Avustralya askeri tarihindeki en büyük trajedilerden biri, yüzlerce Avustralyalı hafif süvariye Türklerin yoğun tüfek ve makineli tüfek ateşine rağmen tekrar tekrar hücum emrinin verildiği 7 Ağustos 1915 tarihinde yaşandı. Nafile bir teşebbüstü ve yaşanan katliam o tarihten beri her neslin kanını dondurduğu gibi tarihçilerin de en merak ettikleri konulardan biri haline geldi.
Peter Weir’in meşhur filmi Gallipoli ’de başarıyla canlandırılan Cesarettepe hücumu, Çanakkale harekâtının beyhudeliğinin ve oradaki askerlerin cesaretinin en güzel göstergesidir. Peter Burness Hafif süvari alaylarının tertibini, talimini, teşkilatını ve o birliklerde görev yapan subayların özgeçmişlerini teferruatıyla ele almıştır. Muharebeye dair canlı anlatımında, hiçbir umut kalmadığı halde neden intihardan farksız hücumlara devam edildiğine dair bir cevap bulmaya da çalışmıştır. Yazar bu yeni baskıya, 1996’da ilk yayımlandığından bu yana gün ışığına çıkan yeni bilgilerin yanında yeni haritalar ve fotoğraflar da eklemiştir.
More for war history enthusiasts rather than casual readers. The best chapters were the first (that described the battle) and the last two: Reflection and Remembrance). Very well-written and well-researched/informative.
The Nek: The Tragic Charge of the Light Horse at Gallipoli is a well written and informative book.
Starting with an overview of the attack on 7 August 1915, the book then provides chapters on the 3rd Light Horse Brigade; Colonel Frederic Godfrey Hughes, commander of the Brigade's operations at The Nek; Lieutenant-Colonel John Macquarie Antill; various officers and men, including Lieutenant-Colonels Noel Brazier and Alexander White; time spent in Egypt before landing at Gallipoli; arrival and time spent on Gallipoli before the attack; planning of the attack in conjunction with assaults on Pope's Hill, Quinn's Post and Chunuk Bair; the attack at The Nek; post attack; a critique of the attack; and a final chapter called Rememberance, which looks at lives and events after the campaign and the war. There are several references to those soldiers who survived the attack.
The book contains a mix of well researched facts (with sources quoted) and personal accounts taken from diaries and letters. There is a small selection of photos and an appendix listing those killed in action, together with their place of burial. I recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in the Gallipoli campaign.
A bit short at only 148 pages, but then the *battle* if it can be called that only lasted a few minutes. In the grand scheme of things the Nek was rather inconsequential. However it is illustrative of so many battles, particularly early in the Great War, when strategy was based on technology from times past.