Dardanelles Campaign

Dardanelles Campaign Timeline

The timeline below outlines the key dates across the Dardanelles Campaign.

Dardanelles Campaign WW1

In the Wider War, the Dardanelles have always been considered with large importance in terms of strategy. The Dardanelles and its geographical advantage are the link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, providing the only way to access Constantinople across seas. During WWI, Turkey recognised the Dardanelles as an asset to protect and fortified it with shore batteries and minefields.

Fig. 2- Lancashire landing Location: Gallipoli Peninsula

• The Allies were competing with the Central Powers for support in the Balkans
• The British hoped that a victory against Turkey would convince the states of Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania to join the Allied side in WWI
• British Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, thought that the approach of this large and powerful Allied fleet against the centre of the Ottoman Empire could potentially provoke a coup d’état in Constantinople
• This coup d’état in Constantinople would potentially lead to Turkey abandoning the Central Powers and returning to the neutrality it used to be

Dardanelles Campaign Churchill

The First Lord of the Admiralty at the time, Winston Churchill, backed the Dardanelles Campaign. Churchill believed that by removing the Ottomans from the War, Britain would be undermining Germany. He theorised that if the Dardanelles Campaign was successful, the following would occur:

• Britain's Middle Eastern oil interests would be secure
• It would secure the Suez Canal
• Bulgaria and Greece, both Balkan states that were undecided on their standpoint during this time, would be more inclined to join the Allied side

But there was one issue, the Dardanelles Campaign was created and put into action on the false belief that the Ottomans would be easy to defeat!

Fig. 3- Winston Churchill 1915

The Dardanelles Campaigns

The consequences of the Dardanelles Campaign are summarised by E. Michael Golda as a...

Dardanelles Naval Campaign

There was a strong possibility of an attack from the Allied naval forces, and the Turks knew this. As a precaution, they enlisted German help and enhanced the defence sectors throughout their region.

As expected, the Franco-British fleet attacked the forts located towards the entrance of the Dardanelles in February 1915. These forts were evacuated by the Turks just a few days later. A month had passed before the naval attack continued, and the Franco-British force pushed forwards, attacking the key fortifications just 15 miles from the Dardanelles entrance. To Turkey's advantage, the monthly interval in-between military conflict in the Dardanelles had allowed Von Sanders to strengthen these locations.

During the attack at the narrows, Turkey's defence sent floating mines among the current of the Black Sea. This was a successful tactic as when it hit the Bouvet, a French ship, it sunk. It was the defeat and damage done to their naval battleships that led to the Allied fleet admitting defeat and retreating from the campaign.

As a strong believer in the possible success of this campaign, Churchill had argued for the attack on the Dardanelles to be revisited the next day, claiming that this would benefit them as he believed the Turks were running low on munitions. The Allied war command chose not to do this and delayed the naval attack on the Dardanelles. They would then go on to combine the naval attack on the Dardanelles with a ground invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Gallipoli Dardanelles Campaign

The Gallipoli Dardanelles Campaign was a continuation of the attack in April 1915, this campaign began with two Allied troops' landings on the Gallipoli peninsula. The Gallipoli peninsula was valued as it was the point of defence for the Dardanelles entrance, and as we have already established, a very strategic waterway.

The Allied forces aimed to capture Constantinople, the Ottoman Capital, to remove the Ottoman Empire from WWI. The capture of the Dardanelles straits and the naval transport it provided would give the Allied nation communications with Russia across the seas. This would mean that they had more geographical freedom in ways to attack the Central Powers. The allied landing forces made no progress in their aims to unite and push against Turkish forts, and after multiple weeks passed, and many reinforcements were enlisted, a deadlock arose.

The Allied forces were finally evacuated from Gallipoli from December 1915—January 1916, and German-Turkish control continued over the Dardanelles until the end of WWI.

Fig. 5- Gallipoli Location: Gallipoli Peninsula

Dardanelles Campaign Failure

The Allied landing on Gallipoli was met with a fierce Turkish defence, inspired by Mustafa Kemal, a Turkish leader. And the warships were unsuccessful in forcing a way through the straits known as the Dardanelles, both resulting in many casualties:

• 205,000 casualties for the British Empire
• 47,000 casualties for the French Empire
• 250,000 Turkish casualties

Not only did this campaign's failure lead to many losses, but its failure impacted the Allied war command's reputation, damaging it. Winston Churchill was demoted and resigned from his position before transferring to command forces on the Western Front.

Importance of Dardanelles Campaign

Historian Fabien Jeannier suggests that "the Gallipoli Campaign was a relatively minor event during the First World War", which "had very little impact on the outcome of the war" bar the many casualties that it saw. ³ But today, the campaigns are recognised and remembered as important events.

• There are 33 Commonwealth war cemeteries on the Gallipoli peninsula
• Two memorials recording the names of the British and Commonwealth soldiers who died can be located on the Gallipoli peninsula.
• Anzac Day was established from the pride in the Ottoman victory, they use this day to remember their country’s first significant engagement in WWI.
• The battlefields are now part of the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park.