Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-10-09

got further into the Turkish lines than
any other unit In the allied armies.
They were wonderful fighters.
BY this time the Turks were making
an attack, and all you could see to
the front was one long line of smoke
and spouting earth. Then our guns
started and the noise was deafening.
1t was worse than in the turrets
aboard ship during an engagement.
My head rang for days after we left
the Dardanelles.
The Turks were getting a better idea
of our range now and the shells were
falling pretty close to us, but finally
we tore in, with the 14-inch navals
and ripped up three of their batteries.
In the lull that followed we made good
time and reached our front line posi-
lions at Sedd-el-Bahr during the after
noon.
The next morning we made our first
attack. had had bad night of it,
thinking about Murray, and when the
time came there never was chap
more glad to charge and get a chance
at the enemy with the bayonet than
I was.
We attacked according to program.
Time cards were issued to the officer
Of each section, so that we would work
exactly with the barrage. To be ahead
of. or behind the time card, would
mean walking into our own barrage.
The time Of attack is called zero
that Is, the minute when you leave
the trench. Some of the Anzacs said it
meant when your feet got the coolest,
but do not think they suffered very
much with trouble in the feet-not
when they were advancing, anyway.
The time card might read something
like this: First wave, zero, advance,
rapid walk, barrage Is In 10 seconds,
take first trench, 0:2O; second wave,
same as the first, pass first trench,
O:23; take second trench, OBS. The
third wave Is ordered to take the third
trench, and so on, for as many lines
as the enemy is entrenched. The other
waves might be instructed to occupy
Hill Z, 1908, or dig in behind rock
II :45. Here. zero is understood, the
first figures standing for minutes and
the others for seconds. It might take
several hours to carry out the pro-
gram, but everything is laid out to
an exact schedule.
was in the sixth line of the third
wave Of attack and zero was 4 80
a. m. Whistles were to be the signal
for zero and we were to walk to the
first line Turkish trench. AS we came
out our barrage fire would be burst
ing 80 yards ahead Of us and would
lift 25 yards every 10 seconds. Our
stunt was to take advantage of it
without walking into it.
No one man can see all Of an attack,
which may extend over miles of
ground, but during the three weeks
I was in the trenches on the Gallipoli
peninsula we made four grand attacks
and many minor ones, so know in a
general way what they are like. Each
wave is organized like the others.
First come three lines of what you
might call grenadiers, though they are
not picked for size as the old kings
grenadiers used to be. They are de-
ployed in skirmish formation, which
means that every man Is three yards
from the next. They were armed only
with grenades, but, you can take it
from me, that is enough! Behind them
come two lines, also in skirmish for
nation, and armed with machine guns
and grenade rifles. The first men on
the left carry machine guns, then come
three rifle grenadiers, and then anoth-
er machine gun and so on down the
length of the line. After these come
two lines Of riflemen with fixed bay
onets.
Then come the trench cleaners, or
moppers-up, as we call them. They
were some gang, believe me. Imagine
team Of rugby players spread out In
two lines-only with hundreds Of men
on the team instead Of eleven, and
each man a husky, capable Of han
ding baby grand piano single
handed. These fellows were armed
with everything you could think of,
and q whole lot more that you could
not dream about in nightmare. 1t
used to remind me Of a trial I saw
In New York once, where the police
had raided a yeggmen's flop and had
all their weapons in the courtroom as
exhibits.
The moppers-up we're heeled with
sticks, clubs, shillelahs, black-jacks
tWO-handed cleavers, axes, trench
knives, poniards, up-to-date toma.
hawks, brass knuckles, slung shots
anything that was ever invented for
crashing man with, / guess, except
firearms. These Touchdown, drag-out
artists follow the riflemen very closely.
Their job was to take care Of all the
Turks who could not escape and would
not surrender.
There are lots Of men In any army
who will not surrender, but I think
| probably there were more Turks Of
that gameness than men in most other
armies. I have heard that it is a part
of their religion that man, If he
dies fighting, goes to very specially
fancy heaven, with plenty to eat and
smoke. And suppose If he surren-
ders they believe he will be put in
the black gang, stoking for eternity
down below. 1t was awfully hot at the
Dardanelles and I guess the Turks
did not want it any hotter, for very
few of them ever surrendered, and the