World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula; World War, 1914-1918 -- New Zealand
Very few New Zealanders were found unburied, but there was evidence
that they died game. One Aucklander was found still grasping his rifle,
which was--barrel and bayonet--firmly embedded in the body of his dead
opponent.
By midday, the heat was tropical, and the Anzac beaches were crowded
with the battalions from the trenches. The Turk was wont to boast that
he would drive us into the sea. What Enver Pasha failed to do, the
lice achieved, and the unique opportunity to get a safe wash was fully
appreciated.
Up on the hillsides the burial parties were hard at work. The chaplains
never had a busier day, searching for identity discs, and reading the
burial service. In some parts of the line the men mingled freely with
Johnny Turk. A Melbourne medico was an object of great interest to
the Turkish soldiery, as he wore the ribbons of the Medjidie and the
Osmanieh, gained in a previous war when the Turk and we were allies. A
German doctor in Turkish uniform asked for news of his whilom friends
in Sydney. The Turks had a supply of brown bread, and many exchanges
were made with the Colonials, who were very pleased to barter their
flint-like biscuits for something that would not torture their tender
gums.
The afternoon wore on, and as 3 o'clock came, we realized that our
work was nearly done--over 3000 Turks buried. By 4 p.m., everybody had
returned to the trenches, and for the next half-hour deathly silence
reigned. To all appearances the truce had been honourably kept. At
4.30, both sides delivered tremendous volleys at nothing in particular,
and settled down quietly for the night. Thus ended one of the strangest
days in the history of the campaign.
[Illustration: RENOVATING GRAVES ON TURK'S POINT.]
During the day we had been requested not to use binoculars, but all
along the line it was noticed that Turkish and German officers were
taking the bearings of our trenches and emplacements. From the Turkish
trenches on the Chessboard, officers were quite obviously marking down
our machine gun emplacements commanding the Nek and Russell's Top.
But the New Zealand machine gun officers were equal to the Turks in
cunning. During the night all the machine guns were taken down and
the crews took cover. With the dawn came the searching shells of the
Turkish Field Artillery. The empty emplacements were badly damaged,
but as soon as the guns switched on to another target, the New Zealand
gunners rebuilt their emplacements and were again ready to fire within
twenty minutes of the bombardment.
The Sinking of the "Triumph."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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