The Gallipoli Campaign

Aims of the Gallipoli campaign

• 
• To get access by sea to the black sea (through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus) to the south of Russia to give them supplies for their battle on the east front, putting more pressure on Germanys shouldars.
• To help prepare for a wider attack through the Balkans in S.E. Europe. This could help relieve pressure on the Russian forces on the Eastern Front
• To increase the pressure on Germany’s allies - Austria-Hungary and Turkey – hopefully to knock them out of the war

Campaign outline

• Phase 1 – February-March 1915
• Naval bombardment of Turkish coastal forts, and clearance of mines from the Dardanelles (the straits).
• Phase 2 – April-August 1915
• Assault on the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula (Cape Helles) and Anzac Cove by troop landings
• Phase 3 – August-November 1915
• Assault on Suvla Bay (an attempt to outflank the Turkish defences on the Gallipoli Peninsula)
• Withdrawal of British troops – December 1915– February 1916

Timeline

• 
• 1915
• - Britain and France tried to break open the Dardanelles, threaten Constantinople (now Istanbul), knock Turkey out of the war and take badly needed supplies to Russia.
• - 18 March: Naval campaign to force a way through the Dardanelles straits failed, with a third of all battleships sunk or disabled.
• - Plans to capture shoreline of Gallipoli peninsula, eliminate Turkish land and shore defences and open up the Dardanelles for the passage of the navy.
• - 25 April: Landings at Cape Helles and Anzac Cove beaches.
• - 6 August: Assaults along the Sari Bair ridge and at Suvla Bay.
• - September: Stalemate.
• - 19 December: Anzac, Suvla and Sari Bair evacuated.
• 1916
• - 9 January: Cape Helles evacuated.

Timeline

• 1916
• 

Reasons for failure

• Poor organisation
• The base for the campaign was far away in Alexandria, Egypt - 650 miles away
• Supplies were often incorrect – on one occasion supply ships had to return to Alexandria because they had been incorrectly packed
• Shortages of some equipment (e.g. grenades) made assaults on Turkish positions harder
• Poor selection of landing sites – the Turks occupied dominating heights overlooking the Allied positions along the length of the Peninsula
• Troops became exhausted, hungry, thirsty and lacking in local leadership as a result of high casualties amongst officers and NCOs
• the balance of advantage in the fighting lay with the defenders. The typical problems of trench warfare as shown on the Western Front were also shown in Gallipoli
• the Allies were often trying to press their attacks uphill against Turkish defences
• Relatively sheltered areas where field ambulances and casualty clearing stations were established were still not immune from shellfire and stray bullets
• Inadequate commanders
• A clear and common sense of purpose was lacking amongst the British high command
• The exact position of some landing sites remained vague within military orders
• No clear cooperation between ground forces and the Royal Naval Air Service
• Some of the commanders were not up to the job. Lieutenant-General Stopford botched the Suvla landing despite encountering little Turkish resistance, slept for the night without issuing any orders, and allowed the Turks to take the high ground above the landing site
• Some divisions and brigades became inter-mixed with no clearly defined command structure and lacking in clear orders
• Turkish defences
• Turkish defenders were able to hide their mobile field guns during the initial naval attempts to capture the Dardanelles
• Amphibious landings were a new form of warfare. These early attempts were slow, confused, and took place under murderous fire from the Turks
• The assaulting forces underestimated the ability of the Turkish defenders, who were light on their feet, geniuses at camouflage, and always much closer than the Allies thought

Reasons for failure

• Problems related to terrain and environment
• Rough seas caused much misery and considerable delays
• The terrain was a bewildering mixture of hills, natural gullies, deep, man-made tunnels and trenches
• Trench warfare was made worse by trying weather, unsanitary conditions, putrefying corpses and a plague of flies
• Dysentery and disease ran rife. Later in 1915 respiratory diseases appeared, and frostbite attacked thousands of soldiers following the November blizzard
• Lack of resources
• Maps were lacking, and in some cases inaccurate. Officers were instructed to use their initiative and make corrections
• Trench warfare was made worse by lack of water, monotonous food, trying weather, unsanitary conditions, putrefying corpses and a plague of flies
• Trench warfare was made worse by lack of water and monotonous food

Summary

• Key questions to consider :
• Reasons for the Gallipoli campaign.
• Key features of the campaign and reasons for failure.
• (Evacuation and effects of campaign.)