Dominic Sandbrook

By the time we're dead, other troops and other commanders will be ready to take our places.

And amazingly, I mean, I would find that terrifying and I probably would continue running away.

but the Turks are made of sterner stuff than I am.

And they turn round and they run back into the fray and they drive the Australians back down towards the beach.

I mean, the Australians do love a beach.

They do.

Australians do love a beach.

But you wouldn't associate Australians with going backwards, would you?

No, you wouldn't, no.

But that is precisely what they are doing by mid-afternoon.

Far from going forwards and pushing inland, they're being driven back towards the sea.

Their officers are being scythed down by Turkish machine guns, and they're absolutely shattered.

Of course, I mean, imagine how exhausted they must be after making this landing.

So this is Private Herbert Filders of the 12th Battalion.

Four of us lay under shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire, not daring to lift our heads the whole while.

If we'd budged, we'd have been killed dozens of times over.

The bullets were streaming so thick over our heads.

Our officer said he'd never seen anything like it and he's an old soldier.

I was jolly tired too.

As a matter of fact, I went to sleep twice.