Poem ~ Anzacs Attack Gaba Tepe - Sunday, 25 April 1915

Source: File: Anzac Beach 4th Bn landing 8am April 25 1915.jpg. [online]  Available at: <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anzac_Beach_4th_Bn_landing_8am_April_25_1915.jpg#/media/File:Anzac_Beach_4th_Bn_landing_8am_April_25_1915.jpg> [Accessed: 24 April 2015].

Impression Sketch; storming heights of Gaba Tepe - By Jamie Mann. An original images can be seen at: http://alh-research.tripod.com/gallipoli_album_june_1915/index.album/storming-the-heights-of-gaba-tepe-rh-moppett-illustration?i=2&s=1

i Break Stalemate

With abrupt needs to leave

Their waiting anchorage,

Ships about Lemnos

And Skyros, headed to a new

Front – Among them, the

Grantully Castle, leaving one

Lone grave, resting under olive

Trees - to fade on horizon.

The forming British fleet

Created an impressive line

Of ships crossing the Aegean

Sea - the massing force

Heading for Turkey;

Final objective, Constantinople.

All plans, all preparations

Had been made in 30 days.

Deadlock on the Western front

Led Lord of the Admiralty,

Churchill, to consider

Ottoman Empire's position

On side of central powers –

To crush Turkey was surely

A simple way to end war; 1915,

February began Dardanelles.

Seemingly a sea campaign

Would make the success to break

The Straits - to link with Russia.

But too many setbacks,

Meant boots on ground

Was the way to take Peninsula.

A British navy then would take

The capital for a Turk armistice.

A boost of troops were available

From Australasian waters -

20,000 men, to be placed

Under full control of the English -

Young men from colonial country,

Felt fortunate to travel

Back to the home country;

An athletic army built to impress.

ii The Plan

The reality was not to be;

New Zealanders and Australians

Found themselves stationed

About Egypt, in preparations

For another more temporary

Front, to crack the stalemate -

The Sphinx and Pyramids,

Witnessed sight of a new war era.

After weeks of heated training,

Came the orders on 19 April 1915.

All Anzac training halted,

As a new gear shifted into place -

Yet weather halted first intentions

For 23 April - so they waited.

Prepared plans laid out would

See a dawn landing in combined

Forces of English, French,

Anzacs and Gurkhas -

Between Gaba Tepe Headland

And the Fisherman’s Hut -

Naval shelling with wave one

To seize lower crests to Hill 971.

Leapfrog of wave 2 to gain Hill 971

And Mal Tepe - then cut off

Enemy communications, halting

Turks reinforcements at Kilid

Bahr. At another beach landing

British 29^th, southwest;

Mal Tepe being more vital 

Than the Kilid Bahr Plateau.

British control stated arrival to be

As the moon set 3.30 a.m. - one

Hour before dawn at the Peninsula -

With weather delays, 24 April

Saw Royal Naval Battleships

Cued up, carrying troops;

Triumph, London, Prince of Wales,

Majestic and other cruisers.

Seven destroyers, four transports

Made up their numbers

With Anzac force remainders

On transport ships - amid them

30,000 French and 50,000

British – yet secrecy not so secret,

With Turk and German allies aware.

  

In knowledge of massed movements,

An attempt of invasion across

Turkish soil had been guessed

By the central powers – a likelihood

Would be to land at one of four places;

Gaba Tepe, Cape Helles, Bulair

Or Asiatic Coast of the Dardanelles.

With German support the Turkish

5^th Army were prepared by 24 March;

In six corps divisions

And cavalry Brigades -10,000 men

Then under control of German

General Otto Liman von Sanders -

Turkish defence preparations

Were then in place at Gaba Tepe.

Other Turkish corps and cavalry

Awaited on side of European

Mainland - Defences stood ready

From Cape Helles to Bulair,

With troops posted at Maidos –

All was a waiting game - where

Would colonial and allied forces

Carry out their attacks?           

iii Anzacs Born

A forceful, sturdy Anzac army

Had long left their Australian

And New Zealand shores

For Egyptian training - arrival began

1 a.m. In silence of a dark sea, dawn

Was yet to break, as British ships

Made avast. From six companies

Sat 36 rowing boats and 12 steamers.

2 a.m. and ships were spied moving

At sea by a Turkish sentry –

The 9^th Division warned by 2.20 a.m.

2.53 a.m. slowly about the Aegean,

An allied armada moved closer

To the peninsular - 40 tugs

Held still at 50 yards - under power

Of oars Anzacs approached.

It became apparent that they were

Landing a mile further north -

Other Anzacs were already ashore

At Ari Burnu - 'Z' beach -

The time was approaching 4.30 a.m.

As Turkish sentries started

To fire on the boats  -

Anzacs waded ashore

Bullets screamed overhead.

Out in the open, in slow lifting

Darkness they had come ashore

In navigation error; no open beaches-

Ahead sharp cliffs and ridges

Would hinder advance attacks

Yet mis-luck had brought them

To a less defended Gaba Tepe.

The plan had been a landing

Further south, with beach defences

Of a strong point and artillery battery

Close by - countered by some luck,

That in the cove they had touched,

Was defended by hills from direct

Turkish artillery  - yet resilient

Anzacs pushed on ashore.

Orders came to jump from

The boat, to engage the enemy -

A release came of adrenalin,

In a rush to get to shore - they

Had to wade – some too far –

Depending where the boat

Halted – some slipped

In sudden sharp wet,

When silence broke.

