Gully Ravine. Official Account, 5th July 1915

An official British account of the fighting at Gully Ravine appeared in the local press on 5th July 1915.

“WITH BOMB AND BAYONET.

“TURKS DRIVEN FROM TRENCH TO TRENCH.

“SANGUINARY FIGHTING.

“The Press Association's special correspondent at the Dardanelles telegraphs, under date June 29th, yesterday: As the result of a brilliant attack by our forces a mile of ground was gained on our left front, and the enemy were driven out of five lines of trenches with heavy loss.

“A strategical advantage was gained, which will essentially modify the situation in our favour.

“In order to appreciate what happened it must be remembered that the attack on June 4th left us with an outward bulge in the centre of the line, the centre having been pushed forward about thousand yards in advance of the flanks.

“As far as the right was concerned the inequality was corrected to a certain extent by a French advance last week.

“On the left flank, where, at many points, our trenches were only a few yards from the Turkish, local fighting has been incessant since June 4th.

“The enemy has been bombed out of trench after trench, and has counter-attacked desperately at night. There have been short and bloody scuffles from trench to trench, which have usually resulted in our men bombing and bayonetting the Turks out of the particular section of the trenches attacked.

“To the desperate quality of these mostly unchronicled encounters the condition of the newly-occupied trenches bear sickening witness.

“A DEEP WINDING RAVINE.

“The central part of the position on the left is a long, deep, winding ravine, called by our army “the Nullah,’’ and marked on the Turkish maps as the Saghirdere River, of which it is the bed.

“The nullah runs from the sea for miles to the hill barrier of which Achi-Baba is the central point, where it loses itself in a cluster of smaller ravines. Its course, although very irregular, is roughly parallel with the seashore, and in it you are never more than half a mile from the sea — usually the distance is much less.

“On the left the nullah is separated from the sea by a high narrow plateau, from the seaward edge which you have sheer drop of 400 feet and more to the water's edge.

“The opposing trenches start from the very edge of the cliff across the plateau, dip into the Nullah, and start again from the other side of it, whence they run across the peninsula.

“It was the coastal plateau, from the bottom of the Nullah to the sea, against which the main weight of the attack on June 28th was launched.

“The way for the attack was prepared by the most tremendous hammering from our artillery that the enemy has yet had. At nine o’clock in the morning our heavy artillery, the quantity and weight of which must have been a surprise to the enemy, opened a terrific fire of heavy shells the Turkish trenches, and kept it up for two hours.

“From the sea a number of ships close to Cape Helles, and the Talbot, further up the coast, plastered the enemy's position. The destroyers Wolverine and Scorpion also bore a useful part in hammering the enemy trenches.

“A TERRIFIC HAMMERING.

“It was a magnificent sight from the cliff above Cape Helles to see the huge bursts of smoke and dust leaping in even line following the course of the enemy's trenches with deadly precision.

“High over everything floated an observation balloon, fettered to a ship, spotting for our gunners, who never aimed to better purpose. An enemy aeroplane tried to drop a bomb on the balloon, but missed, and was driven off.

“At 10.30 our field artillery opened fire. Their special target was the barbed wire in front of the enemy's trenches. They were completely successful. Gaps were cut through the wire in all parts of the line as the speed with which the infantry attack was carried to a victorious conclusion showed.

“Now was the time for the work of the infantry to begin. In the bottom of the nullah British and Turkish outposts met a few yards apart with barbed wire barricades and sandbags between them.

“On the right side, that is looking up the nullah, the Turks had a position known as the Boomerang Fort or Boomerang trench from its shape. It is a main trench with innumerable dependent saps running along the side of the ravine, which enters about 100 yards behind what was then the Turkish firing line.

“The Boomerang enfiladed all attempts to advance up or alongside of the ravine, and had been the scene of many bomb attacks which resulted in the capture of Turkish trenches by our men, who were now so close to the Boomerang itself that they had only to leap over their own parapets, cross few yards of ground, and jump into it.

“Needless to say that, as at ordinary times, it was courting death to show one's head above the parapet, the danger of the enterprise could not estimated by the distance.

“The task of capturing the Boomerang was assigned to a famous regiment which has an unbroken record of splendid service since the day of landing in the peninsula.

“WAITING FOR THE ORDER.

“At 10 45, after a preliminary pounding of the Boomerang by high explosive shells and a French trench mortar throwing a very powerful bomb, the order was given to advance. The men were waiting, crouched under the parapets of the trenches with their rifles at the ready.

“All were on raised platforms, or on ladders, so that they could get over the parapet in a single bound. In trench fighting the most dangerous mistake of all is to be slow in getting over the parapet.

“At the signal the men sprang over the top, and rushed across the intervening space, and jumped down into the Boomerang trench. The British troops got into the trench with surprisingly small loss, and. once inside, they made short work of the defenders. The position was captured in a few minutes.

“The main attack was launched at eleven o’clock, when, the artillery extending their range, three battalions rushed the first three lines of the Turkish trenches on the plateau between the cliff and the sea, which were carried in brilliant fashion, the men tearing through the gaps made by our field artillery in the wire.

“The first two trenches are very dose together, and small opposition was encountered. The trenches were full of Turkish dead and about 100 survivors surrendered.

“On the right of the Nullah two battalions delivered a splendid attack simultaneously, capturing two lines of trenches and some prisoners.

“Further to the right and in front of Krithia, our attacks encountered very severe opposition, and practically no headway was made. The real objective, however, was the ground on the left of the Nullah. At 11.30 a.m. an advance was made over lines of trenches already captured, and our men took two more lines of Turkish trenches.

“A SPECTACULAR MOMENT.

“This for the onlookers was the most spectacular moment of the day. These two lines of trenches were separated from the first two by several hundred yards of open ground. Our men could be seen with the sun shining on their bayonets, advancing in magnificent style as if no enemy were near them. The whole operation was carried out in from half an hour to an hour. The enemy were fairly on the run, and could be seen from the ships hurriedly retiring.

“In the afternoon our troops were engaged in beating off the enemy's counter-attacks.

“Turkish artillery was very active, but was outmatched by ours, which, moving its range up as our troops advanced, kept a line of shells bursting on the enemy’s receding front all day.

“At seven in the evening the brigade, which captured the last two lines of trenches, made a further advance, supported by a battalion of Indian troops, to capture a small ravine in front of their position, and in this it succeeded.

“The night was fairly quiet, but about four o'clock in the morning force of about 400 Turks, who had worked their way down the Nullah, climbed up on the plateau between the first and second line of conquered trenches. They were detected and caught by converging maxim and rifle fire, and were crushed. Not more than a quarter escaped back into the Nullah.”

'Nottingham Evening Post', 5th July 1915.