THE AGE,

Wednesday 2 June, 1915 .

AT THE DARDANELLES .
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AUSTRALIANS ON GALLIPOLI PENINSULA .
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Bombardment and Landing.
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The Queen Elizabeth s Guns in Action.
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[From Our Special Representative.]

ISLAND OF IMBROS, 26 th April.
Spread out before me like a mariner s chart are the Dardanelles , the coast of Asi
a Minor , the whole of Gallopoli peninsula, and the coast as far as Kavala. I ha
ve managed to reach Mount Profitifia , a peak on the western shore of the Island
of Imbros , and from it can see from four to twelve miles of every movement by
land and sea. I am within the zone, and for two days have not been without the s
ound of guns. Those cruel guns booming in the ears! Their roll is like sustained
thunder claps, and continues day and night. At this early stage it is difficult
to accurately sum up the position. I do not intend this letter to be more than
a general description of the bombardment and landing as I have seen it personall
y on the 25 th and 26 th April. On the night of 24 th the moon rose just after 7
o clock , not yet quite at half full. It was perfectly calm, and the sea was ruff
led only by a gentle breeze. At 8 o clock transports commenced to stream out of th
e harbor towards the Gulf of Saros . They must pass close under the high cliffs
of Imbros. A small section of troops I am unable to give the unit, but fancy they
were British regiments had been landed a few days before at Enos. It was evidently
the first move of a great attack, the first act of the great drama of the fall
of Constantinople . Ship after ship the whole night long came out of the harbor.
There must have been close on 100. All along the route they passed patrols French
or English cruisers or destroyers, the police of the seas. One section of the f
leet bearing the first Australian army corps under General Birdwood, consisting
of 40 ships, steamed right up to Gallipoli Peninsula , passing the entrance to t
he Dardanelles to a point opposite Seida. No Light Horse was included in this ar
my corp, which at once [w]as landed by means of pontoons and barges that had com
e earlier to the spot drawn by tugs. Of the details of that landing I shall have
more to write later. The fire padres were the first to land from boats. The sho
re at this point is in the form of a semi-circle, and the beach is not wide, but
is sandy in places. The shore is flat where a valley stretches inland to the le
ft of Seida towards the Gulf of Saros , but from Seida southwards the cliffs are
steep. The country is extremely rugged. Deep ravines cut ridges running right i
nto the heart of the peninsula. There is considerable growth of a bushy nature,
affording good cover. Once the enemy got a strong footing it would be extremely
difficult to dislodge him. If the Turks had known of the intended landing they c
ould have very effectively checked it.
Meantime, that is, early on the morning of 25 th April, French troops were being
transported to the Asia Minor coast, where I believe they were to attempt a lan
ding. At least a feint was made in this direction. It was on Sunday morning when
I arrived off Tenedos. then the bombardment was in full force. Never could one
have imagined gunfire so intense and sustained. It commenced at 4.30 a.m. , and
during the whole time we were approaching Tenedos the booming of guns reached us
, and the air vibrated strongly. When very heavy guns were fired we guessed they
were the 15-inch guns of the Queen Elizabeth. There was a distinct shudder thro
ugh our little craft. Right opposite to the town of Tenedos itself, close into t
he mainland, was a French battleship, either the Jeanne d Arc or one of that class
. She was a magnificent target, I consider. She had six funnels and two masts, a
nd looked like two complete ships. This floating fort was firing broadsides as w
ell as her bow and stern guns. Small wonder that the villagers of Tenedos had tu
rned out, and were sitting on the hill round the old Turkish cemetery, and at th
e base of the wind mills, with gaunt motionless arms. The battleship seemed to h
ave located the Turkish troops, and was making it warm for them. One could see b
y the clouds of dust the shells raised that Turkish artillery evidently were ret
reating inland. At the same time another battleship at the entrance of Bischik B
ay was throwing shells into the Turkish lines I believe over the heads of the Fren
ch troops which had landed. After an hour s hard bombardment both ships steamed of
f. Meantime the French transport La Province, carrying the general and staff, we
nt in close to the battleships which were firing. Other transports were close to
Rabbit Island , one of a small group immediately opposite the entrance to the s
trait, and the scene of many wrecks. Here the current down the strait, which run
s at three or four knots an hour, divides. The main arm sweeps to the south, pas
t Tenedos, at one or two knots, and the other at the same pace runs between Tene
dos and Lemnos . While we were waiting in Tenedos harbor the war ships at the en
trance were not silent. The crash of guns and scream of shells high in the air the
sound growing in intensity as they reached the highest point of [a]scent, some
10,000 feet were terrific. Sheets of flame from the guns, puffs of white steam-lik
e smoke, and then ten or twenty seconds later the report which one waited for wi
th a kind of catch in the breath. I could see with glasses a forest of masts of
cruisers and battleships at the entrance to the strait, and off the peninsula, c
lose to our vessel, lay a mine sweeper, which, as we dropped anchor, dashed off.
