|
|
4. The Landings
4.1 The Scope of the Landings The
fact that, after the dramatic occurrences of 18th March, no new attempts
were made by the Navy to force the Dardanelles, was accurately interpreted
by the Turks. In their opinion there could not be the slightest doubt that
England was planning an attack over land. This opinion was soon confirmed
by a stream of messages and rumours from Alexandria and Port Said. On
24th March Enver Pasha entrusted Liman von Sanders with the general
command over the Turkish Dardanelles defences. As the German commander
considered the Asiatic coast a particularly vulnerable spot, he sent two
divisions to Besika Bay. Two other divisions were stationed on the Bulair
isthmus, the narrow connection between the Gallipoli peninsula and the
mainland. One more division was sent to Cape Helles and a last division
was kept in reserve at Maidos, close to the narrowest point in the
Dardanelles. This last division was commanded by - the then unknown -
Mustapha Kemal Bey. All together, Liman von Sanders had 84.000 men under
his command to defend 225 km of coastline. |
||
|
As
planned, on 25th April the action started : the 29th Division landed near
Cape Helles, at the southern tip of the peninsula and the Anzac Division
landed north of Gaba Tepe, halfway on the west coast. At the same time,
the French landed at Kum Kale on the Asiatic coast, partly to destroy the
Turkish installations there and partly as a feint to keep Turkish
reinforcements away from the main theatre of battle. Near Bulair, the
Royal Navy had been ordered to execute a number of feints, to keep the
Turkish Divisions tied to their defensive positions during the crucial
first two days of the campaign. |
|
||
|
The
objectives of the main landings were double : the first day, the English
who had landed in the Helles sector were to take Achi Baba, a hill that
commanded a view over the entire southern part of the peninsula. The
Australians and New Zealanders would advance east to occupy Maltepe,
north-east to conquer the heights of the Sari Bair ridge and south to deal
with the coastal defences at Gaba Tepe. It was generally expected that the
execution of this plan would break all Turkish resistance. A move further
inland would then enable the Allied forces to conquer the forts on the
Narrows. Once this was accomplished, the fleet could steam through the
Dardanelles. After several months of fighting, not even the first-day objectives were reached.
|
|||
