Most people have heard of World War I, also called “The Great War” or “The war to end all wars”. It was fought from 1914-1919; the fighting lasting until 1918. Most people also know that the war was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers. I’m sure you’ve heard of many of the battles fought during the war. Maybe you did some research in high school about this topic. There are a great array of issues and themes to choose from when talking about World War I, and likewise not everything could be talked about in such a short amount of time, so I chose just one topic. I more specifically chose one campaign; the Gallipoli campaign. My goal is to give a brief overview of what the Gallipoli campaign was, and how its effects can still be felt
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Gallipoli is a Peninsula off of Turkey’s western shore between the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelle strait. This operation started at the beginning of 1915 and finished in January 1916. The Gallipoli operation was a vital war for many of the countries involved in World War I. It was an allied operation against the Turkish and German forces (Turkey was on Germany’s side during this war) in order to take over the Dardanelle Strait. Russia, who was an ally with the Allies during World War I, was cut off from ease of access, because the Turkish controlled the Straits leading from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea. If the allies were to win the war they might totally knock out Turkey from the war and open a supply lane for Russia. They decided to bring in the British fleet, thinking that seeing the ships might scare Turkey into switching sides, and bring down Turkey’s government; no fight involved. Admiral Winston Churchill was the leader in charge of planning the operation. They were now ready to launch their first attack on the Turkish and …show more content…
Most of the allied troops never had real combat experience, they simply wanted to save their countries and were willing to fight for what they believed in. According to the Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History on April 25, 1915 75,000 troops went ashore. 30,000 of these were from Australian and New Zealand, 17,000 were from France, and the rest were from Britain and other allied countries. The Turkish had not been idle, however, and had been building up their defensive positions, and had placed their 84,000 Turkish and German troops strategically along the rocky shoreline. The French came in contact with the Turkish troops and eventually had to pull back, finding a new place to land, because they had nowhere to advance to. The British troops chose several landing points, but there were only a few landing strips along this coastline, and the rocky cliffs were filled with machine guns and snipers. The British were fortunate enough to land in areas with weaker numbers of Turkish troops. Their organization, however, was once again lacking, giving the Central Powers an advantage as they rushed in to secure their hold of the landing
Gallipoli is a Peninsula off of Turkey’s western shore between the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelle strait. This operation started at the beginning of 1915 and finished in January 1916. The Gallipoli operation was a vital war for many of the countries involved in World War I. It was an allied operation against the Turkish and German forces (Turkey was on Germany’s side during this war) in order to take over the Dardanelle Strait. Russia, who was an ally with the Allies during World War I, was cut off from ease of access, because the Turkish controlled the Straits leading from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea. If the allies were to win the war they might totally knock out Turkey from the war and open a supply lane for Russia. They decided to bring in the British fleet, thinking that seeing the ships might scare Turkey into switching sides, and bring down Turkey’s government; no fight involved. Admiral Winston Churchill was the leader in charge of planning the operation. They were now ready to launch their first attack on the Turkish and …show more content…
Most of the allied troops never had real combat experience, they simply wanted to save their countries and were willing to fight for what they believed in. According to the Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History on April 25, 1915 75,000 troops went ashore. 30,000 of these were from Australian and New Zealand, 17,000 were from France, and the rest were from Britain and other allied countries. The Turkish had not been idle, however, and had been building up their defensive positions, and had placed their 84,000 Turkish and German troops strategically along the rocky shoreline. The French came in contact with the Turkish troops and eventually had to pull back, finding a new place to land, because they had nowhere to advance to. The British troops chose several landing points, but there were only a few landing strips along this coastline, and the rocky cliffs were filled with machine guns and snipers. The British were fortunate enough to land in areas with weaker numbers of Turkish troops. Their organization, however, was once again lacking, giving the Central Powers an advantage as they rushed in to secure their hold of the landing