrub almost at the very start of the battle, and after a few hours many acres were ablaze, and as it was largely from such places the men of both sides were firing many wounded were burned to death.

_August 24th._--Last night we got orders to move as we were certain to be sh.e.l.led, lying as we were behind the Infantry of our Brigade. We accordingly moved after dark to a gully, which is really a dry watercourse entering the middle of the north side of the Salt Lake.

Aga.s.siz and I, followed at a short distance by a few men, had no difficulty in striking the desired spot, but the others, following in small lots, got lost, only one lot reaching its destination that night. Others lay behind bushes till daylight, while Stephen and his men returned for the night to their starting-point. It showed the difficulty of moving about in the dark in a strange country. The 86th Brigade, which left Chocolate Hill the same time as ourselves got lost and wandered about for six hours. Our new site is no safer than the last, we are beside a well where men congregate from the various battalions encamped near us, and this was sh.e.l.led furiously on two occasions yesterday.

_August 25th._--Four calendar months since we landed on Gallipoli. And not much progress made yet.

The Royal Fusiliers, who had watched our men at work in the "Battle of Chocolate Hill," are giving them great praise for their daring. Pirie, who was waiting for bearers for his wounded, on hearing that some men coming towards him belonged to the 89th F.A. replied, "Thank G.o.d, now we are all right". Several--two at least--high-placed officers also took note of them and promised that some would be mentioned in the next despatch.

Seeing some big black Arum lilies--known as the "Dead Turk" from its evil smell--with flowers about 2 feet long, I dug up two enormous bulbs this morning, one fully 6 inches in diameter. These, with other bulbs, I will send home. (They were not an acceptable gift, they were allowed to die owing to their horrible smell.) These were growing beside a well which was sh.e.l.led a couple of hours ago, but I sneaked out in safety when this had finished. I heard this evening that I had been "mentioned" in Sir Ian Hamilton's first despatch. Two other medical men of our Division are also mentioned--Col. Yarr, our A.D.M.S. at h.e.l.les, and Major Lindsay of the 87th F.A.

_August 26th._--Pottered about in the morning after seeing some batches of sick sent in by the Regimental M.O.'s, then walked to our base on Suvla Bay Beach. Fiddes and McKenzie, who joined our Ambulance two days ago, walked out with me. They dilated to Aga.s.siz and myself about a great discovery they had made, namely, that excellent rissoles could be made of bully beef and ground biscuits. On their departure we decided to have rissoles for supper, so Aga.s.siz prepared a frying pan and a tin of bully, while I with a pick-shaft ground up a couple of our flinty biscuits. We had them done to a turn, and felt much better for a decent feed. We then smoked and watched big, threatening clouds scurrying over the moon, and away in the S.W. constant flashes of lightning. The weather is changing, and the rainy season is not far off. Then what on earth is to come of us? We'll be washed out of the gullies, to be shot down in the open.

_August 27th._--Aga.s.siz and I returned to the base at 7.30 p.m. and were relieved by Fiddes and McKenzie. Plenty of firing by both sides, but nothing worth noting.

_August 28th._--A day at the Beach--a weary place and I wish I was back in The Gully. Here we are encamped at the top of Suvla Bay, at the edge of a wide stretch of soft sand, which is dotted all over with men and their shallow dug-outs in the sand. We are protected by a number of Red Cross flags, several Ambulances and the C.C.S. These have never been sh.e.l.led by the Turks, and one feels absolutely safe, but I miss the healthy excitement of our little Gully. As I watched the bearers and wagons being sh.e.l.led during the last fight it struck me at the time that all the shrapnel might be coming from a single battery, and I now think there can be no doubt about this. It must have been a battery of four or five guns in command of a beastly German.

_August 29th._--Sunday. Nothing doing--except that the usual artillery duel goes on, and a Taube crossed over us. These we occasionally fire at but never hit.

_August 30th._--Feeling bored to death I took a pleasure walk out to our dressing station in The Gully, where Stephen and Thomson are at present on duty. After dark I returned alone, trudging first down The Gully almost to the Salt Lake, then cutting off to the right towards our base. It is very different from the great Gully at h.e.l.les (The Gully), being but a watercourse, averaging 8 to 10 yards in width and most of it not over 6 feet deep. It has huge clumps of rushes and lofty, graceful reeds which give it a tropical appearance, and in a few places are pools of dirty, green water that has not dried up since the last rainy season, and in these water tortoises and big green frogs live in hundreds. To-night it was rather weird as I came along, with the bull frogs croaking, and several other nocturnal animals making loud cries, down past the "Turk's grave," where a pile of dead had been collected in The Gully and a little earth thrown over them, and now the odour is so strong that one has to pa.s.s at the double, holding one's breath. The very earth over them looks wet and greasy as I noticed to-day. The whole Gully is full of dug-outs from end to end.

These had been made on the first days of the landing and are now untenanted. Lying about unheeded is equipment of all sorts, which had belonged to our dead and wounded.