The main bombardment had begun. The Turks were beginning to throw out their min
es. It had not been so much the mines that were a menace, and had done damage, a
s the shore torpedo stations on the water s edge, which could launch their machine
s with the greatest accuracy. The strait is lined with such stations, and until
they are demolished no passage can be made. Hence the necessity of landing parti
es and the presence of an army and transports. Just as we were about to steam ro
und the northern end, and a French monoplane flew past 400 feet high, the pilot
and the observer were clearly distinguishable.
When our ship passed the northern shore I saw an aerodrome, with other aeroplane
s, their white wings shining in the sun. In shore were some submarines, with the
ir crews walking on the narrow decks. The whole northern horizon showed a maze o
f shipping, and in the middle distance were torpedo boats, bugs and cruisers. th
e Sicilia hospital ship was moving up towards the strait. Some cruisers were tra
velling at a terrific rate, casting up foam at the bows and stern. The great dis
turbance was puzzling till one learned that their mine nets were down. These net
s were swung on huge derricks on either bow.
The Zone Again.
Tenedos was much inside the zone, so we were not permitted to land or remain in
it. As we left the guns were thundering behind. They were pounding at the forts
all day and night. We passed a submarine travelling rapidly up to the strait, th
e crew breathing fresh air on the decks, which were almost awash. As we got to t
he outer limits of the zone we passed a French transport ship being towed by thr
ee tugs towards the fleet, her engines having broken down. She was full of troop
s wanted for the attack.
Routing the Turks.
From the highest peak of Imbros I have been watching events as they occurred. As
the day wore on the atmosphere became clearer, until for the last two hours I c
ould see right up the Narrows at the rear of all the fortifications on the weste
rn side of the peninsula. At that point I jotted down events as they happened, b
ut not until late in the afternoon did I sometimes gain their true significance.
It seemed that the Turks had brought down heavy field pieces on the peninsula a
nd the mainland in the rear of Kum Kalessi, where Troy stood. The forts of Sedd
el Bahr and Elles Burnu had long since been reduced. In the vicinity of this pla
ce we had landed guns and troops. There were forty transports in the neighborhoo
d. The French ships directed a terrific fire till noon . Sheels [sic] were burst
ing thick on the end of the peninsula, mostly near the edge of the cliffs, for t
he war ships had been brought up to support the landing of the guns. It was as i
f a series of steam pipes had burst, with a terrific roar, as the shells searche
d for the guns. None of the ships was hit, apparently, though some shells fell p
erilously close to them in the water, raising great columns of spray. There was
a war ship either side of the peninsula, on which stands the ruins of Sedd el Ba
hr. The Turks fired shrapnel over these ships, but at 1 p.m. desisted, as the wa
r ships moved back half a mile towards the entrance. At 1.10 p.m. there was a ma
gnificent view of the Turkish guns on the peninsula. They commenced to retreat,
and raised a cloud of yellow dust, against which I could see them outlined disti
nctly. I believe there were eight huge pieces mechanically drawn. As they dashed
along the road for nearly three-quarters of a mile shells fell amongst them fro
m our battleships. Finally, they took up a position on the north side of Sedd el
Bahr, and remained there a considerable time. The fire of the Turkish forts die
d down. It seemed to me they were firing two shells a minute, and our guns sligh
tly less. Rapidly the war ships in the strait had scattered at various points ac
ross the entrance, but mainly under the lee of the land or close to the Gallipol
i shore. A huge French war ship was lying near Erenkoi. These ships seemed to be
firing at the forts of the Narrows on the Asia Minor shore behind Kum Kalessi,
and I could see flashes from guns, and enormous clouds of black smoke belching f
rom the muzzles. Behind lay the French transports and two hospital ships, with c
ruisers about between them. One I noticed had a string of boats or pontoons in t
ow.
