Issue 14 !1 Brave Report ! The Damned Dardanelles Background to the Gallipoli campaign The Gallipoli campaign which commenced in February 1915 was conceived for two primary reasons. RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !2 (i) The land war on the Western Front had virtually stagnated into a stalemate and there was a need to relieve Russia from pressure by the Ottoman Empire. Some Allied commanders argued for opening up a ‘second front’ against the weaker Ottomans and Austro- Hungarians. In Britain, the chief advocate for this strategy was Winston Churchill, who had been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty before his 37th birthday. Churchill had a low opinion of Ottoman military capacity: he considered Ottoman land forces to be poorly equipped, organised and commanded, while the Ottoman navy relied mainly on decrepit ships from the 19th century. (ii) The Ottoman Empire was strategically located between the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Balkans, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Despite the Ottoman Empire’s preference of an alliance with Great Britain - attempts were made to forge an alliance with London in 1908, 1911 and 1913. Britain did not react positively due to a fear of having to prop up the Empire either economically of militarily, and Britain had forged an alliance with Russia, the traditional foe of the Ottomans. Germany was more interested in an Ottoman alliance, particularly as war approached. Since 1904 Berlin had been constructing a railway across Ottoman territory to Baghdad. Once completed the Berlin-to-Baghdad railway would provide easy access to and from ports and oil fields in Mesopotamia (Iraq). A German-Ottoman alliance would secure this railway and hand Germany control of the Bosphorus, a neck of water connecting the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. It would also give the Germans land access to northern Africa and the Middle East. German-Ottoman negotiations intensified during the RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !3 July crisis, and a secret alliance was finally signed on August 2nd 1914, just five days after the first declaration of war. The Ottomans did not formally enter World War I until late October, when their fleet entered the Black Sea and fired artillery at Russian ports there. The Royal Navy was involved in both major elements of the campaign - at sea and ashore. The Royal Navy was involved in both major elements of the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign - at sea and ashore. The price was high both in crews and in the Royal Naval Division. In February 1915 a joint Anglo-French naval force attempted to blast open the Dardanelles, a narrow strait connecting the Mediterranean with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea – but the Allied ships sustained heavy damage from sea mines and land-based Ottoman artillery. With a purely naval attack now impossible, Allied commanders made the decision for an amphibious landing, to be undertaken sometime in April or May. Allied soldiers would be landed on the Gallipoli peninsula and clear it of Ottoman defenders and artillery pieces. With control of the Dardanelles coastline, Allied ships would have a clear run to the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, where they could attack Constantinople. The Allies hastily organised an invasion force. With British generals reluctant to release experienced men from the Western Front, the Gallipoli landing force was comprised mainly of British units stationed in the Middle East, British Empire forces (Australians, New Zealanders, Indians and Canadians) and 80,000 French colonial RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !4 troops shipped in from Africa. The majority of these units had not seen battle; many of the British Empire troops were freshly recruited and deployed after just a few weeks’ training. A six-week pause between the February 1915 naval bombardment and April 1915 landing proved costly The Ottomans, meanwhile, began preparations for the imminent invasion with the assistance of German adjutant Otto Liman von Sanders. While Ottoman troops trained and drilled, defensive positions were built along critical points of the Dardanelles peninsula, known to the locals as Gelibolu (Gallipoli). The coastline was mined; likely beaches were fenced with barbed wire; machine- gun nests were installed on elevated positions. The Allies were confident of victory, however the six-week pause between the February 1915 naval bombardment and April 1915 landing would prove costly. Ottoman forces, though thinly spread and poorly equipped, were well prepared. The Allied invasion plan aimed to bombard Ottoman defences with naval artillery, then stretch and disorient their forces with several co-ordinated landings. But when the invasion began on April 25th, the plan soon went awry. At two of the pre-determined landing points, the