Battle
The Allied advance began later than scheduled, around 11:00 on 6 May but was swiftly halted by strong Ottoman resistance. The 88th Brigade of the 29th Division advancing on Fir Tree Spur managed to capture Fir Tree Wood and the 6th (Hood) Battalion of the British 63rd (Royal Naval) Division advanced strongly along Kanli Dere but at all points on the line the gains were never more than 400 yd (370 m). At no point were the Ottoman defences reached. The attack was resumed on 7 May; it used the same plan and produced largely the same results.
On the morning of 8 May, the 88th Brigade in front of Krithia on Fir Tree Spur was relieved by the New Zealanders who made yet another attempt which failed with huge losses. The Wellington, Canterbury and Auckland Battalions gained another 400 yd (370 m) through Fir Tree Wood to a place called the 'Daisy Patch' before they became pinned down. Enfiladed on the left from Ottoman machine guns in Gully Ravine, they could neither advance nor withdraw and still had no sight of the Ottoman positions.
Despite their predicament, Hunter-Weston ordered the New Zealanders, including the Otago Battalion in reserve, to resume that attack at 17:30. The brigade commander, Colonel Francis Johnston, protested but Hunter-Weston insisted the attack proceed. However, General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, who had landed at Helles to oversee the battle, ordered a general advance to be made at 17:30. along the entire front with the aim of capturing Krithia and Achi Baba.
The Australian 2nd Infantry Brigade, under the command of Brigadier-General M'Cay, was given 35 minutes warning that it was about to join the attack. The Australians were to advance along Fir Tree Spur between the right flank of the New Zealand brigade and the edge of Krithia Nullah, and had to travel up to 800 yd (730 m) from their reserve position just to reach the start line at "Tommy's Trench". The brigade managed to advance a further 500 yd (460 m) beyond the start line, suffering 50% casualties in the process.
The New Zealand brigade made another attempt to cross the Daisy Patch, and some troops managed to actually sight the Ottoman trenches. On the right, the French resumed their advance at 18:00 and made good progress, reaching the Ottoman trenches on Kereves Dere. They managed to capture and hold Bouchet Redoubt but were forced back everywhere else.
Read more about this topic: Second Battle Of Krithia
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