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
That evening our line ran along Rhododendron Ridge up to the crest of
Chunuk Bair, where some 800 New Zealanders and Maoris were holding about
two hundred yards of shallow trenches unprotected by wire. During the
night of the 9th-10th these troops were relieved, after they had been
fighting without pause for three days and three nights. Two battalions
of the New Army took the place of these devoted men, who were now half
dead with fatigue. Early on the morning of the 10th the Turks made a
furious attack upon them. They came on again and again, calling upon the
name of God, determined to drive our men into the sea. Desperate
fighting followed. The men of the New Army were simply overwhelmed by
sheer weight of numbers, and were driven from the crest. At the foot of
the hill they were rallied, and plunged into a deadly fray in which
"generals fought in the ranks, and men caught each other by the throat.
. . . Our men stood to it, and maintained, by many a deed of daring, the
old traditions of their race. There was no flinching. _They died in the
ranks where they stood._"
But where were the men from Suvla? Where were they at this supreme
crisis, when they were so desperately needed? The New Zealanders on the
crest of Chunuk Bair had seen them landing, but had lost sight of them.
What had happened? Something must have gone seriously wrong.
* * * * *
The landing at Suvla Bay was made on the night of 6th August, under very
favourable conditions. The moon did not rise until 2 a.m., and by this
time our men were ashore. Except for a little rifle fire, they were
quite unopposed. As you know, the Turks had their hands full elsewhere,
and had no inkling of what was afoot. The men who landed at the points B
and C carried Lala Baba with the bayonet during the night, and also an
outpost to the north of the Salt Lake. By the time the moon rose two
divisions were ashore, and were holding a line east of the lake running
from Karakol Dagh to near Chocolate Hill. So far everything had gone
well; but then came a fatal delay. It was essential that we should push
on if we were to surprise the Turks, but no attempt was made to
proceed. The men, most of whom had never been in action before, were
very weary, and were tormented by thirst. The transports, containing
water, stores, mules, and carts, were still sixty miles away, and no
doubt the general in command of the expedition hesitated to send men
forward in an arid land without a proper water supply. Further, he had
but little artillery. Late that night the right carried Chocolate Hill.
The New Zealanders, as you know, were now struggling to maintain their
foothold on Chunuk Bair, and every moment was priceless. Unhappily, the
general at Suvla Bay does not seem to have realized that the whole
success of the movement depended on pushing his men forward at all
costs. By this time Sir Ian Hamilton had arrived. He tried to persuade
the general to advance, but in vain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account