Gallipoli (2015) s01e06 Episode Script
If Only...
Tolly.
- Come here, Celia.
- Have him stop.
Look after you, but.
Yeah.
I know.
Gonna be my best man.
Why this flurry of queries about my campaign? - It's not the PM's business.
- It's Bartlett, sir.
Must be.
You will not leave without permission.
This is an official reprimand.
Johnny Hamilton's a good man, Ellis.
He's a fool.
The break-out will occur over 48 hours.
A hundred thousand troops on five fronts.
Is it all too complex? Activity, Cecil.
A build-up of reinforcements at Anzac, 20,000 men landing at Suvla Is it enough for me, though? What if the Turk is dug in? Where are you mob going? Up Walker's or the Nek.
- Not sure exactly.
- What about you blokes? I heard Lone Pine.
You blokes move forward! Have the New Zealanders moved south to support the Australians at the Nek? No, sir.
So, alone at the Nek.
- Forward! -(WHISTLES BLOW Oh! Ugh! Where's Stopford? Aboard the 'Jonquil', sir.
The navy should do something about their slippery ladders.
From General Stopford, sir.
Now we have Chunuk Bair, I need him there up in those hills, aiding the Anzacs.
He says the Turks "tend to be aggressive".
I'm going to Suvla Bay.
I'm taking charge down there.
- If I may say - No, you mayn't, Braithwaite! Your advice is not welcome at the moment.
I'm going to Suvla Bay, dammit.
Well, now, good afternoon, sir, and welcome to Suvla.
What are you doing, Freddy? Getting it done, Johnny.
This is only temporary.
For the shade, of course.
Your orders were to move from here and take the hills.
I gave you 20,000 men! They're very tired, Johnny.
Hasn't been an easy day, as you can imagine.
And so very hot.
I ordered you to advance to the heights.
We must move to aid Birdwood's New Zealanders! Doing it.
I'm on the move.
Some of my men are in the foothills already, clearing the way.
Down the coast at Suvla Bay, the British finally attacked.
Artillery shells set fire to the scrub and the British troops were caught in the flames.
The Turks chased them back to the beach.
It was the end of the Suvla push to the heights.
Silly.
Bartlett.
General.
It's so silent now.
Yes, Bartlett.
Yes, it is.
I witnessed yesterday, sir.
Must be difficult for you.
Don't patronise me, Bartlett.
Still, I spoke with Aspinall.
He told me of the victory at Chunuk Bair.
I congratulate you.
I relieved the New Zealanders up there with the North Lancs and the 5th Wiltshire.
They were overrun.
I've lost Chunuk Bair.
Sir.
Ah, speak of the devil, Johnson.
You met our distinguished visitor, Colonel White? - How do you do, Johnson? - Sir.
Mentioned in dispatches twice, Johnson.
So, son, how do you feel about an extra four shillings a day? What do you mean? You've been bumped up to full corporal.
You'll be telling me what to do by the end of this war.
Hey? No, sir.
What'd I tell ya? The Sergeant said you didn't take kindly to promotion.
Sorry, Harry.
Lieutenant now.
Dismissed, Johnson.
Thank you, sir.
I always knew you'd be something, Tol.
A corp's not anything, Bev.
It's just the army.
Still, I'm proud of you, mate.
Yeah, Mum will be too.
Nah.
Dad'd be real proud.
You reckon? Yeah.
Little Tom.
Don't remember much about him.
Nah, he never belted you.
You were his "little Tommy".
"But you just watch him," he'd say.
I'm not much, Bev.
Just a bloke.
Oh, you're not something yet, Tolly.
But you will be.
Yeah.
I know what I'll be.
Listen, you've got just as much chance as everyone else.
As much as Stewie and Chook? And Two Bob? And Cliffy? So, Charles, I thought I told you not to get shot.
I thought you were in Suvla.
I was, for my sins.
Oh, here.
Something for your convalescence.
Is it painful? How did you get it? I wanted to go up with Godley's men to the heights battle.
It's just a stray bullet.
There are no stray bullets in war, Charles.
You're probably lucky you didn't make it to the top.
Such a disaster.
Not the word.
Over the past four days, Hamilton's run up .
.
how many casualties, do you suppose? 20,000? 25,000? On three fronts.
- And lost all three.
- Maybe not.
We're holding on.
Dammit, Bean.
Why are you always like this? "Holding on.
" Hamilton's task was a peninsula.
What's he managed? A few bloody acres of nothing.
I watched men burn to death yesterday.
Saw English troops running away from the guns.
Hamilton and men like him are forging the end of an empire.
You go too far, Ellis.
Charles, you're injured.
Repatriate yourself.
Go to London.
You'll be relieved of your obligations and you can write the truth.
We're all censored.
Geography doesn't negate that.
Then I'll write it and you take it to London.
I'm staying here, Ellis.
I've got a job to do.
Not for much longer, I'm thinking.
Surely even Hamilton can see it now.
Never mind, Birdie.
Never say die, I say.
I'll be in touch, sir.
We had Chunuk Bair in our hands for some time.
Means we know how to take it.
So your plans to retake, Birdie, they're well advanced? Still working out the details, sir.
Good.
Well, I gave Freddy Stopford at Suvla some ginger.
He's to immediately take the first ridge leading to the heights, and then, uh on we go.
Good.
- Welcome back, sir.
- Suvla, Braithwaite.
What do we have on General Stopford? He's been in contact, sir.
Once again.
Has he finished moving to the ridge I ordered? He says he wants to push on, sir.
I don't give a fig what he WANTS.
I asked you, has he moved for the ridge? Not quite, sir.
He says he'd very much like to, but, first, he needs more artillery and water.
God help us.
Keep moving! Colonel, move your battalion inland now.
More like a million.
After the failure of the big break-out, everything came to a stop.
