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The Battle of Lone Pine (also known as the Battle of Kanlı Sırt)[4] was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became known as the August Offensive. The Australians, initially at brigade strength, managed to capture the main Turkish trench line from the battalion that was defending the position in the first few hours of the fighting, however, the fighting continued for the next three days as the Turks brought up reinforcements launched numerous counterattacks in an attempt to recapture the ground they had lost. As the counterattacks intensified the Australians brought up two fresh brigades. Finally, on 9 August the Turks called off any further attempts and by 10 August offensive action ceased, leaving the Australians in control of the position. Nevertheless, despite the Australian victory, the wider August Offensive of which the attack had been a part failed and a situation of stalemate developed which would last until the end of the campaign in December 1915.
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The Lone Pine battlefield, named for a solitary Turkish Pine that stood there at the start of the fighting,[1] was situated about the centre of the eastern line of the ANZAC trenches on a rise known as "400 Plateau" that joined Bolton's Ridge to the south with the ridge along the east side of Monash Valley to the north. Being towards the southern end of Anzac, the Lone Pine region was comparatively gentle and the opposing trenches were separated some distance with a flat no-man's land intervening.
The original Australian front at Lone Pine contained a salient. To the north of the salient, on the Turkish side, was the head of a gully called "The Cup". This was a reserve area for the Turks and lightly fortified. The Turkish trenches at Lone Pine were the strongest at Anzac and no attack was expected there.
The commander of the Australian 1st Division—which was to make the attack—was Brigadier General Harold Walker,[5] a British officer who had replaced Major General William Bridges as temporary commander after Bridges had been killed by a sniper in May. Walker did not approve of an attack at Lone Pine, let alone a mere diversion. When General Sir Ian Hamilton, the British commander, insisted the attack proceed, Walker endeavoured to give his troops the best chance of success possible on such an unfavourable battleground.[5]
Opposing the Australians at Lone Pine, was an Arab battalion of the 72nd Regiment[1] consisting of about 500 men.[6]
The width of the front of the attack was 160 yards (150 m) and the distance between the two trench lines was about 60–100 yards (55–91 m).[7] To reduce the distance to be crossed, the Australians projected a number of tunnels to within 40 yards (37 m) of the Turkish trenches. Immediately after the attack, one of these tunnels was to be opened along its length to make a communications trench via which reinforcements could advance without having to cross the exposed ground.[1] Some of the attackers would have to make the advance over open ground from the Australian trench line.[8] To provide some measure of protection for these men, three mines were set to make craters in which they could seek shelter.[6] The preliminary bombardment was stretched over three days—initially confined to a limited "slow shoot", building up to a final intense bombardment an hour before the assault—and was successful in cutting much of the barbed wire that the Turks had placed in front of their position.[9]
The preparation stage of the attack began at 2:00 p.m. on 6 August, when the Australians detonated the three mines they had dug in front of the Turkish lines, in an attempt to create cover for the advancing troops. Two and a half hours later the final heavy preliminary bombardment commenced, which lasted for an hour.[6]
At 5:30 p.m. the Australian 1st Infantry Brigade attacked.[8] Due to the small front along which the attack was to be launched, the initial assault was undertaken by the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions with the 1st Battalion being held back in reserve.[10] Half the force went via the prepared tunnels and half crossed the exposed ground between the trench lines. When they reached the Turkish trenches they found them roofed with pine logs with no easy entrance.[8] Some fired, bombed and bayonetted from above, some found their way inside and others ran on past to the open communications and support trenches behind.[8] Small units of Australians managed to push through to "the Cup" where they were stopped by Turkish troops that were hastily assembled to defend their regimental headquarters.[11]
For the Australians the attack had been successful as they had gained possession of the main Turkish line and after being halted at "the Cup" they began preparing to defend their gains. After they had hastily erected sandbag barriers along the parapet,[3] they settled down to wait for the first counterattack. As they did so, the brigade reserve—the 1st Battalion—was brought up.[12] Shortly after dark, around 7:00 p.m., the first counterattack came after the Turks, under Major Zeki Bey, had brought up reinforcements.[13] Attacking with hand grenades, the fighting took place in the complicated maze of the former Turkish trench system.[13] The close quarters meant that some of the grenades would travel back and forth up to three times before exploding. The Australians held the old Turkish fire trench and had footholds deeper in Turkish lines. They blocked the Turkish communications trenches as best they could, often with the bodies of the dead, to thwart raids.[14] Other bodies were moved to unused communication trenches and saps, and where possible the wounded were evacuated, however, the fighting was so intense, the conditions so cramped and the men so exhausted that in many cases they were left to lie at the bottom of the trench.[15]
For the next three days the Turks continued to launch incessant and ultimately unsuccessful counterattacks in an effort to recapture the ground they had lost. In total three regiments were dispatched.[2] The Australians also brought up reinforcements, bringing up men from two battalions[2] from the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades—the 7th and 12th Battalions—to hold the 1st Brigade's gains.[3] Finally, on 9 August, the Turkish commanders called off further attempts to dislodge the Australians[16] and on 10 August the fighting "subsided".[3]
Though a tactical victory for the Australians in terms of the fact that they remained in possession of the ground captured,[3] and had managed to draw off some Turkish reinforcements[16] nevertheless the wider repercussions of the attack at Lone Pine weighed heavily on the outcome at Chunuk Bair. Sent north to reinforce Lone Pine, Colonel Hans Kannengiesser's Turkish 9th Division was directed instead to proceed on to Chunuk Bair where, at the time there was only one Turkish artillery battery and a covering force of 20 infantrymen.[17] His force arrived in time to seriously delay the New Zealand attack[18] and ultimately, the wider offensive of which the battle was a part failed. Afterwards, a stalemate situation developed on the Gallipoli peninsula although there were brief periods of localised fighting. In September, the troops of the Australian 1st Division who had taken the position were relieved by the 23rd and 24th Battalions.[19] For the remaining three months of the campaign, these two battalions would alternate their positions in the front line as the Turks and Australians engaged in mining and countermining operations against each others' positions.[20] This situation ultimately lasted until the Allied evacuation in December 1915.[21]
Seven Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the fighting at Lone Pine,[3] including four men from the 7th Battalion, which had been rushed forward to help relieve the 1st Brigade at the height of the Turkish counterattacks.[22] One of the recipients was Corporal William Dunstan,[23] who after the war became the general manager of The Herald newspaper in Melbourne. Another VC recipient was Captain Alfred John Shout who had already earned the Military Cross and been Mentioned in Despatches since landing at Gallipoli. He was mortally wounded at Lone Pine and was later buried at sea.[24] The other VC recipients were Privates Leonard Keysor[25] and John Hamilton,[26] Corporal Alexander Burton and Lieutenants Frederick Tubb and William Symons.[23]
Casualties during the battle have been estimated at 2,277 Australians and between 5,000–6,000 Turks killed or wounded.[3][16][27]
On Anzac Day, after the dawn service, Australian visitors congregate at the Lone Pine cemetery which now stands on the site for a memorial service to remember all their countrymen who fought and died at Gallipoli. At the New Zealand National World War I Museum, there is an exhibit for the Battle of Lone Pine. Memorial "Lone Pine" trees have been planted in Australia, New Zealand and Gallipoli to commemorate the battle and the Gallipoli campaign in general.[28]
The Lone Pine memorial also stands within the grounds of the Lone Pine cemetery and commemorates all the Australian and some of the New Zealand 'missing' at Gallipoli, including those who have no known grave and those buried at sea.