Gunfire lit the horizon, with the nonstop flashes destroying the sanctuary of the dark. Lieutenant Thomas Armstrong of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers crouched in the trench, feeling the ground tremble under his feet as the first shells exploded around him. The noise was so continuous that he could not distinguish any single sound and could hardly hear the man beside him speaking.
“Sir!” Sergeant Kilner mouthed the word. “We’ve lost Number One Section. A Turkish shell landed directly on top of them.”
Thomas nodded. “Thank you, Sergeant!” He flinched as a shell exploded twenty yards away, sending a shower of earth and small stones to patter on his helmet and shoulders.
The bombardment continued, with explosions all around the British and Anzac trenches, blasting dirt, stones, and fragm
