Battle for Chunuk Bair to be remembered

A statue of a Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (R) and a war memorial for Anzac soldiers on the site of the Battle of Chunuk Bair. Photo / Getty Images

An epic bloody battle in which almost 900 Kiwi soldiers died capturing a Turkish hill they would only hold for a few hours will be remembered 100 years on this weekend.

The Battle for Chunuk Bair took place from August 6-10 in 1915 as part of a summer push by the Anzacs to try to seize high Gallipoli ground from Ottoman forces.

After refusing a British officer's suicidal order for a daytime bayonet charge, the Wellington Battalion, led by revered soldier Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone, captured Chunuk Bair early on August 8.

But two days later, they and other New Zealand units were forced to retreat in the face of fierce Ottoman counterattacks.

Military historian Richard Stowers calculates New Zealand fatalities from Chunuk Bair to total 880, including Malone himself, who died from suspected friendly fire.

The centenary of what is probably New Zealand's most famous battle will be commemorated tomorrow with a series of events across the country.

More than 70 soldiers of 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment - a descendent of Malone's Wellington Battalion - will exercise its right for charter parades in New Plymouth and Stratford, where Malone was a farmer and lawyer before World War I.

With drums beating, band playing, colours flying, bayonets fixed and swords drawn, the unit will march through the two Taranaki centres.

The Queen's colour will be paraded on its own, unaccompanied by the regiment's colour for the first time - with the regiment's colour being paraded at Gallipoli during a centenary service.

"To be able to firstly represent the army in the communities that we come from, but also just to acknowledge our forbears and their achievements and challenges that Gallipoli posed, is a huge honour for us," said Major Grant Morris, acting commanding officer of 5/7 Battalion.

A dawn service and light show will also be held at The Cenotaph in Wellington tomorrow, with a national commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park later in the day.

The national ceremony will include readings from the Gallipoli diary of Native Contingent soldier Rikihana Carkeek and a reciting of Victoria Cross winner Cyril Basset's citation.

The New Zealand events will foreshadow a special centenary service at Gallipoli.

Thousands are expected for the service which, unlike the Anzac Day centenary commemorations earlier this year, is open to all and is not ticketed.

"Chunuk Bair holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many Kiwis," said Veterans' Affairs Minister Craig Foss, who will attend the Turkish event.

"During the Gallipoli campaign, hundreds of our soldiers fought and died in an ultimately futile bid for control of this picturesque hill."

Centenary commemoration events:

• 6.45am, Wellington - Dawn Service at The Cenotaph

• 10am, Stratford, Taranaki - Parade by 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.

• 11am, Auckland - Service and public programmes at Auckland War Memorial Museum

• 2.15pm, New Plymouth, Taranaki - Parade by 5/7 Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment

• 4pm, Wellington - National commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park

• 5pm (Turkish time), Gallipoli, Turkey - Commemorative service at Chunuk Bair