ANZAC WITHDRAWAL - FINAL SCENES DESCRIBED - "THE GREATEST THING OF THE KIND" - AUSTRALIANS LEAVE LETTERS FOR THE TURKS

The article describes the final days of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, which had begun a mere 11 months earlier yet killed over 100,000 combatants, with almost equal losses for the opposing sides.

From the very outset The Courier, along with every other newspaper in the country, was fed an unrelenting diet of positive spin about how successful the forcing of the Dardanelles was, with headlines blaring 'Brilliant Attack', 'Australians in Action', 'Splendid Gallantry Displayed', 'Distinction Won In First Encounter'.

An ardent champion of conscription ("Why should A feel compelled to adventure his life in the maintenance of the Empire, while B, his next-door neighbour, spends the same time... in playing two-up and even smaller amusements...") The Courier extolled stories celebrating the successes of the campaign even in tragedy, such as the death of Captain Joseph Peter Lalor, who died in the August Sari Bair offensive.

Lalor, whose exotic life included a stint fighting in the French Foreign Legion, in an Argentinian rebel force and the Royal Navy, was in the 12^th Battalion at Gallipoli.

"That he was a true grandson of Peter Lalor of Eureka, he proved when hopelessly outmatched, but without fear as without support, he shot dead six Turks in succession and a seventh killed by his sword, fell dead across his body. Thus was he found after the fight was over, when a party under Lt Braidwood brought his body to its last resting-place, the cemetery at the top of Shrapnel Gull, whose headstones tell the world that here was Australia's Thermopylae."

The official history of the battalion records a different story. Lalor was urging his exhausted men onto the slopes of hill Baby 700 when he was shot dead. Such exaggerated tales shored up the public support for the campaign and the war.

Any reports stating otherwise, such as a communique from the Turkish news service saying the attack had been halted, were not to be relied upon, and regarded as vile propaganda.

"...official reports furnished by the Turks to the outside world have been notorious for their glaring inaccuracies," The Courier wrote.

Journalism from the Allied side was, at the outset, just as vividly inaccurate. Writing as the first war correspondent on the beach for the landing, British correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett's prose was effusive.

"There has been no finer feat in this war than this sudden landing in the dark and storming the heights, and, above all, holding on while the reinforcements were landing. These raw colonial troops, in these desperate hours, proved worthy to fight side by side with the heroes of Mons, the Aisne, Ypres and Neuve Chapelle."

The lavish praise was not to last, as the campaign foundered. Ashmead-Bartlett and Australian journalist Keith Murdoch conspired to ensure the blame for the disaster was laid at the feet of the English commanders General Sir Ian Hamilton and Lieutenant-General Sir William Birdwood.

"Confusion reigned supreme," Ashmead-Bartlett wrote.

"No-one seemed to know where the headquarters of the different brigades and divisions were to be found. The troops were hunting for water, the staffs were hunting for their troops, and the Turkish snipers were hunting for their prey."

Wherever the blame fell it was clear the Dardanelles campaign, the brainchild of Winston Churchill, was a failure. It was necessary to get almost 40,000 troops out of harm's way, and high losses were anticipated.

The following withdrawal is often described as a triumph of brilliant planning, conducted in a short period of time without the Turkish forces being aware.

It's now understood Turkish intelligence most likely knew what was underway, perhaps not to the extent of what was happening exactly. It is now also clear planning for withdrawal was being undertaken as early as August, when the commander of the campaign General Sir Ian Hamilton considered evacuation of Suvla and Anzac Cove.

The Courier's coverage of the story continued.

"It is over at last" wrote Mr Ward Price, the British representative in the Dardanelles, in a message dated "Off Suvla, the morning of 30th December," dealing with the evacuation of Anzac and Suvla.

"The biggest bluff in history," he continues, "has been brought off...

EVEN MEN'S PETS WERE SAVED

"Masses of men and material were brought down to Anzac and Suvla in an extraordinary short space of time, and when a tally was taken the only loss was a relatively small quantity of bully-beef, biscuits, and rice. Not a single messroom cat was missing."

This was an understatement. Huge amounts of stores, ammunition, medical supplies, artillery, vehicles and anything thought useful to the enemy was stockpiled on the beaches, soaked in fuel and set ablaze.

Food rations were abandoned to the departing men, who availed themselves of the once off-limits quartermaster's tents. Sergeant Roland Chadwick of the New Zealand Field Ambulance, one of the last units to leave, wrote in his diary of how the soldiers devoured the Christmas rations.

"We had to get rid of these somehow as we couldn't find room in our kits for them. So we made beasts of ourselves and crammed them into us - salmon, fruit salad, oranges, gooseberries, raisins, sardines and Ideal [evaporated] milk."

Even the precious ceramic jugs - full of rum rations - were smashed, despite the Allies' enemy being Muslim.

The evacuation itself was indeed a marvellous operation. Under the cover of darkness, men and horses were removed for weeks, while the Allied troops kept up a ruse of activity during the daytime, even playing a cricket match under fire.

The weather played its part, however. Torrential downpours meant the Turkish troops had trouble advancing. The rain was so heavy men drowned in trenches and the hastily-buried dead were unearthed and washed into the lines, a nightmarish hazard to health. A blizzard froze to death many more soldiers awaiting removal in the terrible conditions.

But the worst of it all was the leaving behind of their fallen comrades, troops acknowledged. The makeshift cemeteries were hurriedly attended to and cleaned up as best as possible.

"I understand I shall be one of the last to withdraw. I do, honestly speaking, sincerely hope so, as I wish to see the last of the affair. Let us hope we shall be successful. Many brave lives have already been sacrificed in this blunder.

"It is bitter to leave so many of our dead heroes in their lonely graves in this foreign soil. But necessity is imperative. We can do no good by staying here."

Captain Francis Coen, 19th and 18th Battns., A.I.F., Gallipoli and France. Killed in action, Pozieres, 1916.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.