8 ore 25 apr 1915 anni - X beach covering force

Descrizione:

X Beach was 200 yards (180 m) long under a low crumbling cliff on the Aegean shore around from W Beach, about 1-mile (1.6 km) above Tekke Burnu. No Ottoman defences had been built and only twelve soldiers guarded the beach. The Ottoman party was stunned by the bombardment from Implacable after the troops bound for W Beach had disembarked and the four tows had sailed parallel to the battleship until it was 500 yards (460 m) from the shore. The landing party had reached the shore and climbed to the top of the cliff with no casualties by 6:30 a.m. when the tows returned to collect the rest of the battalion and equipment, which had arrived by 7:30 a.m. As the British pushed inland, they came close to a locality where two Ottoman reserve companies were bivouacked. One company had been sent towards W Beach and met the British advance from X Beach. The British commander Lieutenant-Colonel H. E. B. Newenham, ordered an attack to the north-east to form a defensive flank on the left, two platoons to advance frontally and dig in 500 yards (460 m) from the beach and the rest of the landing force to attack Hill 114 on the right, to gain touch with the troops on W Beach.[61]

The attack to the north-east began around 8:00 a.m., until stopped by Ottoman small-arms fire after 800 yards (730 m) but on the right flank, the attack reached the top of Hill 114 by 11:00 a.m., to the cheers of the watching sailors on Implacable. The front along the beach was long and had numerous gaps, with the left flank engaged with the Ottoman defenders. With no reconnaissance possible before the landing and only one inaccurate map to read, the value of the view from the cliffs above the beach had not been appreciated beforehand. The landward slopes of hills 138 and 141 were easily visible and within reach of an advance from X Beach, which might have cut off the defenders of W Beach. S Beach at Morto Bay 2 miles (3.2 km) away was also visible but the landing force on X Beach concentrated on the landing. Few of the officers in the X Beach party knew of the landing at S Beach and no messages were passed between them during the day.

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