Sounds of cracks

Then bullets zinging -

Hot metal in the air –

Ben Drake hit the water, waist

High, missed his footing, to slip

Tipping under water -

Someone grabbed his arm

Pulled him up again -

He broke the surface,

Breathing hard.

The man who helped tipped

Forward himself,

As a bullet hit his head.

'Come on' screamed

His mate, pushing him

Through the shock;

Ethan led the way.

Holding guns high

They clumsy made their way,

In dark, onto a dark shore.

iV Mates on Boats

Only a short time before, thought Ben, both

He and Ethen and their mates had been

Aboard a British ship - everything silent,

Except for subdued voices and command

Of officers - yet to feel the shock of battle.

4 a.m. hundreds, maybe thousands on deck -

Packed tight together - blokes being all keyed

Up - uniformed, in full pack and darkness

Made it hard to see any mates - snatched

Calls, despite reprimands, formed mates groups.

A deck was a sea of digger hats; Ben felt good

Among his friends beside him - Ethan, his old pal

From years as kids, had met Archie, Beau Marcus

In billet camps amongst old Egyptian Pyramids.

They were able to stick stubbornly together as

They were ordered to form orderly lines, Ben Drake

Considered himself lucky - The five of them close

Shouldered, solid arms as hands held rifles tight.  

Despite lack of space was good tempered, after all

They were not there to fight each other, just Abdul.

With lowered voices talking, their close breathing

Mingled in random thoughts and words but not war.

The Anzacs were all keyed up ready to go...

V All Keyed Up

Like one slow mass, we moved forward.

It was like boarding the Sydney trains -

Yet we were going down to waters edge,

Down the side of the grey ship into boats.

We stepped abit clumsily like into a boat-

Not the sort of rowing boat a bloke might

Take a girl out in, of a afternoon in a park;

These were bigger boats to take numbers.

It rocked slightly, with the climbing weight

Of us finding space - Ethan was in front

Of me - I hesitated at a pom officer told

Those behind us to wait for the next boat.

It was Beau, Marcus and Archie - I looked

At our separation - they nodded cheery,

Saying they would see us on shore  - 'the

Last one would be the biggest chook.'

We sat there all keyed up, ready to go...

'Get the Drongos' called Marcus, getting

An officers warning - then we had to wait,

Wait for the other boats to fill - we were in

The second - there were 34 more to go.

I saw Ethan next to me shake a little, I asked

If he was okay - he gave his usual grin, to say

That he was excited but might need a dunny.

No worries,' I lied  - 'it’ll all come real good.'

Then out there some where in the darkness,

The shapes of steamers stated to pulled us

On - the ropes took the tension and started

Off – just as some bloke made a liquid laugh.

Some were even more keyed up, ready to go...

Vi Wave One

The blokes grumbled, as Ethan said

They were mainly Enzedders in front

Of us, as I reckoned that Beau, Marcus

And Archie would be in the third boat.

Time played a kind of trick -  like

Sleeping with my eyes open wide -

Everything had brought me there

From home on the Baulkham Hills.

Recruiters had promised us the journey

Back to the home country - the belief

Had been to defend that little island -

To fight on French and Belgium soil.

Christmas had been spent in shade

Of weird pyramids  - an affair of dusty

Stew, but not so bad - It was about then

Our divisions first formed the Anzacs.

It was an odd adventure to find us

In another country, filled with heat,

Dust and big flies - even food had

All tasted sandy, rather than salty.

Daily drilling had mixed with rumours,

That Palestine might have been our

Destination - nothing was quite sure -

Turned out we were saved for Turks.

Beau, Marcus, Archie, Ethan and me

All cracked on together easily - days

Of training were split well enough,

To experience some Egypt pleasures.

Marcus and me had pocket Kodak’s

And put them to use, as we larked

About on camel backs and donkeys -

One good day was spent on a pyramid.

We climbed it all and sat at the top

For photos to be taken - then there

Was Cairo, good for cheap food -

Then off main streets for business.

Places where women could be our

Closest friends - all very legal like −

Three mates went off with some,

But Ethan and I didn't venture far.

Vii Cove of Anzacs

I came back to the boat with a bump -

Now with mutterings and movements.

This was it - time had arrived, moments

Were slowed, then suddenly in speed.

Out the boats; slipping, standing -

The man next to me falls dead -

Ethan pushes me on, wading out

Of the depth into the shock of hell.

Lead was flying all about, but as

One did not hit me, I did not guess

Why - now our minds were fixed

With objective, beyond watery chills.

Through water over to the open

Ground - but it had all gone wrong.

Men all about me were all mixed up;

Noise like Sunday bathers in sea.

We ran, but the boats had not

Arrived in order - a dark shape

Of a cliff rose up, just beyond

Sea’s edge - Ethan was beside me.

I lost sight of him - I paused two

Bullets clipped both my arms - like

Insect bites - I called out to him

He was lying by my feet - I stooped.

I saw the bloody wound on the side

Of his face - I panicked, he told

Me to go on - he squeezed my hand

He dropped into water, deep red.

Angry then, I rushed forward - some

Pommy officer said 'that way' before

He was shot - wherever we were,

We had to get up that high ground.

It was steep for sure and I followed

Others - grabbing onto gorse bushes

Using my bayonet for leverage -

Up I went like some gone mad man.

Up till I stopped and hung, I held

On for what seemed a long age -

Others about climbed past me,

But I stopped still for eternity.

Now I rest in Anzac Cove.

by Jamie Mann.

           

Source: File: Landing at Anzac Cove. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_at_Anzac_Cove> [Accessed: 25 April 2015].

Source: File: Gallipoli Campaign. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign> [Accessed: 25 April 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 25 April 2015). 

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