The Battle of the Nek

A poem of a soldier in the Battle of the Nek from the Australian Light Horse Brigade, WW1

The Battle of the Nek

The order was given,
For us to go over.
We didn’t stand tall,
Or shoulder to shoulder,
We knew we would die,
That was for sure,
Why were we dying like this in the war?

We were just scapegoats,
No chance for survival,
We were just decoys
For Great Britain’s arrival.

How many we lost?
How many went over?
The figures remain,
The same as each other.

Those who survived?
Of a small number.
Most of our men,
In the deepest slumber.

How could they do that?
Make us go to our death,
Like cows we were slaughtered,
None left to attest.

“Fight for your country”,
Was on all the posters,
We fought for the Brits,
With the dust on their holsters.

The battle was over,
The British had come,
But, in this war,
Who really had won?