Trooper Bluegum at the Dardanelles: Descriptive Narratives of the More Desperate Engagements on the Gallipoli PeninsulaHogue, Oliver
History
Trooper Bluegum at the Dardanelles: Descriptive Narratives of the More Desperate Engagements on the Gallipoli Peninsula
Hogue, Oliver
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, Australian
2. Lt.-Col. C. F. Cox, C.B., Commanding 6th Light Horse Regt.
3. Lt.-Col. Hubert Harris, 5th Light Horse Regt. Killed.
4. Col. M. Laurin, Brigadier 1st Australian Infantry Brigade. Killed.
5. Lt.-Col. Braund, V.D., O.C., 2nd Batt. 1st Infantry Brigade. Killed.
6. Lt.-Col. Onslow-Thompson. Killed.]
It was a wicked trick that resulted in the slaughter of so many
gallant men of the 1st (N.S.W.) Battalion. They had been holding the
line splendidly, despite shrapnel and maxim fire and rifles, and had
repulsed several attacks by the enemy. Then a message was passed down
the line for the battalion to attack and capture the guns in front. Not
doubting the genuineness of the order, the battalion charged, only to
be met with a withering fire, which immediately told them that a trap
had been set.
Their leader, Colonel Onslow Thompson, was killed instantaneously by
a cannon shot which struck him in the head. He was one of the first
to volunteer in Sydney when war broke out. Colonel Arnott knew that
Colonel Onslow Thompson was a splendid Light Horse officer, and begged
of him to wait for a mounted regiment. "No," he replied, "I'm going,
and I'll take the first chance that offers."
The casualties among the officers were tremendous--brave men who led
Australia's soldiers in that awful charge! And among the bravest
of them were the young officers from the Duntroon Military College
that stands amid delightful country surroundings near the capital of
Federated Australia that is now in the making in the Mother State of
New South Wales. These young fellows fought in a way that showed their
native courage and the excellence of their training. Only the year
before, when Sir Ian Hamilton, as Inspector-General of the Oversea
Forces, visited Australia and inspected these lads who were training
for the army at Duntroon, as the representative of the _Sydney Morning
Herald_ I remember seeing them laugh and cheer when Sir Ian Hamilton,
on leaving Duntroon, jokingly wished them "plenty of wars and rapid
promotion." And it seems only a few days since we were dancing and
flirting in a Cairo ballroom. Now many of them lie sorely wounded at
the base hospital, and several will never again hear the réveillé. But
the College will not forget its firstfruits offered up so gladly for
empire. Officers and men, it was all the same--they went to their death
with a cheer for King and Country. I heard an Imperial officer, newly
returned from Flanders, say that the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade
was the finest brigade of infantry in the whole of the allied armies.
In physique they were far superior to any of the British, French, or
Belgian troops. Whether this be true or not, there is no doubt that
the sturdy Thirds under Colonel Maclagan fought like Trojans on the
Gallipoli Peninsula, and covered themselves with glory. Incidentally,
I might mention, some of them never fired a shot during the fierce
fighting of April 25. They simply trusted to the cold steel, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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