A Taube dropped two bombs at our s.h.i.+ps to-day, but missed as usual. And our not firing at the marauder showed that we had not much faith in our own shooting. The wars.h.i.+ps and a monitor were busy towards evening battering some unseen object away beyond the mountains--perhaps the forts of "The Narrows".

We have two Welsh Ambulances beside us. The men move very smartly and are evidently well drilled. They are great psalm singers, and always at it.

_August 31st._--The Australians over at Anzac seem very busy to-day.

So also are the Turks whose sh.e.l.ls are falling thick on land and sea, and our s.h.i.+ps are firing at some target beyond Sari Bair (Hill 972).

We had a curious plague of midges last night: they attacked the lamp and table in our mess in thousands, and made things so unpleasant that we had to hurry from the table. These have never bothered us before, and I doubt if I ever saw a midge on Gallipoli before.

_September 1st._--Aga.s.siz and I came out to the dressing station as it was getting dark last night.

Two new officers and twenty men joined us yesterday--Captains Wilson and Tawse.

Wiseley, M.O. to the Lancs., pa.s.sed through our station this forenoon, badly wounded in the head by a sniper. It looks as if it was all up with him. (He died before he reached the C.C.S.) Tawse followed from our base to take his place. Pirie of the Royals looked us up, and told us he was down for "mention" in the next despatch. We have all admired, and often spoken about, the good work and earnest devotion of Pirie, and are delighted these are to be recognised, even in this small way. We were talking about the huge bungle of the landing at Suvla. It seems agreed had it not been that two Territorial Battalions turned tail when faced by a handful of Turks things here would have been totally different, and the ridges which are not yet ours should have been taken and held the first day. A distinguished General is said to have remarked: "Had there been more sweat on the part of the men there would have been less blood". We have one excellent General here now who pokes his nose into everything, says what he thinks, whether polite or otherwise, and swears at large. He says that without a good backing of swears people will never believe you are in earnest.

Only men of blood and iron are of any use at the present moment for filling our high places.

Pirie was telling us that they had two Australian snipers attached to the Royals, and one of their own men who had done a good deal of jungle shooting was an excellent sniper. One night he was out and had crawled to within 30 yards of the Turks' trenches trying to get as much information as possible, when lo, and behold! he found by his watch it was 5.30 and broad daylight. He had fallen asleep. However, by careful crawling he succeeded in gaining his own lines in safety.

It is always by night these men work, and the Australian snipers get two days off every week to go to the base for a rest. This time is usually spent in their going somewhere else to snipe. Fighting to the Australians is great sport and nothing else.

In the afternoon an East Kent officer paid us a visit. He tells us that rumours of peace with Turkey are again afloat. We have heard this sort of stuff before and don't believe it.

_September 2nd._--Aga.s.siz and I had attended the sick of our Brigade during the day, and spent a quiet time about the dressing station, gathering enough brambles to make an excellent dish for supper, when suddenly at 7.30 the scene changed. First two cannon shots, the well-known signal for a Turkish attack, a short pause then a general cannonade from the Turks which was fast and furious. I do not suppose anyone could have guessed they had so many guns in position, but for half an hour--twenty-three minutes to be exact--they simply deluged with shrapnel our trenches on the hill on our extreme left (Hizlar Dagh), and rifle fire from both sides was equally furious. The part of The Gully we occupy as a dressing station runs north and south, and I could not have believed it could possibly have been enfiladed, but bullets, after the first few minutes, got diverted our way, and came right along our position in a most alarming way. All lay low at once, except our servant, Wallace, who had just removed our supper things and was sitting on the edge of a low trench leading into our dug-out when he called out, "Oh!" I turned round and said, "What's up?" "I am struck," he said, and fell into my arms. We laid him down on the floor of the dug-out, and in a few minutes he breathed his last. So ended the days of an excellent fellow. Formerly a s.h.i.+p's steward he had seen the world, and was a splendid servant and much liked by the whole Ambulance. This only added to the alarm that had seized us all, which was due to the very insufficient protection we had on the side the bullets were coming from. Aga.s.siz and I lay hard up against the north side of our dug-out--little more than a few dry lumps of clay--while Wallace's body was stretched alongside us. As I have said, this attack ended in twenty-three minutes, but at 8.30 there was a second and similar one. We had all made up our minds that the Turks were to break through and would be down on us, and all had secretly decided what they were to do, and how much of their equipment they would take in case we were forced to retreat. All this fighting was but a very short way to our left.

This morning we sent Wallace's body back to our base, where it lay till the return of C Section at 7.30 p.m., as we wished to be present at the last rites, and we could only turn out in a body after dark.

The moon was not due for hours, but in the dark, with only the stars for light, and a brilliant planet in the east, we listened to Padre Campion's short service. He, being an Episcopal clergyman, had to accommodate himself to us Presbyterians, and he recited "Abide with me," then read the piece, "I am the Resurrection," and ended with "The Lord's Prayer". Then back again to camp, supper, and general conversation.