General Ian Hamilton's orders to the ANZACs following the landing on 25 April were simple: "now you only have to dig, dig, dig, until you are safe". The first step in carrying out this directive was to dig individual weapon pits or foxholes during the night. These were later joined to form a continuous trench line. By the time of the August offensive, both sides had constructed an elaborate system of trenches that clung to ridges, cut across gullies and wound through valleys.
The front line Turkish trenches at Lone Pine, roofed with thick pine logs and piled earth, were some of the most heavily fortified at ANZAC. The artillery bombardment prior to the infantry assault had caused some damage to the roof, but it remained largely intact. The challenge for the Australians, having captured sections of this trench system, was to quickly construct barricades and establish a defendable front line in the maze of communication trenches and saps.
