World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula; World War, 1914-1918 -- New Zealand
With the cry of "Allah! Allah!" reinforcements arrive for the enemy.
The weary victors again repel the foe. Night brings no peace. But the
captors of Lone Pine fight on, for they know full well that by their
vicarious sacrifice they have pinned down all the Turkish reserves on
the Ari Burnu front, and have left a minimum of the enemy to resist the
Anzac and Suvla thrust for the peaks of Sari Bair.
Against German Officers' Trench.
The attack at Lone Pine drew many Turkish reserves to Anzac. Everywhere
the enemy was on the alert. What wonder, then, that the occupants of
German Officers' Trench were ready for the 6th Australians? At 11
o'clock on the night of the 6th, mines were exploded at the end of the
trench nearest the Turk. At about midnight, the artillery momentarily
ceased, and the Australian infantrymen crept from the end of their
tunnelled communications which had been constructed under No Man's
Land. The first and second waves of men were mown down almost to a man.
The attack on trenches defended with scientifically-manned machine guns
was almost a forlorn hope.
The Glory of the Australian Light Horse.
At Quinn's, Pope's, and Russell's Top the line was held by the
Australian Light Horse. In common with their brothers of the infantry,
attacks from these places were to be made.
Units of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade were holding Quinn's. From here,
two hundred men in four lines of fifty each were to dash across No
Man's Land in an endeavour to simulate a determined attack. Most of
these gallant troopers died on the parapet from a hail of machine-gun
fire.
From Pope's it was determined to attack Dead Man's Ridge. This effort
was at first a little more successful. Three trenches were occupied,
but after about two hours' desperate fighting our men ran short of
bombs, and tried to withdraw, losing heavily during the operation.
The attack from "The Nek" was as glorious, as tragic, and, alas! as
unsuccessful as from Quinn's. In the first line there were 150 men of
the 8th Light Horse Regiment. When the artillery stopped, about 4.25
a.m., the Turk commenced a barrage of machine-gun fire. The Victorians
clambered up on their firesteps, and at the word dashed into the awful
storm of lead. Down went the whole line. But the second line, with
a few scaling ladders, was ready to go over the top. Out they sped
to certain death. The scaling ladders lay forlornly out on the fatal
"Nek." The third line--150 men of the 10th Light Horse--followed and
shared the fate of their comrades. The fourth line was stopped. Out of
450 men who started there were 435 casualties! Turkish prisoners stated
that they never lost one man! Surely in military history there is no
more splendid record of sacrifice than was enacted that fatal morning
at Quinn's Post and Russell's Top.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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