ORDNANCE SUPPORT FOR THE 1st A.I.F. GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
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Chapter 4
ORDNANCE SUPPORT FOR THE 1st A.I.F.
GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
Although many have criticised the AAOD for its obstruction to any form of military
control or integration for some forty years (1902-1941) it must be commended for its splendid
performance in providing support to the Australian Military Forces (AMF) during that period
and especially during WW1. Between August 1914 and June 1917, (the only statistics
available), the AAOD in Australia consigned almost seven million separate packages of stores
and 41 million articles of uniform of Australian manufacture for the maintenance of the 1st
AIF in the field.
The task of providing support to the 1st AIF in the field fell upon the hastily raised
Australian Army Ordnance Corps (AAOC) which formed part of the 1st AIF. This chapter
outlines the role played by the AAOC in the raising of the Australian Expeditionary Force and
the famous Gallipoli campaign.
As the AAOD was not established to expand quickly in times of war, or to provide
logistic support to field operations, the AAOC was immediately raised as part of the AIF. The
AAOC comprised volunteers for AIF service from AAOD staff, Militia members, civilian
storekeepers, clerks, storemen and the like. On 15 August 1914 LTCOL J.G. Austin was
given approval to relinquish his appointment as DOS and join the AIF. As the appointed
DADOS, HQ 1 Aust Div Austin quickly instituted training for AAOC members on ordnance
procedures for the handling of weapons, medical supplies, surgical and dental instruments and
services such as salvage.
Upon the outbreak of WW1, Australia, in common with New Zealand and Canada
pledged their support for Britain. Australia’s first step in honouring this pledge was her
undertaking to provide 20,000 volunteer troops, fully maintained by Australia, to serve
overseas wherever required by the War Office in London.
BRIG GEN W.T. Bridges was appointed to command this contingent which he
personally designated the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Within six weeks of
commencement of recruitment on 10 August 1914 one infantry division and
4041
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
one light horse brigade had been raised and were ready for embarkation. The AAOD had few
mobilization stocks in 1914. For example, they had only 36 telephone sets and 2,000 towels to
equip this entire new force. The achievement of readiness of this force in such a short period
of time was due mainly to the fact that the 1st Division of the AIF comprised in part some
6,300 men who had already been serving in Militia units and consequently were already
equipped with uniforms and small arms at the outbreak of the war. In addition all Militia units
and junior and senior army cadets and cadet units, were stripped of all equipment and stores to
help equip the AIF.
In order to meet the initial equipping of the AIF the Commonwealth Clothing Factory
commenced working 24 hours a day, manufacturing articles of uniform, and a saddlery
factory was established to produce webbing equipment, saddlery and boots. It cost £31 to
equip a soldier and £45 to equip a mounted trooper (less arms). Blankets were manufactured
at the Geelong Woollen Mills and weapons and ammunition at Lithgow.
The first convoy which left Australia departed from Albany, WA on 1 November l914,
carrying Australian and New Zealand troops. The convoy comprised 28
1 Light Horse mustering area at Broadmeadows Camp in November 1914 - awaiting
mobilisation stores (AWM Photo).42
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
merchant ships converted to troop carriers and a formidable naval escort. The convoy’s
destination was England, where it was planned that training for active service in France would
take place. LTCOL Austin sailed with the convoy as DADOS HQ 1st Aust Div. Shortly after
the engagement in which HMAS Sydney sank the German raiding cruiser Emden, off the
Cocos Islands, a change of orders diverted the convoy to Egypt. This decision enabled the
AIF to avoid the approaching English winter and complete its training for war in a more
hospitable climate. The arrival of the first convoy in Egypt in December 1914 marked the
commencement of the AAOC’s activities in the field and it was immediately called upon to
supply all ordnance requirements of the AIF which had entered upon a vigorous training
programme.
