Australian Army Campaign Series No. 10: The August Offensive at Anzac, 1915

Media: BOOK - paperback, 176 pages
Author: C. Stockings
Year: 2011
ISBN: 9780987057457
Other: b&w & colour photos, maps, further reading, index
Publisher: Army History Unit

The August Offensive or ‘Anzac Breakout’ at Gallipoli saw some of the bloodiest fighting since the landing as Commonwealth and Turkish troops fought desperate battles at Lone Pine, German Officers’ Trench, Turkish Quinn’s, The Chessboard, The Nek, Chunuk Bair, The Farm, Hill Q and Hill 971.

The offensive was designed to allow the allied forces to ‘break out’ of the Anzac beachhead below the Sari Bair Range; its end result was an enlarged prison for which they paid a high price in men and materials.

The appalling nature of the terrain, the complex plan and the overly ambitious objectives set for the already fatigued troops, primitive communications, poor leadership at corps, divisional and brigade level and an impossible timetable, made the ‘fog of war’ a crucial factor. Indeed, the August Offensive clearly demonstrates what happens when an overriding strategic objective does not take into account the tactical difficulties on the ground.

Contents:
Series Introduction
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Planning the August Breakout
2. August 6
3. August 7
4. August 8
5. August 9
6. August 10
Conclusions
Further Reading
Index