The First World War started on 28 July 1914, and soon involved all the great European powers: Great Britain, France and Russia formed an alliance to oppose the German-Austrian alliance.
Britain entered the war on 4 August and Australia one day later. The first contingent of the Australian Imperial Force, in convoy with troops from New Zealand, sailed from Australia on 1 November 1914, and disembarked in Egypt on 3 December 1914. They became known as the ANZACs—the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
By February 1915, armies from the two opposing European alliances occupied hundreds of miles of trenches across France and Belgium and the war had developed into a stalemate. This line of trenches was known as the Western Front. Britain and her allies were keen to supply Russia with improved weapons so her forces could fight more effectively. An improved Russian army would compel the German-Austrian alliance to fight a war on two fronts: east and west.
The most reliable sea route to Russia was via two narrow Turkish seaways, the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. Germany needed to block this supply route and persuaded Turkey to fight with the German-Austrian Alliance.
A fleet of British and French naval vessels first attacked the Dardanelles on 19 February 1915. Turkish forces successfully defended the waterways and inflicted heavy damage on the Allied fleet. The losses prompted the Allies to cease any further attempts to force their way through the Dardanelles by naval power alone.
They decided ground forces were necessary and the Gallipoli peninsula was the obvious place to land them. Once ashore troops could attack Turkish defences along the Dardanelles and the Bosporus from behind and free the waterways for supply ships.
The Australian and New Zealand soldiers were training in Egypt. British commanders chose to deploy them as part of the Gallipoli landing force—along with troops from Britain, France and a range of British Empire nations. The Gallipoli Campaign took place between 25 April 1915, and 9 January 1916. The small cove in and around which the ANZAC forces landed became known as the ANZAC sector: the area further south where the British and French forces landed became known as the Helles sector.
Turkish forces successfully resisted the invasion. Their biggest attempt to drive the Australians off the peninsula occurred on the morning of 19 May. It was unsuccessful and cost thousands of Turkish lives. The Australian attacks at Lone Pine and The Nek in August also failed to force a break-through. A stalemate continued for the remainder of 1915 until the order was given to evacuate. The ANZACs were shipped off the peninsula overnight on 18 and 19 December 1915. The last British troops evacuated the Helles sector on 9 January 1916.
My Gallipoli story is based on the war diaries of the 10th Battalion, 1st AIF. The 10th were among the ‘Originals’ (part of the landing force who went ashore at dawn on Sunday 25 April 1915). The 10th were evacuated from the Gallipoli peninsula on 22 November 1915, and did not return. In my story, however, they do return so the main character can be one of the last to leave ANZAC Cove and tell the story of the campaign from beginning to end. The 10th did not fight at Lone Pine as recorded in my story. They fought at nearby Leane’s Trench.
Men who went ashore the first morning were known as the Originals. If those same men were amongst the last groups of men to be evacuated, they were referred to as Diehards.
The 10th were shipped from Gallipoli to Lemnos then Egypt. On 16 March 1916, they sailed for Europe and the Western Front. They fought battles in France and Belgium at Pozieres, Ypres, the Somme, Polygon Wood and Amiens. They continued in active service until September 1918. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the Armistice took effect and the fighting ceased. The last men from the 10th Battalion arrived back in Adelaide on 5 September 1919.
Letters posted between Australia, Egypt and Gallipoli took many weeks, if not months, to be delivered. In my story I have sped the delivery process up to add to the drama of the story.
The Australian army’s enlistment age was twenty-one years or eighteen years with the permission of a parent or guardian. Boys gave false ages in order to join up. The number of ‘boy soldiers’ who served at Gallipoli is impossible to determine but records on the Australian War Memorial website show that four underage soldiers died while serving with the AIF at Gallipoli.
• Private James Charles (‘Jim’) Martin* was the youngest soldier killed. He died of disease while being transported from the peninsula, aged 14 years 9 months. (* Soldier Boy, The true story of Jim Martin the youngest Anzac, by Anthony Hill)
• Private John Auguste Emile Harris John died at Lone Pine, aged 15 years 10 months.
• Private Roy Henderson Robertson was killed in action at Russell’s Top, aged 16 years 4 months.
• Private Alexander Joseph Hearn died of bullet wounds received at Gallipoli, aged 16 years and 8 months.
At least eight other ‘boy soldiers’ later died on the Western Front. Many more died at sea serving in the Royal Australian Navy. The enlistment age was lower for the navy.
The Australian War Memorial is an informative and emotional place to visit. Their website is an invaluable source of primary and secondary facts, figures and photographs (www.awm.gov.au).
The ANZACs’ graves suffered some initial damage after the evacuation of Gallipoli: returning villagers took many of the crosses for firewood and jackals and dogs dug up some of the graves.
