THE SECOND DIVISION
The Second Division of the Australian Infantry consisted of the twelve Battalions of the Third Contingent, numbered from Seventeen to Twenty-eight. Their passage from Australia to Egypt had been less eventful than that of the pioneers, and their training in Egypt had been conducted on the same lines as that of their predecessors. They landed at Anzac in August and September, and found their portion in three months of dogged endurance of the most trying methods of warfare.
The Turks were emboldened by the failure of the great offensive movement, and proved more enterprising than at any time since the first month's occupation of Anzac. The whole area was ranged by their artillery, posted on all the commanding positions in the neighbourhood, and there were many of these. The forts at Chanak shelled them morning and evening; so regular was the visitation that they were given the titles Sunrise and Sunset.Ceaseless mining was going on against them; and they were driven to retort in kind.
There was little glory waiting for the Second Division on the shores of Gallipoli, but an immense amount of danger and cumulative suffering. The losses of the 5th, 6th and 7th Brigades through those late autumn months are eloquent of the everlasting risks they had to take. From Lone Pine to Hill 60 their line was constantly being shelled by the heavy guns on Battleship Hill and elsewhere; while Beachy Bill and his equivalents made the beach a place of death and danger.
By this time the very ground of Anzac was reeking with infection. The theory has been advanced that, as upon the battlefields of Flanders, the germs lay in the subsoil ready to contaminate when turned up by the entrenching tool. The dangers of tetanus on the Western front were quickly grasped, and by scientific research a means of fighting them was soon at the disposal of the R.A.M.C. But in Gallipoli the epidemics of sickness were not so readily countered, and the suffering and loss was proportionately greater.
Whether the soil of Gallipoli held the germs of old disease in its bosom, or whether, as appears more probable, it became infected through the conditions that prevailed there during the spring and summer of the year, it is at least certain that it was most insanitary during the autumn months.The swarms of flies, that no human agency could abate, spread the seeds of disease far and wide.
Men suffered from an acute form of dysentery that was the more dangerous because it was intermittent. The water supply was insufficient, and water for washing could only be obtained from the sea. The sickly odour of the whole place rose in the nostrils of the fighting men, and afflicted them with a perpetual nausea. All food was suspect, for the flies, that buzzed perpetually over the rotting carrion that lay unburied between the lines, swarmed upon everything, and could not be prevented.
Strong men conceived a loathing of their food. The bully beef that was their staple was thrown away by many of them, who could not even abide to look upon it. They tried to live upon the hard biscuits, and on these many of them broke their teeth, so that there was nothing they could find to preserve their strength.
Many who lived through those last months have told me of the awful lassitude that fell upon them. The sickly weather, the hopeless day's work, the atmosphere of death and disease that permeated all their surroundings, combined to sap their vigour.
The constant shelling drove them to live underground and to carry on a troglodytic warfare. Mines and countermines, sapping and tunnelling,formed their daily occupations. The losses from the heavy shellfire were considerable. Hardly a day passed but some section of trench was filled up, and often men were buried in the debris, never more to draw a living breath.
One experience related to me by a man who took part in the sufferings of those days will always remain in my memory. He was posted at Lone Pine, a post which the Anzacs held stubbornly in the face of the shelling it daily received from all points of the compass. One day he went forward with some of his comrades to an observation trench, in order to place the battery on the Asiatic shore, which was daily moved from place to place by means of a motor running on light rails.
In spite of the warnings of those with him, he raised himself high in order to get a better glimpse of the flashes that resulted from the sunset bombardment, when a "Jack Johnson" arrived and buried all in the trench. He had the notes of his observations, and smothered as he was by a load of earth, was able to take comfort from the thought that he would quickly be disinterred, if only because these observations were precious.
The expected help came in time for him, and for him only. He was dug out before he suffocated, and then learned that he owed his life to the daring that had raised him so high in the trench. Those with him, who had taken full advantage of thecover it afforded, were buried under tons of earth, and were doubtless crushed to death in the instant of the explosion.
Between the lines, from north to south, stretched a no-man's land that was constantly changing in character. Beneath it tunnels were continually being made, and the men at their work with pick and spade in the darkness could hear the enemy also tunnelling in to meet them. Then there would come a day when contact between the two opposing works would be made, and a lively encounter underground would follow.
