Series 03: John Brady Nash letters, January 1914-December 1915 - Page 426
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[Page 426]
the earliest hours". These remarks show how important it is to keep the food supply up to the highest standard in quantity and quality, men will do much when well fed that they could not perform when short of food.
Gaba Tepe will give much trouble before we get possession of it, it will require a lot of taking, so say the men. The turk has a silencer on the muzzle of his rifle, which is of great use in concealing the point from which he is firing, it is especially useful to the sniper who, when he can keep from being found out is capable of doing much injury. This shows to what an advanced state the German officers have brought their weapons? I have often heard of the desireability for a silencer for the rifle, but I have not earlier heard of its practicable application.
Another advantage possessed by the enemy is the longer rifle and bayonet that he uses, a few inches in this regard is of much value in hand to hand fighting, as any one can imagine who thinks for a moment. In fighting with the fists the man with the long arm has the advantage, so is it with the rifle, when men are in close touch with each other. The officers fought real well, some may not have liked it but if so they did not show the distaste.
Men in the trenches become very angry with one who is not careful about exposing his head or other part because one so doing draws the fire to the spot where he is seen. A Scotchman told me that the Australian is a great fighter and the more men he has to fight against the better he appears to like it. The Turks know when there is to be a charge ? they then leave the front trench and wait in one further back, from this as the Australians charge they pour in bullets in very rapid manner. The engineers blow up the wire entanglements in great style. There are none more brave than they, doing their work in a wonderful manner.
An officer, an old soldier named Heating (six medals), and a private met a Turkish patroll, they fought for three quarters of an hour, hard going, not less than one hundred Turks, the three men came in laughing thinking that they had played in a first class joke. Heating knows a lot about the game, and but for a liking for whiskey he would be much further on in his regiment.
There is plenty of young dead timber everywhere, this is used for fuel, and gives chance to heat up the rations, which is a godsend, then with jam and biscuit a man is right. Russian Jews with donkeys carry most of the food to the fighting line during the night. There is one Scotchman who works with two donkeys, he never gets tired, working unceasingly, resting one beast while he uses the other, he brings up food and transports wounde[d] to the beach, every one knows the Scotchman with the donkeys, he belongs to the army medical corps. The army medical were shelled terribly. Colonel Sutton's lot particularly