Forces on 16 June 1914. First World War Following the outbreak of the First World War, Shout applied for a commission in the newly raised Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 18 August 1914. The AIF was formed as Australia's expeditionary force to fight in the war, as the Citizens' Forces were restricted to home defence per the Defence Act (1903). Shout's application was accepted on 28 August and he was posted to the 1st Battalion as a second lieutenant in F Company, commanded by Lieutenant Cecil Sasse. According to his medical assessment at the time, Shout stood at , weighed , and was recorded as having "good" eyesight. On 18 October, the 1st Battalion embarked for the Middle East, with Shout boarding HMAT Afric at Sydney. Sailing via Albany, Western Australia, the troopship arrived in Egypt on 2 December. Shortly after, the 1st Battalion was reorganised into four companies; Shout was allotted to D Company as a platoon commander. The battalion spent the next four months training in the Egyptian desert, during which time Shout was promoted lieutenant on 1 February 1915. Gallipoli Landing at Anzac As part of an endeavour to defeat the Ottoman Empire and force a supply route through to Russia via the Bosporus and the Black Sea, the British War Council formulated a plan to invade the Gallipoli Peninsula. On 25 April 1915, the men of the 1st Australian Brigade—of which the 1st Battalion was part—landed at Anzac Cove between 05:30 and 07:30 among the second and third waves of Australian troops. The 1st Battalion was meant to be held in reserve, but due to heavy casualties and confusion the unit soon went into action. Following a request for reinforcements, Shout moved up with one of the 1st Battalion's companies to the hill feature Baby 700. Arriving at the position around 11:00, he led a party to hold the rear left flank of the hill as part of the Australians' rearguard action. The Australian position on Baby 700 had become dire by that afternoon, a situation compounded by the small number of available infantry in the area and the complete lack of artillery support, when the Turkish forces launched a counter-assault. By this time, Shout and Lieutenant Leslie Morshead of the 2nd Battalion were the only two surviving officers in their sector of the line. At 16:30, the Turks broke through the defensive line and the