A Field Ordnance Depot (FOD) was established at Mena, near the Pyramids, some
eight miles from Cairo where the 1st Aust Inf Div was encamped (the 1st Lt Horse Bde being
situated at Maadi). The FOD operated under the control of LTCOL Austin assisted by CAPT
E.T. Leane and a staff of 8 NCOs. The task of providing general stores and clothing for the
troops of the first contingent, particularly the volume of camp stores for the 1st Lt Horse Bde
at Maadi, imposed a severe strain on the small staff of the FOD. These initial difficulties were
overcome thanks to the assistance of the British Army Ordnance Corps personnel of the
Imperial Ordnance Depot at Cairo.
Meanwhile in Australia the recruiting rate had increased sharply and with the arrival of the
2nd Aust Inf Div in Egypt early in 1915 it was necessary to establish many new
accommodation camps for members of the AIF. In order to cope with
Pontoon boats aboard limber wagons in Egypt awaiting use in ANZAC landing
on 25 April 1915 (Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy).43
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
this massive build up of forces, a AAOC Base Ordnance Depot (BOD) was established at
Alexandria for the receipt and issue of huge stocks of clothing arriving in troop transports
from Australia. The BOD occupied buildings in Mustapha Barracks and No. 12 Bond Store
on Alexandria docks. Issues to all AIF units stationed at Mena Camp were made from the
BOD at Alexandria.
Due to a drastic change in strategy, dictated by Turkey’s entry into the war on the side
of Germany, the AIF and NZ troops were then sent not to France, but to the Gallipoli
Peninsula as an element of the newly formed Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF).
In April 1915 the MEF assembled in Mudros Harbour on the island of Lemnos, forty
miles from the Gallipoli Peninsula. With the departure of the 1st Aust Div to Gallipoli, the
FOD at Mena was closed down and its stocks of stores and clothing transferred to the BOD at
Alexandria. On the evacuation of Mena CAPT E.T. Leane (later LTCOL) and CAPT G.
Maxted (later MAJ) formed an Ordnance Section at Intermediate Base Headquarters, Cairo.
As it was certain that any MEF landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula would be opposed it
was realised that it would not be possible to establish an ordnance depot on shore immediately
following the initial landings. Instead it was decided to set up a floating ordnance depot
aboard the SS Unsinga, a 4,000 ton vessel especially fitted out for that purpose at Tilbury The
refitting included the provision of extra ‘between decks’ and a workshop on the main deck.
Laden with stores the Unsinga sailed for Mudros where the Gallipoli strike force was
awaiting orders. Upon arrival at Mudros it was learned that landings were now to take place at
two different points on the peninsula, therefore part of Unsinga’s cargo was transferred to a
second vessel, the SS Anglo-Indian. The transhipment of stores was hastily made on the night
of 24/25 April 1915 so that a depot ship would be available for each landing force.
1 DIV horse lines at Mena where Australian troops were trained in basic infantry tactics
prior to ANZAC landings (Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy).44
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
Typical Australian unit mess line at Mena, Egypt 1915. (Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy).
Troops of 19 Depot Unit of Supply on Alexandria wharf awaiting embarkation for
Gallipoli landing to provide first line logistic support to the Australian operations
(Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy).45
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
On 25 April 1915 the Unsinga sailed for Cape Helles where the British 29th Inf Div was to
land, while the Anglo-Indian sailed for a point soon to become famous as ANZAC Cove.
Upon the respective landings at Cape Helles and ANZAC Cove the two depot ships were
joined by lighters which were loaded with ammunition and towed by naval launches to buoys
anchored close in shore. From the buoys the laden lighters were hauled ashore by ropes.
Although shrapnel was falling thickly in the water, the ordnance parties managed to get
through with a minimum of casualties.
Following closely behind the attacking Australian 3 Inf Bde, LTCOL J.G. Austin
personally arranged for the reserve of small-arms ammunition to be carried up the ridge where
he set up an ammunition point amongst the dead and wounded, near the pier at Hell Spit. Here
Austin hoisted an ordnance pennant (a royal blue triangle with a red ball in its centre), which
in its bullet ridden condition, later found its way to the Australian War Memorial, in
Canberra, where it is proudly displayed.