In late December 1918, Australian officers returned to Gallipoli to join the British War Graves team to register burial sites. They designed and constructed a series of cemeteries.
There are thirty-one Allied cemeteries on the Gallipoli peninsula: six at Helles, four at Suvla and twenty-one at Anzac. Men who died on hospital ships were buried at sea and have no known grave. There are two cemeteries on the Greek island of Lemnos. Men who died of wounds while being nursed in the large hospital base, are buried on the island.
There are no large Turkish military cemeteries on the peninsula but there are numerous monuments and memorials.
The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty that ended the state of war that had existed between Turkey and the Allies since 1914. The treaty obliged the Turkish Republic to grant the land in and around Anzac Cove to the Allies in perpetuity. This included graves, cemeteries and memorials. In 1996 the boundaries of the Gallipoli Peninsula Peace Park were expanded to include Turkish battle sites and memorials as well as the Allied sites and cemeteries.
There were nearly half a million casualties during the Gallipoli campaign: of those, more than 135,000 men died. Not all died from battle wounds: a large number died of disease (eg. enteric fever, dysentery and diarrhoea). I found it difficult to collect exact statistics for the number of dead. Approximate numbers are listed below.
• 80,000 Turkish
• 35,000 British
• 10,000 French
• 8,141 Australians
• 2,700 New Zealanders
• 1,300 Indians
• 49 Newfoundlanders
61,522 Australians had lost their lives by the end of the First World War.
On 19 May 1915, 42,000 Turkish soldiers made a full frontal attack on the ANZAC trenches. It is estimated that 10,000 Turkish soldiers were wounded and 3,000 killed within six hours. 160 ANZACs were killed and 468 wounded.
A German-Turkish military alliance was deemed beneficial to both countries. A secret treaty was signed on 2 August 1914. Germany wanted the Ottoman empire, under Turkish leadership, as an ally to help protect its eastern front. The Ottomans were losing control over their empire and believed that access to German military equipment and advisers would allow them to retain power. General Otto Liman von Sanders, a German military adviser and commander, travelled to Turkey to reorganise the Turkish army and navy under German leadership. German officers were, therefore, stationed on the Gallipoli peninsula and involved in military command when the ANZACs invaded in 1915.
Two regiments of the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade were slaughtered when they were ordered to make a full frontal assault on Turkish trenches on Baby 700. They charged across a narrow strip of land named The Nek. 600 men took part in the attack on 7 August, 1915: 234 men died from 372 casualties. Only eight Turkish deaths were confirmed.
Trooper Harold Rush of the 10th Light Horse Regiment died in the third wave. His famous last words were, ‘Goodbye Cobber, God bless you.’
The 1981 film, Gallipoli, directed by Peter Weir, focuses on the charge of The Nek. The film modifies events and therefore contains historical inaccuracies.
Australian casualties in the battle for Lone Pine were over 2,000: between 5,000 and 6,000 Turks were killed or wounded.
The lonesome pine was not standing by the end of the Gallipoli campaign as described in my story: it was blown to pieces soon after the ANZAC landing. Its trunk could be clearly seen from the Australian trenches.
Pine cones attached to cut branches, placed as cover over the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine, were souvenired by two Australian soldiers. Seeds were later collected.
Lone Pines or Gallipoli Pines have been planted across Australia in honour of the soldiers who fell during the battle. A solitary pine was planted at the Lone Pine Cemetery on the Gallipoli peninsula and another at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
The first book on The Battle for Lone Pine was published in 2012. It is written by David Cameron.
Seven Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for actions performed during the four days of fighting at Lone Pine. Only two other Victoria Crosses were awarded to Australians throughout the whole of the eight-month Gallipoli campaign.
John Dunn, a New Zealand soldier, fell asleep at his post and was sentenced to death by a court martial. He was later released to rejoin his unit but died in an attack on Chunuk Bair.
I mostly refer to one Chaplain, Chaplain Frank, but there were many Chaplains who served on the peninsula. Chaplain Walter ‘Bill’ Dexter scattered silver wattle seeds on the Gallipoli peninsula.
The Gallipoli campaign was the first major battle undertaken by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). It marks the birth of national consciousness in both countries. Anzac Day, 25 April, is commemorated every year in Australia and New Zealand. It has more meaning to the public than Armistice Day/Remembrance Day on the 11th day of the 11th month.
In Turkey, the battle for the Gallipoli peninsula is regarded as a defining moment in the history of the Turkish people. The Ottoman Empire was crumbling in 1915. Eight years after the Gallipoli campaign the Turkish War of Independence was fought which led to the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.
Australia and Turkey fought each other at Gallipoli but have since developed a bond of friendship, mutual respect and cooperation.
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers (of Australian and New Zealand), who sent your sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
A message from the Turkish leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1934. Commander in the Turkish Army and founder of Modern Turkey.