The Children's Story of the War Volume 4 (of 10): The Story of the Year 1915Parrott, Edward
History
The Children's Story of the War Volume 4 (of 10): The Story of the Year 1915
Parrott, Edward
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile literature
Now that you have read an account of how we gained a foothold, and no
more than a foothold, on the Gallipoli peninsula, you will agree with me
that only an army of heroes could have performed the feat. All fought
magnificently, but the Anzacs carried off the palm. A correspondent
tells us that one man, renowned for his height and great strength,
jumped into a Turkish trench and bayoneted five men one after the other,
hurling each of them over the parapet as coolly and as easily as if he
had been tossing hay. Hundreds of grim tales of this kind are told of
the Australians' fierce onset. Wounded men who emerged from the struggle
shouted to those who cheered them, "We are going to do better when we
get back." They described the fighting as "a great game--the best game
we ever had." "We made them run," said one Australian. "We wanted to let
the Turks know what Australian steel was like, and they ran screeching
and howling before us." Two New Zealanders were seen chasing eleven
Turks, who fled in terror before them.
* * * * *
Bugler W. S. Manchip of the 1st Australian Imperial Force thus describes
the desperate fighting in which he took part: "When we were near the
shore a signal light flashed two or three times, but the boat I was in
ran up the beach, and several of us were safe ashore before a rifle shot
split the air. Then almost immediately a perfect shower of bullets fell
around us. Fixing bayonets, the boys charged the hills without firing a
shot until the light of the dawn was sufficient to enable them to make
sure of their aim. Although I passed several dead Turks on my way
forward, I only saw two who had been bayoneted, for most of them did not
wait for a taste of that eighteen inches of cold steel, but ran, sniping
at us whenever they got the chance, until we had them back about two
miles, when we emerged from the undergrowth and broken country on to a
stretch of flat land. There we were met by a perfect fusillade from
thousands of rifles, and we had to take what cover we could, which was
not much. After being under the withering fire of the Turkish rifles and
machine guns, which were well entrenched, for nearly an hour, the enemy
opened fire on us with shrapnel, and it was terrible, as we were unable
to move, and men were falling around us by the dozen. . . . In the night
they charged upon our trenches, blowing bugles and shouting, 'Allah!
Allah!' When the order was given to 'Fix bayonets! Charge!' they did not
wait for us, but fled back to their trenches. About four o'clock on
Wednesday I was passing across an open space in the trench with a tin of
water, when a bullet struck me in the back, cutting through my
equipment, tunic, jersey, and braces. The latter, being made of hard
leather, stopped the course of the bullet, and I only received a bruise
on my back."
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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