The field guns and ammunition were next landed at ANZAC Cove (on the 25 April),
together with other urgently needed defence stores such as quantities of picks, shovels,
sandbags and barbed wire. The 26 April 1915 saw a greater build-up of the Australian Army
Ordnance Dump adjacent to the Army Service Corps Supply Dump on a part of ANZAC
Cove which was sardonically dubbed ‘Brighton Beach’. This ordnance dump was in fact the
first AAOC ordnance depot or unit established in an operational area. As featured on the
cover of this book and in the photograph which accompanies this chapter, it can be seen that
stocks were dumped on the ground in whatever order the stores arrived. To add to the
confusion in the depot area, a great number of combat soldiers that had become separated
from their units during the melee of the first days battle had worked their way back to the
beach, many of which quickly congregated at the ordnance depot and supply dump sites.
Their excuse was to be seen lending a hand in vital re-supply operations until they received
further orders, but many of these ‘helpers’ admitted that if they could justify their presence in
the depot area they would not be forced back to the battlefront on the peaks and ridges above
the depot. In the meantime, construction of the Brighton Beach Ordnance Dump, complete
with a protective palisade of cased great-coats, proceeded without interruption for 24 hours.
The Turks then opened fire with their 4.7 inch gun sited on Gaba Tepe and the AAOC
ordnance dump was its prime target. This gun became unaffectionately known as ‘Beachy
Bill’ and it dominated the ANZAC Cove area. In the space of seconds following the initial
firing of ‘Beachy Bill’, great-coats, picks, shovels and other ordnance stores, mingled with
Army Service Corps supplies, soared skywards.
With ‘Beachy Bill’ landing rounds in the ordnance and supply areas on the southern
end of the beach, it became impossible to conduct any logistic activity. Therefore, under the
cover of darkness and with the assistance of the ‘helpers’ from the front (whose numbers had
dwindled considerably following the commencement of shelling), the remnants of both
ordnance stores and supply46
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
First operational AAOC Ordnance dump which was hastily established at the southern end of
ANZAC Cove on the day of landing. This depot was to be destroyed by Turkish artillery fire
on 27 April 1915 thus forcing the depot and supply dump to be relocated to the northern
extremity of the Cove (AWM Photo).
stocks were moved by borrowed Indian carts and mules to the comparatively protected area at
the opposite end of the beach. Although this new position was subjected to sniper fire from
the Turks during daylight hours and was sometimes raked by airburst shells from ‘Beachy
Bill’, a hastily constructed wall of cased clothing provided some degree of protection to
AAOC personnel working in this vital ordnance dump. Enemy aircraft launched an aerial
bombardment on the new ordnance depot on at least one occasion. An unexploded Turkish
aerial bomb which landed in the middle of the depot and failed to explode is on display in the
Gallipoli section of the Australian War Memorial. It is believed that these two AAOC and
AASC units were the first Australian units to be subjected to enemy air attack.
LT J.C. Kininmonth was with Austin in the first ordnance dump on ‘Brighton Beach’
when it was destroyed on 27 April 1915. Shortly after this incident he wrote the poem titled
‘A Wail from Ordnance’ which accompanies this chapter. Readers will better appreciate this
poem and understand the prose having read this story of AAOC at ANZAC Cove.
The noted war correspondent C.E.W. Bean, author of the Official History of Australia
in the Great War, wrote the following excerpts about the AAOC during those early days on
Gallipoli.
‘27 April 1915. There were great loads and stocks of provisions growing on the beach
and they were absolute protection from a shrapnel pellet. Offices - Supply and47
A WAIL FROM ORDNANCE
We’re only in the Ordience,
Not troopers of the line;
We don’t attack no enemy,
Nor in the papers shine.
We just wait here from morn till night,
Expectin’ these ‘ere shells
That makes our lives, what were so bright,
So many earthly ‘ells.
