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Jim Martin Enlists
On the 12th of April, 1915, James Charles 'Jim' Martin enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces at the young age of just 14 years and 3 months. In order to get in, he lied to his recruiting officers, falsely stating that he was 18 years old. Declared fit for duty, he was sent to train at Broadmeadows camp in Victoria, was assigned to the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion and given the regimental number 1553. Portrait photo of James Martin taken from the Australian War Memorial website. -
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Jim Martin's Service
The youngest known soldier to have died in WW1, James Charles 'Jim' Martin was born in Tocumwal, NSW, on the 3rd of January, 1901, to parents Charles and Amelia Martin. When WW1 broke out in 1915, he forced his parents to let him enlist, stating he would run away and join under another name if they didn't. Falsely stating he was 18, Jim was only 14 years and 3 months old when he enlisted on April 12th, 1915. He died October 25th that year, the youngest known soldier to die in WW1. -
Arrival at Gallipoli
On the 25th of April, 1915, just before dawn, 1500 Australian and New Zealand men arrived on the Gallipoli Peninsula at Ari Burnu. The main objective of the landing force was to secure the beach and seize high ground. However, this objective could not be reached, and the order was given to “Dig! Dig! Dig!” So began the 7-month long Gallipoli Campaign. Photo taken from the Australian War Memorial Website, showing the 1st Divisional headquarters coming ashore. -
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The Gallipoli Campaign
Lasting between April 25th, 1915, and January 9th, 1916, the Gallipoli campaign was a bloody WW1 campaign fought on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. Fought between the Allied forces and the Ottoman Empire, the Ally’s aim was to capture Constantinople, Turkey’s capital, enabling more Allied ships to help Russia, putting more pressure on the Eastern front, and potentially taking Turkey out of the fight. However, it was a major misfire, and eventually the Allies retreated from the fight. -
The Turks Attack the Front Lines
On the 19th of May, 1915, in an effort to drive Anzac soldiers back into the sea, over 42,000 Turkish men attacked along the entire Anzac front. While the Turks were relying on their numbers and the element of surprise, an overhead flight by the British the day earlier saw their preparations and the Anzacs were warned in advance. There were approx. 13,000 Turkish casualties, with 3,000 dead, compared to approx. 160 Anzacs killed and 468 wounded. John Simpson Kirkpatrick was one Anzac killed. -
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Summer Stalemate
Between these dates, the 25th of May and the 5th of August, the Gallipoli campaign descended into a time of stalemate. Aside from the intermittent unsuccessful attempts to gain ground, not much was done and little was achieved. However, disease set in, becoming the major cause of death as the summer heat brought in millions of flies, acting as carriers for dysentery and other diseases. However, the stalemate wouldn’t last forever. -
Jim Martin Departs For War
On the 28th of June, Jim Martin, having trained for several months at the Broadmeadows Camp, left with the 21st Infantry Battalion on the HMAT Berrima from Melbourne, with the destination of Egypt. Photo of Cec Hogan, fellow soldier and friend of Jim, also under enlistment age at 16. Photo taken from http://vic.ww1anzac.com/ho.html. -
The Beginning of the August Offensive - Lone Pine
Lasting from the 6th of August till the 10th, the Battle of Lone Pine was the first of a series of attacks that made up the August Offensive. Aimed to divert Ottoman attention from other major assaults, the Australians managed to capture the main enemy trench line within a few hours of fighting, but bloody hand-to-hand fighting continued for the next few days as the Turks unsuccessfully tried to reclaim what they lost. Though overall a win for Aussies, it resulted in over 2000 Aussie fatalities. -
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August Offensive
On August 6th, 1915, in a last-ditch attempt to dissolve the stalemate plaguing the Gallipoli campaign, the Allied Forces launched a series of attacks that would later become known as the August Offensive. Involving a significant landing of British forces as well as a series of diversionary attacks, the offensive began with the Battle of Lone Pine and ended with the Battle of Hill 60. Although Lone Pine was a success, in all the offensive was a failure and resulted in many casualties. -
August Offensive: The Nek
As part of the August Offensive, the day after Lone Pine, 600 men from the Australian 3rd Light Horse Brigade charged a narrow stretch of ridge known as ‘the Nek’ in order to attack a Turkish knoll known as ‘Baby 700’. Meant to coincide with an attack by New Zealand troops (which didn’t happen), four waves of 150 men charged at the knoll, only to be mowed down by machine gun fire; around 372 Australians were killed or wounded in the attack. It’s since been immortalised in the film Gallipoli. -
August Offensive: Battle of Hill 60
Lasting from August 21st to August 29th, 1915, the Battle of Hill 60 was the last major assault by the Allies in the Gallipoli campaign. Fought at Hill 60, two major attacks were made, the first on the 21st and the second on the 27th, the aim being to link up the Anzacs with British troops that had landed at Sulva Bay around a fortnight earlier. In the end though, even though some ground was gained in the battle, the Turks managed to hold their positions, and there were high Anzac casualties. -
