The trench combat of Lone Pine was described by Charles Bean as "the heaviest of its kind in which Australian troops ever took part". Following the successful first half-hour of the battle, in which the Australian troops captured the Turkish front line and established defensive posts, the continuous fighting over the next three days took place in the labyrinth of trenches.
This fighting was often confused, brutal and bloody as soldiers from both sides attacked with bayonets, bombs, rifles and fists. Men hid in tunnels and dug-outs to ambush the opposition, used dead bodies as barricades and feigned death to save themselves. Machine guns and artillery were effective when troops from either side attempted to move across open ground and over trenches. Many men continued fighting while wounded and exhausted.
The Turks had a ready supply of bombs (hand grenades) which they used to deadly effect. Australians tried to either smother bombs with overcoats, blankets or half-filled sandbags held against their bodies, throw them back before they exploded or scramble for cover to avoid injury. Overcrowding of the trenches was one of the greatest dangers, as a single bomb could take out an entire bay.
