THE ANZAC LANDING

Hokitika Guardian, 24 April 1931, Page 2

THE ANZAC LANDING

THE STORY OF GALLIPOLI

(By F. M. Cutlack with the Australians).

Tlie story of the lauding is well known by this time. There have been 310 clearer descriptions than the concise but graphic narrative of General Piir lan Hamilton, the Commander-in-Chief. After depicting the precipitous slopes of the coast of the peninsula and the few beaches towards tlie southern end of it, which afforded any hope of successful landing, he sa y s: “Nothing but a systematic scheme for flinging the whole of the troops under my command very rapidly ashore could be expected to meet with success.” The “landing of an army upon such a theatre of operations, “a theatre strongly garrisoned throughout and prepared for any such attempt, involved difficulties for which no precedent was forthcoming in military history, except possibly in the sinister legends of Xerxes.” The ships and 'troops were concentrated at Lemuels c arly in April. The 29th Division men were transferred from the transports to the navy ships off Tenedos, and the Australians and New Zealanders off Mudi-os. This was on April 24. The whole forces arrived off the peninsula before dawn next day.

The 29th Division was flung nshore round the extreme end of the peninsula at five beaches about Cape Helles. They wer e met by a storm of fire, which especially at the beach where the transport River Clyde wa s run

ashore, cut the first landing parties to ribbons before they could touch land. No troops ever behaved more bravely ■ than this British infantry which forced its way .forward in shattered companies through shell-fire and machine-gun fire and the bursting of land mines. The Australians and New Zealanders remember them with admiration in remembering their own

story. fFor the landing at Anzac a rugged and difficult part of th e coast had been selected. Anzac Beach “is a very narrow strip of sand, about 1000 yards in length, bounded on the north and south by two small promontories. At its southern extremity p. deep ravine, with! (exceedingly steep scrubclad sides, (runs inland in a nortlf-i easterly direction.” (This was Shrap-; nel Valley.)., ; “Nea r the northern end of this beach a small but steep gully’, oruns up into : th e hills at right angles' to the shore. Between the ravine ;pnd, the'gully the whole ;of the beach is hacked by tlie seaward face of the spur which forme the’ north-western side of the ravine. From the top of the.-spur the ground falls almost sheer, except near the southern limit of the

beach, where, gentler slopefe give access to the mouth of the ravine her *. hind. Further ihlahd Ho in a tangled kuofc the under features of Bari Bair, separated by deep ravines which take a most confused diversity of direction.” The boats from the ships bringing the first Australians ashore—the brigade" chosen to lead was the 3rd Brigade, whose battalions contained men from all parts of Australia —approached in" darkness and complete silence. The simplest reader of General Hamilton’s account can feel the tension of that dramatic interval. “They were close to the shore before the enemy stirred. Then about one battalion of Turks (only half visible the forms of them must have been) was seen running along the beach to intercept the lines of boats. At this so critical a iuoment the behaviour of all ranks was most praiseworthy. Not a word Avas spoken—everyone remained per-

fectly orderly and quiet, awaiting the

enemy’s fire, which sure, enough opened, causing imany casualties. Ths> moment the boats touched land the Australians’ turn had come. Lik e lightning they leapt ashore, and each man as he did so went straight as his bayonet at th e enemy.” The turks fled almost at once, and the Australians dashed after them in small scattered parties into the scruo and th© ridges. It was an exciting series of little rushes, halts, rapid bursts of rifle fire into clumps of bush, and then scrambles forward to cut remaining Turks out of the pocket. The hillside ever stretching above them was sparkling and crackling with rifle flashes, and guns boomed out behind these again, splashing with shrapnel the beach and the navy

ships in the offing. It whs a stern trial for new troops, well trained though they had been in Egypt; for ' their training had accustomed them to collective work in companies and platoons, and now the battalions were all mixed up, and m«n fought and scrambled on in .self-formed groups. Officers and officers showed splendid leading, and fell thickly. “The. broken ground the thick scrub, the necessity for sending any formed detachments post hastj as tb?y landed to the critical point ot tile moment, the headlong valour ol scattered groups of men who had pressed far further into the peninsula than had been intend'd—all these led to confusion and mixing up of units. Eventually the mixed crowd of lighting men, some advancing from the beach, others falling back before the oncoming Turkish supports, solidfied into a scmi-circular nosition with its *• J right about a mile north of Kaba Tope, and its left on the high ground over Fisherman’s Hut.” This line (early afternoon') was formed of the

first landing 3rd Brigade (Sinclair

Mnelagan), and the list and 2nd /’Brigades (McLaurin and MeCav, respectively). After them was landed the Australian and New Zealand %.... .

Division, consisting of two infantry brigades—fch c 4th Australian Brigade (Monash) and the New Zealand Brigade. Tile enemy attacked very heavily between 11 and 3 o’clock, on the front of the 3rd Brigade, and the left of the 2nd, and again between fi and 6.30 the Turks threw a most determined assault upon the 3rd Brigade, hut tile hard-tested me ll of these battalions stood an firmly as veterans, and the Turks could not budge them. There was no rest all the night of the 25th from smaller spasmodic attacks.