Flushing out the Turks?

[Guest]

I came across this entry in the War Diary, Commander Royal Engineers, General Headquarters, September 1915, Imbros, page 164 (ancestry, WO 95/4267).

20 Sept 1915: CGS passed me scheme by an Australian - Capt Abbott - by which water should be pumped up from the sea to a height of 400' and then used for flooding and demolishing enemy trenches.  C in C much interested.  I said I considered it impracticable but if it was returned [illegible] I would show it to the D of W when I went to Mudros. 

26 Sept 1915: Wrote CGS letter re ANZAC proposals for flooding etc enemy trenches. 

[The author of the WD entry, A.W. Roper, was replaced by Godfrey Williams on 3 October 1915, the CE from ANZAC].

The Captain Abbott referred to was Captain Richard Hartley Smith Abbott, 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Australian Infantry Brigade, 2nd Australian Division.  He was 2IC of B Company at Gallipoli, located near Johnston's Jolly / Wire Gully (No.2 Section)

In letters to a friend in Bendigo dated from 13 Sep to 13 Oct 1915 , he referred to his scheme on several occasions:

Bendigo Independent (Vic), Friday 24 December 1915, page 3

13 Sep: I went down to the general headquarters this morning to see General Birdwood about a scheme that I can't mention here.

14 Sep: I handed in my scheme to Major Wagstaff who is the staff officer for General Birdwood, and expect to be called any time today or tomorrow. There were six generals there altogether, and Colonel Lesslie who is the chief engineer told me my scheme was hot...The general sent Major Glasford to interview me in reference to my scheme. He is the Glasford that came out to us when we were doing the tactical school under Major Harrison. He is on the divisional staff of the First Division, and he conveyed to me the general's compliments, and asked me to tea tonight.

16 Sep: I had a very nice tea with General Walker and Colonel Willis, of the Royal Engineers; Colonel Leslie and Major Moore, all of the same corps, and also Major Glasford. They were all very much impressed with both of my schemes. When I left they gave me an open invitation to come down for afternoon tea at any time. When I was leaving they told me to hold myself in readiness for a special messenger to report to Lieu-tenant-General Williams, who is the head engineer here.

29 Sep: General Brown came into my dugout, and had a good talk over my sluicing scheme.

Sadly, Abbott became sick (according to his B103 record) and was evacuated on the HS Rewa (6 October 1915).  He was transhipped to the HS Caledonia on 15 October and taken to Gibraltar and England.  The scheme, as far as I'm aware, never came to fruition. 

The story does not end there.  A newspaper article picked up on his scheme and reported the following:

Bendigo Independent (Vic), Tuesday 7 March 1916, page 5

CAPTAIN HARTLEY ABBOTT.

The last mail brought information that Captain Abbott, who was blown through the roof of his dugout by the explosion of a 9in shell in the trenches at Gallipoli, and who subsequently was an inmate of hospitals at Gibraltar and Wandsworth, London, suffering from shock and resulting neurasthenia, was making a good recovery. After coming out of hospital he was granted two months' leave, which was spent at Penrice Castle, in Wales, in company with other Anzacs who were convalescing there. At the expiration of this period he went before a medical board, and was granted a further three months' leave from his regiment and has been temporarily attached to the War Office, London, in connection with experiments that are being carried with a scheme he propounded at Gallipoli for dealing with enemy entrenchments, which is equally applicable to operations against the Germans in Belgium. He has had numerous conferences with the most eminent military engineers, and his proposals are receiving the consideration of the highest authorities in London, and should the War Office decide to utilise his scheme in the Spring, when vigorous operations against the enemy in all sections may be looked for, he will most probably be sent to the Belgian front.

 

 

Edited 21 August , 2021 by Guest

[Guest]

Mate,

Yes but later on we had the same thing by nature after heavy rains.

It killed many on both sides as water goes down hill, in this case from their trenches into ours.

S.B

[michaeldr]

Secretary's Notes of a Meeting of the War Cabinet Held at 10, Downing Street, November 5, 1915 - See pages 5 & 6 of the doc [6 & 7 of the pdf] where the offensive use of water power is discussed

CAB-42-5-3.pdf

Edited 26 September , 2021 by michaeldr