 In the north , the first men from the 11th and 12th Battalions started up Walker 's Ridge , under fire from a nearby Turkish trench . Around the same time Turkish artillery started bombarding the beachhead , destroying at least six boats . The Australians fought their way forward and reached Russell 's Top ; the Turks withdrew through The Nek to Baby 700 , 350 yards ( 320 m ) away . Coming under fire again the Australians went to ground , having advanced only around one thousand yards ( 910 m ) inland . Some also dug in at The Nek , a twenty yards ( 18 m ) piece of high ground between Malone 's Gully to the north and Monash Valley to the south . Around this time Colonel <unk> Sinclair @-@ Maclagan , commanding the 3rd Brigade , decided to change the corps plan . Concerned about a possible counter @-@ attack from the south , he decided to hold the Second Ridge instead of pushing forward to the Third or Gun Ridge . This <unk> suited the Turkish defence plans , which required the forward troops to gain time for the reserves to coordinate a counter @-@ attack . 
