Defending Gallipoli by Harvey Broadbent

Author:Harvey Broadbent
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780522864571
Publisher: Melbourne University Press

Rudimentary sketches for the tunnel diggers and engineers were made when efforts to explode mines under enemy positions were carried out.

Occasionally the crucial summer water supply also ran out. On 11 July, Avni again informed the 3rd/57th Battalion that ‘the order has been given to bring water from the reserve battalion. But it will take time to supply water from here and send there. In order to avoid such difficulties, it is recommended that both the water barrels that should be in the trenches and the ones in the battalion should always be kept full.’ Despite the difficulties the Ottomans became adept at tunnelling by the middle of July.

Wire emplacements in front of the trenches were used by both sides to catch grenades before they reached a trench. It appears the Anzacs were conscientious in repairing damaged wire netting while the Turks found maintaining theirs to be problematic. When the Anzacs kept destroying these previously effective defences in July, Mustafa Kemal felt the need to issue an order to the effect that ‘each regiment should allocate and appoint skilful sharpshooters to suitable and fixed points and enfilade the wire fences placed by the enemy and try to definitely destroy the said fences. When the enemy starts to take effective action against our fences, we should not be mere spectators and the enemy shooters should be fired on from suitable points from the second and third lines and not be allowed to cause any damage.’

With both sides competing in tunnelling and strengthening their trenches the stalemate was consolidated. However, given the signs of a likely Allied Offensive, the Ottomans increased vigilance. One major precaution taken was the postponement of the fasting requirement for Ramadan, which began on 13 July. In mid July, too, Ottoman intelligence and reconnaissance reports suggested an imminent major enemy offensive, possibly in the Suvla area. All units in the sector under Anafartas Group Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Willmer were put on alert and orders issued to strengthen defences.

General Hamilton was indeed planning a new offensive, for which he requested additional divisions. The Dardanelles Committee decided that five new divisions would be sent to assist him—the 53rd and 54th Territorial divisions and IX Corps (10th, 11th and 13th divisions). Their commander was another old soldier, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Stopford. After several modifications, a final complex plan emerged. Hamilton allocated five divisions as reinforcements for the ANZAC front where a breakout to take the Hill 971 heights would occur. The majority of the new divisions were to simultaneously land at Suvla Bay to create a new base. This force would also move across the Salt Lake and the Anafarta plain to the Anafarta ridge at Tekketepe and link up with the Anzacs attacking Hill 971and Chunuk Bair on their right to take the Koja Chimen-Tekketepe line. Following this, the forces would move towards Maidos (modern-day Eceabat), as per the original April plan, to cut off the Turkish forces on the southern end of the Peninsula.

Hamilton would use feints again. Apart from

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