Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 3, June, 1915 - April-September, 1915 by Various
page 262 of 488 (53%)
picked up many bullets on the deck afterward.

Some Turkish warship started to fire over the peninsula. The Triumph
dropped two 10-inch shells within a few yards of her, whereupon she
retired up the strait to a safer position, from which she occasionally
dropped a few shells into space, but so far has done no damage.

The scene at the height of this engagement was sombre, magnificent, and
unique. The day was perfectly clear, and you could see right down the
coast as far as Sedd-ul-Bahr. There the warships of the first division
were blazing away at Aki Baba and the hills around it, covering their
summits with a great white cloud of bursting shells. Further out the
giant forms of the transports which accompanied that division loomed up
through the slight mist. Almost opposite Gaba Tepe a cruiser close in
shore was covering the low ground with her guns and occasionally
dropping shells right over into the straight on the far side. Opposite
the hills in possession of the Australian and New Zealand troops an
incessant fire was kept up from the ships. Beyond lay our transports
which had moved further out to avoid the Turkish warships' shells and
those of some battery which fires persistently.

Beyond all, the Queen Elizabeth, with her eight huge, monstrous 15-inch
guns, all pointed shoreward, seemed to threaten immediate annihilation
to any enemy who dared even to aim at the squadron under her charge.

On shore the rifle and machine-gun fire was incessant, and at times rose
into a perfect storm as the Turks pressed forward their attack. The
hills were ablaze with shells from the ships and the enemy's shrapnel,
while on the beach masses of troops were waiting to take their places in
the trenches, and the beach parties worked incessantly at landing
DigitalOcean Referral Badge