Following the decision to proceed, at 04:00 field artillery and howitzers began firing from the beachhead around Anzac Cove onto the Ottoman trenches around the Nek. These guns were then joined by several warships, including a destroyer, which opened fire on the Nek and other positions around Baby 700. This continued at a steady and deliberate rate until 04:27, when the intensity rose. Due to the proximity of the two sides' trenches, the shells mostly landed behind the first line of Ottoman trenches. Bean describes the bombardment as the heaviest since 2 May; but Carlyon notes that no battleships were assigned to the shelling due to the proximity of the Australian trenches, and describes it as "'desultory' and a 'joke'", citing an officer from the 9th Light Horse Regiment, who were in reserve for the attack.