We'd been here four months and got nowhere.
We were completely fought out.
The Turks were probably the same.
No-one knew what to do next.
Reminds you of home, eh? Nah.
It's an old moon.
Means change.
I had such faith in him .
.
in the beginning.
Definition of insanity.
To repeat the same action over and over again and expect a different result.
Do you think London really understands what's going on? We have to do something.
But is it up to us? Will someone please rid us of Ashmead-Bartlett? Will someone please rid us of the commander? Good evening, gentlemen.
- Sir.
- Good evening, sir.
I couldn't help overhearing.
We're just fussing, sir.
I apologise.
Not at all.
We're together on this.
So, what's to be done, do you think? Gentlemen? Sir? I think you should know I cabled Kitchener that I relieved General Stopford of his command at Suvla.
He leaves the peninsula tomorrow.
If I may say, s General De Lisle will replace Stopford until the arrival of General Byng.
Byng's a fine choice, sir.
Hm.
Gentlemen, General Braithwaite and I have something to discuss.
Sir.
Since the failure of the break-out, there's been a general nervousness in London.
I detect it in my correspondence with Kitchener.
More than ever now, we must all do what we can to pull together.
Of course, sir.
You're stroke of the GHQ boat.
Is all well, do you think? Are we all pulling together? What is it you mean, sir? It was Kitchener who suggested I replace Stopford.
Yes.
He suggested I sack you too.
You ought perhaps to know that I didn't select you, Braithwaite.
Kitchener gave you to me.
But I'll not abandon you.
I cabled him that my confidence in you is complete.
Thank you, sir.
Am I correct in this? Do I have your complete trust? Absolutely, sir.
Good.
Good.
You wish to see me, sir? I want you to go to England, Dawnay, immediately.
It's clear I need somebody I can trust in my corner.
Yes, sir.
Tell the King - you're his friend - tell Kitchener, tell England .
.
we can prevail here.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Guy.
I'm relying on you as my man.
Sir.
Sir, let me introduce Keith Murdoch, an Australian correspondent.
Who? Murdoch, sir.
Oh, yes, yes.
I received your letter.
Hm.
How do you do? How do you do, General? Are you alright, sir? Well, now that you're here, uh .
.
what do you want? I'd like your permission to visit Anzac, sir .
.
for a short time.
Step this way.
You are aware we have strict protocol regarding journalist reportage? I am.
You must not impart any confidential military information, unless through the censor.
Right.
There have been some who have tried to transgress.
I hope you won't be one of them.
Not at all.
Beautiful, hm? It is.
So, Murdoch, I have your absolute word on this? You have my word.
One, two, three.
And .
.
lift.
Dave Mate.
Come on, you gotta report sick.
Nah.
Oh, shit.
Come on, Murdoch.
Battle plans? What battle plans? Schoolboy could do better.
Blind schoolboy.
Stop this, Bartlett.
You've been like it since the beginning.
I have, Henry, since you so kindly pointed out.
From the moment Hamilton slaughtered his men at Helles.
This is war, for Godsake.
Men die! Your attacks on the leadership are nothing else but emotion over intelligence.
Henry, please.
Am I to take it that you intend to continue this campaign against General Headquarters? There's no such campaign, Henry.
In fact, it's the other way round.
They hate me .
.
for no apparent reason.
Good God, you're drunk, Bartlett! And I'm tiring of your company! Both points clearly very true.
Oh, now, Henry, don't be like that, for goodness sake.
What? You too? Gentlemen? Please don't let old Henry intimidate you, for Godsakes.
Since I've arrived .
.
met the GHQ staff .
.
all of them.
Bean took me on a tour of the Anzac trenches today.
I saw it all.
Yes.
This is a total disaster.
And you're telling me this? The Australian newspapers are full of Oh, yes, they're full of tales of advances Mm.
.
.
honourable battles .
.
medals won.
Mm.
Tales told by idiots.
And that's us, Murdoch.
He said, "I'm just sorry that my own children "won't have that chance.
" I'll say goodnight, gentlemen.
- Goodnight, sir.
- Goodnight, sir.
- 'Night, sir.
- Ah.
I've suggested to him that he encourage the navy to another major push.
And? No.
He still believes in his army.
What's left of it.
He now admits, at least, the break-out was a failure.
And his response is this call for more men.
I can't believe Another 95,000 to be tossed into the maw.
Surely Kitchener can't agree to this.
The man has a very dim idea of who his real enemies are, or if he's in any danger, which he is.
He's only got that moustache and cheery disposition to protect himself.
Well, that's B-Bean's view.
Yeah, well, Bean's a good man and he understands better than the others.
Mm, that's my impression.
I tried to engage Bean the other day.
He's not a man to rock the boat.
I wanted him in London, telling the Prime Minister what's actually happening here.
What, you'd break the c-censorship agreement? Well, that's besides the point, now, wouldn't you say? Well, the issue now is .
.
to save the lives of some of these young men.
I'm leaving for London tomorrow.
It's an introduction to the Prime Minister and details what's going on here.
- Godsake, Murdoch, keep it safe.
- Thank you, Bartlett.
- You can rely on me.
- Now, there's a sigh of relief.
If I felt any better this morning, I'd be positively jubilant.
Thank you, Nevinson.
You've done your duty.
I had no choice, sir.
Who's yours from? Mum.
What's she got to say? Not much.
Merci.
- Merci.
- Mr Murdoch.
We spoke in June, Bartlett.
Do you recall? Of course.
And do you remember the subject matter of our discussion? Hm? You gave an assurance not to criticise GHQ or its officers or the conduct of the campaign.
As far as I know, I've kept to this.
Hmm.
On September the 8th, you sent a letter, via Mr Murdoch, to Mr Asquith.
An uncensored letter.
Indeed I did.
