By 5:00 am, the Ottomans counter-attacked the Wellingtonians. The slope of the hill was so steep that the Ottomans could get within of the trenches without being seen. The New Zealanders fought desperately to hold off the Ottomans, firing their rifles and those of their fallen companions until the wood of the stock was too hot to touch. When the Ottomans got up to the trenches, the fighting continued with the bayonet. The Ottomans overran part of the New Zealand trench and took some prisoners. In full daylight, reinforcements were only reaching the summit at a trickle.