We ‘and out underpants and socks,
And boots and coats galore,
To them as gives and takes hard knocks
An’ soon gets used to war.
We keep their clothing up to dick,
Equip and arm ‘em, too;
We rig out the returning sick
Almost as good as new.
They blew us from our depot south
A bit along the beach,
We humped our blueys, nothing loath,
And settled out of reach.
Our store grew large and prosperous,
We laughed at Turk and Hun,
Until they trained on us one day
A blasted four-point-one.
Each morning they put in a few
To bring us from our beds,
From time to time the whole day through
They make us duck our heads.
One eye is cocked for cover,
And one ear is for the whiz,
An’, until the fuss is over, we
Postpone our daily biz.
Now, when the war is over,
And we return to peace,
Though we may live in clover,
Enjoying lives of ease
A striking clock will wake us,
A blow-out make us run,
And cry again our old refrain:
‘Gott straf’ that four-point-one!’
Lieut. KININMONTH, A.O.C.
Gallipoli 1915.
Poem written by LT Kininmonth, AAOC who served in the Ordnance and Supply Dump on
ANZAC Beach. It relates to the shelling of the first AAOC depot on ‘Brighton Beach’ by
‘Beachey Bill’, the re-location of the depot and daily routine.48
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
Ordnance - were formed inside these stacks and men and officers of the AAOC and
ASC slept there’.
‘29 April 1915. On the beach is everything that is needed for the support of the Army.
There are four jetties made by pontoons with floating bridges to the small barges that
are so heavily laden that scarcely any freeboard is left. There are lines of mules along
the middle of these stacks of ammunition’.
‘3 June 1915. (Discussing his abode) Austin has let me have temporarily some
unwanted blankets for the walls, and a big case for a table and 2 ammunition boxes for
a cupboard - so makes home life a pleasure’.
During the initial stage of the campaign the two depot ships standing off the coast
were subjected to withering shellfire. The stability of both ships was threatened due to the
constant shifting of cargo, as stores were issued with great speed and as dictated by the
operational need. At one stage the Unsinga listed so badly it appeared as though it would turn
turtle. At ANZAC Cove it was only possible to land the most urgently needed stores from the
Anglo-Indian, as most lighters had been destroyed and heavy casualties were suffered
amongst the naval personnel conducting the off-loading. After the initial landing the two
Ordnance depot vessels were ordered to return to the safety of Mudros Harbour.
AAOC stores being unloaded from naval lighters at ANZAC Cove in May 1915
(Photo from glass negative discovered in archival records Swan Barracks in 1984)49
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
An attempt to provide the forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula from stores ships operating
from the BOD at Alexandria failed because of the time taken in the trans-shipment of stores
into small craft for landing on the shell swept beaches. The stores ships frequently returned to
Alexandria with most of their cargo still on board, with a resultant disastrous effect on the
offensive potential of grimly fighting units on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The next equally unsuccessful expedient was the employment of the Unsinga as a
depot ship at Mudros Harbour for the purpose of supplying stores to ferry boats plying to and
from the peninsula some 40 miles distant. The swiftly growing volume of arriving stores soon
showed that the Unsinga’s limited cargo space disqualified it for its intended role as a depot
ship. Early in July 1915 it was replaced by a 15,000 ton chartered vessel, the SS Minnetonka,
and thenceforth the Unsinga began operating as an ammunition tender. The Minnetonka was
selected for its role as a depot ship because it did not have well decks and her flush foredeck
was clear of super-structures.