I have a perfect right to address my Prime Minister.
How did you find out about it? That letter has been seized by us.
Has it? And has it been forwarded to the proper address? I warned you I would send anyone away who spoke against the campaign.
Well, then you must send away practically everyone on the peninsula, including the Turks.
Your press credentials are hereby revoked.
You are no longer the guest of the army.
You are to return home.
Ah.
And may I leave at once? - What? - Thank you so much, Walter.
I've been anxious to get back for some time.
I'll certainly have a lot to say in London.
Oh, um Mediterranean leishmaniasis.
I beg your pardon? It's a parasite.
It finally kills its host and therefore dies as well.
I suggest you look it up.
The General felt he needed to put his case for a continuation of the campaign.
- And more men.
- Did he? What bloody difference were you going to make? I have no idea, sir.
He wants 95,000 more men! Well, you're part of his GHQ.
What do you think? I think it's a ridiculous idea.
You know him, sir.
He's He's seeing a curate's egg.
Is this the view of your fellow officers? Sir, the truth is, General Hamilton has lost the support of all his closest advisors, with the possible exception of Birdwood.
Are you aware of this blasted letter from the Australian journalist Keith Murdoch? I thought Bartlett had written a letter.
He did.
Confiscated.
This bloody Australian wrote his own.
Now Asquith's circulating it to the whole cabinet.
I've not seen it, sir.
Scathing on Hamilton.
It's a farrago .
.
but the PM is in a mood to believe most of it .
.
and, damn it all, so am I.
What's next for you, Ellis? I'm through with all this.
I'm broke.
I'm doing a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand, show them my moving pictures.
It'll be fun.
Well, enjoy it.
Show them the truth.
Truth is, I've been an observer of these horrors for far too long.
This is my seventh war, Charles.
I'm tired.
Yes.
Good luck.
And Kitchener accepts this? "As a as a strategist, he has completely failed.
"For the General Staff and Hamilton, "the men have nothing but contempt.
" 'Contempt'? "Australians now loathe and detest them.
It" What's his name again? Murdoch, sir.
Murdoch .
.
has no honour.
I'm turning in.
Goodnight, General.
- 'Night, Braith.
- Sir? Lord Kitchener is about to send another cable.
He says it has to be deciphered by you alone.
Mm.
Shall I have you woken to read it? No.
I'll read it tomorrow.
Sir.
Dave? You're eating.
Yeah.
I don't know what it was .
.
but, for the first time, I felt some hope.
Maybe we were gonna make it.
Maybe I'd make it home.
History, Braith.
We're about to write it.
The Greeks and Trojans will be here forever Fall back! .
.
and now it's our turn.
Bugger this.
Who wants to go to the beach for a swim? There's an idea.
- What have you got there? - The one that got me.
Don't hang onto that.
It's bad luck.
- Tol! - Bev! I don't care what anyone says.
They're good blokes.
Two Bob's dead.
Come on, lads! Over the past four days, Hamilton's run up how many casualties? 20,000? 25,000? Hamilton's task was a peninsula.
What's he managed? A few bloody acres of nothing.
Definition of insanity, to repeat the same action over and over again and expect a different result.
Good evening, gentlemen.
We're together on this.
- Tol, this is Celia.
- Hello, Thomas.
Who's yours from? Mum.
- What's she got to say? - Not much.
He now admits at least the break-out was a failure.
And his response is this call for more men.
Surely Kitchener can't agree to this.
Sir, the truth is, General Hamilton has lost the support of all his closest advisers.
Sir, Lord Kitchener is about to send another cable.
He says it has to be deciphered by you alone.
I'll read it tomorrow.
Sir.
Thank you, Simmonds.
- General, may I say - Say nothing, Colonel.
I have not succeeded.
The moving finger writes.
And there's an end to it.
Hm.
General.
I'd like to thank you.
For your contribution.
You're very gracious, sir.
I am that.
At least.
Braithwaite.
What's this? He's been dismissed by Kitchener.
- Bean.
- Sir.
So, this is your camp, hm? Very comfortable.
We'll all be sorry to part with you, sir.
I wanted to say something about the ANZAC men, Bean.
They're splendid fellows.
And they have exceeded all my expectations.
My heartfelt wishes go with you all.
Thank you, sir.
They will be remembered.
When the storm hit, it wasn't just rain.
This was something different.
You reckon they're trying to get rid of us? For months I thought God had abandoned us.
But that damned storm.
It was like He was coming back at us with a vengeance.
What's all that? That's Lord Kitchener.
What's he doing here? Coming to check on you, Tol.
You'd better watch out, Corporal.
Why is he here? May I? Yes, sir.
Could I have a loan of that? Now let's see Oh! Steady, Birdy.
Yes.
Right.
Good.
Carry on.
- We're here, sir.
Russell's Top.
- Mm-hm.
And that's Pope's Hill over there.
The line lies across the Turk emplacements named the Chessboard.
Then Quinn's, Courtney's, Steele's.
And then down over here, Lonely Pine.
- We hold that, don't we? - We hold a good part of it, sir.
So this is the extent of our right flank.
Yes, sir, more or less.
And these men, what do your officers think they could accomplish if we had one more push? It's considered they could fight for 24 hours, sir.
No longer.
Thank God, Birdy, I came to see this for myself.
The country is much more .
.
difficult than I imagined.
I'd no idea what you were up against.
I think you're all doing a marvellous job.
Thank you, sir.
But something must be changed here before long.
The Germans .
.
are moving heavy howitzers into Turkey.
They'll be here before we know it.
Cheerio! Hoo-roo! Ta-ra! It's a rumour, Bev.
It's everywhere.
- We're not going.
- Don't say that! - Why wouldn't we? - What, withdraw without winning? Not the Pommies, mate.
They never surrender.
- They're not going to win.
