World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula
It may be that their spirits linger there at this moment,
waiting for the English bugles and the English singing, and the sound of
the English ships passing up the Hellespont.
Among her tumble of hills, from the Anzac position to Great Anafarta,
Sari Bair thrusts out several knolls, peaks and commanding heights.
Within the Anzac position, is the little plateau of Lone or Lonesome
Pine to be described later. Further to the northeast are the heights
known as Baby 700 and Battleship Hill, and beyond these, still further
to the northeast, the steep peak of Chunuk Bair. All of these before
this battle were held by the Turks, whose trenches defended them. Lone
Pine is about 400 feet high, the others rather more, slowly rising, as
they go northeast, but keeping to about the height of the English
Chilterns. Chunuk Bair, the highest of these, is about 750 feet. Beyond
Chunuk, half-a-mile further to the northeast, is Hill Q, and beyond Hill
Q a very steep deep gulley, above which rises the beautiful peak, the
summit of Sari, known as Koja Chemen Tepe. One or two Irish hills in the
wilder parts of Antrim are like this peak, though less fleeced with
brush. In height, as I have said, it is a little more than 900 feet, or
about the height of our Bredon Hill. One point about it may be noted. It
thrusts out a great spur or claw for rather more than a mile due north;
this spur, which is much gullied, is called Abd-el-Rahman Bair.
For the moment, Chunuk Bair is the most important point to remember,
because--
(a) It was the extreme right of the prepared Turk position.
(b) The three Deres mentioned a couple of pages back have their sources
at its foot and start there, like three roads starting from the walls of
a city on their way to the sea. They lead past the hills known as Table
Top and Rhododendron Spur. Close to their beginnings at the foot of
Chunuk is a building known as The Farm, round which the fighting was
very fierce.
The "idea" or purpose of the battle was "to endeavour to seize a
position across the Gallipoli Peninsular from Gaba Tep to Maidos, with a
protected line of supply from Suvla Bay."
The plan of the attack was, that a strong force in Anzac should
endeavour to throw back the right wing of the Turks, drive them south
towards Kilid Bahr and thus secure a position commanding the narrow part
of the Peninsula.
Meanwhile a large body of troops should secure Suvla, and another large
body, landing at Suvla, should clear away any Turkish forces on the
hills between the Anafarta valleys, and then help the attacking force
from Anzac by storming Sari Bair from the north and west.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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