The plan was for the ANZACS to land 21 kilometers north of Cape Helles on a low grassy area that rose gradually to a main hill 7 kilometers away. The first Australian division of 12 000 troops was to be the first to infiltrate the landing on ANZAC cove, take control of the cliffs and to give cover to the 29th British division and a French division that was to land further south at Cape Helles and Kum Kale. Their plan was to clear small enemy forces for their positions on the hills, then the soldiers would destroy the artillery which was stopping the ships from entering the strait.
So in the early hours of the morning of the 25th April 1915,the first wave of ANZACS a party of about 4000 troops rowed for the shores of Gallipoli, each soldiers carrying his rifle, 200 rounds of ammunition, 2 extra days of rations and full packs. But as they approached the beach they were rained down apon by heavy machine gun fire. Many men were either killed or wounded before they could reach the shore. Those who had not been shot plunged into the water, and rushed for the steep slopes before them.
The reason why the landing at Gallipoli was such a disaster was due to 2 main factors
- A British navigational error caused the ANZACS to land about 2 Km north of the expected spot. Here they were not faced by a gentle sloop but by a steep cliff almost 100 meters high.
- The British had under estimated the size and quality of the Turkish forces on the peninsula. Over 42 000 Turks occupied the ridges, trenches and hills of Gallipoli, all highly trained, well equipped and determined.
In fact the boats had landed on a part of the coast that Birdwood and Australian officers had scanned from a warship a few days earlier and considered ‘impossible’ for an attempt at landing in the dark.
The ANZACS, who were overpowered by the Turks height advantage and heavy artillery, fought bravely and courageously in the difficult terrain. And by the end of the day 16 000 men had landed and had begun digging the trenches. Although 2 000 ANZACS had already lost there lives. In the following days many more troops had landed, although neither side had gained any ground.
The ANZACS remained in there trenches for a further 8 months. In these 8 months several attacks were launched on the Turkish forces. The 2 main battles were ‘the battle of the Nek’ and ‘the battle of Lone Pine’.
The battle of the Nek was a gallant but tragic attack, it occurred on August 7 1915 and lead to the slaughter of almost 300 troopers.
The Nek was a ridge 50 yards wide at the ANZAC line and only 30 yards at the Turkish front. The opposing trenches were only 20 yards apart, and at least 5 Turkish machine guns covered the ground between.
The general goal at the Nek was to capture hill 971 of the Sau Bain Ranges. The attack was also a diversion to allow the British to land troops at Sulva Bay.
After a half hour bombardment of the Turkish positions by all available land guns as well as naval gunfire occurred. Most of these shells missed the Turkish front line. For some reason still unknown, the bombardment stopped at 4.23am, seven minutes earlier than planned.
In the hush and silence of the next seven minutes the Turks moved to man the trenches readiness for an attack they knew must come.
At 4.30am the men of the 8th Light Horse Regiment clambered out of the safety of their trenches and charged towards the Turks. Instantly came a roar of Turkish gunfire, which cut down the entire line within 10 yards of their own trenches.
As soon as the first line cleared the parapet the 2nd line took their place. Scrambling over the bodies of their fallen comrades, they meet the same fate.
Then came the turn of the 10th Light horse regiment in the 3rd and 4th lines of the attack. They knew full well what had happened to their mates in the previous two waves. They also knew that most of them, if not all were going to certain death. They shook hands with each other and quietly said goodbye. 'Boys, you have ten minutes to live' their commanding officer told them, 'and I am going to lead you.' And when the order came, they to went over the top and died. Only a handful actually reached the Turkish trenches where they to were killed.
The commander of the 10th regiment, realizing that the objective could not be completed, requested a cancellation of the attack. He was told the attack must be continued because of a report of a success. So the slaughter continued. The battle of the Nek was basically a senseless slaughter of men. This failed attacked resulted in exactly 234 dead light horsemen.
The battle of Lone Pine was again another senseless battle, although it was more successful the ‘the Nek’. It was intended to draw attention away from the main assault. It began on August 6 and ended on the 9th, 1915.
The opposing trenches were about 100 yards apart and when the ANZACS made the dash and reached the Turkish trenches they discovered that they had roofed over their advanced trenches with pine logs. Some Australians dropped their rifles and tried to prize the logs away. Others fired between the logs into the Turks below, while others dashed beyond to the communication trenches and attacked the enemy rear.
A terrific close quarters battle now raged as the Australians dropped into the darkened passages below, while the Turks, who had been sheltering from the artillery bombardment, attempted to emerge from their tunnels. Some were penned in, fearing to move. The Australians fought mainly with rifle and bayonet and sometimes with their hands. The preliminary bombardment had killed or wounded mainly of the Turks and the rest were either killed, driven out or captured by the Australians.
By 6pm, Lone Pine was in Australian hands. But many hours of attack and counterattack followed with the Turks eventually throwing the whole of their reserves into the battle. The enemy used close-in bomb fighting in their efforts to retake the lost positions.
Many Australians caught bombs and threw them back again, an audacious act, which ended when the Turks shortened the fuses on the bombs. This resulted in quite a few Australians having their hands and arms blown off.
The Gallipoli campaign continued for another 4 months after the conclusion of Lone Pine, by this time the trenches were ridden with flies, Rats and disease. There was an awful stench of decaying corpses, which littered the ground, sometimes the trenches were hot and humid and at other times they were wet and muddy. It would have been horrific. In reality many of us have never and probably will never live in such terrible conditions and will never witness such horrible images as that of what the ANZAC soldiers endured.
In one letter I read a soldier speech’s of how food and water was only available when the day had drawn to a close.
As time went on, it became clear that the Gallipoli campaign was a certain failure. On December 7, the British government finally decided to withdraw the 134 000 allied troops that remained in Gallipoli, the last of the troops were evacuated on 8 January. 1916.
480 000 troops in all had been landed in Gallipoli, of those 252 000 were killed or wounded. In all 8 000 Australians lay buried in the ridges and over19 000 had been wounded in just under 8 months.
The ANZACS in Gallipoli fought hard and bravely, it was here they proved themselves to be courageous and brave young men; it is this feeling that keeps the legend alive today. And on the 25th April each year, the date when the first ANZACS landed on the shores of Gallipoli in 1915, Australia remembers the bravery and hardship endured by these heroic men, know as the ANZACS, therefore this particular day is known as ANZAC day.
The Gallipoli campaign went for just under 8 months and was a failure, there was no immediate positive outcome to the campaign, many lives were lost.