, 1916-01-12

reopened, an official statement issued to-day
serves notice that military recruiting officers
will resume attest ny recruits next Monday.
The men at whom the Military Service Bill
is aimed will thus have five or six weeks
remaining iG which they can join the colours
as volunteers, and ~optimists are hopeful that
the response will be such that in Premier
Asquith's words, "the Bill may yet prove to
be a dead letter as far ss a very limited,
guarded compulsion contemplated therein is
concerned"
London, Jan, 6th-An official commitment
ton issued this evening concerning the Bti-
fish forces on the Continent says: "In addi-
ton to the raid on the aerodrome at Douai
another raid was carried out yesterday by
eleven of our machines against a stores de-
pot at La Sare. This morning one of our
patrols dispersed a party of Germans just
north of the Somme with hand greuades.
The artillery activity on both sides to-day
was principally confined 10 the AREAS east of
Armentieres and south east and northeast
of Ypres.
London, Jan. 6th-General Sir Ian Hamil-
toms report on the British operations on the
Gallipoli Peninsula was published in the
Official Gazette tonight. It tells the story
of the fighting on the Peninsula from the
beginning of May to the middle OF October.
General Hamiltou's report which was submit
ted to Field Marshal Earl Kitchener carries
the story of the Dardanelles operations up to
mid October when he rellGquished his com-
mand. Concerning his retirement General
Hamilton reports: "On the 18th of October
Your Lordship cabled asking me for an es-
innate of the losses which would be involved
in the evacuation of the Peninsula. / replied
in terms showing that such a step was to me
unthinkable. On the 10th of October I re-
Ill: 100 - T~~1on 500
the reason, as I was infol med by Your Lord
ship on my arrival that His Majesty's Govern
ment desired fresh unbiased opinion from q
responsible commander upon the question of
early evacuation" The most stirring pass
ages of the document describe the Inflated
landing at Suvla Bay and Anzac early in
August for securing command of the heights
on the middle of the Peninsula, and outing
off from their base the Turkish forces al the
lower extremity while the Allied armies
made their first landing. This operation be-
gan on August 9Th. The climax was reached
at daybreak on the 10th when the Turks
made a grand attack from the summit of
Chunnik Bair Hill upon a short front held
by two battalions of the Sixth North Ianca-
shire and the Fifth Wiltshire Regiments,
which General Hamilton describes as "weak-
ened in numbers though not in spirit"
"First our men were shelled by every enemy
gum he says, "then assaulted by a huge CO.
lumn consisting of no less than a full divi-
sion plus three battalions. The North Lam
cashile men were simply overwhelmed in
their shallow trenches by sheer weight Of
numbers, while the Wiltshires, who were
caught out in the open, were literally almost
annihilated. The ponderous mass of the
enemy swept over the crest and swarmed
round the Hampshires and General Bald
wins brigade. which bad to give ground,
and were only extricated With great difficult
ty and very heavy losses. Now it was our
turn. The w~arships and the New Zealand
and Australian artillery, and Indian Mour-
tain artillery Brigade and the Sixty-njbth
Brigade Royal Field Artillery were getting
the chance of a lifetime. AS successive solil
lines of Turks topped the crest of the ridge,
gaps were torn through their formations,
and an iron rain fell on them as they tried to
reform in the gullies. Not here only did the
Turks pay dearly for their recapture Of the
vital crest. Enemy reinforcements continued
to move up under a heavy fire from our guns.
Still they kept topping the ridges and pour
ing down the western slopes of Chunnik
Bair as If determined to gain everything
they had lost but once they were over the
crest they became exposed not only to the
fill Hast of tho O1na naval and military