it was 1915 in the gallipoli peninsula
and the odds were not promising for the
australian invaders facing the local
ottomans
the ambitious amphibious landing in late
april had not only undermined the
australian forces but also their spirits
as the turkish snipers took their toll
on them
among those recruited as reinforcements
was private billy singh a horse driver
turned sniper that would single-handedly
reignite the australian's morale
hiding in the cliffs with his fellow
anzacs singh's name would earn a place
among the most prolific snipers in the
world so much so that the turks were
forced to send their most lethal soldier
to stop the sneaky australian
then one fateful day during the eight
month campaign singh looked into abdul
the terrible's eyes and grunted quote
it's me or him
national consciousness
for roughly a year between 1915 to 1916
the military campaign took place in the
gallipoli peninsula in modern-day turkey
britain france and russia the so-called
untaunt powers strive to weaken the
ottoman empire and thus sought to take
control of the turkish straits
if they succeeded constantinople would
be rendered vulnerable to bombardments
from allied ships
what's more the capital would be severed
from the asian part of the empire and
the suez canal could then be opened as a
supply route through the black sea
but as the campaign started in february
1915 the attempt to force the
dardanelles failed miserably and the
following amphibious landing in april
led to a gruesome eight-month fight that
resulted in roughly a quarter million
lives lost on each side
the campaign was considered a defining
moment in history for turkey with a
significant ottoman victory
however the fierce encounter also marked
several lives across the ocean and it is
often regarded as the origin of
australian and new zealand national
consciousness
[Music]
on april 25th both countries commemorate
the anniversary of the landings in what
is called anzac day
it still is the most significant homage
for those who quote served and died in
all wars conflicts and peacekeeping
operations and a date to remember
military casualties and veterans
one of those heroes is private billy
singh considered one of the most lethal
snipers of world war one not only for
his impressive score but also for his
steely demeanor during times of need
according to fellow private frank reed
quote
every time billy singh felt sorry for
the poor turks you remembered how their
snipers picked off the australian
officers in the early days of the
landing and he hardened his heart
a notable sniper
biographer john hamilton wrote quote his
name was william edward singh
everyone called him billy
he was born in claremont australia in
march 1888 to a chinese father and an
english mother
due to his ancestry he was stigmatized
during his entire childhood
hamilton noted quote as a boy he was
taunted for the color of his skin but as
a man he overcame the racial prejudice
at the time
after school the young man would take a
wide variety of jobs tending to horses
working as a station hand and even
shooting to earn a living
then a few years before the outbreak of
world war one he moved to the town of
prosserpine and worked as a cane cutter
in his youth singh became involved in
competitive shooting with a local
military-sponsored rifle group where he
learned he was not only a decent
marksman but he was unrivaled
his biographer noted quote while still a
boy so the story went he could shoot the
tail off a piglet at 25 paces with a 22
caliber rifle
when duty called he immediately enlisted
with the australian imperial force
and despite the anti-chinese sentiment
and even the so-called white australia
policy his unmatched skills quickly
earned him a favorable reputation within
the forces
now a grown man sing did not weigh more
than 141 pounds and would later be
described as quote a little trap very
dark with a jet black mustache and
goatee beard a picturesque looking
man-killer
sling initially became a horse driver
and got assigned to the fifth lighthorse
regiment
then in december of 1914 he was sent to
egypt for further training after which
he was summoned to gallipoli the
following april when the disastrous
landing attempts called for
reinforcements in the front lines as
soon as possible
light horse regiments were sent to
support the troops towards the end of
the spring but unfortunately the rough
terrain was unsuitable for the cavalry
and the mounts were left behind while
the men served as infantry
in a surprising twist of fate singh was
not able to show off his extraordinary
horse riding skills but would later
shine as a marksman
being greatly admired by his peers and
dreaded by his enemies
an urgent matter
the situation in gallipoli was pressing
as turkish snipers were undermining the
allied forces while hiding in the rugged
hills
thus singh was chosen among a few
candidates to become a sniper
as his unparalleled skill with the lee
enfield 303 caliber set him apart
mid-june the regiment found a suitable
position to shoot down enemy soldiers in
what was known as chatham's post
every day singh would take up his
position in the pre-dawn hours and would
not move an inch until well after dusk
to ensure that no one cited him during
the day
moreover despite the danger he would
usually take up his position so close to
the enemy trenches that their artillery
was rendered useless against him
initially careless soldiers presented
easy targets for the famous anzac
snipers with singh once allegedly
confessing that shooting the so-called
illegitimates did not cause him to lose
any sleep
word of his steadily mounting tally
quickly traveled through the allied
trench lines and his unprecedented
success boosted the weary troops morale
by the time ion idris arrived at
chatham's post in august of 1915 to
become a spotter for singh the sniper
was already a celebrity
years later idris would become an author
and wrote
how many enemy this particular sniper
shot will never be known but in three
months his tally was 150
sidon earned several nicknames because
