The Gallipoli Campaign (1915)

The Gallipoli Campaign, 1915-1916. World War I. By 1915, the war on the Western Front had fallen into a stalemate. The Allied powers fighting in Belgium and France were considering opening a new front. In January 1915, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia had appealed to Britain for assistance against the Ottoman Empire, a member of the Central Powers which had invaded the Caucasus. A naval expedition was launched by the Allies to capture the Dardanelles Straits, a passage that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara in northwestern Turkey, and beyond that, the Black Sea. If they were successful in their goal, the Allies could link up supply routes with Russia and knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. Furthermore, as First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill proposed opening another front would dilute the German forces as they supported the depleting Ottoman-Turkish army. British Admiralty Winston Churchill pushed for a naval attack on the Dardanelles with a bombardment by British and French battleships on February 19th, 1915, and resumed on the 25th because of bad weather. The Ottomans had placed mines in the water and the minesweepers had failed to detect many of them. The British also sent Royal Marines ashore to sabotage Ottoman artillery. On March 18th, Allied battleships entered the Straits. Fire from the Turks and undetected mines sank three of the ships and damaged three others. This naval assault could not work because the Turkish guns needed to be silenced and so did the minefields, which was impossible to do at the same time. The naval ships were also mainly obsolete warships, unsuitable for action. After this failed naval attack, a full-scale amphibious beach assault would begin on the Gallipoli Peninsula. General Ian Hamilton was commander and had assembled 77 ships and 75,000 men. However, he lacked specialist landing craft. Under his command were British forces, ANZAC, standing for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and lastly, French troops. The landing started on April 25th. The Allies suffered heavy casualties, establishing the beachheads of Cape Helles and Anzac Cove on the Aegean coast. The ANZAC forces had landed a little north of the intended landing site of Garba Tepe at a cove instead. The Garba Tepe landings would become known as the Anzac Cove landings, in honor of the Australian and New Zealand troops who fought valiantly against the determined Ottoman-Turkish defenders. After the landing, the Allies could not progress as trench warfare quickly formed like it had done on the Western Front. The summer heat and the dysentery epidemic were unbearable, and swarms of flies hung around corpses. Hamilton ordered an attack on Subla Bay in August, involving the landing of 63,000 Allied troops. They were to link up with ANZACs at Anzac Cove and break the stalemate. But indecision meant that the Ottoman Empire would reinforce the position, and by August 10th, an attack led by Mustafa Kemal recaptured Subla Bay. Allied casualties increased and the stalemate continued. Reinforcements were lacking. It was time for evacuation. The order to evacuate the Allied troops was given on the 7th of December, with the last troops leaving Subla Bay and Anzac Cove before dawn on the 20th of December 1915. The last troops left Cape Helles on January the 9th, 1916, and the evacuation was a success with no casualties. The Gallipoli campaign was a disaster for the Allies, who suffered more than 250,000 casualties, while on the Ottoman side, they also had an estimated 250,000 casualties. Gallipoli has become a defining moment in the history of both Australia and New Zealand, and has been recognized as their baptism of fire, and a key event to their emergence as independent nations. In Turkey, the battle was seen as a significant event in the foundation of modern Turkey, and a final victorious defense before the end of the Ottoman Empire. Watch our other videos to learn more. Get your copy of Simple History World War One, available on Amazon now. Thank you guys for all your support on the Simple History YouTube channel. If you enjoy it, please consider visiting our Patreon page. There, you can show us your support for the channel by donating, and make a huge difference in what we're able to create for you. Plus, you can get early access on upcoming videos. So let's keep it growing, and thank you for being part of this amazing community.