Part 01: Rupert Nixon letters, 28 November 1914-2 October 1917 - Page 89
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[Page 89]
4.
barbed-wire entanglements concealed under the thick scrub & vines. Whilst destroying these obstacles, shrapnel fell very freely & caused us considerable loss. As we went along a telephone was laid & we received word to lay very quiet & await word from Headquarters - there was then a lull on both sides. Although there were no Turks to be seen, they were lying concealed & suddenly, as though controlled by a magic signal, the warships also ceased fire. During the spell, we got the "mad-micks" & "the Banjos" to work, & dug ourselves in. There were then two long lines of Khaki, & on our right were the New Zealanders & close behind were the "Froggies", with our reinforcements a mile in the rear.
An Aeroplane suddenly appeared right over our heads & scared us by dropping what we thought a Bomb, which made a loud report. This we found, was a signal for the Infantry, & line after line of Khaki figures emerged from cover, & we charged with fixed bayonets. No sooner were we clear of cover than the Bombardment commenced, and the Ships' Guns shelling well in front of us, & our Artillery kept up a white surf of shrapnel some 50 yards ahead of us. In spite of this preliminary preparation the enemy was waiting to receive us, & we met a perfect storm of rifle & machine-gun fire, but