The village of Krithia and the neighbouring hill named Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the peninsula to the forts that controlled passage of the Dardanelles straits. The British 29th Division had made a confused and costly main landing in broad daylight at Cape Helles on 25 April, taking several days to establish themselves firmly in that area. On 6 May British and French troops made an unsuccessful assault to take Krithia as part of the advance inland. As a result of this setback, the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and the Australian 2nd Brigade (Vic) were transferred by sea from Anzac Cove to assist in a second attack. The assault on the morning of 8 May by the Wellington, Canterbury and Auckland Infantry Battalions failed. The bombardment was ineffective and troops advanced in broad daylight across an open valley into gunfire from unseen, strongly held Ottoman positions. A further attack was ordered late in the afternoon. The 2nd Brigade and the Otago Infantry Battalion advanced into a hail of bullets to within 400 metres of the Ottoman defensive lines. Little was achieved and the cost was heavy, with over 1,000 Australian and around 800 NZ casualties.
