The Nek

The Battle of The Nek - 7th August 1915 - Gallipoli

George Lambert painting - 1924 "The charge of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at the Nek, 7th August 1915"

On 7 August 1915 the Australians and Turks faced each other over a narrow strip of open ground on Gallipoli; the Australians were met with a torrent of gunfire and four out of five who took part in the assault were killed or wounded. In its futility, if not for its scale, this charge was one of the tragedies of the First World War. The attack was made against a small section of the Turkish line at Gallipoli. Through an error in timing, the preliminary bombardment of the enemy lines ceased seven minutes before the assault, allowing the Turks plenty of time to prepare for the Australians. The fighting was over within an hour. More than 300 Australians died in this brief, savage encounter, and it does not seem that the charge caused the death of a single Turk. The action is best known through its depiction in the film Gallipoli (1981).

Portrait of 304 Lance Corporal Arthur Norman Tetley Of King Island, Tasmania, 8th Light Horse Regiment. He was in the first line in the charge at the Nek on 7 August 1915. He died of wounds aboard a hospital ship on 8 August 1915.

The attack was scheduled to commence at 4.30 am on August 7th and was to be preceded by a naval bombardment. The 8th and 10th Light Horse regiments were to advance in a total of four waves of 150 men each, two waves per regiment. Each wave would advance two minutes apart. Coloured marker flags were carried, to be shown from the captured trenches to indicate success.

On the morning of the 7th it was clear that the prerequisites for the attack had not been met. In particular, there would be no simultaneous attack from the rear of Baby 700. The New Zealand advance was held up and they were not to reach Chunuk Bair until the morning of August 8th, a day late. Also an attack from Steele's Post against German Officers' Trench by the 6th Battalion had failed. The Turkish machine guns sited there enfiladed the ground in front of Quinn's Post and the Nek. Yet Major General Sir Alexander Godley, commander of the New Zealand and Australian Division of which the 3rd Light Horse Brigade was then a part, declared that the attack was to proceed.

Due to a failure to synchronise watches, the naval bombardment finished 7 minutes early, giving the Turkish defenders ample time to return to their trenches and prepare for the assault that they now knew was coming. The first wave of 150 men from the 8th Light Horse Regiment, led by their commander, Lieutenant Colonel A.H. White, went over the top at the planned time and ran into a hail of machine gun and rifle fire. A few men reached the Turkish trenches, and marker flags were reportedly seen flying, but they were quickly overwhelmed.

The second wave of 150 followed the first without question and met the same fate. This was the ultimate tragedy of the Nek, that the attack was not halted after the first wave when it was clear that it was futile. A simultaneous attack by the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (1st Light Horse Brigade) at Quinn's Post against the Turkish trench system known as "The Chessboard" was abandoned after 49 out of the 50 men in the first wave became casualties. In this case, the regiment's commander had not gone in the first wave and so was able to make the decision to cancel.

Lieutenant Colonel N.M. Brazier, commander of the 10th Light Horse Regiment, attempted to have the third wave cancelled. He was unable to find Colonel Hughes and unable to persuade the brigade-major, Lt Col J.M. "Bull" Antill who believed the reports that marker flags had been sighted. So the third wave attacked and was wiped out. Finally Hughes called off the attack but confusion in the fire trench led to some of the fourth wave going over.

Lt Col Murray Brazier - Commanding Officer of the 10th Light Horse Regiment at The Nek 7th August 1915

The Australian casualties from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade numbered 372; 234 from the 8th Light Horse Regiment, of which 154 were killed, and 138 from the 10th, of which 80 were killed. The Turkish losses were negligible on this occasion. When Commonwealth burial parties returned to the peninsula in 1919, the bones of the dead light horsemen were still lying on the small piece of ground.

The Turkish monument, erected on the 'Nek' shortly after the evacuation in honour of those who fell in the severe fighting around this area. Note the thigh bone in the foreground and scattered skeletal remains to the left. Photograph taken on the Gallipoli Peninsula under the direction of Captain C E W Bean of The Australian Historical Mission, during the months of February and March, 1919.

Officers and Men of the 8th Light Horse Regiment Killed at The Nek.

B Squadron and half of A Squadron in first line.
C Squadron and other half of A Squadron second line.

Lt Col A.H.White, CO 8th LHR
Lt C.C.Dale, Adjutant
Sig M.D.Griffiths No 621, RHQ
Tpr C.H.Walsh N0 22, RHQ