The continuing build up of the MEF and expansion in the development of trench
warfare soon established the utter impracticability of floating depots to meet the ordnance
requirements of such a large fighting force. For example, the Minnetonka constantly received
bills of lading for urgently required consignments of stores, ammunition and machine guns
desperately needed at the front. They were held in the holds of either two or three tramp
steamers which had just arrived at Mudros Bay. After protracted delays in obtaining manifests
of each ship’s cargo, the critical items would be transferred to the Minnetonka. Following this,
Stores being unloaded from naval lighters at ANZAC Cove (Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy),50
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
transport of the items to the beaches was dependant upon uncertain schedules of the small
overcrowded ferry boats and barges carrying reinforcements to, and casualties from, the
Gallipoli Peninsula. Advance planning of consignments was virtually impossible. The Naval
Transport Organisation would advise for example, that at 1800 hours a ferry would berth
alongside the Minnetonka for 30 minutes at 0600 hours the following morning to load
urgently needed stores for either Cape Helles or ANZAC Cove. All hands would then be
engaged to hurriedly assemble on deck all available stores to meet outstanding indents. Later
advice would usually be received from the Navy stating that the destination of the nominated
ferry had been changed from the first-named beach to another. Upon the actual arrival of the
nominated ferry, usually some hours before the scheduled time, the skipper would state that
he could only berth alongside for 10 minutes not 30 minutes as planned, with imaginable
consequences.
Warnings of newly scheduled departures would prevent clearance of piled stores. By
the end of 1915 the Minnetonka’s foredeck was covered to a depth of six to eight feet with
consignments of stores laid out for issue, but not despatched because they were subsequently
submerged under later batches. The effect of this situation on the fighting troops, desperate
for weapons, munitions and trench warfare equipment, is abundantly clear.
Since the line of communications was located on the high seas, there existed between
the Minnetonka and shore ordnance dumps, none of the normal
Australian troops drying their blankets after a downpour. The re-equipment area was
adjacent to the Ordnance depot where the piles of stores afforded some protection from
snipers or shrapnel from Turkish guns (Photo CAPT A. A. Vassy)51
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
procedures associated with the issue and receipt of ordnance stores. At the shore ordnance
dumps stocks were confined to the barest necessities. With the depletion of stocks a telegram
or rough list would be sent to the Minnetonka. After widely varying intervals the demanded
stores, or part of those stores, would be landed and issued through the DADOS, either by
hand, or consigned on Indian Army mule carts, the only means of transport at Gallipoli.
Alternatively, an AAOC representative would visit the Minnetonka to look over available
stocks and bring back as many urgently needed stores as possible. The manner of the eventual
evacuation of the peninsula precluded any post mortem or repercussions arising from the
absence of formal issue transactions between the Minnetonka, shore ordnance dumps and the
fighting units.
By the end of July 1915 a more systematic organisation of Ordnance Services on the
Peninsular was achieved with the appointment of an ADOS at each of the two zones
(Australian and British). The task of the ADOS was to coordinate all Ordnance activity to
ensure the best possible distribution of arriving stores to the troops. LTCOL J.G. Austin was
appointed ADOS for the ANZAC Sector. Austin also assumed responsibility for provisioning
for the recently arrived Indian Army contingent at Gallipoli, as their only Ordnance
representative, a Warrant Officer Conductor, was killed by shellfire on the day of his landing.
The AAOC ordnance dump on ANZAC Beach was converted into a depot and
organised according to the prescribed layout of a base installation. This was
View overlooking the AAOC Ordnance stores depot at ANZAC Cove which was commanded
by the ADOS 1 DIV, LTCOL J.G. Austin (Photo CAPT A.A. Vassy).52
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
possible as the AAOC resited their stores in an area of reasonably sheltered dead ground
under the cliffs of ANZAC Cove. Ledgers were raised in case of an allied advance, so that the
beach depot could be left behind in an organised state. Better salvage procedures were also
developed and arrangements made for the collecting of salvage from the trenches for sorting
and backloading to Mudros.
In April 1915 CAPT George Maxted was appointed 1st ANZAC Corps Salvage
Officer and Corps Water Officer. It was his difficult task to coordinate the resupply of
ANZAC troops being undertaken by ferries, ammunition tenders and lighters. In particular he
worked closely with LTCOL Austin to ensure optimum use of available backloading cargo
space, ensuring the efficient evacuation of salvage. CAPT Maxted was promoted to honorary
MAJ on 22 November 1915 in recognition of his meritorious service in the performance of his
vital role in the Gallipoli Campaign.
