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BATTLE OF GALLIPOLI (GALLIPOLI BATTLEFIELD)

December 9, 2015 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Gallipoli, Turkey (1915 AD)

The Gallipoli Campaign was the largest and longest battle to occur in the Ottoman theater during World War I.  Outside of the Western Front, it was also the largest disaster of the war for the Entente powers.  Over eight hundred thousand men fought on both sides, with a total of nearly half a million casualties.  Although devised and organized by future great leader Winston Churchill, the Galliopli campaign represented a catastrophic failure of leadership that left the Ottoman Empire and the Central Powers in a stronger position than ever in southeastern Europe.  The battle has since become synonymous with bad military planning.

History

In November 1914, World War I spilled out of continental Europe and into the Middle East, which at the time was largely under the control of the Ottoman Turks.  The Ottoman entrance into the war on the side of Germany and Austria tipped the balance of power in the Balkans and posed a serious threat to Russia’s southern flank.  Recognizing that a contained Russia would almost certainly spell doom for the Entente, Great Britain and France immediately began to plan a massive campaign against the Ottomans with the objective of knocking the Turks out of the war quickly.

Undertaken as a joint Anglo-French operation, the Gallipoli campaign was organized by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty and future Prime Minister.  Thankfully, history went on to show him as a much greater statesman than military strategist.  The natural strategic objective of the campaign was the city of Istanbul, which was both the seat of the Ottoman government and which controlled the vital sea link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.  This would have effectively knocked the Turks out of the war, at least in Europe, and greatly threatened the Austrians.

After a brief series of naval maneuvers in the Dardanelles which failed to open a route to Istanbul, the British decided to focus their efforts on a land-based campaign.  The main efforts of the offensive were directed against the Gallipoli Peninsula.  However, the arrival of sufficient troops to mount the assault were delayed for some weeks, giving the Ottomans the opportunity to dig in.  The landings took place on April 25, 1915, at which time the allies established the Helles and Anzac beachheads.  The Ottomans under future leader Ataturk fought furiously, preventing the beachheads from linking up or the allies from making their way up the peninsula.

What followed was a stalemate, with massive attacks and counterattacks resulting in horrendous casualties for both sides but little gain for either.  The most famous action of the campaign took place on August 7, when Australian and New Zealand forces tried in vain to break the stalemate at the Battle of Nek.  Casualties from this action ran to nearly 100%.  After the failure of the August offenses, the campaign was effectively halted.  By the end of the year the Entente forces had effectively abandoned the peninsula and the campaign to take Istanbul.

Visiting

The Gallipoli Battlefield is actually a series of sites spread out along the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula between the Dardanelles and the Aegean Sea.  Most of the sites of interest are gathered around the Anzac beach head along the Aegean coast.  Most popular is the area known as the Nek on a high ridge overlooking the beach.  This scenic place is where much of the bloodiest fighting took place in August.

The Gallipoli Battlefield is located close to the tip of the peninsula across the Dardanelles from the city of Canakkale approximately 180 miles southwest of Istanbul.  It is an open site, but difficult to access (many visitors come by ferry from Canakkale).  There is no cost of admission.  Web: www.tourismturkey.org (official tourism website of Turkey).

Filed Under: Battlefield Tagged With: Turkey/Cyprus

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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