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Page 6
The horse-boats having been got overboard, we continued our voyage
towards what is now know as Anzac. Troops--Australians and New
Zealanders--were being taken ashore in barges. Warships were firing
apparently as fast as they could load, the Turks replying with equal
cordiality. In fact, as Captain Dawson remarked to me, it was quite
the most "willing" Sunday he had ever seen.
Our troops were ascending the hills through a dwarf scrub, just low
enough to let us see the men's heads, though sometimes we could only
locate them by the glint of the bayonets in the sunshine. Everywhere
they were pushing on in extended order, but many falling. The Turks
appeared to have the range pretty accurately. About mid-day our men
seemed to be held up, the Turkish shrapnel appearing to be too much
for them. It was now that there occurred what I think one of the
finest incidents of the campaign. This was the landing of the
Australian Artillery. They got two of their guns ashore, and over very
rough country dragged them up the hills with what looked like a
hundred men to each. Up they went, through a wheat-field, covered and
plastered with shrapnel, but with never a stop until the crest of the
hill on the right was reached. Very little time was wasted in getting
into action, and from this time it became evident that we were there
to stay.
The practice of the naval guns was simply perfect. They lodged shell
after shell just in front of the foremost rank of our men; in response
to a message asking them to clear one of the gullies, one ship placed
shell after shell up that gully, each about a hundred yards apart, and
in as straight a line as if they were ploughing the ground for Johnny
Turk, instead of making the place too hot to hold him.
The Turks now began to try for this warship, and in their endeavours
almost succeeded in getting the vessel we were on, as a shell burst
right overhead.
The wounded now began to come back, and the one hospital ship there
was filled in a very short time. Every available transport was then
utilised for the reception of casualties, and as each was filled she
steamed off to the base at Alexandria. As night came on we appeared to
have a good hold of the place, and orders came for our bearer division
to land. They took with them three days' "iron" rations, which
consisted of a tin of bully beef, a bag of small biscuits, and some
tea and sugar, dixies, a tent, medical comforts, and (for firewood)
all the empty cases we could scrape up in the ship. Each squad had a
set of splints, and every man carried a tourniquet and two roller
bandages in his pouch. Orders were issued that the men were to make
the contents of their water-bottles last three days, as no water was
available on shore.
The following evening the remainder of the Ambulance, less the
transport, was ordered ashore. We embarked in a trawler, and steamed
towards the shore in the growing dusk as far as the depth of water
would allow. The night was bitterly cold, it was raining, and all felt
this was real soldiering. None of us could understand what occasioned
the noise we heard at times, of something hitting the iron deck houses
behind us; at last one of the men exclaimed: "Those are bullets, sir,"
so that we were having our baptism of fire. It was marvellous that no
one was hit, for they were fairly frequent, and we all stood closely
packed. Finally the skipper of the trawler, Captain Hubbard, told me
he did not think we could be taken off that night, and therefore
intended to drop anchor. He invited Major Meikle and myself to the
cabin, where the cook served out hot tea to all hands. I have drunk a
considerable number of cups of tea in my time, but that mug was very,
very nice. The night was spent dozing where we stood, Paddy being very
disturbed with the noise of the guns.
At daylight a barge was towed out and, after placing all our equipment
on board, we started for the beach. As soon as the barge grounded, we
jumped out into the water (which was about waist deep) and got to dry
land. Colonel Manders, the A.D.M.S. of our Division, was there, and
directed us up a gully where we were to stay in reserve for the time
being, meantime to take lightly-wounded cases. One tent was pitched
and dug-outs made for both men and patients, the Turks supplying
shrapnel pretty freely. Our position happened to be in rear of a
mountain battery, whose guns the Turks appeared very anxious to
silence, and any shells the battery did not want came over to us. As
soon as we were settled down I had time to look round. Down on the
beach the 1st Casualty Clearing Station (under Lieutenant-Colonel
Giblin) and the Ambulance of the Royal Marine Light Infantry were at
work. There were scores of casualties awaiting treatment, some of them
horribly knocked about. It was my first experience of such a number of
cases. In civil practice, if an accident took place in which three or
four men were injured, the occurrence would be deemed out of the
ordinary: but here there were almost as many hundreds, and all the
flower of Australia. It made one feel really that, in the words of
General Sherman, "War is hell," and it seemed damnable that it should
be in the power of one man, even if be he the German Emperor, to
decree that all these men should be mutilated or killed. The great
majority were just coming into manhood with all their life before
them. The stoicism and fortitude with which they bore their pain was
truly remarkable. Every one of them was cheery and optimistic; there
was not a murmur; the only requests were for a cigarette or a drink of
water. One felt very proud of these Australians, each waiting his turn
to be dressed without complaining. It really quite unnerved me for a
time. However, it was no time to allow the sentimental side of one's
nature to come uppermost.
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