Gallipoli battles to be commemorated

The Gallipoli August Offensive, 100 years ago this week, will be commemorated at ceremonies in Turkey and Australia

A hundred years ago this week, the Gallipoli campaign climaxed with a series of costly battles that failed to break through Turkish lines and led to the decision to withdraw.

This was the August Offensive, which will be commemorated with events in Turkey and Australia.

For Australia, the major event was the Battle of Lone Pine which saw some of the fiercest fighting of the entire campaign with more than 2000 Australian casualties and seven Victoria Crosses awarded for bravery.

Described by one participant as "one of the greatest hand to hand fights in the history of the world", this opened at 5.30pm on August 6 and ran for the next four days.

The aim was to seize a football field-sized section of Turkish trenches and that was completely successful. But Turkish troops fought back, staging repeated counter-attacks along the trenches.

This was appalling, intimate combat, with each side separated by metres, the wounded unable to be evacuated and the dead lying underfoot in the summer heat

The main Australian commemoration will be held at Lone Pine Cemetery starting at 5pm. Unlike, the centenary of the April 25 landing, there's no ballot for attendance, although numbers will be limited to 5000.

For New Zealand, the main commemoration will be held on August 8.

That marks the Battle of Chunuk Bair when the Wellington Battalion seized one of the key heights of the Sari Bair range. For New Zealanders, this was the high point of their involvement in the Gallipoli campaign.

In Australia, the August Offensive will be marked at the Australian War Memorial's Last Post Ceremony.

On August 6, that will feature the life of Private Mark Smith of Inverell, NSW, killed at the start of the Battle of Lone Pine.

On August 7, the ceremony will feature the life of Trooper Gresley Harper killed with his younger brother Wilfred in the tragic charge at The Nek.

Wilfred Harper is regarded as the model for Archie Hamilton in the 1981 film Gallipoli.


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Source: AAP


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