Evacuation of Gallipoli
The failure of the August Offensive meant that success could not be achieved at Gallipoli.
A visit by Field Marshcall Lord Kitchener in November prompted the decision to withdraw all Allied troops from the Gallipoli Peninsula. So, after 8 long, bloody months and with winter fast approaching, the much tried troops started to put into place preparations for evacuation.
However, it was felt that the casualty figure could be as high as 70%,
A plan for evacuation was put into place by Chief of Staff, General White. He decided to slowly withdraw men and equipment whilst giving the Turks the impression that everything was normal. In the lead up to the actual evacuations, some of the tactics included:
- "Silent stunts" - periods where there was no shooting or activity from the Anzac lines.
- "Smoking fatigues" - groups of men standing and talking in areas known to be under observation by Turkish artillery. This included the famous cricket match played at Shell Green.
Then, over 11 nights from the 8th to the 20th of December 1915, 90 000 troops were quietly and efficiently evacuated from the Anzac beaches and the Suvla Bay area. On the last night, only 5000 troops manned the Anzac trenches. Ironically, after thinking that there would be a very high casualty rate, the evacuation became the most successful operation of the whole campaign - with only 2 men slightly wounded.
During the evacuation, the troops were very disciplined and organised and they were generally glad to be leaving. However, all of them felt bad about leaving their dead comrades behind. There are many stories of Anzac troops visiting and tending the graves of their mates in the days leading up to the evacuation.
Leaving mates behind was the greatest regret, as this excerpt from a poem written in his diary by CQMS A. Guppy, 14th Battalion outlines:
Not only muffled is our tread to cheat the foe,
We fear to rouse our honoured dead to hear us go.
Sleep sound, old friends, the keenest smart, which, more than failure wounds the heart,
Is thus to leave you, thus to part.
Comrades farewell.
After a short rest on Lemnos Island, the troops were transported to Egypt, from where their great "adventure" began. They were very different men, though. In Egypt, the AIF regrouped and reorganised and prepared itself for an ever greater challenge - the Western Front. As events were to prove, the next 3 years were to see even greater suffering and sacrifice.