Ariburnu 27th Regiments memorial

The inscription on the panel (translated) reads as follows :

A platoon of the 8th Company, 27th Infantery Regiment, faced the first wave of 1,500 men of the Anzac Corps, who landed on the Ariburnu shore at dawn on the 25th April 1915, and their resistance resulted in heavy casualties for the Anzacs, who were forced to shelter under the steep foothills of the beach.

For the men guarding the beaches, the night of 24^th April must have seemed much as any other night. The weather was improving and the sea seemed “as smooth as satin”. It was a gloriously cool, peaceful night. Once the moon set at 3 am everything was intensely dark until, about an hour later, the first tinges of the grey dawn appeared behind the hills. Every now and then a searchlight lazily perused the straits. All along the coast, Ottoman sentries peered seawards for signs of anything unusual. Most were probably half asleep, in spite of the chill morning air. Then, at 4.29 am a sentry just south of Ariburnu point saw a flame and sparks lasting 30 seconds or so.It was the funnel of a small steamboat towing

three landing craft crammed with Australian troops. Immediately, the sentry flashed a signal to the trench overlooking the point. There a soldier jumped up and saw thirty-six rowboats just offshore. He shouted to his mates who shook themselves into action. After some seconds of disbelief, they fired a few shots. This quickly grew into a steady stream of bullets. The lead made sparks on the shingle beach as the first boats grounded into the shallows …

… A few defenders were seen to run inland as the Australians scrambled up the steep gravel cliffs. The Anzacs had been told not to shoot until daylight, but many were returning the enemy fire. Already, bayonet and bullet were claiming Ottoman and Australian lives. By 4.40 am and Ottoman gun behind Gaba tepe (3 km south of Ariburnu) was shelling the troop ships standing offshore. So began one of the largest amphibious landing operations ever attempted in military history.

"Gallipoli, the Turkish story", (Crows Nest 2003), Kevin Fewster, Vecihi Başarın, Hatice Hürmüz Başarın, p. 62