had never seen war before, had been since four in the morning exposed to shrapnel fire, with but little chance either of taking cover or of retaliating. They had seen their comrades fall stricken at their sides without the consolation of knowing that the enemy was suffering to an equal extent.35
This was true, up to a point, but the Turks, with access to the wells in that sector, were not suffering from thirst. The shower of rain at about one o’clock in the afternoon had cooled the area down and provided some short-term relief but the soldiers advancing on Chocolate Hill were already thoroughly dehydrated.
The Turks were well entrenched on Chocolate Hill, which although a mere 160 feet high, rose steeply from the surrounding plain and commanded an excellent view of the advancing Irish battalions. At the outset of their movement, closer to the beach a German officer noted that they had marched ‘bolt upright as though on parade without using cover’.36 As they neared their objective intense rifle and shell fire made this unwise.
The rushes were by platoon after platoon. They had to cross ground which was very open and exposed to machine-gun and rifle fire from Chocolate Hill. It was uncultivated, with a few bushes here and there affording no substantial cover. The troops on the left, however, were able to advance over better ground, as it was much more closely covered with rocks and scrub, resembling the lower slopes of Ticknock.37
It was heavy going for inexperienced troops who had gone rather soft after five weeks on board transport ships or awaiting orders on the Aegean islands.
Frank Laird was not involved in the charge that finally took Chocolate Hill but he was still required to inch his way across the plain towards the outcrop where, ‘we heard for the first time the gentle whisper of enemy bullets over our heads … A young Dublin chap near me at one stopping-place gave a sudden choke, stiffened, and lay dead, shot through the throat.’ Laird had made an agreement with Charles Frederick Ball, Assistant Keeper of the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, that they would stick together. They managed to keep the compact. Others, however, got separated from their units. As the ‘Pals’ dived in and out of gullies and ditches to avoid shrapnel bursts one of their number, identified only as ‘John Willie’ by Laird, was knocked unconscious. When he came to he dutifully continued to advance on his own, in a straight line. His battalion, however, had wheeled right while he was unconscious so he found himself between the British and Turkish lines. He didn’t manage to extricate himself until after dark!38
Among the officers ducking and diving through the scrub was Major Tippet of the 7th Dublins, a man who had served for years in the old Dublin City Militia and who, latterly, had been employed as a political agent in an English constituency. Alongside him was Paddy Tobin who was slowed down by a bullet in the triceps. ‘I had to stop for a minute or two to put on my field dressing, and here I’m sorry to say the Major went on ahead, and I lost him pro tem.’39 As Tobin found out later he had, in fact, lost Tippet permanently. The latter was killed as he went forward, shot in the head. Another significant casualty was Lt Ernest Julian, the Reid Professor of Law at Trinity College. He died on 8 August, of wounds received in the Chocolate Hill assault.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
