Turning now to where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps were
perched upon the cliffs of Sari Bair, I must begin by explaining that
their _rôle_ at this stage of the operations was--first, to keep open
a door leading to the vitals of the Turkish position; secondly, to
hold up as large a body as possible of the enemy in front of them,
so as to lessen the strain at Cape Helles. Anzac, in fact, was cast
to play second fiddle to Cape Helles, a part out of harmony with the
dare-devil spirit animating those warriors from the South, and so it
has come about that, as your Lordship will now see, the defensive of
the Australians and New Zealanders has always tended to take on the
character of an attack.
The line held during the period under review by the Australian and New
Zealand Army Corps formed a rough semi-circle inland from the beach
of Anzac Cove, with a diameter of about 1,100 yards. The firing line
is everywhere close to the enemy's trenches, and in all sections of
the position sapping, counter-sapping, and bomb attacks have been
incessant. The shelling both of the trenches and beaches has been
impartial and liberal. As many as 1,400 shells have fallen on Anzac
within the hour, and these of all calibres, from 11 inches to field
shrapnel. Around Quinn's Post, both above and below ground, the contest
has been particularly severe. This section of the line is situated on
the circumference of the Anzac semicircle at the furthest point from
its diameter. Here our fire trenches are mere ledges on the brink of
a sheer precipice falling 200 feet into the valley below. The enemy's
trenches are only a few feet distant.