Published by The Macmillan Company, New York (July 1917)
Gallipoli campaign, 1915, Allied expedition in World War I for the
purpose of gaining control of the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits,
capturing Constantinople, and opening a Black Sea supply route to
Russia. The idea of forcing the straits was originally promoted by
Winston Churchill, then first lord of the admiralty. After the failure
(Mar. , 1915) of a British naval force to open the straits, British,
Australian, and New Zealand troops landed (Apr. 25) at various points on
the east coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula, while a French force landed
on the Asian side of the straits. The Turks, under General Liman von
Sanders, had been reinforced, and they put up stubborn resistance,
preventing the Allies from making any important gains. Allied
cooperation was poor, and there was lack of coordination between land
and naval forces that resulted in a premature naval attack without
sufficient support from the army. The two-month lag between the navy's
arrival at Gallipoli (Feb. , 1915) and the arrival of land forces (Apr. ,
1915) gave the Turkish army ample time to reinforce its troops. By
April, the Turks had deployed six times as many troops as they had ready
two months earlier. The landing (Aug. , 1915) at Suvla on the west
coast of the peninsula resulted in severe casualties. After months of
costly fighting the Allied commander, Sir Ian Hamilton, was replaced by
Sir Charles Munro, and the Allies withdrew from the area on Jan. 9,
1916. The evacuation was brilliantly executed.
See photos for condition details. Shelf wear.