Gallipoli by Peter Fitzsimons

them a lesson and made their navy stronger, all in one!
    Ambassador von Wangenheim, meantime, has radioed Admiral Souchon – described by one contemporary as a ‘droop-jawed, determined little man in a long-ill-fitting frock coat, looking more like a parson than an admiral’ 63 – to tell him the news. Once the German ships get through the heads, they must immediately hoist the Turkish flag.
    Ach, und noch was … And one more thing.
    The ships will soon no longer be Goeben and Breslau but Yavuz Sultan Selim and Midilli .
    Later that morning, the American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau – a lawyer from New York turned property speculator – drops in at the German embassy to find his German counterpart, Baron von Wangenheim, beside himself with excitement.
    â€˜Something is distracting you,’ Morgenthau says. ‘I will go and come back again some other time.’
    â€˜No, no!’ says the Baron. ‘I want you to stay right where you are. This will be a great day for Germany!’
    A few minutes later, the blessed thing happens. The German Ambassador receives a radio message. ‘We’ve got them!’ he shouts to Morgenthau in his thick accent.
    â€˜Got what?’
    â€˜The Goeben and the Breslau have passed through the Dardanelles.’ 64

Chapter Two
GETTING STARTED

    Otherwise Australians shook their heads when they saw men of the first contingent about the city streets. ‘They’ll never make soldiers of that lot,’ they would say. ‘The Light Horse may be all right, but they’ve got the ragtag and bobtail of Australia in this infantry.’ 1
    Charles Bean, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918
    13 AUGUST 1914, THINGS CONTINUE TO SHAPE
    In Melbourne, in his stone-walled office at Victoria Barracks on St Kilda Road, General Sir William Bridges is in the eye of the cyclone, personally calm and considered but making decisions that cause furious activity around the country as men continue to flood into recruiting depots.
    By now, it has been established that existing territorial units will form the base of the Australian Expeditionary Force, which will be composed for the most part of volunteers in their 20th year and upwards. Ideally, while half of the force will have military experience, the other half will be trainees drawn from the universal training scheme and raring to go. All of them must be at least five foot six inches tall, with a chest measurement of at least 34 inches around the nipples to the back.
    Initially, the AIF will comprise one large infantry division, the 1st Australian Division, composed of three brigades, with attendant units, and one Light Horse Brigade. Where possible, each brigade will be drawn from a particular state, its battalions from a particular district. Already, the government has started buying some of the 2300-odd horses thought necessary – most of them ‘Walers’, a combined breed able to travel long distances in hot weather and go for as long as 60 hours without water, even while carrying a total load of over 20 stone! The government is also calling upon horse owners ‘to repeat the generosity shown during the Boer War and donate any horses suitable for military purposes’. 2
    As to the manpower, while recruits are welcome from everywhere, including such institutions as Melbourne’s Scottish Union – an umbrella group for Scottish clans and societies located in Victoria – General Bridges is very clear about one thing: ‘Kilts could not be allowed. All Australian regiments must wear khaki, the only distinction being the colour of the hat-band …’ 3
    Oh. And one more thing … Upon enlistment, some of the older recruits have the skin on their left chest examined to see if they bear tattoos of either BC or D. These are infamous old-time British Army tattoos, marking the bearer as either having Bad Character or being a