What had happened to the supporting Auckland Mounted Rifles and Maori Contingent? At 9.00 am two companies from the Maori contingent were sent forward but, after passing The Apex, they came under heavy fire from the direction of Battleship Hill, forcing them to take cover down in Chailak Dere.

The Maoris were in the thick of it here and, in common with their pakeha comrades, lost heavily. It was the most deadly yet the most glorious day of their campaign, glorious because of the countless deeds of valour and self-sacrifice that attended the splendid lost-endeavour. The episode of the Maori machine-gun taken up the ridge is worthy of record on canvas by some great artist; it is a subject for an understanding battle painter like the artist of ‘Rorke’s Drift’ and ‘The Roll Call’. Lieut. Waldren [who was actually Private C. Warden, and not an officer], a pakeha officer of the Contingent, had a machine-gun taken up the hill with great difficulty. When it was set up a heavy fire was concentrated on it by the Turks, higher up the range, and one after another of the crew was shot down. Lieut. Waldren was shot dead while working the gun. Corporal Ferris [identified as Private D. Ferris] took his place and he also was shot down. A bullet was the certain fate of any man who attempted to use the gun, and Maori after Maori was hit until seven men were wounded. Then anyone operating the machine-gun had to crawl cautiously up and work it lying down. At last the gun, the only one on this flank, had to be withdrawn.²⁴

The Maoris did not get onto Chunuk Bair and played no further part in direct support of Malone, although they did later join up with Cox’s forces near the Farm.

The two squadrons of the Auckland Mounted Rifles also tried to get up to Chunuk Bair, but only made it as far as The Pinnacle. About 2.00 pm, after urgent calls for support, a few Aucklanders managed to fight their way up and, in small groups, finally reached Malone’s beleaguered men. It was quickly becoming apparent that is was almost impossible to reinforce Malone’s position with men in sufficient numbers, let alone supply the garrison with ammunition, bombs, food and water.

Communications from Chunuk Bair to Johnston’s HQ had originally relied on runners, although all of these were soon wounded or killed; due to the time delay it took to get through, it often meant that the message was out of date when received in any case. Soon two New Zealand signal parties were sent up onto Chunuk Bair to make contact with Malone, with the intention of setting up two separate telephone lines. Unfortunately this would not prove possible, as the wire cable was found to be too short. Corporal Cyril Bassett, who was in charge of one of the parties, decided to use one line to extend the first, and thus a field telephone connection now linked Malone’s command post to Brigade HQ at The Apex.

This was short lived as within thirty minutes the cable was severed. Bassett sent back one of his signalers with an urgent message from Malone, whilst he and Sapper William Birkett went back down from Chunuk Bair, all the time under constant fire and shelling, to locate and repair the broken wire. It was miraculous that these men survived this trip on a section of ground that was so exposed to Turkish fire that it prevented any daytime reinforcements getting to Malone’s position. Even more astounding was this did not happen just the once. They worked up and down Chunuk Bair and Rhododendron Spur tirelessly for three days. Bassett narrowly escaped being killed or wounded on several occasions; once two bullets had ripped his clothing; one went straight through his collar and the other tearing off his right-hand pocket. Unpretentiously Bassett later said: ‘It was just that I was so short the bullets passed over me’.

His citation for the Victoria Cross reads:

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the Chunuk Bair Ridge, in the Gallipoli Peninsula, on 7th August, 1915 [sic]. After the New Zealand Infantry Brigade had attacked and established itself on the ridge, Corporal Bassett, in full daylight and under a continuous and heavy fire, succeeded in laying a telephone line from the old position to the new one on Chunuk Bair. He has subsequently been brought to notice for further excellent and most gallant work connected with the repair of telephone lines by day and night under heavy fire.