PANEL 4

TURKISH COUNTER-ATTACK

Countless dead, countless!
It was impossible to count.
Memish Bayraktir, Turkish soldier

By mid-May the initial attempt to seize the Dardanelles had failed. The British clung to the small gains they had made. The Turkish army now mounted a major attack to drive the Australians and New Zealanders from Anzac.

In the darkness of the early hours of 19 May, Turkish soldiers advanced in waves on their enemies. The Turks were met with a concentrated fire that kept them from entering the Anzac trenches, except in one or two places.

For about six hours the Turks pressed their attack only to be driven back. Over 10,000 Turkish soldiers were hit and an estimated 3,000 lay dead between the lines. In this battle the Australians and New Zealanders lost 160 dead and 468 wounded. The Turkish bodies lay out in the open sun until 24 May when a truce was arranged to permit burial of the dead.

A Turkish officer is led blindfolded through the Anzac lines to discuss a truce to bury the Turkish dead after the attack of 19 May 1915.
(Australian War Memorial H03952)