- And how do you know? They've won every war they've been in since Agincourt.
And even if they didn't, they'd say they did.
- And when was Agincourt? - 500 years ago last week.
Doesn't count.
It does to them.
And they're a great empire, Tol.
They do things differently to everyone else.
They're hopeless.
They weren't always.
Could be worse.
Like how? They could be shooting at us.
Almost miss the flies.
Almost.
Yes, of course, General Monro, sir.
So, Kitchener's recommendations for evacuation have gone to the war cabinet.
We are now in the direct hands of civilians in lounge chairs, chaps.
How long till they make up their minds? Well, come on.
I know Johnny Hamilton wasn't a betting man, but I am.
I'm taking bets.
A month? Two months? You're right, sir.
I am.
The bloody German howitzers will be in Turkey in a week.
- Wrong, sir.
- What do you mean? The howitzers have apparently arrived in Constantinople.
So .
.
they'll be here soon to blast us off the peninsula.
We prepare for evacuation.
- Without the word from London? - That's what I'm saying.
We start now.
We started the silent war.
All along the line we were told to stop shooting for days at a time to lull the Turks to sleep, to make them think we were settling in for winter.
Stand down! Corporal? Stand down! Reynolds! And these howitzers, like some horrible beast coming for us.
I was talking with Monro.
Bloody great trench-busters, they are.
He says he's experienced it in France.
It's horrific.
Look at me.
I'm wondering how Bartlett would cope with this.
A roaring fire, a few servants.
Mulled wine.
Furs.
Mink and so forth.
Have you heard about that soldier, frozen to death up on the parapet? One thing's for sure - Sydney and Melbourne won't be reading about that over breakfast.
Much worse down in Suvla.
Hundreds.
Drowned and frozen.
Hundreds.
It gives a bullet a kind of honour, don't you think? .
.
and they move down to piers on North Beach, Anzac and Suvla over a 48-hour period.
All in all we'll clear 200 guns, 2,000 vehicles, 5,000 animals and 90,000 men.
Good.
My congratulations, General.
Thank you, sir.
London.
At last.
Quiet.
Quiet.
Quiet.
So, we will continue with the silent war.
In the meantime, I want to thank each and every one of you.
As does the Army Corps Commander.
Let me read, lads.
"If every man makes up his mind "that he will leave the trenches quietly when his turn comes "and sees that everybody else does the same, "there will be no difficulty of any kind.
" Alright, alright.
Quiet! Whoa! Whoa! What's wrong with you blokes? Come on, wake up, fellas! Davey, cheer up, mate! We're going home! We're going home! Whoo-hoo! Ugh! Jeez, Tol.
Bloody hell, that was close! Tol, what are you doing? Leave them.
Sorry, Bev.
Get down! - Dave! - Over here.
Bevan? Tolly Bev.
Bevan! I'm alright! Tolly, it's alright.
Tol Bev! Bev! Bevan! Shit! Stretcher bearer! It's alright.
It's alright.
We're going to get you out of here.
It's OK, Tol.
Everything will be OK.
It's OK.
And these howitzers.
The news gets worse at Suvla.
Not so bad here, sir.
Hardly any casualties.
That's very good.
Now, what is it exactly that you want to show me? Ah, well, it's quite ingenious, sir.
Wonderful.
12 minutes.
I presume they can be set at different times? Depending on the amount of water.
- And we're manufacturing them? - As many as possible, sir.
Come on, pack it up.
Heading back home.
Corporal.
Sir.
- My sympathies, Johnson.
- Thank you, sir.
I know how close you were.
What is it, son? Sir, I'd like to volunteer to be one of the rearguard.
Me too, sir.
You're a bloody idiot, Dave.
Why volunteer when you've already made it? Don't try and push me round, mate.
What are you doing? You've got to get out while you can.
- Shut up, Tolly.
- Just go! I don't need you here! - Tolly, listen - Go! You think you know everything but you don't know anything.
Go! In nine days and nights, 70,000 soldiers left Anzac and Suvla.
Move to the assembly area.
There was no cheering or gladness.
They walked back down the hills and every bloke had the same thought.
"We might be leaving, "but a lot of us are staying here forever.
" I'll see you on board the 'Chatham'.
Sir.
Only 10,000 remaining.
We can only hope that most of them come out alive.
Indeed, sir.
Thank you, sir.
On that final night, the last ANZACs were just 1,500 blokes scattered along the front lines, men who'd volunteered to stay to the last.
B Group men stand down, fall in.
We all knew if the Turks realised what was happening, Gallipoli would end in a massacre.
Get everything packed, make your way down to the beach.
Platoon, get moving.
Good luck, Tolly.
You should have gone, Dave.
Why didn't you? Been asking myself that same thing.
I think, um .
.
I didn't want to be the only one of us to leave.
Do you reckon we're fooling them? No.
Neither do I.
Bevan was a good man, Tol.
So, what do you do now, Dave? Go back to university.
Pretend I'm learning.
Pretend? They're just books! They're no comfort.
It's not life.
There's more life here.
I'm 18 now, and I know more about death than living.
Happy birthday, Tol.
You know what I think they ought to do? We should get our god .
.
and they should get theirs .
.
and we let them fight it out.
Then there'd be a lot less killing.
What? It's the same god, Tol.
What? Muslim god, Christian god, same same god.
It's the same bloke? Are you sure? Yeah.
So, he's getting prayers from both sides .
.
and he still lets them kill each other.
Yeah.
I don't understand.
Come on, Tol.
That's it.
Come on, last boat.
Gallipoli, the war that got away from its handlers.
If it made more sense, it would be a lesser story.
Perhaps that's why, after longer and more important battles are forgotten, it lingers in our imagination.
What is it about this place? It's been farmed and fought over for 5,000 years.
The rhythms of the earth are eternal.
