Death of Major Quinn
On May 28, at 9 p.m., a raid was made on a Turkish post overlooking the beach 1,200 yards north of Kaba Tepe, H.M.S. Rattlesnake co-operating. A party of fifty rifles rushed the post, killing or capturing the occupants. A similar raid was made against an enemy trench to the left of our line which cost the Turks 200 casualties, as was afterwards ascertained.
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Map 3.
From May 28 till June 5 the fighting seemed to concentrate itself around Quinn's Post. Three enemy galleries had been detected there, and work on them stopped by counter-mines, which killed twenty Turks and injured thirty. One gallery had, however, been overlooked, and at 3.30 a.m. on May 29, a mine was sprung in or near the centre of Quinn's Post. The explosion was followed by a very heavy bomb attack, before which our left centre sub-section fell back, letting in a storming party of Turks. This isolated one sub-section on the left from the two other sub-sections on the right.
At 5.30 a.m. our counter-attack was launched, and by 6 a.m. the position had been retaken with the bayonet by the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, led by Major Quinn, who was unfortunately killed. All the enemy in the trench were killed or captured, and the work of restoration was begun.
At 6.30 a.m. the Turks again attacked, supported by artillery, rifle, and machine-gun fire and by showers of bombs from the trenches. The fine shooting of our guns and the steadiness of the infantry enabled us to inflict upon the enemy a bloody repulse, demoralizing them to such an extent that the bomb throwers of their second line flung the missiles into the middle of their own first line.
Our Losses
At 8.15 a.m. the attack slackened, and by 8.45 a.m. the enemy's attacks had practically ceased.