| Battle of Lone Pine | |||||||
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| Part of First World War | |||||||
.jpg/300px-The_taking_of_Lone_Pine_(Fred_Leist).jpg) The taking of Lone Pine by Fred Leist, 1921. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Frederick William Leist ( 21 August 1878 &ndash 20 March 1945) was an Australian artist and a member of several well known art |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Australia |
 Ottoman Empire |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Harold Walker | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 division | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2,300 | 2,500 | ||||||
The Battle of Lone Pine, which took place during the Gallipoli campaign, was the only successful Australian attack against the Turkish trenches within the original perimeter of the ANZAC battlefield, and yet it was merely a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu Yarımadası is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Lieutenant General Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker KCB, KCMG, DSO ( 26 April, 1862 &ndash 5 November, 1934 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. The Battle of Chunuk Bair was a World War I battle fought between the Turkish defenders and troops of New Zealand and Britain on Turkey's
Contents |
Prelude
The Lone Pine battlefield, named for a solitary Turkish Pine that stood there at the start of the fighting, 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. The Lone Pine was the name given to a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1915 General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD ( 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian 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. Salient Salients can be formed in a number of ways An attacker can produce a salient in the defender's line by either intentionally making a Pincer movement around the 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 General H.B. Walker who had replaced General W.T. Bridges after he was killed by a sniper in May. The 1st Division is the main formation of the Australian Army and contains the majority of the army's regular forces Lieutenant General Sir Harold Bridgwood Walker KCB, KCMG, DSO ( 26 April, 1862 &ndash 5 November, 1934 Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB, CMG ( 18 February 1861 &ndash 18 May 1915) served with READ DISCUSSION PAGE BEFORE MAKING ANY EDITS TO CAPTION BELOW http//en General 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. General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton GCB GCMG DSO TD (16 January 1853 &mdash 12 October 1947 was a general in the British The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
The battle
The width of the front of the attack was 220 yards (200 m) and the distance between the two trench lines was about 100 yards (91 m). To reduce the distance to be crossed, the Australians projected a number of tunnels to within 40 yards (36 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. Some of the attackers would have to make the advance over ground from the Australian trench line. To provide some measure of protection for these men, three mines were set and exploded to make craters in which they could seek shelter. The preliminary bombardment was stretched over three days and was successful in cutting much of the Turkish barbed wire.
At 5. 30 p. m. the Australian 1st Infantry Brigade attacked. A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is 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. 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.
All the ground that was won by the Australians at Lone Pine was actually reached within a couple of hours of the start of the attack. However, the battle itself raged for another six days as the Turks counterattacked incessantly and at great cost. The 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades were poured in to reinforce the Australian gains. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists The fighting took place in the complicated maze of the former Turkish trench system. Hand grenades were the weapon of choice and the close quarters meant that some of them 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. Other bodies were simply pitched over the parapet or left to lie at the bottom of the trench under a thin layer of dirt.
Aftermath
Though a victory for the Australians, the wider repercussions of the attack at Lone Pine weighed heavily on the outcome at Chunuk Bair. Sent north to reinforce Lone Pine, Lieutenant-colonel Hans Kannengiesser's Turkish 9th Division was directed instead to proceed on to Chunuk Bair where, at the time there was only an artillery battery and its 20-man infantry defence. Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant-Colonel in English from the French grade 's spelling is a rank of Commissioned officer in the armies Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine His force arrived in time to seriously delay the New Zealand attack. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island
Seven Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross at Lone Pine, including Corporal William Dunstan, who after the war became the general manager of Keith Murdoch's newspaper The Herald in Melbourne. See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since William Dunstan VC ( 8 March[[ 895]] - 3 March[[ 957]] was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch ( August 12, 1885 - October 4, 1952) was an Australian Journalist and the father of Rupert The Herald and Weekly Times Limited ( HWT) is a Newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. Another VC recipient was Captain A.J. Shout who had already earned the Military Cross and been Mentioned in Dispatches since landing at Gallipoli. Alfred John Shout VC, MC (7 August 1881 &ndash 11 August 1915 was the most highly decorated Australian during the Battle of Gallipoli, The Military Cross ( MC) is the third level Military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993 other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to Mentioned in Despatches (MID is a Military award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service He was mortally wounded at Lone Pine and was buried at sea. The other VC recipients were Privates Leonard Keysor and John Hamilton, Corporal Alexander Burton and Lieutenants Frederick Tubb and William Symons. Leonard Keysor VC (also known as "Keyzor" ( 3 November 1885 - 12 October 1951) was a British recipient in the Australian John Patrick Hamilton VC ( 29 January 1896 - 27 February 1961) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross Alexander Stewart Burton VC (20 January 1893 - 9 August 1915 was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award Frederick Harold Tubb VC ( 28 November 1881 - 20 September 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross William John Symons VC ( 10 July 1889 - 24 June 1948) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the
On ANZAC Day, after the dawn service, Australian visitors congregate at the Lone Pine cemetery for a memorial service to remember all their countrymen who fought and died at Gallipoli.
Memorial "Lone Pine" trees have been planted in Australia , New Zealand and Gallipoli to commemorate the battle and the Gallipoli campaign in general. The Lone Pine was the name given to a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1915
External links
References
- Ch. 20, Gallipoli, Les Carlyon, 2001, ISBN 0-7329-1128-1
- J. Les Carlyon is an Australian writer who was born in northern Victoria in 1942. Hawker, 1990. Lone Pine. Conifer Society of Australia Newsletter 8: 6-7.
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