Zweibund — the Dual Alliance — Germany and Austria-Hungary united, were the core of the Central Powers, and here join hands. The bars of Germany's flag border the top left, and those of the Habsburg Austrian Empire and ruling house the bottom right.
Schulter an SchulterUntrennbar vereintin Freud und in Leid!'Shoulder to shoulderInseparably united in joy and in sorrow!
"Oddly, the thing that gave me the greatest fear was not bullet or bomb but Turkish planes flying over and dropping metal darts on us. They were about six inches long, very sharply pointed, and spun as they descended. I hated the thought of a dart dropping on my head. They seemed worse than bullets. You couldn't see bullets; they're past you even before you know they're coming. You could see shells arriving. You could see a four-inch shell coming over like a black cricket ball and you never knew exactly where it was going to land. You just hoped it was going to land somewhere you weren't. Big shells were best in that respect. What they called 'whiz bang' shrapnel was more treacherous. You couldn't see it coming. It burst and either got you or missed you. We were never free of shrapnel and shell, or of casualties."
From the account of New Zealander Sergeant John Skinner of his time on Gallipoli. Within a week of the April 25, 1915 invasion, Skinner's Otago Battalion had lost 800 of its 1,000 men. Darts or fléchettes were used by both sides, and could simply be dropped from a plane. Vanes on the tail ensured they fell vertically and could spin as Skinner describes. They were particularly effective before the widespread introduction of metal helmets.
Voices of Gallipoli by Maurice Shadbolt, pp. 72, 73, copyright © 1988 Maurice Shadbolt, publisher: Hodder and Stoughton, publication date: 1988
1915-05-22, 1915, May, darts, Otago
