PANEL 1

THE DARDANELLES

A good army of 50,000 men and sea power - that is the end of the Turkish menace.
Winston Churchill
British cabinet minister, 1915

On 19 February 1915 British ships began a bombardment of the Turkish defences at the straits of the Dardanelles (Çanakkale Bogazi). The British wanted to break through to Constantinople (Istanbul), the Turkish capital, and force Turkey, Germany's ally, out of the war. This strategy was designed to enable Britain and France to supply their ally Russia through Turkish waters and to open a southern front against Austria - Hungary. The naval attack failed. A plan was then developed to invade the Gallipoli (Gelibolu) peninsula to overcome the Turkish defences and allow the navy through the Dardanelles. An army, the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, composed mainly of British, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and French soldiers, was assembled in Egypt and on Greek islands close to Gallipoli. British troops were to make the main landing at Cape Helles. Shortly before the British landing, a combined Australian and New Zealand force, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), was to land further north near Gaba Tepe (Kabatepe).