The warriors are the ones that never last.
Merged and synced by santibone
- Come here, Celia.
- Have him stop.
Look after you, but.
Yeah.
I know.
Gonna be my best man.
Why this flurry of queries about my campaign? - It's not the PM's business.
- It's Bartlett, sir.
Must be.
You will not leave without permission.
This is an official reprimand.
Johnny Hamilton's a good man, Ellis.
He's a fool.
The break-out will occur over 48 hours.
A hundred thousand troops on five fronts.
Is it all too complex? Activity, Cecil.
A build-up of reinforcements at Anzac, 20,000 men landing at Suvla Is it enough for me, though? What if the Turk is dug in? Where are you mob going? Up Walker's or the Nek.
- Not sure exactly.
- What about you blokes? I heard Lone Pine.
You blokes move forward! Have the New Zealanders moved south to support the Australians at the Nek? No, sir.
So, alone at the Nek.
- Forward! -(WHISTLES BLOW Oh! Ugh! Where's Stopford? Aboard the 'Jonquil', sir.
The navy should do something about their slippery ladders.
From General Stopford, sir.
Now we have Chunuk Bair, I need him there up in those hills, aiding the Anzacs.
He says the Turks "tend to be aggressive".
I'm going to Suvla Bay.
I'm taking charge down there.
- If I may say - No, you mayn't, Braithwaite! Your advice is not welcome at the moment.
I'm going to Suvla Bay, dammit.
Well, now, good afternoon, sir, and welcome to Suvla.
What are you doing, Freddy? Getting it done, Johnny.
This is only temporary.
For the shade, of course.
Your orders were to move from here and take the hills.
I gave you 20,000 men! They're very tired, Johnny.
Hasn't been an easy day, as you can imagine.
And so very hot.
I ordered you to advance to the heights.
We must move to aid Birdwood's New Zealanders! Doing it.
I'm on the move.
Some of my men are in the foothills already, clearing the way.
Down the coast at Suvla Bay, the British finally attacked.
Artillery shells set fire to the scrub and the British troops were caught in the flames.
The Turks chased them back to the beach.
It was the end of the Suvla push to the heights.
Silly.
Bartlett.
General.
It's so silent now.
Yes, Bartlett.
Yes, it is.
I witnessed yesterday, sir.
Must be difficult for you.
Don't patronise me, Bartlett.
Still, I spoke with Aspinall.
He told me of the victory at Chunuk Bair.
I congratulate you.
I relieved the New Zealanders up there with the North Lancs and the 5th Wiltshire.
They were overrun.
I've lost Chunuk Bair.
Sir.
Ah, speak of the devil, Johnson.
You met our distinguished visitor, Colonel White? - How do you do, Johnson? - Sir.
Mentioned in dispatches twice, Johnson.
So, son, how do you feel about an extra four shillings a day? What do you mean? You've been bumped up to full corporal.
You'll be telling me what to do by the end of this war.
Hey? No, sir.
What'd I tell ya? The Sergeant said you didn't take kindly to promotion.
Sorry, Harry.
Lieutenant now.
Dismissed, Johnson.
Thank you, sir.
I always knew you'd be something, Tol.
A corp's not anything, Bev.
It's just the army.
Still, I'm proud of you, mate.
Yeah, Mum will be too.
Nah.
Dad'd be real proud.
You reckon? Yeah.
Little Tom.
Don't remember much about him.
Nah, he never belted you.
You were his "little Tommy".
"But you just watch him," he'd say.
I'm not much, Bev.
Just a bloke.
Oh, you're not something yet, Tolly.
But you will be.
Yeah.
I know what I'll be.
Listen, you've got just as much chance as everyone else.
As much as Stewie and Chook? And Two Bob? And Cliffy? So, Charles, I thought I told you not to get shot.
I thought you were in Suvla.
I was, for my sins.
Oh, here.
Something for your convalescence.
Is it painful? How did you get it? I wanted to go up with Godley's men to the heights battle.
It's just a stray bullet.
There are no stray bullets in war, Charles.
You're probably lucky you didn't make it to the top.
Such a disaster.
Not the word.
Over the past four days, Hamilton's run up .
.
how many casualties, do you suppose? 20,000? 25,000? On three fronts.
- And lost all three.
- Maybe not.
We're holding on.
Dammit, Bean.
Why are you always like this? "Holding on.
" Hamilton's task was a peninsula.
What's he managed? A few bloody acres of nothing.
I watched men burn to death yesterday.
Saw English troops running away from the guns.
Hamilton and men like him are forging the end of an empire.
You go too far, Ellis.
Charles, you're injured.
Repatriate yourself.
Go to London.
You'll be relieved of your obligations and you can write the truth.
We're all censored.
Geography doesn't negate that.
Then I'll write it and you take it to London.
I'm staying here, Ellis.
I've got a job to do.
Not for much longer, I'm thinking.
Surely even Hamilton can see it now.
Never mind, Birdie.
Never say die, I say.
I'll be in touch, sir.
We had Chunuk Bair in our hands for some time.
Means we know how to take it.
So your plans to retake, Birdie, they're well advanced? Still working out the details, sir.
Good.
Well, I gave Freddy Stopford at Suvla some ginger.
He's to immediately take the first ridge leading to the heights, and then, uh on we go.
Good.
- Welcome back, sir.
- Suvla, Braithwaite.
What do we have on General Stopford? He's been in contact, sir.
Once again.
Has he finished moving to the ridge I ordered? He says he wants to push on, sir.
I don't give a fig what he WANTS.
I asked you, has he moved for the ridge? Not quite, sir.
He says he'd very much like to, but, first, he needs more artillery and water.
God help us.
Keep moving! Colonel, move your battalion inland now.
More like a million.
After the failure of the big break-out, everything came to a stop.
We'd been here four months and got nowhere.