It was apparent by 9 October 1915 that operations against the enemy had reached a
stalemate and the allied offensive in the Dardanelles was exhausted. As a result planning for
the evacuation of the peninsula began. The evacuation of ANZAC Cove was a most
complicated and hazardous process. While few battle casualties were encountered during the
withdrawal phase, the operation was costly in terms of ordnance material. Equipment losses
were nevertheless kept to an absolute minimum, bearing in mind the manner in which the
evacuation had to be carried out. In order to deceive the Turks during the evacuation, it was
necessary to continue to display an abundance of materiel - a great deal of which had to be
abandoned on the final night. In the darkness of successive nights, troops and their equipment
were quietly loaded into boats and ferried out to waiting ships. To cover these operations the
Allied navies stood off the coast and constantly shelled the Turkish lines. From early
December when plans for evacuation became known, stocks of ordnance stores which had
previously been issued in a seemingly miserly fashion, were issued liberally, and every
opportunity seized to return surplus stores to Mudros. When it became apparent that all
surpluses could not be salvaged, quantities of stores were dumped into the sea or deliberately
sabotaged or doused with oil. No deliberate bonfires of stores were lit, as planners did not
wish to draw Turkish attention to the evacuation. Despite this order the combined AAOC
ordnance depot and ASC supply dump caught fire at 0200 hours on 18 December 1915 and
burned fiercely for several days destroying a great quantity of stock.
On the morning of 20 December 1915 the last of the ANZAC troops were safely at
sea, bound for Egypt. The guns of the Allied fleet then demolished the ANZAC positions with
the purpose of leaving little of useful military value for salvage by the Turks. So ended the
Gallipoli Campaign and with it the initial involvement of our Corps (AAOC) in a theatre of
operations, albeit a subordinate role to that of the Imperial Ordnance Department.
Nevertheless, the AAOC played a vital part in providing the ordnance requirements of the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during that campaign.
In April 1916 the Australian BOD at Cairo was closed and stores returned to53
THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN
AAOC soldiers destroying stores prior to the evacuation of Gallipoli, December 1915
(AWM Photo No G1276)
PTE J.H. Tuckett on Gallipoli in May 1915. Before evacuation in December he had been
awarded the Military Medal and held the rank of SGT. He was commissioned as a CAPT in
Egypt prior to service in Belgium/France where he won the Military Cross. By 1918 he was
promoted LTCOL and appointed ADOS 4 DIV (Photo MAJ C.S. Newman).54
TO THE WARRIOR HIS ARMS
Last scene of Suvla Bay showing the AAOC Ordnance depot and Supply dump ablaze. This
fierce fire broke out accidentally at 0200 hrs on 18 December 1915, the day prior to the
planned evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula and burned for several days
(AWM Photo No G3512).
the Imperial Ordnance Department or prepared for movement to England where MAJ G.
Maxted and a detachment of AAOC personnel were preparing to establish bases prior to AIF
operations in France. In August 1916 the remaining AAOC personnel (4 Offrs and 36 NCOs)
departed Egypt for England and to further distinguished service in France.
Honours were awarded to the undermentioned AAOC personnel for distinguished
service during the Gallipoli Campaign:
LTCOL J.G Austin - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).
CAPT J.H Tuckett - Military Medal (MM) (commissioned 1915).
SGT B.J Keates - Military Medal (MM).
SGT O. Gunderson - Meritorious Services Medal (MSM).
Acknowledgements
I was greatly assisted in the research of this chapter by referring to recorded facts
contained in history papers previously produced for the Corps by Mr A. Festburg and Mr J. E.
Murphy. In addition I have consulted the works of C. E.W. Bean and the Army List 1917. The
historical photographs have been printed with the kind permission of the Australian War
Memorial.You can also read
