Gallipoli Enemy fire on the beaches

With the military objective being to secure the heights directly above the beach as soon as possible, landing boats were emptied and immediately returned to be filled with more troop waiting on the ships off shore. With little cover, hundreds of men were killed or wounded by Turkish machine guns, rifle fire and shrapnel from exploding shells.

Men who had been severely wounded were dragged as far out the line as fire as possible, often by the less severely wounded, to await the taking of the heights, and the freeing of boats for their evacuation. Despite the best efforts of field medical personnel, many wounded died on the beach, a good many killed where they lay by bullets and flying shrapnel.