Then this race of athletes
proceeded to scale the cliffs without responding to the enemy's fire.
They lost some men, but did not worry, and in less than a quarter of an
hour the Turks were out of their second position, either bayoneted or in
full flight.
THE THIRD DISPATCH.
Dardanelles, April 26.
After the events I have previously described, the light gradually became
better and we could see from the London what was happening on the beach.
It was then discovered that the boats had landed rather further north of
Gaba Tepe than was originally intended, at a point where the sandstone
cliffs rise very sharply from the water's edge. As a matter of fact,
this error probably turned out a blessing in disguise, because there was
no glacis down which the enemy's infantry could fire, and the numerous
bluffs, ridges, and broken ground afford good cover to troops once they
have passed the forty or fifty yards of flat, sandy beach.
This ridge, under which the landing was made, stretches due north from
Gaba Tepe and culminates in the height of Coja Chemen, which rises 950
feet above the sea level. The whole forms part of a confused triangle of
hills, valleys, ridges, and bluffs which stretches right across the
Gallipoli Peninsula to the Bay of Bassi Liman above the Narrows.
Pages:
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319