We were completely fought out.
The Turks were probably the same.
No-one knew what to do next.
Reminds you of home, eh? Nah.
It's an old moon.
Means change.
I had such faith in him .
.
in the beginning.
Definition of insanity.
To repeat the same action over and over again and expect a different result.
Do you think London really understands what's going on? We have to do something.
But is it up to us? Will someone please rid us of Ashmead-Bartlett? Will someone please rid us of the commander? Good evening, gentlemen.
- Sir.
- Good evening, sir.
I couldn't help overhearing.
We're just fussing, sir.
I apologise.
Not at all.
We're together on this.
So, what's to be done, do you think? Gentlemen? Sir? I think you should know I cabled Kitchener that I relieved General Stopford of his command at Suvla.
He leaves the peninsula tomorrow.
If I may say, s General De Lisle will replace Stopford until the arrival of General Byng.
Byng's a fine choice, sir.
Hm.
Gentlemen, General Braithwaite and I have something to discuss.
Sir.
Since the failure of the break-out, there's been a general nervousness in London.
I detect it in my correspondence with Kitchener.
More than ever now, we must all do what we can to pull together.
Of course, sir.
You're stroke of the GHQ boat.
Is all well, do you think? Are we all pulling together? What is it you mean, sir? It was Kitchener who suggested I replace Stopford.
Yes.
He suggested I sack you too.
You ought perhaps to know that I didn't select you, Braithwaite.
Kitchener gave you to me.
But I'll not abandon you.
I cabled him that my confidence in you is complete.
Thank you, sir.
Am I correct in this? Do I have your complete trust? Absolutely, sir.
Good.
Good.
You wish to see me, sir? I want you to go to England, Dawnay, immediately.
It's clear I need somebody I can trust in my corner.
Yes, sir.
Tell the King - you're his friend - tell Kitchener, tell England .
.
we can prevail here.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Guy.
I'm relying on you as my man.
Sir.
Sir, let me introduce Keith Murdoch, an Australian correspondent.
Who? Murdoch, sir.
Oh, yes, yes.
I received your letter.
Hm.
How do you do? How do you do, General? Are you alright, sir? Well, now that you're here, uh .
.
what do you want? I'd like your permission to visit Anzac, sir .
.
for a short time.
Step this way.
You are aware we have strict protocol regarding journalist reportage? I am.
You must not impart any confidential military information, unless through the censor.
Right.
There have been some who have tried to transgress.
I hope you won't be one of them.
Not at all.
Beautiful, hm? It is.
So, Murdoch, I have your absolute word on this? You have my word.
One, two, three.
And .
.
lift.
Dave Mate.
Come on, you gotta report sick.
Nah.
Oh, shit.
Come on, Murdoch.
Battle plans? What battle plans? Schoolboy could do better.
Blind schoolboy.
Stop this, Bartlett.
You've been like it since the beginning.
I have, Henry, since you so kindly pointed out.
From the moment Hamilton slaughtered his men at Helles.
This is war, for Godsake.
Men die! Your attacks on the leadership are nothing else but emotion over intelligence.
Henry, please.
Am I to take it that you intend to continue this campaign against General Headquarters? There's no such campaign, Henry.
In fact, it's the other way round.
They hate me .
.
for no apparent reason.
Good God, you're drunk, Bartlett! And I'm tiring of your company! Both points clearly very true.
Oh, now, Henry, don't be like that, for goodness sake.
What? You too? Gentlemen? Please don't let old Henry intimidate you, for Godsakes.
Since I've arrived .
.
met the GHQ staff .
.
all of them.
Bean took me on a tour of the Anzac trenches today.
I saw it all.
Yes.
This is a total disaster.
And you're telling me this? The Australian newspapers are full of Oh, yes, they're full of tales of advances Mm.
.
.
honourable battles .
.
medals won.
Mm.
Tales told by idiots.
And that's us, Murdoch.
He said, "I'm just sorry that my own children "won't have that chance.
" I'll say goodnight, gentlemen.
- Goodnight, sir.
- Goodnight, sir.
- 'Night, sir.
- Ah.
I've suggested to him that he encourage the navy to another major push.
And? No.
He still believes in his army.
What's left of it.
He now admits, at least, the break-out was a failure.
And his response is this call for more men.
I can't believe Another 95,000 to be tossed into the maw.
Surely Kitchener can't agree to this.
The man has a very dim idea of who his real enemies are, or if he's in any danger, which he is.
He's only got that moustache and cheery disposition to protect himself.
Well, that's B-Bean's view.
Yeah, well, Bean's a good man and he understands better than the others.
Mm, that's my impression.
I tried to engage Bean the other day.
He's not a man to rock the boat.
I wanted him in London, telling the Prime Minister what's actually happening here.
What, you'd break the c-censorship agreement? Well, that's besides the point, now, wouldn't you say? Well, the issue now is .
.
to save the lives of some of these young men.
I'm leaving for London tomorrow.
It's an introduction to the Prime Minister and details what's going on here.
- Godsake, Murdoch, keep it safe.
- Thank you, Bartlett.
- You can rely on me.
- Now, there's a sigh of relief.
If I felt any better this morning, I'd be positively jubilant.
Thank you, Nevinson.
You've done your duty.
I had no choice, sir.
Who's yours from? Mum.
What's she got to say? Not much.
Merci.
- Merci.
- Mr Murdoch.
We spoke in June, Bartlett.
Do you recall? Of course.
And do you remember the subject matter of our discussion? Hm? You gave an assurance not to criticise GHQ or its officers or the conduct of the campaign.
As far as I know, I've kept to this.
Hmm.
On September the 8th, you sent a letter, via Mr Murdoch, to Mr Asquith.
An uncensored letter.
Indeed I did.
I have a perfect right to address my Prime Minister.
