Honour Roll Citation: George William Hall
Red Cross Reports: George William Hall
Battle of Lone Pine
The attack on the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine began on 6 August. Lone Pine was one of the Turks’ strongest positions. It was heavily entrenched and in places included roofed trenches covered in pine logs. Aerial reconnaissance before the attack did not show the logs. When the Australian reached the front line they had to assess how to get into the Turkish trenches. Some shot into the trenches through gaps in the logs, others dropped into the trenches through larger gaps or ran past the front line into the communication trenches in the rear and advanced form there.
The fighting was vicious, men fought with bayonets bombs and fists. The dead piled three or four high and the reinforcements ran over them to get to the fighting. Seven Australians were awarded the Victoria Crosses, two of them posthumous awards, for their actions in this battle. The main Turkish trench was taken within 20 minutes of the initial charge but the fighting continued for four days, as the Turks counter-attacked.
The Turks were unable to recapture Lone Pine, although they stopped the Australians advancing further. The dead Australians and Turks were either buried, stacked in heaps, thrown over the parapet, or used to block the Turkish communication trenches along with sandbags and soil. By the end of the battle the Australians suffered over 2,000 casualties and the Turks about 7,000, dead or wounded.