Sometimes one of these Anzac drives underground would come unexpectedly upon a great series of enemy works. Very often they were found unoccupied, and an adventurous exploration would follow. The almost inevitable result would be an encounter with the enemy, perhaps at a distance from their own supports, and at a disadvantage in numbers.
Or perhaps tunnels would be driven out in a parallel direction from the ends of a section of trench toward the enemy's line. When a certain distance had been reached, the miners would turn their tunnels at right angles, so that two converging tunnels could be dug. When the ends had been joined, the roof would be stripped away, and one morning the enemy would find a deep firing trench established within a few yards of their lines.
A furious bomb fight would be the inevitable sequel to such a manœuvre. In this form of warfare the Anzacs had become very expert, for when the conditions of Gallipoli fighting had once been grasped, bomb practice became an essential part of their training. At all times in those last months they outfought the Turks in these bomb contests, using the weapons with more accuracy and skill, and resisting attacks with more grit and determination.
It is now possible, also, to mention the work done by the artillery from Australia and New Zealand. While the British forces remained in Gallipoli, it would obviously have been improper to mention the positions taken by the batteries, and the remarkable skill and coolness with which the Anzacs fought their guns. But much of the success achieved by the men of Anzac in holding positions that were dominated by an enemy in superior force was due to the great work of the artillery.
Miracles were achieved in getting big guns up those hills, and in retaining them in positions on the very firing line. Such exposed positions as Lone Pine were only held because of the protection of guns so placed, and throughout their occupation of Anzac, and especially during the months that followed the failure of the great advance, the Anzacs had daily reason to thank the gunners.
Australian Guns in Action before Sari Bair.
Australian Guns in Action before Sari Bair.
So they fought on week after week, aware of the constantly increasing supplies of munitions that were flowing to the enemy, which could be inferred from the increasing freedom with which shells were used. In July the Turk had shown himself economical of shells, and had used much ammunition of very ancient and inferior description. At that time not more than thirty per cent. of the big shells that fell on Anzac would explode, and some very old ammunition was employed by the big guns in the forts of Kilid Bahr.
The most curious of these were round shells that must have been fired from guns of the muzzle-loading type. They weighed about a hundred pounds, according to the accounts I have had of them, and were known as "footballs" or "plum-puddings." They announced their coming by a singing noise, like the loud song of a bird, and were plain to be seen as they hurtled through the air. Some of them exploded with a dull roar, breaking into thick chunks of iron. But the majority of them did not explode at all. They were much in demand as curios, and many a dug-out was decorated with one of these unexploded "footballs."
But as the last quarter of the year wore on, there was no more need for Abdul to use this old-fashioned ammunition. A plentiful supply of good shrapnel and high explosive was at his service,and the shells that continuously fell among the devoted men of Anzac were warranted to explode, with only too deadly effect.
Late autumn brought tropical showers of rain, that flooded the trenches and dug-outs and added to the miseries of the Australians and New Zealanders. The Turks, on higher ground, had the better of them there, but not of the heavy fall of snow which came at the beginning of December. I have been assured by men who had the opportunity of conversing with many prisoners that the Turkish army, though well equipped in some respects, was not provided with any of the necessities to comfort and health. Saving the officers, there did not appear to be a blanket among them, and they fought and slept in this cold weather without any more covering than the greatcoats of their original outfit, by this time badly worn by the rough usage they had received.
The prisoners complained, too, of lack of food, and of the fearful sanitary arrangements in their trenches. So that the very cold weather, though a mixed blessing, did nevertheless serve the Anzacs by its dispiriting influence upon the Turk.
For the ravages of disease among the Anzacs, severe as they were, were at least mitigated by sanitary arrangements, and by wholesome food and good clothing. But the Turk was subject to the same causes of disease, intensified by the lackof care that was displayed for the Turkish fighting man. It is certain, then, that though a tough defending force, the Turks who defended Sari Bair in December, 1915, were greatly dispirited, and naturally lacking in the initiative to seize any advantage that might come their way.
This circumstance may serve to explain to some extent the miracle of the successful withdrawal which it is now my task to record. The skilful plans made for this operation, and the boldness and thoroughness with which they were executed, are not in any way depreciated when it is said that the full measure of their success could only have been achieved in the face of an enemy content to defend, and tired of the punishment which any attempt at offensive warfare had always involved him at the hands of the men of Anzac.