How did you find out about it? That letter has been seized by us.
Has it? And has it been forwarded to the proper address? I warned you I would send anyone away who spoke against the campaign.
Well, then you must send away practically everyone on the peninsula, including the Turks.
Your press credentials are hereby revoked.
You are no longer the guest of the army.
You are to return home.
Ah.
And may I leave at once? - What? - Thank you so much, Walter.
I've been anxious to get back for some time.
I'll certainly have a lot to say in London.
Oh, um Mediterranean leishmaniasis.
I beg your pardon? It's a parasite.
It finally kills its host and therefore dies as well.
I suggest you look it up.
The General felt he needed to put his case for a continuation of the campaign.
- And more men.
- Did he? What bloody difference were you going to make? I have no idea, sir.
He wants 95,000 more men! Well, you're part of his GHQ.
What do you think? I think it's a ridiculous idea.
You know him, sir.
He's He's seeing a curate's egg.
Is this the view of your fellow officers? Sir, the truth is, General Hamilton has lost the support of all his closest advisors, with the possible exception of Birdwood.
Are you aware of this blasted letter from the Australian journalist Keith Murdoch? I thought Bartlett had written a letter.
He did.
Confiscated.
This bloody Australian wrote his own.
Now Asquith's circulating it to the whole cabinet.
I've not seen it, sir.
Scathing on Hamilton.
It's a farrago .
.
but the PM is in a mood to believe most of it .
.
and, damn it all, so am I.
What's next for you, Ellis? I'm through with all this.
I'm broke.
I'm doing a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand, show them my moving pictures.
It'll be fun.
Well, enjoy it.
Show them the truth.
Truth is, I've been an observer of these horrors for far too long.
This is my seventh war, Charles.
I'm tired.
Yes.
Good luck.
And Kitchener accepts this? "As a as a strategist, he has completely failed.
"For the General Staff and Hamilton, "the men have nothing but contempt.
" 'Contempt'? "Australians now loathe and detest them.
It" What's his name again? Murdoch, sir.
Murdoch .
.
has no honour.
I'm turning in.
Goodnight, General.
- 'Night, Braith.
- Sir? Lord Kitchener is about to send another cable.
He says it has to be deciphered by you alone.
Mm.
Shall I have you woken to read it? No.
I'll read it tomorrow.
Sir.
Dave? You're eating.
Yeah.
I don't know what it was .
.
but, for the first time, I felt some hope.
Maybe we were gonna make it.
Maybe I'd make it home.
History, Braith.
We're about to write it.
The Greeks and Trojans will be here forever Fall back! .
.
and now it's our turn.
Bugger this.
Who wants to go to the beach for a swim? There's an idea.
- What have you got there? - The one that got me.
Don't hang onto that.
It's bad luck.
- Tol! - Bev! I don't care what anyone says.
They're good blokes.
Two Bob's dead.
Come on, lads! Over the past four days, Hamilton's run up how many casualties? 20,000? 25,000? Hamilton's task was a peninsula.
What's he managed? A few bloody acres of nothing.
Definition of insanity, to repeat the same action over and over again and expect a different result.
Good evening, gentlemen.
We're together on this.
- Tol, this is Celia.
- Hello, Thomas.
Who's yours from? Mum.
- What's she got to say? - Not much.
He now admits at least the break-out was a failure.
And his response is this call for more men.
Surely Kitchener can't agree to this.
Sir, the truth is, General Hamilton has lost the support of all his closest advisers.
Sir, Lord Kitchener is about to send another cable.
He says it has to be deciphered by you alone.
I'll read it tomorrow.
Sir.
Thank you, Simmonds.
- General, may I say - Say nothing, Colonel.
I have not succeeded.
The moving finger writes.
And there's an end to it.
Hm.
General.
I'd like to thank you.
For your contribution.
You're very gracious, sir.
I am that.
At least.
Braithwaite.
What's this? He's been dismissed by Kitchener.
- Bean.
- Sir.
So, this is your camp, hm? Very comfortable.
We'll all be sorry to part with you, sir.
I wanted to say something about the ANZAC men, Bean.
They're splendid fellows.
And they have exceeded all my expectations.
My heartfelt wishes go with you all.
Thank you, sir.
They will be remembered.
When the storm hit, it wasn't just rain.
This was something different.
You reckon they're trying to get rid of us? For months I thought God had abandoned us.
But that damned storm.
It was like He was coming back at us with a vengeance.
What's all that? That's Lord Kitchener.
What's he doing here? Coming to check on you, Tol.
You'd better watch out, Corporal.
Why is he here? May I? Yes, sir.
Could I have a loan of that? Now let's see Oh! Steady, Birdy.
Yes.
Right.
Good.
Carry on.
- We're here, sir.
Russell's Top.
- Mm-hm.
And that's Pope's Hill over there.
The line lies across the Turk emplacements named the Chessboard.
Then Quinn's, Courtney's, Steele's.
And then down over here, Lonely Pine.
- We hold that, don't we? - We hold a good part of it, sir.
So this is the extent of our right flank.
Yes, sir, more or less.
And these men, what do your officers think they could accomplish if we had one more push? It's considered they could fight for 24 hours, sir.
No longer.
Thank God, Birdy, I came to see this for myself.
The country is much more .
.
difficult than I imagined.
I'd no idea what you were up against.
I think you're all doing a marvellous job.
Thank you, sir.
But something must be changed here before long.
The Germans .
.
are moving heavy howitzers into Turkey.
They'll be here before we know it.
Cheerio! Hoo-roo! Ta-ra! It's a rumour, Bev.
It's everywhere.
- We're not going.
- Don't say that! - Why wouldn't we? - What, withdraw without winning? Not the Pommies, mate.
They never surrender.
- They're not going to win.
- And how do you know? They've won every war they've been in since Agincourt.
