Chapter 92 – Ishmail

Charles Bean records the first “silent stunt” from 6:00pm 24 November to midnight 27 November 1915, in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol II, pp. (pp. 843-844). During this time: “The enemy was to be fired on only if he attacked or threatened to do so, or offered an exceptionally good target. All normal sniping and artillery fire was to cease.”

Harvey Broadbent describes in Gallipoli – The Turkish Defence (p. 353) how the wind turned cold north-east during 27 November and then a severe snow storm hit. Temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees celcius and the weather remained cold and windy until the night of 29/30 November. There were instances of men freezing to death.

Lieutenant Mehmet Fasih recorded in his diary for the evening on 28 November 1915, translated in Lone Pine (Bloody Ridge) Diary (p. 149), “It is terribly cold. Strong wind blows… Wind blows snow around the trenches.” Fasih also recorded how he distributed an issue of socks and gloves to his men during the early afternoon of 28 November (p. 148). A week later, Fasih recorded his frustration at inexperienced commanders wasting men’s lives and described them as “engaged in a pissing contest” (p. 176). Fasih described unravelling his kabalak (headgear) and wrapping the cloth around his head for warmth on 28 November (p.146). Fasih describes his disappointment when enemy artillery re-started on at 3:00pm 28 November after a break of three or four days, after having thought the enemy had gone. (p. 148) “Can’t believe it…This sudden effect has a bad effect on me. Presence of what we thought gone is not something to look forward too!”. Fasih inspected trenches at 9:30pm on 28 November, and recorded: “Intense cold prevails. O my God, help us! Have run out of fire wood.” (p. 149). Fasih described the mult-coloured marker flags to be placed in preparation for a major bombardment from Ottoman 24 cm howitzers on 29 November. During the bombardment Fasih describes watching the shells that “shine like suns and come straight down.” He describes an enemy periscope observer being blown apart and how the explosions are “so impressive they help restore morale of dejected soldiers.” (pp. 150-153)

Charles Bean records the placement of marker flags and subsequent Turkish artillery bombardment in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol II, pp. (pp. 848-849). Bean records that orders were issued to shoot down the markers, but soon after, at 9:10am, the bombardment from heavy howitzers started and states: “Although shells fell upon Russell’s Top, Courtneys, and the front opposite the Jolly, the main target appeared to be Lone Pine…It was the first occasion upon which Australian infantry trenches were subjected to a heavy modern bombardment.”

Edward Erickson describes in Gallipoli – The Ottoman Campaign , how artillery reinforcements arrived from Austria and Germany during November 1915 (p. 178), including the arrival of six heavy howitzer batteries from Germany in late November.