of his unearning accuracy ranging from
the assassin and the murderer to the
crack shot of the anzacs
however idris recalled that after
hunting down so many soldiers the
sharpshooter would meet his match in
abdul the terrible or as the eventual
journalist called him quote the pride of
the turkish army
leveled ground
realizing that a single man was creating
so much havoc and shooting down so many
soldiers the turkish sent their most
accomplished sniper to find the
australian
as idris later described it abdul's
hands would rest caressingly upon his
rifle and his trigger touch was gentler
than a lover's kiss
from privates to generals no one was
safe from his rifle a gun so legendary
that it earned the moniker mother of
death
abdul carefully examined each fatal shot
and discarded those he confidently
assessed his indiscriminate lucky ones
he immediately recognized true
craftsmanship when he came upon singh's
doings and studied the angles of the
entry and exit wounds until a clear
pattern emerged
according to his calculations the shots
were coming from a spot on top of a
trench across chatham's post
he had found the lair of his nemesis
the turkish sniper then prepared his
foxhole under the cover of night and
laid there for days surveilling the spot
where he suspected his foes hiding
several other targets tempted abdul but
he wisely ignored them to avoid giving
away his position as a result of a mere
opportunist shot
then one fateful evening he reported to
his commanding officer
i found him i will kill him tomorrow
however the following morning another
anzac took singh's hideout and idris
recalled that the turk withheld his fire
purely on instinct that this man wasn't
who he was after
meanwhile singh was hiding in a nearby
spot and his spotter warned him of
someone staring closely at them
he then advised singh not to open the
loophole and to look through the
telescope instead
the australian then stared directly into
abdul the terrible's eyes as the
observer murmured quote careful he's got
the eyes of an eagle and he's staring
straight here
calmly but assuredly the australian slid
the loophole cover down less than an
inch and cautiously poked his muzzle
through the opening
abdul noticed singh's movement but he
ignored that his enemy had also spotted
him
the hunter now became the hunted
it is said that even if the turk had
fired his bullet would have missed billy
singh for a quote the born sniper knows
the crouch that means the fractional
difference between life and death
idris continued quote gently the people
widened then stopped close around the
rifle abdul waited with finger on
trigger just awaiting that loophole to
open the least fraction mower
and a bullet took him between the eyes
as the turkish sniper fell back his army
immediately retaliated and destroyed
singh's position
by the time the heavy artillery struck
his hide point the stealthy sniper was
already gone
an anonymous infantryman
singh was eventually awarded the
distinguished conduct medal for his
actions in gallipoli given that quote
during this period july to september
1915 this man has inflicted 119
casualties on the turks by sniping these
casualties have been verified by the
officers ncos and men in the regiment
who have been observing him with
telescopes
these casualties are apart from those he
inflicted when he had no observers
there are several accounts on the total
number of casualties singh inflicted
with general sir william birdwood
crediting the sniper with 201 hits while
major stephen midgley the officer
nearest to him on the battlefield
claimed that the number rose as high as
300.
still there was no question about his
dexterity as his citation reads quote
his courage and skill were most marked
and he was responsible for a very large
number of casualties among the enemy
no risk being too great for him to take
in december of 1915 the australian
soldiers were evacuated from the
peninsula after an extenuating campaign
singh was then sent to england where he
received training before being sent to
france with the 31st battalion
in spite of his notorious exploits at
gallipoli the legendary sniper served as
any other anonymous infantryman in the
western front
but once again his merits would not go
unnoticed
still while he was recommended for the
military medal in 1917 for his actions
leading an anti-sniper patrol in belgium
he was not awarded the decoration
however he would be mentioned in
dispatches by general birdwood commander
of the first anzac corps and the
following year he received the belgian
quad aguer
after so much time committed to serving
his country singh's health severely
deteriorated and he had to be frequently
hospitalized due to ailments such as
serious infections and influenza
on top of that he was injured multiple
times and one gunshot wound to the leg
caused him problems for several years
in 1917 while recuperating in britain
singh married a young scottish waitress
but it is uncertain if elizabeth stewart
accompanied him back to australia
[Music]
eventually the sniper returned to a
hero's welcome at his home in proserpine
and was provided with a sum of money
from the patriotic league
then in 1918 he was deemed unfit for
duty and permanently discharged from
service due to a severe chest condition
caused by gas poisoning
singh then tried several unsuccessful
ventures until 1942 when he moved closer
to his surviving sister beatrice
but a year after relocating he suffered
a heart failure and passed away at 57
while entirely alone
decades later a headstone was erected at
his burial site in brisbane and it reads
quote his incredible accuracy
contributed greatly to the preservation
of the lives of those with whom he
served during a war always remembered
for countless acts of valor and tragic
carnage
still as hamilton noted the literary
series official history of australia in
the war of 1914-1918
barely mentions singh and the caption
under a photograph taken on gallipoli
simply reads quote a notable sniper
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