Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-07
BRITISH LINES MOVED
DOWN BY TURKISH FIRE
AT GALLTPOLIL LANDING
Many Traps Encountered
by Forces That Disem-
barked From Transports
for Attack on Darda-
nelles.
toNpoN. JILL Z

! LONDON, JULY 2.
General Sir ian Hamilton, commander
Of the Allied troops at the Dardanelles
In his first full report to the War ohice
describing the purple days" Of the
landing on Gailipoll Peninsula, admits
| that ut was touch and go" many times
before the invaders established foot
| ing. In several instances half Of the
! landing parties were killed or wounded
before they could reach even the slight
shelter Afforded by the sandy bank on
the upper part OF the beaches A great
majority Of the senior officers were killed
or wounded
The Turks had turned the landing
places into death traps. There were wire
entanglements the whole length Of the
shore. with a supplementary barbed wire
network concealed beneath the surface
OF the sea Land mines and sea mines
we're everywhere, and machine guns cum
ningly tucked away In holes In the cliffs
we're able to converge their fire on the
wire entanglements.
80 strong. In fact, we're the defenses"
SAYS the General, that the Turks may
we'll have considered them impregnable
and II ls my firm conviction that no
finer feat Of arms has ever been achieved
by the British soldier or any other SOL
der than the storming OF these trenches
from open boats on the morning Of the
25th Of April"
WIRE CUTTERS WORK UNDER FIRE.
General Hamilton speaks OF long lines
Of men being moved down as by a scythe."
OF the endless chains Of wire entangle-
ments he writes again the heroic wire
cutters came out. Through the glasses
Nk.,r ~. ,latI, -,Ny,
under the hellish fire, as II they were
pruning a vineyard"
OF the Australians, he says: Like
lightning they leaped ashore. and each
man that did so went straight as his
bayonet at the enemy. So vigorous was
the onslaught. the Turks made no at
tempt TO withstand II and fed from ridge
to ridge pursued by the Australian in
fantry."
A shortage of ammunition prevented
the Allies from gaining the hoped-for
footing on Achi Baba. Had It been
possible" says General Hamilton. ito
push In reinforcements of men, artillery
and munitions. Krithia should have fallen
and much subsequent fighting for its cap
ture would have been avoided.
TURKS LOST HEAVILY
"Up to May l." he continues ''the
net result of the operations was the re-
pulse of the Turks and the inflction upon
them OF very heavy losses. At first we
had them fairly on the run. and had II
not been for those inventions of the
devil-inachine guns and barbed wire
which suit the Turkish character and
tactics to perfection we should not have
stopped short Of the crest of Achi Baba"
The Commander-in-Ch Chiefs dispatch is
Of great length. but most of the events
had already been chronicled in other Of
hclal dispatches from him. Having
reached the conclusion, after witnessing
the "stupendous'' battle between the
warships and the land fortresses that 1t
would require the whole of his strength
to enable the fleet effectively to force the
Dardanelles, General Hamilton prepared
to fling all his troops rapidly ashore. In
the full knowledge that an attempt to
land on such q well defended theatre OF
operation Involved difficulties for which
there is no precedent in military history
except, possibly, in the sinister legends
of Xerxes."
Tribute Is paid to the navy for its CO.
operation in the following words:
Throughout the events have chron-
icled the royal navy has been father and
mother to the army Not one of us but
realizes how much he owes to Vice Ad-
miral de Robeck. to the warshlps, French
and British to the destroyers, mine
sweepers and picket boats, and to all
their dauntless crews. who took no
thoughts of themselves. but risked every
thing to give their soldier-comrades a
fair run in at the enemy"
General Hamilton pays high tribute TO
the French forces, who lost heavily. He
reports the British losses during the
period between April % and May 5 as
III officers and 1890 men killed; 412 Of
fcers and 1907 men wounded; l3 officers
and $3.50 men missing