 Loutit , Lieutenant J. Haig of the 10th , and thirty @-@ two men from the 9th , 10th , and 11th Battalions crossed <unk> Valley and climbed a spur of Gun Ridge , just to the south of Scrubby Knoll . As they reached the top , about four hundred yards ( 370 m ) further inland was Gun Ridge , defended by a large number of Turkish troops . Loutit and two men carried out a reconnaissance of Scrubby Knoll , from the top of which they could see the Dardanelles , around three miles ( 4 @.@ 8 km ) to the east . When one of the men was wounded they returned to the rest of their group , which was being engaged by Turkish machine @-@ gun and rifle fire . Around 08 : 00 , Loutit sent a man back for reinforcements ; he located Captain J. Ryder of the 9th Battalion , with half a company of men at Lone Pine . Ryder had not received the order to dig in , so he advanced and formed a line on Loutit 's right . Soon after , they came under fire from Scrubby Knoll and were in danger of being cut off ; Ryder sent a message back for more reinforcements . The messenger located Captain John Peck , the 11th Battalion 's adjutant , who collected all the men around him and went forward to reinforce Ryder . It was now 09 : 30 and the men on the spur , outflanked by the Turks , had started to withdraw . At 10 : 00 the Turks set up a machine @-@ gun on the spur and opened fire on the withdrawing Australians . <unk> by the Turks , only eleven survivors , including Loutit and Haig , reached Johnston 's Jolly and took cover . Further back , two companies of the 9th and the 10th Battalions had started digging a trench line . 
