Nepali Times

7 August 1915

On the morning following ‘the breakout’, a number of other attacks were planned within the old Anzac perimeter. The most notorious of these was the disastrous assault at the Nek by the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade. The Nek was a narrow saddle running east-west between the ridgeline known as Russell's Top and Baby 700, overlooked by opposing Ottoman and Australian trenches, which faced each other at distances varying from 20-60m, the edges of both firing lines fell away at each side to the valley floor 150m below. Behind the Ottoman frontline, however, were more trenches rising in tiers to the Summit of Baby 700, so that withering fire could be brought to bear upon any movement not just from rifles but no fewer than five groups of machine-guns.

Allied commanders were not unmindful of the futility of attacking under such condition 'unaided'. The assault was therefore planned to proceed only after supporting movements had taken place, designed to silence some of the enemy machine-guns or draw off fire while the attack went in. In the event, these other operations either failed or were delayed, so that at the time designated for the attempt by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade they received no aid from any of them. To make matters worse, an intense artillery barrage that was to begin half an hour before the troops attacked at 4.30 a.m. was mistimed. The barrage ended seven minutes earlier than expected, and the enemy was given ample opportunity to recover and re-occupy their parapets. Accordingly, when the first assault line of 150 men rose to the attack (the ground being so narrow on the saddle that there was no room for more) most fell dead or wounded before they had covered 10m under withering fire. Three more waves were sent forward at intervals and each met the same fate. As no-one in the later assault lines could have doubted the outcome, there were poignant scenes as men wished each other farewell while they waited for the order to attack. By 5.15 a.m. some 300 men of the 8th and 10th Light Horse regiments lay in a huddled mass within an area no larger than a tennis court. In the words of the Official History: At first here and there a man raised his arm to the sky, or tried to drink from his water bottle. But as the sun of that burning day climbed higher, such movement ceased. Over the whole summit the figures lay still in the quivering heat.

At most, the bold display by the light horsemen at the Nek may have impeded for a few hours but did not prevent the transfer of Ottoman reinforcements towards Chunuk Bair, where the New Zealanders and Gurkhas were also to be shortly engaged in a desperate struggle.

ION G BROWN, THE BATTLE OF CHUNUK BAIR

The original objective of the Battle of Sari Bair, were the peaks of Hill 971, Hill Q and Chunuk Bair. The last of these was eventually captured by the New Zealand infantry before being relinquished in an overwhelming Ottoman counter-attack. The attack on Hill 971 never happened, as the assaulting column under Cox and Monash became lost and then pinned down by the defenders. Monash's brigade was mistaken about its position relative to its objective - Hill 971. In fact, by the end of the day's advance Monash's troops had actually reached the position they had believed they had been starting from. Meanwhile, Hill 971 was more unreachable than ever. The three Australian battalions that had made the assault suffered 765 casualties— the 15th Battalion was reduced to about 30 per cent of its normal strength.

In the meanwhile, far out on the left, Cox’s battalions were so scattered he did not know where they all were, let alone what they were doing. Cox briefly thought that the Gurkhas would make Hill Q on the 7th August; then he realised that they were too widely scattered – in fact the whole of the Indian Brigade had become so scattered that it was not a fighting force but a series of raiding parties heading towards Hill Q.

8 August 1915 By the morning of 8 August, however, Cox's forces were sufficiently organised to attempt an attack on their original objectives of Hill 971 and Hill Q. This was to be the next stage of the Allied assault of early August 1915.

For the purpose of writing orders for the assault on 8 August, Cox decided to regard his 13 battalions as four separate columns. Column one included the South Lancashires from the 38th Brigade, Warwicks from the 39th and the Gurkhas who had joined up with Johnston at the Apex before falling back to the Aghyl Dere. Column two included two battalions of the 39th (Staffordshires and Worcestershires) and Major Allanson’s battalion of Gurkhas, the 1/6th (who were already way out in front of the other two battalions). This column was to take the south peak of Hill Q. Column three consisted of the 14th Sikhs and another Gurkha battalion; this was to take the northern peak of Hill Q. Column four was to take Hill 971. But one and three were pretty much lost, and were ‘columns’ only on paper. So too, apart from the 1/6th Gurkhas lodged under the ridge between Chunuk Bair and Hill Q, was column two.

In the meanwhile, the 1/6th Gurkhas pressed on up the slope, but inexplicably orders halting the Gurkhas arrived when they were only a 1,000m from the summit, just before first light. The delay was fatal to the enterprise. The attack, which ought to have gone in with at least four battalions, was launched by five companies – six to seven hours too late. The enemy was ready for them. The New Zealanders were the first to attack, beginning the Battle of Chunuk Bair, they were decimated. The Gurkhas, after fighting their way to within 500m of the crest of Hill Q, lost 76 men killed or wounded. There they had to battle to hold on to the positions recently won, until reinforcements arrived, but when they did proved to consist of only a few companies. They seemed to be stuck on the hillside just under the saddle that joined Hill Q and Chunuk Bair, without support.

By noon on the 8 August, with the 1/6th Gurkhas still positioned below the crest of Hill Q, Chunuk Bair was the only real foothold established by the Allies on the main range, and it was decided to concentrate efforts there. The attack would be up the range towards Hill Q, where Allanson’s men were lodged.

Without waiting for the other two battalions, however, Allanson decided to attack Hill Q with his 1/6thGurkhas. They managed to get to within a 100m of the crest of the Hill by 6PM on 8 August, but were pinned down there by enemy fire. They clung to the slope and some even managed to inch forward another 50m, but then had to fight desperately to hold what had been gained. They were joined by Lieutenant W J Slim (the future Lord Slim) - soon to transfer to the 6th Gurkhas and eventually to become famous in the Second World War as commander of the 14th Army, but now commanding a company of the 9thWarwickshires as the only surviving officer - and some men from the North Staffordshire and 6thSouth Lancashire battalions.

Next week: The 'break out' continues 9 August 2015

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