A Squadron -
Lt (T/Capt) C.Talbot-Woods, OC right of 1st line
Lt L.W.H.Anderson, OC "A"Troop, DoW
2ndLt T.S.Howard, OC "C"Troop
Sgt C.Grenfell, ("C" Sqdn) OC "D"Troop
Sgt E.H.R.Palmer No 41, "A" Troop
Sgt H.G.Roberts No 42
Sgt H.O.Bohlsen No 46
Sgt H.Cowell No 70
Sgt J.L.Connor No 115
Cpl H.G.Gordon No 893
LCpl A.Cavanagh No 129
Dvr A.G.Cumming No 58
Tpr A.E.Carpenter No 59
" S.Taylor No 75
" A.B.Kinnaird No 83
" O.E.Danaldson No 89, "A"Troop
" T.Longmore No 132
" H.Lennon No 133
" J.E.Moysey No 138
" W.E.Newton No 142
" V.K.Walton No 150
" J.Considine No 151
" D.F.Cole No 156, DoW
" A.W.Fyffe No 158
" J.Hay No 168
" W.McElhinny No 177
" J.G.F.Thompson No 184
" B.L.O'Mullane No 554
" C.Benson No 601
" J.P.Cameron No 686
" P.H.Beckett No 806
" S.Edmiston No 817
" B.Forbes No 821
" E.Gibbs No 824
" R.Wallace No 850 (R.W.Richardson)
" H.E.Eyers No 889
" G.Stenzel No 919
" W. Toleman No 923

B Squadron -
Major T.H.Redford, CO. OC left of 1st line
Lt E.E.Henty OC "A"Troop
Lt K.Borthwick OC "B"Troop
2ndLt C.G.Marsh OC "C"Troop
Lt E.G.Wilson OC "D"Troop
SSM C.H.Cameron No 300
Sgt V.N.Raymond No 198
Sgt T.C.Forde No 265, "C"Troop
Sgt J.B.Pickett N0 232
Cpl A.S.Bowker No 233
Cpl R.G.Hindhaugh No 200
Cpl A.D.Bethune No 234A
Cpl P.G.Dewhurst No 694
Cpl H.R.C.Currie No 884
LCpl G.T.Hughes No 201
LCpl J.A.Anderson No 235
LCpl J.Boswell No 209
LCpl J.F.L.Weatherhead No 298
Tpr L.G.Finn No 212
" W.A.Hind No 213, "A"Troop
" D.M.McG.Johnson No 217
" C.M.Wingrove No 225
" J.Conway No 240
" W.H.Gale No 245
" B.Hill No 247
" R.D.Harris No 250
" A.R.Knight No 251
" R.R.Mitchell No 254
" R.Martin No 255
" A.S.Williams No 261
" S.J.McColl No 263
" G.B.Omerod No 264, "A"Troop
" H.N.Clayton No 281
" E.S.Goulden No 286
" J.G.L.Goyne No 287
" C.T.Sutherland No 296
" M.A.Cakebread No 311
" C.Holmberg No 314, DoW
" J.J.Jolly No 316
" A.Nicholson No 325
" J.W.Winnett No 333, DoW
" C.H.Cramond No 534
" F.W.Kemp No 547
" W.Essay No 618
" G.R.Hope No 623
" J.Duffy No 662
" F.L.A.A'Beckett No 678
" R.C.S.Alban No 682
" J.Palmer No 702 (A.S.Dunn)
" S.James No 742
" H.McCarthy No 744
" A.Preece No 746
" J.V.Airey No 755
" M.E.Larkin No 762
" A.A.Anderson No 801
" D.Body No 805
" A.Jones No 828
" M.F.King No 831
" R.V.W.Lees No 834
" J.M.Carney No 854
" S.Arbuthnot No 876
" J.A.Bell No 878
" G.L.Graham No 894
" J.Hastings No 896
" W.Lang No 898
" O.J.Mathies No 903
" C.R.McAnally No 906
" W.R.Patterson No910
" E.L.Shearsmith No 913

Lt H.E.Whitehead (Org Tpr No 545) KIA Shrapnel, reserve trench Russell's Top, afternoon of 7th Aug.

C Squadron
Lt C.Carthew OC "A"Troop
Lt G.M.Grant ("B" Sqdn) OC "B"Troop
Sgt S.J.O'Neil No 432
Cpl H.Grace No 709
LCpl W.Tosh No 551, DoW
Tpr V.E.Blakeney No 338
Dve W.Burke No 342
Tpr A.G.Evans No 368
" A.L.Evans No 369
" T.Jones No 394
" R.Kerr No 400
" P.J.Sweeney No 451 (841)
" H.S.Sheldon No 453
Dvr R.Williamson No 475
Tpr R. Beilby No 527
" E.P.Hendy No 541, DoW
" A.H.Morton No 542
" G.J.S.Anderson No 544
" W.S.Anderson No 608
" J.A.Stewart No 643
" W.Combs No 689
" T.L.Dwyer No 692
" T.A.Dudderidge No 693
" F.Roderick No 715
" J.J.Wilson No 729
" A.J.Stanford No 750
" A.D.Trewin No 752
" R.O.Alexander No 756
" F.G.Hall No 760
" T.R.Murray No 766
" T.G.Coates No 776
" W.Dow No 781
" W.B.Welch No 784
" H.E.Stanley No 857
" N.Tackaberry No 858
" R.Bowering No 880
" W.E.Barton No 881
" H.Hoskin No 897
Sig G.T.Grant No 929, "A"Troop

Died of Wounds (within a few days):