The Queen Elizabeth Fires.
At noon I had seen the Queen Elizabeth. There is no mistaking her great length a
nd huge squat funnels. She was going up outside the peninsula to get into positi
on for shelling the forts at the Narrows over the land. She was accompanied by a
destroyer. Her speed was slowed down when she came to the transports, and she a
nchored inshore. Just then a monoplane returned from a reconnaissance over the f
orts, flying well out of gun range, and swooping down in graceful spirals until
it touched the surface of the water, and a strange looking thing began to rise f
rom the decks of the Ark Royal. It had been lying across the bows of this parent
ship to the hydroplanes, but now was lifting up from the decks. It was a dirigi
ble balloon 50 feet long, with side cushions at one end coloured the brightest y
ellow. The sun s rays glittered on it as it rose above the dark cliffs like a huge
finger pointing up to the heavens. A string of signals floated from a car attac
hed. The balloon must have risen at least 3000 feet over the ship which held it
captive. At 12.30 p.m. it was anchored, and an hour later it descended, but almo
st immediately rose again with another observer. Twice during the afternoon it r
eturned, but on the second occasion it broke free from the ship and sailed up ov
er the forts. I could see the message being sent back to the Queen Elizabeth by
heliograph and reflected in the water. With these to guide her guns, the Queen E
lizabeth was firing with about a minute between each shot. As a shot left the gu
n, it was as if for a fraction of a second one looked into the mouth of a furnac
e blood red in the centre, with a tongue stretched out some 9 feet enveloped in
a sheet of yellow fire, and the whole enclosed in a cloud of rolling black smoke
. Then a projectile weighing nearly a ton went rumbling away in the distance, th
e sound growing like thunder, louder and louder as it soared into the sky. Then
it fell with a dying roar and a muffled explosion as it struck. It was sometimes
25 seconds after the reports of the guns were heard before the shells were hear
d to reach their mark. Vast columns of smoke rose from the ground at the point o
f impact, rapidly followed by clouds of sand and earth, that obscured large stre
tches of country. Sometimes, when a house or magazine was struck, a column of bl
ack smoke was followed rapidly by white clouds, rising generally in spiral fashi
on.
As the afternoon wore on the peninsula was clouded with battle smoke. The dirigi
ble floated serenely above the forts, unreachable by the Turkish guns, and carry
ing out the work of directing the fire of our monster war ship and others lying
at the entrance. Up and down between the fleets were travelling destroyers and t
ugs. There were cruisers along the coast, moving up and down.
Turkish Batteries at Kum Kalessi.
It seemed evident that the Turks had brought up considerable artillery. It was t
his the Jeanne d Arc was shelling furiously when we passed Tenedos. It was towards
this the ships at the entrance, with their backs towards Gallipoli peninsula, w
ere firing during the whole morning. The fire evidently became too terrible for
the Turks to stand any longer. The guns and troops commenced to move round back
from Kum Kalessi, near Kum Koi. Sand raised by the moving showed first toward th
e strait, then turned sharp to the east inland. This movement must have been hid
den from the ships firing over the headland, but I could see rising dust and clo
ud left behind; but almost immediately shells began to drop in front of the retr
eating column with deadly accuracy. It must have been a terrible retreat. Four s
hips were firing, three guns each at a time, and spouts of white smoke were thic
k along the ridge. The fire followed the Turkish column until it got back into t
he hills and cover. The bombardment of Chanak was systematically carried out all
this time. Now smoke began to drift down the strait as the wind shifted a point
. At a little after 4 p.m. I caught glimpses of the Narrows and fort at Kilid Ba
hr as the sun descended, lighting up the whole area as if a strong limelight had
been cast on it. The firing on the end of the peninsula had died down, and the
Turkish field guns had not spoken for hours.