The Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault of the Battle of Gallipoli

Battle of Gallipoli

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...

. It was launched on 21 August 1915 to coincide with the attack on Scimitar Hill made from the Suvla front by General Stopford

Frederick Stopford

Lieutenant General Sir Frederick William Stopford, KCB, KCMG, KCVO was a British Army officer.-Military career:...

's British IX Corps. Hill 60 was a low knoll at the northern end of the Sari Bair range which dominated the Suvla landing. Capturing this hill along with Scimitar Hill would have allowed the Anzac

Anzac Cove

Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...

 and Suvla landings to be securely linked.

Prelude

The original objective of the Battle of Sari Bair

Battle of Sari Bair

The Battle of Sari Bair , also known as the August Offensive, was the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during First World War.The Battle of Gallipoli had raged on two fronts, Anzac and Helles, for three months since...

, which commenced on the night of 6 August, were the peaks of Hill 971 and Chunuk Bair. The latter peak had been captured by New Zealand

Dominion of New Zealand

The Dominion of New Zealand is the former name of the Realm of New Zealand.Originally administered from New South Wales, New Zealand became a direct British colony in 1841 and received a large measure of self-government following the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852...

 infantry before being relinquished in an overwhelming Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 counter-attack. The attack on Hill 971 never eventuated as the assaulting column became lost and then pinned down by the defenders.

With the major battle effectively lost, the British

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 commanders turned their attention to consolidating their meagre gains. With Hill 971 out of reach, Hill 60 appeared an attainable objective. The attacking force was based on General John Monash

John Monash

General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...

's Australian 4th Infantry Brigade, which had spearheaded the advance on Hill 971 and had taken up positions in a gully, now known as Australia Valley, that led towards Hill 60. Also involved were the remnants of the 29th Indian Brigade, two regiments of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade

New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, consisting usually of four units of mounted infantry, fought in World War I and World War II. Initially a milita, under the instruction of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Henry Banks they formed the core of the New Zealand Army following successful service in the...

 (Canterbury and Otago) and three British New Army

Kitchener's Army

The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...

 battalions. All battalions were severely under strength with many of the soldiers wracked by dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...

.

Battle

On the afternoon of 21 August the first assault was made by Australians of the 13th

13th Battalion (Australia)

The 13th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised for the 1st Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, it was formed just six weeks after the start of the war. Along with the 14th, 15th and 16th Battalions which were recruited from New South Wales,...

 and 14th Battalions

14th Battalion (Australia)

The 14th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Originally raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force for service in World War I, the battalion served at Gallipoli initially before being sent to France where it served in the trenches along the Western Front until...

 together with the 5th Battalion of the Connaught Rangers. With no effective artillery support, under fire from Hill 60 and neighbouring Hill 100, the infantry were decimated. The undergrowth caught fire, burning to death many of the wounded. By nightfall the Indian Brigade had managed a foothold at the base of the hill.

On 22 August the attack was reinforced by the Australian 18th Battalion

18th Battalion (Australia)

The 18th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. During World War I, the battalion was raised in 1915 as part of the Australian Imperial Force, attached to the 5th Brigade, of the 2nd Division...

 which was part of the newly arrived Australian 2nd Division. The men were fresh and healthy, in stark contrast to the veteran troops, but were inexperienced and ill-equipped, even by Gallipoli standards. Attacking with bayonet

Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

 only, they suffered 383 casualties in their first attack.

The attack resumed on 27 August and further progress was made up the slope but the summit of the hill was still held by the Ottomans. Now the Australians

Military history of Australia during World War I

In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support for the Empire alongside other Commonwealth nations and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to...

 from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade

3rd Light Horse Brigade

The 3rd Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force which served in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I....

, who had fought at The Nek, were fed into the battle as reinforcements. On the night of 27 August 1915, the 9th Light Horse Regiment were sent in to what proved to be the final assault on Hill 60. One wave of about 80 men led by the new Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Reynell lost its way and was caught in the open by Ottoman machine gunners. The result was the death of Reynell and 27 men.A full list of these men is available at 9th LHR and Hill 60 On 28 August the Australians captured some of the Ottoman trenches at the summit but the Ottomans clung to the vital northern face which overlooked Suvla.

Aftermath

Attacking and counter-attacking continued until 29 August when the Allied offensive finally ceased. The Australian 18th Battalion was reduced to one third of its original strength after less than a fortnight of action. Today, the hill is the location of the Hill 60 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Hill 60 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery

Hill 60 Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery dating from World War I at the Northern end of the former Anzac sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey and the location of Hill 60 Memorial, one of four memorials on the peninsula which commemorate New Zealanders killed in the...

.