Item 02: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett articles on the Gallipoli campaign, 1915 - Page 64

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[Page 64]

The Position Of The Australians At Anzac

I have frequently described this position in previous dispatches and will not do so again. The Australians are now entrenched impregnably and all the Turks in Europe will not shift them. Von Sanders made a final effort on May 18th.-19th., with most disastrous results, as we afterwards buried over three thousand of their dead. This action, the most successful of the war up to date, has had an excellent effect on the spirits of the Colonials who, being a highly intelligent and superior lot of men, had become somewhat discouraged by the failure to achieve any definite success and extremely bored with sitting day after day in trenches.

This position may be described as being fairly comfortable and almost self-contained. That is to say, there is no need to keep battleships perpetually off the coast. On the other hand, a ship or two must be available near at hand to deal with any new batteries the enemy may attempt to place in position to enfilade the beach. I should say it is too much to hope that the enemy will make any further attempt to assault the Anzac position. He is now entrenched up to his neck right round the Australian lines and, unless he is obliged to withdraw the majority of his troops, I do not see it is any more possible for the Australians to drive him back than it is for the Turks to drive the Australian into the sea. Thus, at Anzac you have a perfect stale-mate. There would be no object in sending reinforcements there as the position will not hold another man, being over-crowded as it is, and it could only be extended at very great

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