Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 the GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN

Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN The war against the Ottomans, on Gallipoli, in Palestine and in Mesopotamia was a major enterprise for the Allies with important long-term geo-political consequences. The absence of a Turkish perspective, written in English, represents a huge gap in the historiography of the First World War. This timely collection of wide-ranging essays on the campaign, drawing on Turkish sources and written by experts in the field, addresses this gap. Scholars employ archival documents from the Turkish General Staff, diaries and letters of Turkish soldiers, Ottoman journals and newspapers published during the campaign, and recent academic literature by Turkish scholars to reveal a different perspective on the campaign, which should breathe new life into English-language historiography on this crucial series of events. Major (Ret.) Metin Gürcan is a visiting research fellow at the Changing Character of War (CCW) programme in Oxford University and a PhD candidate at Bilkent University, Turkey, studying change in the Turkish military and the changing nature of warfare in the twenty-first century. Dr Robert Johnson is the Director of the Changing Character of War programme at Oxford University. He is currently finishing his book The Great War in the Middle East, to be published in 2016. Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 The Gallipoli Campaign The Turkish perspective Edited by METIN GÜRCAN AND ROBERT JOHNSON Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 First published 2016 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Metin Gürcan and Robert Johnson The right of Metin Gürcan and Robert Johnson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gürcan, Metin, editor. | Johnson, Robert, 1967—editor. Title: The Gallipoli Campaign : the Turkish perspective / edited by Metin Gürcan and Robert Johnson. Series: Routledge studies in First World War history | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015038118 Subjects: LCSH: World War, 1914–1918–Campaigns–Turkey–Gallipoli Peninsula. World War, 1914–1918–Campaigns–Turkey–Gallipoli Peninsula–Sources. Classification: LCC D568.3. G29 2016 | DDC 940.4/26–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038118 ISBN: 9781472450609 (hbk) ISBN: 9781315557847 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of figures vii List of tables ix Contributors xi 1 Introduction 1 Robert Johnson and Metin Gürcan 2 Contested historiography: Allied perspectives on the Gallipoli Campaign 17 Robert Johnson 3 A critique of the defence plans in the Gallipoli battles: Liman von Sanders, Turkish commanders and the conduct of operations 41 Ferhat Çalışkan 4 Taking the initiative at the tactical level in the Gallipoli Campaign and its effects 59 Hasan Tahsin Vanlı 5 Ottoman defences and Allied naval operations in the Çanakkale Straits 73 Hilmi Kendircioğlu 6 The Çanakkale naval battles in Turkish official records 95 Hülya Toker 7 Talking to hearts and minds: Influencing strategies in the Gallipoli Campaign 125 Metin Gürcan Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 8 Recognising the other: Contested identities at Gallipoli 163 Alev Karaduman 9 The meaning of Gallipoli in Turkish national identity 173 Mehmet Akif Okur vi Contents 10 Contemporary Turkish perceptions of the Gallipoli Campaign 181 Kahraman Şakul 11 Reflections on the Gallipoli Campaign in urkishT literature 205 Şafak Horzum Index 217 Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 List of figures 3.1 5th Army organisational chart 42 3.2 Southern part of Gallipoli Peninsula (25 April) 43 3.3 Isthmus region 44 3.4 Anatolian shore 45 3.5 Gallipoli Defence plan of the Ottoman Army in the Balkan Wars 48 3.6 Southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula (31 March) 51 3.7 Distances to the area where Ottoman artillery concentrated 56 3.8 Mutual support of the Ottoman artillery positioned on the shoreline of the strait 57 5.1 Defence composition of the Çanakkale Fortified Zone Command 76 5.2 The Allied naval assault 18 March 80 5.3 Allied armoured ships hitting the 11th mine line 82 5.4 Geographic features of the Çanakkale Straits 85 5.5 Centre of gravity and mobile batteries of the Çanakkale Fortified Zone Command 89 7.1 The cover of the first issue of theWar Magazine 145 7.2 Photo of three Ottoman soldiers from the War Magazine 147 7.3 Photo of the captured French submarine Turquoise 148 7.4 Photo of the Müstecip and his friends from the War Magazine 149 7.5 Photo of the Ottoman soldiers to honour the funeral 150 7.6 Photo of the Allied PoWs from the War Magazine 150 7.7 Photo of the Ottoman soldiers in the trench from the War Magazine 151 7.8 Photo of Lieutenant Hilmi from the War Magazine 152 7.9 Photo of a regimental ceremony from the War Magazine 153 Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 7.10 Photo of the committee from the War Magazine 155 7.11 Photo ‘The soldier sleeping with a grenade’ 158 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 List of tables 3.1 Number of troops assigned to the southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula (25 April) 46 3.2 27th Regiment Reserves and travel times 47 3.3 26th Regiment Reserves and travel times 47 3.4 Number of troops assigned to the southern part of the Gallipoli Peninsula (31 March) 52 3.5 Comparison of plans 53 5.1 Batteries in external defences/mobile batteries in the intermediate defences 77 5.2 Batteries of the intermediate fortification 78 5.3 Casualties of Allied fleet on the night of 18 March 1915 83 5.4 Principles of war 90 Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 Contributors Captain Ferhat Çalışkan is a serving officer of the Turkish Armed Forces at the Military Staff College. Major (retd) Dr Metin Gürcan, formerly of the Turkish General Staff, holds a PhD from Bilkent University. Şafak Horzum is a Research Associate of the Faculty of Letters, Department of English Language and Literature at Hacettepe University, Ankara. Robert Johnson is the Director of the Changing Character of War programme at Oxford University and author of the forthcoming The Great War in the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2016). Alev Karaduman is a member of the Department of English Language and Literature at Hacettepe University, Ankara. Captain Hilmi Kendircioğlu is a serving officer of the Turkish Armed Forces at the Military Staff College. Mehmet Akif Okur is a member of the Department of International Relations, Gazi University. Hülya Toker works at the Archives of the General Staff Military History and Strategic Studies Department (ATASE). Kahraman Şakul is a member of Sehir University, Istanbul. Captain Hasan Tahsin Vanlı is a serving officer of the Turkish Armed Forces at the Military Staff College. Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives . You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies And the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side Here in this country of ours . You, the mothers, Who sent their sons from faraway countries Wipe away your tears, Your sons are now lying in our bosom And are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have Become our sons as well. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1934 Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:26 03 December 2016 Chapter 1 Introduction Robert Johnson and Metin Gürcan Stop wayfarer! . Bend down and lend your ear, for this silent mound / Is the place where the heart of a nation sighs. With its evocative azure blue colour, the Dardanelles Strait connects the Sea of Marmara to the Aegean Sea and separates two ranges of hills, both of which are surmounted by narrow plateaux. On the upper bluffs, close to the city of Çanakkale, there is a pale brown hill on which a contrasting white crescent and star are drawn. Beneath them are large white numbers, which are best seen from the ferry that heads for Eceabat on the Gallipoli peninsula. It boldly announces: ‘18 March 1915’. Further away, across the straits and also clearly visible from the Gallipoli Peninsula, is the ancient castle guarding the region known locally as Kilitbahir [the Lock of the Sea]. Above this fortress, on a hilltop to the north, is a huge silhouette of a 1915 Turkish soldier carved in white.

Load more