Jim Martin leaves Egypt for Gallipoli
On the 27th of August, 1915, Jim Martin was sent aboard the HMT Southland to travel from Egypt to Gallipoli to take part in the fighting, following the unsuccessful August Offensive. In a letter written to his parents on August 26th, he writes 'Dear Mum and Dad. We are going tommorow, Friday the 27th of August, to the Dardenelles to have our share of the Turks. I think I will be well in it by the time you get this letter' (Hill: 2001/73). However, it is later stated he didn't leave till the 30th -
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Winter Stalemate
Following the August Offensive, the Gallipoli campaign once again descended into a stalemate that continued into the winter, which brought gales, blizzards and flooding that led to men drowning and freezing to death. Thousands of the men there started getting frostbite. Finally, on November the 22nd, an evacuation was ordered. Planning was fast and decisive, with an approval given on the 7th of December, and the evacuation soon began, starting on the 15th December. -
Jim Martin's ship is torpedoed by a submarine
On the 2nd of September, 1915, the ship Jim Martin was travelling on, the HMT Southland, was hit while travelling by a torpedo fired from a German submarine. After an accident occurred with the lowering of the lifeboat he was in from the vessel, Jim, as well as his fellow solider and friend Cec Hogan, was thrown into the water, where he spent four hours before being picked up in another lifeboat. -
Jim Martin Arrives at Gallipoli
Around 2 in the morning, on the 8th of September, 1915, Pvt James Martin, along with the rest of his platoon, left the Abassieh transport ship and formed up on the beach at Watson’s Pier, in Anzac Cove. From there, he would then stationed in the trench lines around Courtney's Post -
Jim Martin writes his last letter home
On the 9th of October, 1915, it is believed that Jim Martin wrote what would be his last ever letter home. 'Dear Mother and Father' he wrote. 'Just a line hoping all is well as it leaves me at the present'. He wrote about the weather, and about a Turk who tried to give himself up. At the end, he wrote 'Write soon, Jim. I have received no letters since I left Victoria, and I have been writing often.' They had in fact been writing letters, he just didn't recieve them. -
Jim Martin is evacuated to the Glenart Castle and dies
On the 25th of October, 1915, Pvt James Martin, having suffered from Typhoid for about two weeks, was evacuated to the Glenart Castle hospital ship, located offshore. He had refused medical treatment for the two weeks, believing it would blow over. However, he died quietly of heart failure that night around 6:40pm. The letter that was sent home to his parents said he died of 'syncope following enteritis'. The next day, October 26, Jim Martins body was sent to his eternal rest by burial at sea. -
Planning gets underway for Gallipoli evacuation
On the 22nd of November, 1915, planning for a full evacuation of Gallipoli finally got underway. Planning for the evacuation was quick and decisive, with an approval given by the British Cabinet early on during December and moving into effect on the 15th of the same month (December). Note: sources differ on exact date of the beginning of planning; most say 22nd of November, but it could also have been the 15th. -
Approval is given for evacuation
On the 7th of December, 1915, the British Cabinet finally gave approval for a full evacuation of the Anzac Cove and Sulva Bay areas, though troops in the Cape Helles area would have to wait for a while. Planning for such an evacuation had been going since the 22nd of November, and the operation would go on to be the best planned and executed part of the entire Gallipoli campaign. -
Evacuation of Anzac begins
On the 15th of December, 1915, the evacuation planning that began on the 22nd of November went into effect, becoming the best planned and executed part of the campaign. Sources differ on the exact number of men evacuated, but around 40,000 men were evacuated over the first five nights (December 15th-19th). -
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Evacuation
Beginning on the 15th of December, the Anzac evacuation took place over a period of five nights, with 36,000 shipped out over the first four nights, untill only 10,000 remained at Anzac cove on December 19th. At approximately 4:10am on December 20th, the last men were shipped out of Anzac cove, around the same time Sulva’s evacuation finished. The British and French forces in the Helles area weren’t completely evacuated till the 9th of January, however, thus ending the Gallipoli campaign. -
Final man leaves Anzac Cove
Around 4:10am on the 20th of December, 1915, just before dawn, the last batch of men left Anzac Cove, with Colonel J Paton, according to one source, the last man to depart. Sulva Bay's evacuation was completed about the same time. A complete success with next to no casualties, the Turks were seemingly unaware of the operation the entire time. Drip rifles were used in the evacuation; water would drip into a tin attached to a trigger, firing the rifle. The mechanism was made by William Scurry. -
Evacuation of Cape Helles are ordered
On the 28th of December 1915, the evacuation of the troops in the Cape Helles area was finally ordered, most likely due to the success of the Anzac evacuation. Beginning on the first of January, it would run up until the 9th, when the last men would leave the area. Picture of excerpt of General Monro's report on the evacuation of the Helles area. -
Gallipoli campaign ends
By 3:30am on the 9th of January, 1916, the evacuation of all of the Cape Helles area had been completed, thus ending all Allied occupation of the Gallipoli Peninsula. This completes this Timetoast Timeline.
