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AUSTRALIA 2013 Sands of Gallipoli - Set of Two Medallions
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This beautiful sets of high quality medallions feature images from Drew
Harrison's painting "The Battle of Lone Pine". The medallions are minted
from brass alloy and finished in highly polished and frosted silver,
over-printed in full colour. Accompanying this set is a glass vial
containing authentic sand from Gallipoli, a colour print of the painting
set in a metal frame miniature replica 1904 Rising Sun hat badge. No
more than 5,000 sets will be released. Each comes with a numbered
certificate of authenticity.
About the Artist
Drew
Harrison is a practicing artist based in Adelaide, South Australia. His
formal illustrative training has provided a solid background for his
evolution into contemporary artist. Acrylic paint is Drew's medium of
choice and a material that he has adeptly mastered for creating a wide
range of works.
The Battle of Lone Pine
The
Battle of Lone Pine, one of the most famous actions of the Gallipoli
campaign, was mounted as a diversion to draw Turkish attention away from
assaults against Sari Bair, Chunuk Bair and Hill 971. These operations,
which became known as the August Offensive, were designed to affect a
breakout from the ANZAC perimeter. The Lone Pine battlefield, named for a
solitary Turkish Pine that stood there at the start of the fighting,
stands near the centre of the eastern line of the Australian and New
Zealand trenches around Anzac Cove on a rise known as '400 Plateau',
which joined 'Bolton's Ridge' to the south with the ridge along the east
side of 'Monash Valley' to the north. The terrain here is comparatively
gentle and the opposing trenches were some distance apart with a flat
no-man's land between.
The attack was launched by the 1st
Brigade in the late afternoon of 6 August 1915 following a long
artillery bombardment. The attackers were faced with formidable Turkish
positions, sections of which were securely roofed over with pine logs.
In places the attackers had to break in through the roof of the trench
systems in order to engage the defenders. The main Turkish trench was
taken within 20 minutes of the initial charge but this was the prelude
to four days of intense hand-to-hand fighting.
During the
initial assault the darkness and cramped conditions in the Turkish
trenches led to considerable confusion. With both sides unable to use
their rifles due to the risk of hitting their own men, the fighting
degenerated into a hand to hand melee as Turks and Australians fought
each other with bayonets, grenades and bare fists. Fighting raged from 6
to 9 August as the Turks mounted furious counterattacks in an attempt
to retake lost ground. Finally the Turks called off any further attempts
on 9 August and by 10 August offensive action ceased, leaving the
Australians in control of the position.
Turkish losses are
estimated at as high as 7,000 killed, missing and captured. Australian
losses during the battle amounted to 2,277 men killed or wounded, out of
the total 4,600 men committed to the fighting over the course of the
battle. These represent some of the highest casualties of the campaign.
After the battle, the dead were so thick on the ground that one
Australian officer remarked 'the trench is so full of our dead that the
only respect that we could show them was not to tread on their faces'.
Seven
Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during
the fighting at Lone Pine, including four men from the 7th Battalion,
which had been rushed forward to help relieve the 1st Brigade at the
height of the Turkish counterattacks.
Please view the picture for the actual item you will receive shown exactly in the photo.
Canadian customers must add 5% GST (13-15% HST) where applicable.
Customers within British Columbia must add 7% PST.
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