And even if they didn't, they'd say they did.
- And when was Agincourt? - 500 years ago last week.
Doesn't count.
It does to them.
And they're a great empire, Tol.
They do things differently to everyone else.
They're hopeless.
They weren't always.
Could be worse.
Like how? They could be shooting at us.
Almost miss the flies.
Almost.
Yes, of course, General Monro, sir.
So, Kitchener's recommendations for evacuation have gone to the war cabinet.
We are now in the direct hands of civilians in lounge chairs, chaps.
How long till they make up their minds? Well, come on.
I know Johnny Hamilton wasn't a betting man, but I am.
I'm taking bets.
A month? Two months? You're right, sir.
I am.
The bloody German howitzers will be in Turkey in a week.
- Wrong, sir.
- What do you mean? The howitzers have apparently arrived in Constantinople.
So .
.
they'll be here soon to blast us off the peninsula.
We prepare for evacuation.
- Without the word from London? - That's what I'm saying.
We start now.
We started the silent war.
All along the line we were told to stop shooting for days at a time to lull the Turks to sleep, to make them think we were settling in for winter.
Stand down! Corporal? Stand down! Reynolds! And these howitzers, like some horrible beast coming for us.
I was talking with Monro.
Bloody great trench-busters, they are.
He says he's experienced it in France.
It's horrific.
Look at me.
I'm wondering how Bartlett would cope with this.
A roaring fire, a few servants.
Mulled wine.
Furs.
Mink and so forth.
Have you heard about that soldier, frozen to death up on the parapet? One thing's for sure - Sydney and Melbourne won't be reading about that over breakfast.
Much worse down in Suvla.
Hundreds.
Drowned and frozen.
Hundreds.
It gives a bullet a kind of honour, don't you think? .
.
and they move down to piers on North Beach, Anzac and Suvla over a 48-hour period.
All in all we'll clear 200 guns, 2,000 vehicles, 5,000 animals and 90,000 men.
Good.
My congratulations, General.
Thank you, sir.
London.
At last.
Quiet.
Quiet.
Quiet.
So, we will continue with the silent war.
In the meantime, I want to thank each and every one of you.
As does the Army Corps Commander.
Let me read, lads.
"If every man makes up his mind "that he will leave the trenches quietly when his turn comes "and sees that everybody else does the same, "there will be no difficulty of any kind.
" Alright, alright.
Quiet! Whoa! Whoa! What's wrong with you blokes? Come on, wake up, fellas! Davey, cheer up, mate! We're going home! We're going home! Whoo-hoo! Ugh! Jeez, Tol.
Bloody hell, that was close! Tol, what are you doing? Leave them.
Sorry, Bev.
Get down! - Dave! - Over here.
Bevan? Tolly Bev.
Bevan! I'm alright! Tolly, it's alright.
Tol Bev! Bev! Bevan! Shit! Stretcher bearer! It's alright.
It's alright.
We're going to get you out of here.
It's OK, Tol.
Everything will be OK.
It's OK.
And these howitzers.
The news gets worse at Suvla.
Not so bad here, sir.
Hardly any casualties.
That's very good.
Now, what is it exactly that you want to show me? Ah, well, it's quite ingenious, sir.
Wonderful.
12 minutes.
I presume they can be set at different times? Depending on the amount of water.
- And we're manufacturing them? - As many as possible, sir.
Come on, pack it up.
Heading back home.
Corporal.
Sir.
- My sympathies, Johnson.
- Thank you, sir.
I know how close you were.
What is it, son? Sir, I'd like to volunteer to be one of the rearguard.
Me too, sir.
You're a bloody idiot, Dave.
Why volunteer when you've already made it? Don't try and push me round, mate.
What are you doing? You've got to get out while you can.
- Shut up, Tolly.
- Just go! I don't need you here! - Tolly, listen - Go! You think you know everything but you don't know anything.
Go! In nine days and nights, 70,000 soldiers left Anzac and Suvla.
Move to the assembly area.
There was no cheering or gladness.
They walked back down the hills and every bloke had the same thought.
"We might be leaving, "but a lot of us are staying here forever.
" I'll see you on board the 'Chatham'.
Sir.
Only 10,000 remaining.
We can only hope that most of them come out alive.
Indeed, sir.
Thank you, sir.
On that final night, the last ANZACs were just 1,500 blokes scattered along the front lines, men who'd volunteered to stay to the last.
B Group men stand down, fall in.
We all knew if the Turks realised what was happening, Gallipoli would end in a massacre.
Get everything packed, make your way down to the beach.
Platoon, get moving.
Good luck, Tolly.
You should have gone, Dave.
Why didn't you? Been asking myself that same thing.
I think, um .
.
I didn't want to be the only one of us to leave.
Do you reckon we're fooling them? No.
Neither do I.
Bevan was a good man, Tol.
So, what do you do now, Dave? Go back to university.
Pretend I'm learning.
Pretend? They're just books! They're no comfort.
It's not life.
There's more life here.
I'm 18 now, and I know more about death than living.
Happy birthday, Tol.
You know what I think they ought to do? We should get our god .
.
and they should get theirs .
.
and we let them fight it out.
Then there'd be a lot less killing.
What? It's the same god, Tol.
What? Muslim god, Christian god, same same god.
It's the same bloke? Are you sure? Yeah.
So, he's getting prayers from both sides .
.
and he still lets them kill each other.
Yeah.
I don't understand.
Come on, Tol.
That's it.
Come on, last boat.
Gallipoli, the war that got away from its handlers.
If it made more sense, it would be a lesser story.
Perhaps that's why, after longer and more important battles are forgotten, it lingers in our imagination.
What is it about this place? It's been farmed and fought over for 5,000 years.
The rhythms of the earth are eternal.
The warriors are the ones that never last.
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