World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula; World War, 1914-1918 -- New Zealand
(2) The other force under Brig.-General Russell was to storm Kaiajik
Aghala, which we knew as Hill 60--this was the elbow and the Anzac end
of the boomerang.
The troops for (2) were disposed from right to left as follows:--
(a) The 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, now reduced to about 1,400
men, had available for the attack about 400 men from the 13th and 14th
Battalions.
(b) The Canterbury Mounted Rifles were already on the ground, and the
Otago Mounted Rifles were brought over to reinforce them. To each of
these regiments a platoon of Maoris was attached.
(c) Detachments of the 5th Connaught Rangers (10th Div.), the 4th
South Wales Borderers (13th Div.) and the 10th Hampshires (10th Div.)
were on the extreme left, where the South Wales Borderers had been
since August 7 waiting for the joining up of the Suvla forces. The
Indians, it must be remembered, were also part of the Anzac Army.
The ravine of the Kaiajik Aghala separated the Australians and New
Zealanders from their objective. This ravine gradually broadened out
in front of the New Army troops, and debouched on the wide open plain
around the wells of Kabak Kuyu and Susuk Kuyu.
The line was to be attacked as follows:--
KABAK KUYU.
29th Indian Inf. Brigade.
THE HILL OF KAIAJIK AGHALA (HILL 60)
Connaughts Canterbury M.R. Otago M.R. 13th & 14th
S.W. Borderers Maoris Maoris Batt. A.I.F.
Hampshires (about 500 men)
By some strange mischance, the artillery bombardment which was so
liberal at Suvla, overlooked Hill 60 altogether. But at 3.30 the troops
made ready for the advance.
The 13th and 14th Australian Battalions--those veterans of Pope's
and Quinn's, the men who early in August struggled on to the Abdel
Rahman--dashed down the slope. Losing heavily, they raced into the
gully and up the other side. Beaten by Turkish machine gun fire, they
held their ground, but could not get on.
The New Zealand attack had about 800 yards to go. Squadron and troop
leaders spent the day observing the objective and the best lines of
advance. They went back to their men, explained the position and made
clear to everyone that the attack was to be by bayonet only, then
bombs. The formation was to be in lines of successive troops; each
ridge to be taken advantage of as a reforming point for a fresh advance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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