Trooper Charles Kelly No 130, A Squadron. Buried at Sea.
Lionel William Cole No 155, A Squadron. Buried at Anzac Cove. No known Grave.
Frederick Gilbert Gipps No 160, A Squadron. Buried Anzac Cove, No known Grave.
LCpl Arthur Norman Tetley No 304, B Squadron. Died at Sea aboard Hospital Ship. Buried at Sea just off Anzac Cove.
Trooper Frederick Payne No 327, B Squadron. Died aboard Hospital ship "Delta". Buried at Sea.
LCpl John Henry Baker No 208, B Squadron. Buried at Chatby Cemetery, Egypt.
Trooper Edward Reuben Somerville No 722, B Squadron. Buried East Mundros Military Cemetery, Lemnos.

Officers and men of the 10th Light horse Regiment killed at the charge at the Nek.

James Anderson. No 778.
William Fleming Anderson. No 101. Age 33Years.
Sgt. Duncan Farquhar Bain. No 364. " 29 "
Harold Barraclough. No. 103. " 20 "
William Blake. No. 372.
Horace Bower. No. 934.
Edgar Vernon Brady. No. 709. " 33 "
Hubert Howden Brockman. No. 69.
Fredrick John Bunce. No. 379. " 31 "
L/Cpl. Thomas Francis Burges. No. 165.
Albert James Butler. No. 712.
Percival James Cameron. No. 937. " 32 "
Henry Thomas Chipper. No. 860.
L/Cpl. Lindsay Lewis Chipper. No. 97. " 28 "
Ross Richard Vivian Chipper. No. 68. " 31 "
Albert George Cobb. No. 142. " 28 "
Herbert Alfred Collins. No.787. " 21 "
Tom Combley. No. 93. " 22 "
Richard Edward Cumming. No.139.
Robert Dudley Davis. No.718.
Reginald Garry Dempster. No. 539.
Amos Leonard Doust. No. 166. " 29 "
Cpl. Denis DuVal. No.394. " 36 "
Norman Charles Dyer. No.84. " 26 "
William Eustace. No.1804. DOW " 24 "
John Charles Eyre. No.153.
Sgt.Basil Middleton Fenwick. No.109.
Jack Flux. No.521.
Cpl. Richard Andrew Forbes. No.403. " 24 "
William Hahn. No.728. " 28 "
Arthur Hancock. No.828.
Gresley Harper. No.113. " 31 "
A/QMS. Wilfred Lukin. No.114. " 25 "
Oscar Donald Hassell. No.112. " 24 "
Lieut. Thomas James Heller. " 36 "
Henry Hill. No.292.
Raymond Howell. No.803.
Geoffrey Castel Howell. No.96. " 25 "
Lieut. David Alexander Jackson. " 23 "
Frederick William Kirsch. No.141. " 19 "
Louis Alfred Klopper. No.150. " 23 "
William Henry Lailey. No.33.
John Percival Lewis. No.120. " 31 "
Dudley Lukin. No.116.
William Cuthbert Mackenzie. No.813. " 24 "
Sgt. Ernest McAliece. No.170.
L/Cpl.Alfred John McClusky. No.450. " 28 "
John Blacklock McJannet. No.123. " 20 "
Donald Shapley McLean. No.962. " 29 "
Capt. Robert Thompson McMasters.
Henry George McNeill. No.735. " 19 "
Gordon McRae. No.125.
Sgt.Reginald Johnston Moore. No.138. " 36 "
William Reginald Eustice Northey.No.80.
Leonard Parker Payne. No.741. " 22 "
Arthur Albert Pearson. No.325. " 25 "
Ernest Penny. No.966. " 22 "
Capt.Vernon Frederick Piesse. " 26 "
Arthur Thomas Pitts. No.327. " 31 "
Herbert Pope. No.631. " 20 "
Alexander Rae. No.331. DOW. " 33 "
Sgt.Frank Albert Rawlings.No.231. " 27 "
John Regan. No.463. DOW.
George Wallace Richardson.No.82. DOW. " 19 "
Chales Archibald Robinson. No.333. " 37 "
2nd.Lieut.Leopold James Cecil Roskams.
William Allardyce Ross. No.130. " 22 "
Capt.Andrew Percival Rowan. " 39 "
Harold Rush. No.152. " 23 "
George Frederick Henry Sandy.No.891. " 26 "
Sgt.John Andrew Scott. No.226. " 23 "
Cpl.Clarence Shepperd. No.157.
William John Snudden. No.147. " 24 "
Staff S.M.John Springall. No.212.
Clarence Edward Sutton. No.898. " 29 "
Cpl.Thomas Thompson. No.821.
Owen Stanley Timms. No.902. " 34 "
2nd.Lieut.Alexander Phipps Turnbull. " 27 "
Leyshon Villis. No.748.
Frederick Harold Weston. No.357. " 30 "
Edwin James White. No.143. " 19 "
James Thomas Wilkerson. No.71. " 18 "

(Figures from www.lighthorse.org.au)