On the evening of the 12th the Manchester Brigade made a demonstration to draw attention from an important movement by the Indian Brigade on their left. The high cliff overlooking the ravine of “Y” Beach was strongly held by the enemy, and the machine guns of this formidable redoubt formed an obstacle that must be overcome before further progress could be made. The feint of the Manchesters served its purpose by distracting attention from the storming company of the 6th Gurkhas, and so enabling the hardy little mountaineers to scramble up the cliffs unopposed and rush the redoubt. They held the Turks at bay while their comrades of the other three companies swarmed up the rocks and completed the capture of the position, which received the name of Gurkha Bluff. It was not only a fine bit of work, but also a success of the greatest value. On the same evening the Lancashire Fusilier Brigade opened fire to support a forward movement by French troops on their right.
On May 15 a readjustment of positions was ordered, and on the nights of May 16-17 and 17-18 the reliefs were carried out. The line of trenches was now in four sections. That on the left, held by the 29th Division, including the 29th (Indian) Brigade, ran from the Ægean coast eastward for 1600 yards to the eastern edge of Fir Tree Wood, 300 yards north-west of Krithia Nullah. The next section, held by the East Lancashire Division, extended the line for 1500 yards from the right of the 29th Division, through the Krithia Nullah to the Achi Baba Nullah, which it included. The Royal Naval Division’s section continued the line for 700 yards to the Telegraph Line; and the right section, thence to the coast of the Straits, above the ruin known as “De Tott’s Battery,” about 2100 yards in length, was held by the French Corps Expeditionnaire.
Later this line was termed the Redoubt Line. Saps terminating in T-heads were run out towards the Turkish trenches, and parties told off at night to connect the T-heads and dig themselves in, until two new advanced lines had been made. By the end of May a series of redoubts had been constructed at intervals along the old front line, and these were garrisoned in readiness to meet any temporary success of the enemy. The occasion did not, however, arise. The Manchester Brigade occupied the first line of the second section, with the Lancashire Fusilier Brigade on its right, and the East Lancashire Brigade as reserve. It may be mentioned that at this period the total ammunition available for a battalion consisted of 200 rounds per man, with twelve boxes of 1000 rounds each in reserve in the firing line, and twelve boxes at Battalion Headquarters.
During the three weeks after the disembarkation of the Division had been completed there was little actual fighting, no attack being made by either side. The arrival of the Territorials had strengthened the position sufficiently to discourage Turkish hopes of dislodging the invading force, but no forward movement on a large scale could be contemplated until the ground recently won had been consolidated and the difficulties of transport and supplies reduced. As the line stretched from sea to sea no flanking movement was possible. It was therefore a case of playing for position for a time. Each infantry brigade in turn assisted the French, the R.N. Division, and the Indian Brigade to develop their plans and effect necessary changes, and each in turn relieved the brigade in the first line.
Shelling and Sniping
But though there was a lull in the fighting after the 8th of May the shelling of the trenches, rest camps, cliffs, and beaches never ceased for long. Even bathing parties[4] suffered from the shelling, and the Turkish rifles blazed away day and night without cessation, causing much loss to working-parties and men in bivouac far behind the first line, and even in the R.A.M.C. tents below the cliffs. At dark one could hear from the cliffs of Gully Beach the continuous “plop” of bullets striking the water. There were also casualties from hidden machine guns; and the courage, enterprise, and skill of the Turkish snipers were the cause of many fatal wounds. Owing to the shallowness of the average trench it was difficult even for the most careful and experienced to keep under cover, and most injuries received at this time were head wounds. The Turkish snipers hid in the scrub—some carrying camouflage so far as to paint themselves green—or lay in holes apart from, and generally in advance of, their trench system; and their patience, persistence, and ingenuity evoked reluctant tributes from their foemen. Fir Tree Wood was a happy hunting-ground of the snipers, some of whom had remained in their hiding-places during our advance, in order to pick our men off at short range during the night. The Territorials received valuable tips from the Regulars on the best methods of dealing with snipers, and before long their numbers, and the losses they inflicted, were kept in check.
BATHING POOL IN KRITHIA NULLAH.
THE KRITHIA NULLAH.