At the south-eastern extremity of the beach, between the shore and the
village, stands the old fort of Sedd-el-Bahr, a battered ruin with wide
breaches in its walls and mounds of fallen masonry within and around
it. On the ridge to the north, overlooking the amphitheatre, stands a
ruined barrack. Both of these buildings, as well as No. 1 Fort, had
been long bombarded by the Fleet, and the guns of the forts had been
put out of action; but their crumbled walls and the ruined outskirts
of the village afforded cover for riflemen, while from the terraced
slopes already described the defenders were able to command the open
beach, as a stage is overlooked from the balconies of a theatre. On
the very margin of the beach a strong barbed-wire entanglement, made
of heavier metal and longer barbs than I have ever seen elsewhere,
ran right across from the old fort of Sedd-el-Bahr to the foot of the
north-western headland. Two-thirds of the way up the ridge a second and
even stronger entanglement crossed the amphitheatre, passing in front
of the old barrack and ending in the outskirts of the village. A third
transverse entanglement, joining these two, ran up the hill near the
eastern end of the beach, and almost at right angles to it. Above the
upper entanglement the ground was scored with the enemy's trenches, in
one of which four pom-poms were emplaced; in others were dummy pom-poms
to draw fire, while the debris of the shattered buildings on either
flank afforded cover and concealment for a number of machine guns,
which brought a cross-fire to bear on the ground already swept by rifle
fire from the ridge.
Needless to say, the difficulties in the way of previous reconnaissance
had rendered it impossible to obtain detailed information with regard
either to the locality or to the enemy's preparations.
As often happens in war, the actual course of events did not quite
correspond with the intentions of the Commander. The _River Clyde_ came
into position off Sedd-el-Bahr in advance of the tows, and, just as the
latter reached the shore, Commander Unwin beached his ship also. Whilst
the boats and the collier were approaching the landing-place the Turks
made no sign. Up to the very last moment it appeared as if the landing
was to be unopposed. But the moment the first boat touched bottom the
storm broke. A tornado of fire swept over the beach, the incoming
boats, and the collier. The Dublin Fusiliers and the naval boats' crews
suffered exceedingly heavy losses while still in the boats. Those who
succeeded in landing and in crossing the strip of sand managed to gain
some cover when they reached the low escarpment on the further side.
None of the boats, however, was able to get off again, and they and
their crews were destroyed upon the beach.
Now came the moment for the _River Clyde_ to pour forth her living
freight; but grievous delay was caused here by the difficulty of
placing the lighters in position between the ship and the shore.
A strong current hindered the work and the enemy's fire was so
intense that almost every man engaged upon it was immediately shot.
Owing, however, to the splendid gallantry of the naval working
party, the lighters were eventually placed in position, and then the
disembarkation began.
A company of the Munster Fusiliers led the way; but, short as was the
distance, few of the men ever reached the farther side of the beach
through the hail of bullets which poured down upon them from both
flanks and the front. As the second company followed, the extemporized
pier of lighters gave way in the current. The end nearest to the shore
drifted into deep water, and many men who had escaped being shot were
drowned by the weight of their equipment in trying to swim from the
lighter to the beach. Undaunted workers were still forthcoming, the
lighters were again brought into position, and the third company of the
Munster Fusiliers rushed ashore, suffering heaviest loss this time from
shrapnel as well as from rifle, pom-pom, and machine-gun fire.