PANEL 2

LANDING

You have got through the difficult business, now you dig, dig, dig, until you are safe.
General Sir Ian Hamilton
British commander-in-chief, Gallipoli

At dawn on 25 April 1915 soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) began landing on Gallipoli here at North Beach and around Anzac Cove (Anzac Koyu) to the south of the nearby headland, Ari Burnu. They were followed by the New Zealand Infantry Brigade. The aim that day was to capture the heights of the Sari Bair range and then press inland to Mal Tepe to cut off Turkish reinforcements to Cape Helles. From the beach, groups of men rushed up steep, scrub-covered slopes towards the high ground.

At first the few Turkish defenders were pushed back. Isolated groups of Australians and New Zealanders fought their way to where they could see the Dardanelles. As the day progressed Turkish resistance strengthened. By nightfall none of the objectives had been reached. The commanders on the spot recommended withdrawal but were ordered instead to dig in and hold on. This area of Gallipoli captured on 25 April became known for the rest of the campaign as Anzac.

Anzac, the landing, 1915 (detail) by George Lambert.
(Australian War Memorial)