The post of honour : $b stories of daring deeds done by men of the British Empire in the Great WarWilson, Richard
History
The post of honour : $b stories of daring deeds done by men of the British Empire in the Great War
Wilson, Richard
World War, 1914-1918 -- Anecdotes
The men at the foot of the cliff threw their packs to the ground,
charged their rifles and set out on their desperate climb. In about
fifteen minutes they were in possession of the second line of trenches
and the Turks were on the run, or rather on the climb, to the top of
the lofty cliff. The men were so full of eagerness that some of them
pressed too far and were cut off from the main attack.
Meanwhile the battleships were bombarding the Turkish positions and
were receiving such a heavy fire in return that the landing was greatly
checked. The beach was very narrow and soon became crowded to such
an extent that the men got in each other’s way and there were more
casualties than there would have been in more open country. But there
was no quenching the spirit of the men. One eager Australian fell over
a cliff 100 feet high and was picked up little the worse for his fall.
A man from New Zealand was seen going down a deep hollow and was warned
that there would probably be a mine at the bottom. He laughed and
called out, “Then you can catch me as I come up.”
A dressing station protected by sand-bags had been set up on the
beach, and when the wounded had been given first-aid they were
quickly conveyed to the ships. The men showed wonderful courage and
cheerfulness. “I saw some lighters full of bad cases,” wrote one
who was there, “as they passed the battleships. Some of those on
board recognised our vessel as the ship they had left that morning;
whereupon, in spite of their sufferings and discomforts, they set up a
cheer which was answered by a deepening shout of encouragement from our
crew.”
By the afternoon of that great day the Anzacs found themselves in a
strong position above the beach for which they had won immortal fame.
Their first task was accomplished. They had invaded Gallipoli, and had
fixed themselves ready for the next stage in the stern work, which was
not long delayed; for the Turks soon attacked in force, but were unable
to move the Anzacs from their position.
SUBMARINES IN THE DARDANELLES
We heard so much during the war about German submarines that many
people forgot that we had under-water craft of our own. If the German
fleet had come out from the harbours of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven they
would have learnt a little about the number and efficiency of the
British submarines, as well as about the chivalry of their commanders.
The British submarines had a better chance to show what they could do
at the Dardanelles; and some of the bravest deeds of the naval warfare
were done in this quarter. Take a large map of Europe and find out the
Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora and Constantinople; and remember that
at the time we are now considering a British fleet was lying off the
entrance to the straits known as the Dardanelles.
[Illustration: THE B11 PASSING UNDER THE MINES.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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