The Artillery at Anzac

Adaptation, Innovation and Education

By Chris Roberts and Paul Stevens

Published by Big Sky Publishing/Army History Unit
RRP $34.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781922387936

Authors Chris Roberts and Paul Stevens, having previously produced seminar presentations on the artillery at Anzac, were encouraged to expand this material and in doing so have produced the first comprehensive study of the employment of artillery and naval gunfire support at Anzac.

Faced with huge difficulties on inferior ground the Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and British gunners quickly adapted to a hostile environment, employing innovative techniques to counter superior numbers of Ottoman artillery and provide fire support to their infantry and light horse colleagues.

How well they performed is a central theme of The Artillery at Anzac (representing the battlefield and the Australians and New Zealand Troops who fought there).

Using a host of primary sources including official manuals, war diaries, operation orders, letters, and private papers the authors trace the story of this neglected feature of the Gallipoli campaign.

Commencing with an evaluation of the nascent pre-war Australian and New Zealand artillery, they take the reader through the testing introduction to the realities of modern warfare, the trials and difficulties the gunners experienced throughout the campaign to the phased evacuation in December, without alerting the Ottomans to the reduced number of guns.

Along the way, they challenge a long held controversy concerning the light horse charge at the Nek, and evaluate the effectiveness of the fire support provided to the infantry attacks, including that at Lone Pine, the attacks on the Sari Bair Range, and at Hill 60.

In doing so, the authors, in accessing long-buried information, provide new and penetrating insights into the campaign at Anzac.