Allies encountered much stronger opposition than anticipated. At ‘V Beach’, British troops approaching the beach in boats were strafed with machine-gun fire. On the other side of the peninsula, Allied soldiers reached ‘W Beach’ only to find it strewn with barbed wire and mines. Ottoman machine-gun nests in elevated positions opened fire once they were ashore. The death toll at these two RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !5 beaches exceeded 50 per cent. Meanwhile, landing forces elsewhere on the peninsula strolled ashore with barely a casualty. The Allied soldiers at ‘S Beach’ found it defended by only 15 Ottoman soldiers. At ‘Y Beach’, the coastline was deserted and British soldiers stood around on the beach, pondering what to do. The most famous blunder of the Gallipoli campaign occured further north at ‘Z Beach’, north of Gaba Tepe. The objective here was a broad four-mile stretch of flat beach – but when the mission began before dawn on April 25th, the boats became disoriented in the pitch- black night and landed a mile north of their target. ANZAC Cove Much of the Australian and New Zealand contingent came ashore at a small inlet, later dubbed ANZAC Cove. As the Allies came ashore in numbers, Mustafa Kemal – one of the Ottoman Empire’s most talented officers – moved to the area and set up defensive positions around the inlet. Surrounded by high hilltops and thick scrub, ANZAC Cove was easily defended by Ottoman snipers and machine-gunners, operating from elevated positions. Allied attempts to break out of the area were repelled and within a week, the situation at ANZAC Cove had reached stalemate. Though unable to advance, the Allies maintained their position on the beach for almost eight months. Further breakout attempts were launched in August at Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and The Nek – but all failed with high casualties and no further offensives were contemplated. RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !6 Elsewhere, British and French forces were no more successful in advancing up the peninsula. By early December, London had decided to abandon the Gallipoli campaign. ANZAC Cove was evacuated by sea in December 1915, an operation many historians consider to be the most successful element of the entire campaign. The rest of the peninsula was evacuated by mid-January 1916. The Dardanelles cost in excess of 44,000 Allied lives The attempt to capture the Dardanelles was an unmitigated military disaster, riddled with false assumptions and poor planning that cost in excess of 44,000 Allied lives. In contrast, the defence of Gallipoli was the Ottoman Empire’s most successful military operation of the war. Men from across the former British Empire fought at Gallipoli: from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, from Newfoundland and Nepal, from India and North Africa, and from Australia and New Zealand. Although most of the Ottoman forces were Turkish soldiers defending their homeland, men from as far afield as Baghdad, Beirut and Bulgaria joined their ranks. Almost 36,000 Commonwealth servicemen are buried or commemorated on Gallipoli, including nearly 25,000 members of British regiments, over 7,200 of Australian units, more than 2,300 of New Zealand forces, and more than 1,500 members of Indian units. As many as 97,000 Allied soldiers are estimated to have suffered wounds of sickness, and thousands died after being taken RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !7 elsewhere for treatment. The French cemetery overlooking Morto Bay is the final resting place of 3,200 men along with a further 12,000 whose remains are held in four ossuaries. Ottoman casualties of what is known in Turkey as the Battle of Çanakkale are estimated by the Turkish authorities to number between 250,000 and 300,000, of whom at least 87,000 were killed. The campaign had a profound impact across the former British Empire. It became particularly meaningful for Australia and New Zealand, whose forces suffered heavy losses for the first time and would go on to play a crucial role on the Western Front. The anniversary of the landings on 25 April would eventually become a significant date of commemoration known as Anzac Day. For Turkey, the Battle of Çanakkale had a significant legacy in the newly-formed post-war state led by Mustafa Kemal, wartime general and hero of the campaign who would become known as Ataturk, 'the father of the Turks.' Many Turkish memorials stand alongside those of France and the former British Empire to commemorate all those who fell during the campaign. Inscribed on several memorials across the peninsula, most notably on a stone monolith which stands just to the south of Ari Burnu, are words of Kemal Ataturk, spoken in 1934: 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," RN Northern Ireland - In Remembrance Issue 14 !8 Who sent their sons from far away 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.