Chapter 80 – Ellis

Most of the details in this chapter are taken from an account By Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett in The Uncensored Dardanelles. A description of the captured Turkish trenches on Lala Baba is given on p. 187 and a detailed description of Ashmead-Bartlett’s experiences and observations at Suvla on 9 August 1915 are provided on pp. 188-190. Many of the details and descriptions are taken directly from this first-hand account, including his walk from Ghazi Baba to Lala Baba, observations of British troops from Lala Baba and then seeing General Sir Ian Hamilton standing along and in a state of despair on the beach near Ghazi Baba at the end of the day. Ashmead Bartlett concludes “To the Commander-in-Chief it must have been obvious at this hour that his final effort to reach the Narrows had failed.”

Charles Bean includes a description planned Suvla advance for the August 1915 offensive, and a map showing Ghazi Baba and Lala Baba and the north point and south point, respectively, of Suvla Bay in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol II, (p. 467). The map also shows the location of W Hills. A map also showing the location of Scimitar Hill is included on p. 179.