The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

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Peter H
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The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#1

Post by Peter H » 31 Jul 2008, 10:58

Kemal's last reserve,10th August 1915.

According to Robert Rhodes James' Gallipoli:
..the Turkish attack was an awesome spectacle.The astounded British suddenly beheld dim,dense masses of Turks pouring over the sky-line,not firing a shot,and advancing with the bayonet.The trenches on Chunuk Bair and at The Pinnacle were overwhelmed almost at once,and none of the British troops--over 1,000--survived....the Turks were cut down in swathes as they stormed down towards The Farm,but they moved so rapidly,and were visible so briefly,that the survivors reached the plateau in great numbers,exultant and fanatical..by 10 am,with the sun high in the sky,Baldwin and almost all his officers had been killed,and the remnants were falling back unto the shelter of the ravines,leaving over 1,000 officers and men dead or dying on the tiny plateau.Many of those who fled were lost in the ravines and never heard of again...
In about 6 hours a British Brigade was destroyed,with over 2,000 killed.

Seeking further details on the 23rd at Gallipoli August 1915.

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Peter H
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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#2

Post by Peter H » 31 Jul 2008, 11:05

Hamilton's play on the situation:
“The Turks delivered a grand assault at daybreak on the 10th, and the North Lancashires were simply overwhelmed in the shallow trenches by sheer weight of numbers, whilst the Wilts, who fought in the open, were literally almost annihilated. The assaulting column consisted of a full division, plus three battalions, and it swept over the crest and swarmed over General Baldwin's column, which only extricated itself after the heaviest of losses. Now it was our turn. The warships and New Zealand and Australian artillery got the chance of a lifetime, and an iron rain fell on the successive solid lines of the Turks, while ten machine-guns of the New Zealand infantry played on their serried ranks at close range until the barrels were red-hot. Only a handful of the enemy straggled back to their own side of Chunuk Bair. By the evening of the 10th General Birdwood's casualties were twelve thousand, including the largest proportion of his officers. The grand coup had failed to come off, as the Narrows were beyond field-gun range."
Something like 9 Turkish battalions took part in the attack(the 23rd plus 6 other battalions)?

The '"iron rain"of naval shells seems overstated as well?


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Peter H
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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#3

Post by Peter H » 31 Jul 2008, 11:29

Rough justice at the time:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forum ... opic=22084

"The Turks overran the Pinnacle about five minutes after they ripped through the Loyal's trenches. Now the New Zealand machine guns at the Apex were knocking over the Turks by the hundred. Temperley (Arthur Temperley, a Brigade-Major in the N.Z.s) admits, 'with deep regret' , that he ordered the machine gunners to open fire on 300 or 400 New Army troops who ran towards the Turks with their hands up".


" On August 10 I saw 300 or 400 of them running towards the Turks with their hands up. To save a disaster of the first magnitude and to prevent our whole front line collapsing I gave the orders to the machine guns of our Brigade to open fire upon them and at some cost in life the movement was checked and they ran back to their lines."
(P11 Major A. C. Temperley, Norfolk Regiment, Brigade Major, NZ Infantry Brigade. " A personal Narrative of the Battle of Chunuk Bair, August 6th-10th, 1915", MS0017, Q.E. II Army Museum, Waiouru.)"

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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#4

Post by stevebecker » 01 Aug 2008, 10:24

Peter,

If I remember there was a lot of discussion on this subject on the 1914-1918 webb site.

S.B

Tosun Saral
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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#5

Post by Tosun Saral » 01 Aug 2008, 12:07

Lt. Col. Recai Bey commander of 23th IR
He graduated from Mekteb-i Harbiye The War School of Turkish Army in 1890 as an infantry Lt. For a time he teached the cadets at war school.
He joined the Turco Greco War of 1897 voluntaryly while he was a geography teacher at the War School.

