Its Place in History
Back to Diorama An overview of the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces attempting to force the
Ottoman Empire (Turkey) out of the war. The aim was to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front and open a supply route through the
Dardanelles to the
Black Sea .
The allies landed on the
Gallipoli
Peninsula bewteen 25-26 April 1915 - the British and French at
Cape
Helles in the south, and the Australian and New Zealand Corps (ANZACs) north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as ANZAC Cove. Here they established a tenuous foothold on the steep slopes above the beach.
Detail of a Turkish map showing troop dispositions before the landings on 25 April 1915.
G7432.G1 S65 VII.1
During the early days of the campaign, the allies tried to break the Turkish lines and the Turks tried to drive the allied troops off the peninsula. Concerted but unsuccessful allied efforts in August included the Australian attacks at Lone Pine and The Nek.
The most successful operation of the campaign was the evacuation of the troops on 19–20 December. As a result, the Turks were unable to inflict more than a few casualties. The whole Gallipoli campaign, however, cost 26,111 Australian casualties, including 8,141 deaths.
August offensive and Lone Pine
In early August 1915 the allies launched a major offensive that included a new landing at Suvla, north of the
Gallipoli
Peninsula, and an attempt to take the heights of Sari Bair at ANZAC.
Australian troops needed to make several diversionary attacks against the Turks. The first of these began at dusk on 6 August at Lone Pine. Men of the 1st Australian Infantry Brigade, wearing distinguishing white patches to prevent them being fired upon by their own men, attacked the Turkish trenches. Although roofed with heavy logs, the trenches were quickly captured and the Australians prepared for Turkish counter-attacks. For the next three days confused and ferocious fighting occurred in the maze of narrow trenches.
A trench at Lone Pine after the battle, showing Australian and Turkish dead on the parapet. In the foreground is Captain Leslie Morshead (later Lieutenant General Sir Leslie Morshead) of the 2nd Battalion and on his right (standing facing camera), is Private James (Jim) Bryant, of the 8th Battalion. A02025
The Australians constructed a number of fortified posts around which they and the Turks fought savagely with rifles, bombs (hand-grenades) and bayonets. The diversionary attack achieved the aim of keeping Turkish reserves away from the advance on Sari Bair, but the heavy fighting cost 2,000 Australian and over 5,000 Turkish casualties - almost half of those involved. Seven Australians were awarded Victoria Crosses for their part in defending the captured trenches.
For the remainder of the First World War, the battle of Lone Pine became a touchstone for Australian troops, as they compared the intensity and brutality of the combat there with subsequent battles at the Western Front.
"Before and after" maps of the battle of Lone Pine, showing the extent of the Australian advance.
Source: Charles Bean, The story of ANZAC, The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, Vol. II
Back to Diorama
|
