The opening offensive began at 4.30 pm with an intensive artillery bombardment of Lone Pine and adjacent trenches. At 5.30 pm the bombardment ceased and the three assaulting battalions surged forward to attack in four lines of about 180 men - two lines moving out from forward tunnels and the other two over the top of the Australian trenches.
As the troops reached the Turkish line they encountered an unforseen obstacle. Most of the front-line trenches had a solid roof of timber and soil, too heavy to remove and practically unbroken by the bombardment. Many soldiers gathered along this line, firing into the trenches and looking for any access points. The majority, however, overran these positions to reach the open rear trenches in search of a suitable place to enter. Charles Bean states that in some battalions the order was given that "the first line of troops should ignore the enemy's front trench leaving it to be dealt with by those who followed after".
Firing down at the Turks from above was easier than entering the trenches. However, this approach became too exposed, particularly as Turks from higher positions, such as Johnston's Jolly, responded to the initial attack. Many Australians were killed within minutes of entering the trenches and in several places the dead lay four or five deep, having been shot by well-positioned Turks. Bean notes the Australians "quickly learned to hold their rifles vertically so as to give no warning of their approach".