With the reason that he was againts Sultan Hamid the II he was transfered to a Redif Regiment (Aged soldiers regiment) out of Istanbul. He returned to Istanbul to the old duty as a teacher just after the proclamation of the 2nd Institutional Regime in 1909.

He took part at Çatalca and Vize Battles of Balkan War as the commander of 8th Sharp-shooters battalion. During Çatalça Battle he was wounded seriously by a artillary shell. During the attach at sari Bair he was again wounded from his left brust. We was transferred to the Military Hospital Gülhane in İstnabul. After the treatment he returned his regiment.

After Gallipoli he and his regiment was transferred to Caucassus Front. On July 1st 1916 he was killed in action. He was only 43 years old.

Görgülü says in his book that he KIA on August 10th 1915
Last edited by Tosun Saral on 01 Aug 2008, 21:09, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#6

Post by Tosun Saral » 01 Aug 2008, 12:58

I Had a chest of Steel

Mustafa Kemal tells:
"The 41st IR couldnt came to the front till the moment of attack. I learned that they went to a wrong direction. But the reached after a short time. The 8th Division took its position. 2 battalions of 23 IR was at the first line on war position , the other battolion was at their back. They were ready to attack to Chunk Bair. The 28th IR took its attack position on the same line but towards Şahinsırt.
I get out of my tent. The sun was nearly setting. I could see the soldiers who were ready to attack.
The blanket of night had lifted. Now was the hour for the attack. I looked at my watch. It was nearly 4.30 am. After a few minutes it would become quite light and the enemy would be able to see our troops. Should the enemy infantry open fire with his machine guns and should the land and naval guns open fire on our troops in our close packed formation I didn’t doubt the impossibility of the attack. I rum immediately forwards. On the way I met the commander of the division. He and other officers who were in our accompany went infront of the atack line. I inspected them shortly and quickly. I greeted the men and addressed them:
‘Soldiers! There is no doubt that we can defeat the enemy opposing us. But don’t you hurry, let me go in front first. When you see the wave of my whip all of you rush forward together!’
Then I went to a point forward of the assault line, and, raising my whip, gave the signal for the assault.

All the men, officers forgot already everything. They paid their attantion only to way signal... They assoulted like a mass of iron like lions. In a few seconds later over the enemy trenches only a heavenly voice could be heard "Allah, Allah, Allah (TS's Nota: Battle cry of Turkish soldier)
The enemy could not find time to use their guns."

On that day a piece of artillary shell hits on the right side of Ataturks Chest. The piece hits directly on his pocket watch.
He had a chest of steel.

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Peter H
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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#7

Post by Peter H » 01 Aug 2008, 13:26

Thanks gents.

The advance of the 23rd and other Turkish formations comes across as a determined attack and the men knew it.Lose Chunuk Bair and the whole campaign is lost.

Peter

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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#8

Post by stevebecker » 01 Feb 2015, 03:47

Tosun,

"After Gallipoli he and his regiment was transferred to Caucassus Front. On July 1st 1916 he was killed in action. He was only 43 years old.

Görgülü says in his book that he KIA on August 10th 1915"

I notice you wrote two dates for his death, can you say where he was killed in 1916?

And why was he shown killed in Aug 1915, was this another officer by that name?

Maj Ahmet Fuat (Bulca) is mentioned as commander 23rd Regt in Aug 1915 after LtCol Recai death?

Cheers

S.B

Tosun Saral
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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#9

Post by Tosun Saral » 02 Feb 2015, 12:44

May be a typing mistake : at page 120 Görgülü gives another date.: which is right I mean: July 12nd 1916
He was killed during the battles around River Aras at Mus-Kulp battle which took place on 12-15 July 1916

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Re: The 23rd Regiment at Sari Bair

#10

Post by stevebecker » 03 Feb 2015, 01:25

Tosun,

Thanks mate.

Yes I think he was wounded on that date, 10 Aug 1915 and Maj Ahmet Fuat (Bulca) took command until LtCol Recai returned

S.B

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