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Jim Martin Signs Up To The AIF
Jim enlists to the Australian Imperial force at 14 years and 3 months of age. He lied to the recruiting officers that his age was 18, with the officers falling for it after all of his health checks and inspections. Jim was now a part of the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion with the service number of1553. -
Figure 1
Jim Martin, the youngest known ANZAC to die while in active service. -
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Jim Martin's Time In Service
Jim was the youngest ANZAC to ever die in service, and fought in the Battle of Gallipoli, resulting in him staying forever fourteen and nine months. -
Figure 2
ANZACs rush up the beachead of Ari Burnu, attempting to make headway towards the Turkish positions. -
The Landing
On the 25th of April, 1915, 4000 Australian and New Zealand troops land on Gallipoli, arguably at the incorrect location (they were supposed to land at Gaba Tepe) and attempt to seize Ari Burnu. The objective was to seize the Gallipoli Peninsula in order for the Allied ships to travel through the Dardanelles. Around 16,000 men were able to land, but by the evening, approximately 747 men had been killed in mindless violence. -
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The Battle of Gallipoli
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Consolidation
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Casualties
By the end of April, there were 860 ANZAC casualties in total, with 643 killed in action, 203 dying of wounds and 14 of diseases. -
Victoria Cross
The first Victoria Cross at Gallipoli is awarded to Lance Corporal Walter Parker, a stretcher-bearer of the Royal Naval Division. -
Figure 3
Lance Corporal Walter Parker is the first soldier to receive a Victoria Cross at Gallipoli. -
Consolidation
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Casualties
Throughout May, there were 2298 men killed, with 1805 killed in action, 469 dying of wounds and 24 of diseases. -
Jim Martin Embarks For Egypt
Jim Martin embarks to Egypt on the troopship HMAT Berrima. The Berrima had already seen action in the war, taking troops to Rabaul, seizing New Guinea from the Germans and towing the Australian submarine AE2 after it was damaged. -
Casualties
Throughout June, there were 473 men killed, with 265 killed in action, 199 dying of wounds and 9 of diseases. -
Jim Martin Arrives At Egypt
After disembarking off the Berrima at Suez, Jim Martin and his companiions marched to the train station. The journey by train took about 6 hours, ending at their long-awaited destination, Cairo. -
Casualties
Throughout July, there were 302 men killed, with 143 killed in action, 113 dying of wounds and 46 of diseases. -
Lone Pine
Throughout the 6th to the 9th of August, was one of the most well-known battle at Gallipoli. Before the ANZACs even attacked, the Turks had already heavily shelled them. But within half an hour, troops of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions had already stormed the Turks' main trenches. The fight lasted on for four days, with the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 12th Battalions reinforcing the already present ANZACs the next day. -
Lone Pine (cont.)
Hundreds of one-on-one fights broke out in the confusion, which horribly resulted in Australians killing Australians, and Turks killing Turks. Both side attempted to gain the advantage by lobbing grenades at the other side, but they only had the grenades thrown back and forth until the less fortunate side took the blast, which often was the side that had threw the grenade in the first place. -
The Nek
After the Turks' positions were shelled by Allied ships before dawn, the 8th Light Horse left the ANZAC trenches to attack the Turks at 4:30 am, but were swiftly mowed down by machine gun fire, as their element of surprise had been lost when the barrage ended 7 minute before schedule. -
The Nek (cont.)
Two minutes after the first wave attacked, the second wave was ordered to attack, and also, ultimately, their doom. Fifteen minutes after the first wave, the 10th Light Horse were also decimated. The fourth wave, however, was about too be called off when the men on the right flank rose and attacked without orders. The result of this massacre was on two Australian Officers: Brigade Commander Brigadier General Frederick Hughes and Lieutenant Colonel John Antill. -
Lone Pine (cont.)
Even though there was a major bloodshed at Lone Pine, with aproximately 2,200 ANZACs and 7000 Turks killed or injured, the battle at Lone Pine was considered a 'succes', but was it worth that many Human lives? Many Pine cones were brought back to Australia by the troops, with one tree planted at the now, Lone Pine Cemetary in Gallipoli. -
Figure 3
The ANZAC troops storm the Turks' trenches, takignthem in a half hour, but the casualties were many, with only a asmall succes to see as an achievement for such bloodshed. -
Jim Matin Embarks For Gallipoli
After almost a month of training and exploration at Cairo, Jim finally embarks for Gallipoli on the Southland, a former part of the German Passenger Fleet with the name Vaterland (Fatherland). But as they were only a few hours away from Mudros Bay, their destination, the Southland was torpedoed by a German submarine. As the men were evacuated, Jim and Cec were unfortunate enough to be in a boat that had a jammed rope, and were all flung into the ocean. -
Casualties
Throughout August, there were 2666 men killed, with 2054 killed in action, 532 dying of wounds and 80 of diseases. -
Jim Martin Embarks For Gallipoli (cont.)
Jim was forced to spend 4 hours in the cold ocean waters until being rescued on the same boat as Cec. -
Casualties
Throughout September, there were 399 men killed, with 145 killed in action, 163 dying of wounds and 91 of diseases. -
Jim Matin Passes Away
After being admitted to the Glenart Castle, Jim Martin dies that evening of heart failure. Before being admitted to the Glenart Castle, Jim had been unwell for sveral days, but was unwilling to go down to the hospital tent. But on the 25th, while in the trnches, Jim abruptly loses consciousness and is stretchered out to the hospital tent. After one look at him and had him sent off to the Glenart Castle. He was later buried at sea. -
Casualties
Throughout October, there were 281 men killed, with 82 killed in action, 84 dying of wounds and 115 of diseases. -
Casualties
Throughout November, there were 599 men killed, with 295 killed in action, 184 dying of wounds and 120 of diseases. -
Evacuation
Under the cover of night, over 93,000 troops were withdrawn slowly from Gallipoli. Before that, between late November and the 18th of December, the Allied forces were gradually reduced to 20,000. The soldiers developed clever tricks to keep their rifles firing, men played cricket on the beach, Allied battleships shelled the Turks, all to trick the Turks into believing that the ANZACs were still there. -
Casualties
Throughout Decmber, there were 220 men killed, with 50 killed in action, 46 dying of wounds and 124 of diseases. -
Final Statistics
By the end of the Gallipoli Campaign, there were over 33,000 Allied soldiers dead and 78,000 wounded. Of these casualties, there were over 8,700 Australians and 2,500 New Zealanders killed, with over 19,000 and 5,000 Australians and New Zealanders sick, respectively. The Turkinsh casualties, howerver, were estimated as over 200,000! After all the bloodshed and massacres at Gallipoli were all for nothing, as the men were eventually withdrawn.
